Author Note: And now for the new stuff! Yay!!

Note #2: I can not thank enough the lovely and talented Katrina for all her help and support and even hand holding :) She is too lovely for words and I am too lucky to have found her!



SPN: Legacy and Heritage

Interlude: Letters and Journal Entries - 1835

March 23rd 1835

My good friend Eli,

I have much news that I hope will find you quickly. First I will be moving once more, I am headed to Ohio this week to live on Ellen's husbands' farm while I work on the revolvers. I have decided to sell my half of the business to Winchester, he has managed more of it this last year then I have and it seems only fair to him. He has offered a good sum for it as well; it should more then bear the costs of creation and assembly of The Five. Father was however most upset with my choice he is of course concerned for my future and as I am unable to tell him more then plan to build a new revolver well it has lead to an impasse for us so for now I am to Henry and Ellie's.

I can see your frown even now all will be well between us again so you may stop worrying Elias. In the mean time I will have a roof over my head and a safe place to work. I have taken the successful prototype from Baltimore and will be working from that design as it functioned quite well under several circumstances. I have also gathered the majority of my needed supplies – ah Elias I wish that you could have seen the look on Father Patterson's face when I asked for his blessing on the iron and silver. He of course acquiesced to my request but I am sure he is still pondering the need for the blessing on such a large quantity of both, I gave him no answer and simply waited on him to finish before heading home. Of course this is serious business my friend but that does not negate the joy of the simple things in life does it? The man, regardless of his stature, has little even been more than a bother some blowhard trust me in this Eli.

Speaking of the simple joys of life, Ellie wishes me to thank you for your wedding gift as well. I too thank you my friend as I know the greater meaning behind the charming necklace you sent her. Your continued consideration for our well being touches me deeply Eli.

Has there been any news of the source behind the problems in Tennessee? Smith has mentioned little in his letters and I worry. I have only received your short responses of late and while I do not wish to intrude when you are busy I can not help but be concerned for you my dear friend. Please give me word of things so that I may keep you and the others in my prayers. Or perhaps make a small detour if I can be of any assistance?

I will keep you apprised of the progress and look forward to your letters. God bless you and keep you safe in your travels my friend.

Sam Colt

Soon of Defiance, Ohio

From the Journal of Samuel Colt

April 10th 1835

I have the strangest feeling that things are happening around me that are greater then I can understand. On recommendation from one I trust greatly. I have taken up this journal and I will only hope that it can be of some assistance in ordering my thoughts. If it helps no more then to relieve the pressure of the headaches then perhaps it will have served its purpose.

That I fear is only one of my problems these days. The unrelenting pressure behind my eyes that sleep does nothing to alleviate and often I swear contributes even more to them. The rational mind would say that all that I read and the things that I have seen combine to fill my mind with these horrific images and yet that does not bring me the peace that perhaps it should. They are an unending litany of pain; suffering and evil that I know now exist. That I know now I must protect all I love from ever touching.

I can not bother my friend Elias with these thoughts as he bears enough these days trying to keep the unnatural at bay in one place only to have it spring up in another. When one compares a few nightmares and headaches to his unrelenting march through the states against evil it seems a bit petty. And yet in those hours that I lay trapped in the twilight going over my latest nightmare they are far from trivial. It is only with the light of the sun relieving the shadows that conscious thought returns and with it this endless pounding in my head. I fear madness with this loop of pressure, images and sleeplessness. It drives all that I do and now… now another piece has attached itself to my delusions. Of late has been this sense that I am not alone. It is not a specific presence per say for then I know what I am dealing with and what I can do about it. Rather it is the sense of a protective and reassuring nature at those times I need them most. It could well be another sign of madness I do not know, I only know what it feels like, in a small part of me it scares me and yet to focus on it brings me peace and relief. I can not fathom what is happening to me beyond madness for that is the only logic to it.

My other burden is of a more earthy matter though it is as much apart of my other problem as well. Coming to my sister and brother in law for shelter weighs heavily on my conscience, I know there is no where else I can go for this work that will not bring more questions that I can not answer and yet I worry greatly about the toll it may take on them. My dearest sister and her husband have provided through their gracious provenance a place to live and work away from prying eyes and dangerous questions something for which I can never thank them enough. But the cost of it, something for which they will not tell me, concerns me greatly. There is little more important in life here then the focus of the land and its fields and yet Henry does not ask my assistance and even went so far as to build a workshop for me here. His faith, my sister's faith in my vision, as they know it, is humbling and every day I wake and pray that I will not fail them or their belief in me. I can only hope not to be a burden and that I can quickly finish my mission, for that is what I have come to think of it as. I have assembled all that I need now – the blessed iron, the warding symbols I think most beneficial to our work and the proper woods and herbs. It is up to me now and I find myself praying often for the strength to continue and the relief from the burdens I bear. I can only hope that God deigns to hear me – to find me worthy of an answer to my prayers.

SC

Defiance, Ohio

May 1st, 1835

I have found myself walking these days, Ellie bless her, worries too much and I simply can not bear it for too long a stretch. For I can not share my pain nor the darkness that tries to claim me, so my persistent pain drives me out and away from those I love most these days.

There is a small stream that runs along the back of Henry's property and it is comforting to me. I have always found the endless flow of water relaxing and so when I can no longer work before the fires in my workshop I come out to the stream. At first I simply sat watching soothed by the clear coolness and gentle sounds that bubbled from it as it flowed past me. Then a few days back I found myself moving with the water.

I wandered much of the early morning away as I followed the meandering of the water. It soothed me greatly and the incessant pounding behind my eyes too gave me some respite as I walked. It was – peaceful. I was at peace. As the sun rose higher over the trees I knew that I would need to return as I would cause worry with a long disappearance and that is never my intention.

But I have returned to that path over and over these last few days and I find that even my restful mind is now seeking out that place of peace and contentment. I dreamed last night that I was once more on my river path and it felt truly for the moment that I was there. The quiet burble of the water on the rocks and the relief of pressure from my eyes and head filled me with peace. I began to notice though that there was something different. My feet were bare for starters and my clothes were light upon my skin, more as if they were a part of me then something I wore. It was then I noticed a presence of sorts, nothing so specific as to give a name to only the sense of no longer being alone. I could feel it calling to my very essence – my soul. And I was sure that it was trying to tell me of something – something wondrous – that was just beyond my grasp.

As I woke this morning I knew that I must go back and that what lays there will change me. Not in the horrific ways that I have been changed of late but in some way that will guide my purpose, give me hope I pray. Other wise I can find no other explanation than I am headed toward madness. Please let it not be madness. I prepare myself now, to take this journey and pray that it gives me the relief that I so desperately need now for I can do little these days and fear that I will fail us all if I can no get myself back.

God protect me for I fear that madness may take me if I am wrong,

SC

Defiance, Ohio

May 5th, 1835

It has been several days now and I find I am still not inclined to write down what has happened. I do so now only because I need a record of this and do so in this code because I fear that I will be deemed truly mad should anyone find and read this. For this is something most fantastical and yet I feel it is more real than any of us can even grasp.

I returned to my path by the stream and while it as still early with little light it seemed to matter not for I could clearly see and was sure of step as I walked. It was just as I cleared the trees that a small grove opened to me and I found myself hesitating on the edge of the tree growth before stepping in. The sense of peace that flowed over me was sudden and complete. I admit looking back now that I have never felt such a thing before and expect that I shall never in my life feel such a thing again. For there was nothing of man's creation in this place it was truly a blessed sanctuary gifted to this Earthly plane.

As I accepted this knowledge – it seemed as though that was the key to opening something for which I cannot adequately find the words to explain. It seemed I was wrapped up in this peace and then led through the contentment by a guardian, a guide, I would suppose who chose to gift me with something yet my awestruck mind could only barely grasp what it was. Simply it was the whole of life opened to me – gifted with great patience and expectance. For in those moments those images I understood at least things, great blessings come with great expectations. When this gift was granted – this fore knowledge I suspect – it was with the hope of accepting my responsibility and role within this existence.

Sadly my mind could only grasp so much before it was overcome. I find that while some things at this moment can be as clear as the reflection in a hand mirror others slip away through a hazy fog. I know in my heart that I saw all – as our creator too has seen both forward and backward – and it has changed me deeply. I know a great darkness is coming to roll across the land burning and scarring all in its path – this I see so clearly even now that I shiver to my soul with its memory.

There are though points in the dark – brilliant spots that seek to beat back the darkness and it is here that my guide tried to direct me. To show me the hope and inspire me to beat back my despair – for the despair does so try to reach for me when I dwell too much on it. Those bright specks though are some of the elusive grains of my memory though.

The other sharply clear memory though is one I find myself focusing on repeatedly the one which has driven me to my journal to keep a record of. Even though this memory too raises despair I find it drives me, fuels my need to fight and suspect it shall always do so. Fire marks the landscape and dark shapes leap forward through the flames – escape imminent. But in this moment shouts and booms fill the air driving the shadows back into a fiery pit.

Drawing back I see the White Holly and Elder trees lining the landscape standing sentry against the dark. I could also see a pattern to their vigil stance, one that I have seen in a book that Elias had sent to me, one that has called me since I first laid eyes on it. I also saw what I can only think of as a web of light splintering out and away from the ring. The lifeblood of the sentries flowing out of the web a strong throbbing pulse that flowed out into the darkness. The proud trees filled me with a sense of strength, determination and purpose. I could see that their battle – though unending – was the last bastion against the dark. It was the duty and necessity that kept them strong and vigilant and now it was to be my life, my calling.

And then I awoke. I am sure there was more as sure as I am that the darkness is coming. Unfortunately I have no memory of what is to come now only that is nearly upon us.

As I opened my eyes to my newly changed life I found myself upon my back in the grove looking up into the heavens blue and clear in the afternoon sun. That too was a clue as I had entered with the sun and now it was nearly to the close of its day. So many thoughts passed through my mind in those minutes, so many trivial things that now I find myself a shade embarrassed at them. But with their passing I felt the clearing of my mind the focus of my purpose and the renewed drive flow through me. I knew what I must do and even more so I knew exactly how to do it. Standing I made my way home and I have barely stopped that goal since I did. I brought my journal into the workshop this morning because it is only by my sister's insistent urgings that I pause the briefest of moments to care for myself. So now as I have a moment between tasks I write this – God has spoken to me and I will answer his call to arms.

SC

Defiance, OH

July 23rd, 1835

Elias,

I have heard from Smith that you have been to Texas several months past? I am sending this note to him in the hopes of it finding you quickly. Though I must ask what would drive you to this battle my friend? Not that you would not wish to lend any who needed it the help but this seems, well rather mundane for you no offense. I hope that it will not hold you long though, I feel you are needed here Eli.

The Five are complete Elias. I just this last night finished the last details on them and now look forward to a bit of rest I must tell you. I have felt as one driven and now that I have completed my task I am one who is unsure. Not of the guns for in my heart I know with no doubt they are what we have needed and waited for. It is something else my friend and to say here is to invite madness I believe. Instead I beg of you to please come as soon as you can, to see the guns and to help clear my thoughts.

I look forward to a response or your presence here at the farm.

Samuel Colt

Defiance, Ohio

And now you've had a peek inside the mind of Samuel Colt. What do you think? Is he mad? Too much time in small places with hot furnaces? Or ... is something else at work? Hopefully you'll tune in again to find out. Because of my friends the fun is just beginning. (i know it was a rough and slow start the first few chapters but i promise the action it is a comin'!)