The Liberation of Ian Nottingham Formerly Pure Mystery)
Author: NightShade
Disclaimer: I own Samsara and 'the Brothers', everthing else is probably Top Cows'.
Please R & R
PROLOGUE…Prophecy
"Life is a series of opportunities;
The trick is to realize the infinite
Possibilities and grab them before they slip
Into potentially unwanted variations."
"Sylvester"
Thirteen robed men grumbled ominously among themselves. Candles flickered around the room. Debating over the prophecy revealed months before was reaching an unprecedented level. Sheaves of parchment littered a large ancient mahogany table. Wind gusted through the room, shuffling the sheets. None of the men could believe, a woman, an American at that, was the Chosen divinity. Once they accepted the prophecy; they had to decide how to find the Woman half a world away.
"Tonight, we travel the 'planes," ordered the Elder. "We know a White Dove, an inhospitable land, the kindness of a stranger, the Woman, will fulfill a portion of the prophecy. After we obtain the Woman, training needs to be swift and thorough. The Ancients will bestow the Power upon her if she is worthy. Tonight we will dream-walk and seek our Divine Individual. May your travels be safe and fruitful." He rose stiffly, and gestured for the others to go. The muttering quieted as the men dispersed. The light wavered, shadows danced on the wall. The Elder shuffled to the window and gazed into the night. Hope lived beyond the cloister, and some of the Brothers would venture into the unknown. He would not allow the fear of the Beyond, to divert the Cause. Many of the Brothers had dream-walked their country seeking knowledge and learned of the changes that had been occurring. Those that had gone Beyond returned from their 'travels subdued or alarmed. They would have to overcome these fears; this Woman was an integral part of the Divinities' plan.
Slowly he turned and picked up a scroll and scanned the glyphs. He knew they would find Her, convincing her would be another matter. Centuries before, the Refuge had been built to protect prophets and the writings of the Oracles. Through the power of the Divinities, various Refuges had been hidden and spared from China's militaristic forces.
He had been a young man when the Divinities invested him with Power. It changed him in ways that his Brothers and the Outside would never comprehend. Unlike the woman, he had been raised to assume the position of Elder, to uphold that which was Good and aid those in need to the best of his Ability. He had been prepared for the rush, the overwhelming energy. The Power had enhanced his natural and learned abilities, and gave him amazing gifts, such as Healing and Clairvoyance. He took these gifts and 'traveled where the Divinities pulled him and did the tasks as he was directed.
The responsibilities that lay before the woman from the States would be immense; the adjustment alone to their primitive, unassuming lifestyle would be what would fray or strengthen the thread of hope. The Master pulled the shutter closed, picked up a fat candle and made his way to his cell, habitually counting the steps leading into the courtyard. He paused, gazing again at the stars and said a silent prayer. The mere flicker of his candle lit part of the stone corridor. The candle was only a formality. He had traveled these halls his entire life. The night was brisk; soon the trees would lose their colors, and the landscape would be bleak. The monastery would be varied shades of gray. It was not his favorite time of year.
He entered his cubicle, set the candle down on a small, old worn table. A fire had been lit in a firebox to counter the chill. Heat and light escaped the firebox and gave the room a peculiar glow. It was a gentle radiance of two worlds, the mundane and the mystical, converging. Serenity crept through his old bones, warming him from the inside. Power that only he and soon the Chosen would feel flowed through his consciousness and soul. He sat on his sleeping mat, letting the power wash through and over him. It took only a few seconds and he left his mortal body to search for Her.
They found the "Chosen" one, at the end of her first 3 years of Concentrated training she was infused with Power and irrevocably physically, mentally and spiritually changed. Intense training continued, 3 years later she was Chosen by her Talismans (also know as Artifacts), after 4 years of Extreme and Urgent training with and without her Talismans, she was sent to start her first assignment. A sixty-five year old retired Special Operations woman was returned to the United States with the stamina, extraordinary reflexes and looks of an approximately Twenty six year old slight, blonde humble young woman.