The Rise of Abraham - I

May - 1855

My name is Abraham. I am eighteen years old. I live in Richmond with my mother, and this is my attempt to keep track of the strange visions I have begun to see in my mind. My mother suggested that I write the words I cannot say and by looking at them afterwards I might see something that I could not in the moment.  She is a very kind woman and because we live quite comfortably in this day I cannot fathom what she would know about visions or destiny.

 Recently she has begun to badger me about getting engaged and preparing for a family. She says that I should find a suitable girl of marrying age and while there are many beautiful girls in the city I am frightened. I have never known my own father, and perhaps that more than anything scares me about starting a family. Once when I voiced my concerns she went on about how I am named for a great man who was the father of a nation, while I don't see what that has to do with me I should feel honored for it but she refuses to explain in further detail. 

Before my eighteenth birthday I began having strange dreams full of light and color, last night I had the same vision I have been having for a few weeks now. There are no concrete images, but there is a feeling of urgency, and sometimes anger. There are voices screaming around me but their words are unintelligeble. When I awake I'm covered in sweat and feel relieved to be out of the bright lights and shapes that make no sense.

I cannot determine if it is rage or anxiety inside me. Perphaps it is both and I cannot find solace in the day to day activites that life has given me.When I sleep my dreams are chaotic and when I am awake I feel the need to do something about though I don't know what.  I am not opposed to working a hard days' labor, but I feel I can be doing more. I am not sure what more I can do, I do my chores and study my lessons like anyone of my status would do. I do what is expected of me in society, all except the egarness to wed I suppose.

One thing that makes my family stand out is the manner in which we treat our servants. Admittedly it is better than most families, my mother says that we are only as good as the people who support us and I agree with that to an extent. Some of my classmates say there is no need to treat people who are inferior and there have been rumors of giving them freedom which has outraged many families in the area. With such a charged political atmosphere, many of my colleagues at the boarding school are talking of leaving to the captial and introducing themselves to the political arena. I have no desire to discuss political policy or to dictate how people should live, for I do not appreciate it forced upon me.

*****

Last night I had another strange dream. More lights and confusion mixed with voices that I was unable to recognize. I awoke late this morning and a most unfortunate morning to late indeed. Mother has decided to host her annual beginning of summer party early so to attract all the courtisans in the area before they leave on summer holiday. I had asked her to wait but she insisted on introducing me to the children of the people within her social circle. I know her heart is in the right place, but this constant badgering is beginning to annoy me greatly.

I rode into the market square and went to the butcher shop. The butcher's wife is a short squat woman that people have claimed to be one of the meanest they have ever met. I have no idea who they talk about because she has always greeted me with a smile, and today she gave me a fine deal on the meat for the party tonight. She is a bit homely in her appearance, but she knows her trade well and I have seen her taking meat to servants' quarters on more than one occasion. I think perhaps she is a kind soul who has formed a callous barrier to protect herself in the world. She has always treated me wonderfully and I will take it upon myself to make sure people know that.

As I made my way back I ran into some of my classmates who were walking down the street carrying large bags from the clothing store. Benjamin, a friend of mine, saw me coming and waved me over to them.

"Good morning Abe!" he greeted me cheerily.

"Good morning Ben, what brings you all out this morning?" I asked as I dismounted my horse.

"You remember Justin and his sister Maybel?" Justin was in my class at school and his sister was two years older than us. She was an attractive girl though her mannerisms were not, and I can count more than once feeling put off by some offhanded comment of hers. Justin was more tolerable than his sister but something about him was off. His sandy hair was soo different than his sister's dark locks that it was hard to believe they were actually siblings. I nodded to them both, "well Maybel just got engaged last night and they came to buy new clothes for your party tonight."

"Mother wouldn't hear of me showing my new ring in an old dress," she said with a laugh as she stuck her hand out for me to see.

"My word, that ring is absolutely lovely," I said with feined interest. "I hope you found something to compliment it with for tonight." If my mother found out about this she would commandeer my ears for a whole hour with more suitable girls she though would be a good match.

"Yes, it better match perfectly for the price we paid," Justin said. "At this rate there won't be enough money for me to wed," he said with a laugh.

"Well at the rate you're going father will have plenty of time to save up for you," Maybel said. We all laughed and I told them I had to return home soon but not before Ben showed me a bottle of whiskey he had gotten from his father. I hoped he wouldn't repeat his antics of the Christmas party, my head pounded the whole day afterwards and thinking about it made shutter inside.

Upon my return mother informed me that after the party we would have guests staying at the estate with us for an indefinate amount of time. She says they are family though I have never met them nor has she spoken of them before. Why is my mother pushing so hard to bring not only courtisans but family that I was not aware of? I am uncomfortable with the idea that of so many strangers around but mother has discarded my objections.

As I went about the rest of my day I did my best to avoid mother to prevent myself from getting caught up in her storm of ideas again. I spent much of the afternoon outside making sure the tables were set properly, food was being prepared correctly and that we would have enough oil and candles to last well into the night. When I finished I went upstairs to bathe quickly and put on my favorite suit as our guests would be arriving soon.

As I buttoned my shirt and tied my tie I took survey of myself in the mirror. Not bad, not as good as some in my class, but not bad overall. Though the suit was custom made for me, it wasn't comfortable, no that's not the right word. It wasn't me. It felt like a costume, and though it was a costume for high society, I felt hidden in it like no one could really see me. That was odd, I'd never felt like this in my suit before, what had changed?

*****

The sun has not begun to set but the party is already a success as far as my mother is concerned. The food was wonderful and the servants were all on their best behavior so there was nothing standing to ruin the family name. She absolutely loves the attention from the many well-to-do families and happily parades me around in front of a never ending stream of girls.

There was Jennifer, the girl with chocolate brown eyes and long dark hair. Her red dress was very flattering and complemented her tan skin skin wonderfully. Her grandparents were from Spain and she carried their exotic heritage in her blood. There was Rebecca, with her bright eyes and sandy colored hair. Her freckles were cute, but she seemed younger than my mother would have me believe. One after another until their faces began to blur together as none of them made a distinct impression on me. They were all very beautiful in their formal dresses and many were perfectly suited to becoming wives and mothers, but it was the girl who seemed out of place that caught my attention.

She was standing close to the treeline, in a long dark blue dress. Her dark hair was wrapped loosely with a matching blue ribbon and hung down over one shoulder. In the candlelight I saw a butterfly clip sparkle in her hair and she slowly turned around and for a moment we locked eyes. I felt my heart stop for what felt like an eternity as we stood there. As my lungs gasped for breath I felt my body step forward without my consent and in my head our conversation only got as far as hello.

My walk was interupted by a sharp grab at my wrist and sharp jerk in a different direction. Mother was pulling me to meet someone else, and I stopped her to ask for the girl by the trees. When I went to point her out she was not there, and mother could not remember seeing a girl in a dark blue dress. Who was this girl? Where had she come from and more importantly where did she go? I fear not knowing the answers to these questions will only exacerbate my anxiety.

For readers new to Ghost

              When I set out to write this book I had no idea what it would turn into I only had a vague idea about what I wanted to say. I have been a fan of apocalyptic writings for some time and I knew I wanted to write a story that involved angels. As I wrote the first three pages I realized that I didn't want to write that story, about God and his angels. I couldn't write another story about God and the devil without saying the same thing that people have been saying for millenia. I decided to write something more original, something that hadn't been seen before and I draw upon many different sources to arrive where I did for Ghost.
              I drew on the idea of reincarnation to give me a basis on which to start and from there the idea evolved naturally that people who can break that cycle can become angels. Now if you didn't understand what I was trying to say in the book, the idea is that they are beings of energy that come back to our world. Since the first angels to cross over where people from ancient times, they thought they needed wings to fly here. They can of course change their shape to suit their needs but that is the premise for why angels are always depicted with wings. Their families are charged with doing good or evil in the world and causing others to give off positive or negative energy for the angels to feed on.
             The Tauri Clan, Max's family, is a very old family though not the oldest known. They have been around for centuries and had the foresight to gather wealth to help them in their quest to bring happiness to people of the world. The clan is comprised of people who are family, sometimes very distant, and people who are asked to join because they are willing to fight for the cause.
              In this book we follow Max as he takes his place among the ranks of the lowest foot soldiers of the clan, the Ghosts. They are named Ghosts because they are the front line soldiers, most likely to not come home. They usually don't have family or any descendants to leave behind and so their names are etched into the Tauri Stone, more on that later, and they become Ghosts to rejoin the cycle of reincarnation.
              I hope this clears things up or helps you to get a better idea of what the book is about, feel free to leave questions or comments on the blog. Good hunting and Godspeed!

Ghost

Welcome! This is the blog for the upcoming book The ShadowWalker Chronicles: Ghost. Here I will be posting updates and sections of the book as they become available before the book is released! Be sure to check out the facebook page and follow on twitter! If you have any questions about the world of the ShadowWalkers feel free to ask!