"Great Pan is dead"

Therian IV-Beauty and the Beast (Nymph’s Quickening) May 26, 2012

“Everything comes with a price, young ling. You seek answers about our past,about our ancestors,about our nature .And yet you haven’t even earned your name.”

“And there is strength in a name ,cub. The kind of power , that can change the course of history,the fabric of time ,even our perception of reality. Never share your name with anyone else, even inside your pack . Because by knowing your name,the Enemy can break your will,and therefore bind your soul. You will become an empty husk,a hollow shell, what we call Ni’ Kada ,the night walkers. And you will fight your own brothers,and you shall desecrate our holly places , and you shall hate yourself and that hate will consume and destroy you. And Mother won’t weep,and the Children shall not mourn and your name shall be forgotten.”

He lit his pipe ,with a match he stroke on a nearby rock and his eyebrows came together as deep thoughts were passing from his mind to his lips,like water from a mountain stream . He wanted to say more, so much more but it was forbidden until the end of the Quickening .He could almost smell her power ,her vast potential . As if it were some strangely intoxicating scent from a spice shop in Marrakesh trying to overcome the cheap perfumes from the nearby brothels. And yet she ,like all the others would perish in a few cycles ,like all the Children before her. Like a roman candle she would burn bright in a summer open sky ,only to be consumed by the darkness of the night . He tried to control himself,to not succumb to the weakness that is crying ,he barely managed it. Though his eyes became moist . For one brief moment, his defenses fell ,and for just a few seconds he was not a mentor,but an apprentice once again. He was afraid ,for her ,even she could tell .It was too early for her too pass the Quickening ,and yet the council had decided it was time.

They had lost too many from the Hive . The last one, the Battle of Santa Sangria ,from that small village it took place,was a blood bath . Very few survived and even fewer were sane afterwards. The Council of Elders decided to name it :The Night that Mother wept. That was the night he started to question the wisdom of the Council. That was the time he decided that he will not die in a Mother-forsaken battlefield . The Hive didn’t knew the concept of honor, why would they,how could they? Their path ,was the one of desolation ,their ways were the ones of blind obedience . Perhaps that was the main element in winning such a brutal war ,perhaps that was the reason his side was losing ………

“Tell me Master ,is it true ,that most young lings die during the Quickening?”she said it with one long breath,as a stroke of red hair covered her brown eyes .Her voice ,made this naive question sound ,like the most important piece of truth in the world .She had been a lot of things in her life so far ,a sister, a daughter ,a lover but she was never what she was now ,bewildered .She remembered in the back of her head how it was when she had her Awakening ,when she first heard the calling . She was lying in a small dark alley. Alongside a ragged old man ,with long white hair and beards that covered most of his face. He hadn’t met him before, but he was the one who gave her her last batch of Entropy ,a new recreational drug .There couldn’t be a scenery more bizarrely fit ,when her awakening occurred .There was grafitty in the wall “Awake to the truth” ,”Don’t believe the hype”,semi-covered by two large garbage bins.It was one of those nights ,where cold could penetrate your skin up to the bones. No one in his right mind would step out of the warmth of his house .She was staying in hers ,a big card box covered with rags .The street lights were flickering ,like drunken castle guards ,neglecting their sworn duty .And then ,it happened, quick and sudden like a lighting strike .At first she could hear better ,than she could smell better(the stench from the trash cans covered her nostrils) . She restrained herself from vomiting . And then a strange taste came to her palette, some odd mixture that resembled nutmeg ,something bitter and yet intoxicating. The old man , which by now, he strangely looked more like a decadent noble man ,than a clochard , stood up on his knees , murmured a few words and then he vanished by turning around the corner. Her whole body was breaking up and down from spasms,like a broken toy .She was certain that this must have been death ,and then she heard a few jumbled words “give Mother …..” .At first she thought she had O. D.ed ,as she was watching her life pass by in a quick flashback .She saw her first love ,and her first kisses ,her first loss and her first tears .She saw the first time she bled,and the first time she made someone else bleed .She watched her

brother dying in a car accident ,and her drunk father beating her mother .She saw all of her struggles and all her lost battles .And then a young man,that looked just like her brother , appeared . “Awake from your slumber child,there is a war afoot ,and you are a much needed fighter.” Fighter,….ighter…..,……ter the word echoed to her mind, if anything else that was exactly what she was .A fighter ,of lost causes sure ,but a fighter none the less. She managed to say only two words ,as she was trying to dominate her body via her mind “Why me?” ,she

wanted to ask so many things ,but the pain was excruciating .”Cause you bear the markings of the Wanderer ,Mother’s first child .He is known by many names ,the Grey one ,the seeker but it all comes down to one simple thing .He is the first ,and if the prophecies are true he shall be the last of our kind.” She remembered how she stood up,like all the pain had vanished and followed him into the long cold night ,kissing her past of uncertainty a long hard kiss goodnight.

“I can tell you only this ,my child. When you reach the end of your journey ,you shall make camp ,and you shall burn seeds blessed by the Elders .And you shall feel intoxicated and invincible .And everything will make sense,and the world shall stop for a while .During this time ,you shall meet three spirits ,and all three shall test you .Failure to pass the tests ,shall make you a spirit like the ones whom you’ll meet .The first one ,shall test your will ,and when you succeed you shall gain resistance to our enemies blood, which is a poison ,potent enough to kill within minutes .The second one shall test your heart,and it shall award you an ability, only you shall possess among your brethren ,and the third one shall be the hardest trial .It will also grant you the most important gift ,a name,your name . A name by which you shall be called,by friends and foes alike, once and for all till the end of time .And then ,at that very point of your existence ,you will see one small glimpse of your future ,one small fragment of your own destiny. Some of us ,manage to see their time of death ,some others the person which will gain their affection ,different therians see different things .There is only one thing in common though ,none of them remembers anything afterwards ,until the moment it occurs,we call it the Glimpse. Now take this leather pouch ,follow the road towards the sun ,and when you reach a small stream in the forest ,head north .There you will find a clearing ,there you shall find the End which is the Beginning,may Mother smile upon you,cub ”

“Thank you,Master I have learned a lot from you .In case I fail the Quickening ,i just want you to know one thing . My name is Sarah”,that was the last thing she said ,She turned trying to leave ,as she was putting the pouch in her belt .She felt a harsh hand on her shoulder “My name is Jurgen Dietrich of Essen . My Glimpse , was this moment ” He hugged her ,with all his strength ,trying to capture this moment for ever ,trying to stop her from leaving . He leaned towards her and whispered to her “remember. the spirits,will try to trick you,do not be deceived.” He let go “Now go ,go and honor your name ,and your Mentor ,young ling”