“Everything is in its right place,” said the old man. A smile grew on his weathered face. Overhead, the carrion birds signified he was close to the road. Not long now.
–
The road was a dangerous place to be alone. Highwaymen and thieves infested it like a swarm of fleas on a mangy dog looking to bleed every last drop from unsuspecting travelers.  Not many unsuspecting travelers existed anymore.   As the young man thought of this, he was momentarily comforted by the fact that he had nothing worth stealing. A twig snapped in the distance and the young man froze. Why did he have to conjure these damned parasites by thinking of them? An old man stumbled out of the forest some distance ahead of him and collapsed on the road. He was dressed in the robes of a priest, but the young man did not recognize the order. The fallen man was visibly in pain as he laid writhing on the ground and clutched at his own face.

The young man cautiously approached the figure.  His head darted back and forth like a prey animal ever watchful of the predators that surround them. As he got closer he saw that the priest was still breathing but it was labored and wet. “Are you alright? Do you need some hel-” The odd priest sprang from the ground with the vigor of a man a quarter his age and lunged at the young man, grasping his head in his massive gnarled hands, digging his fingertips into his flesh. The priest’s eyes were as white as snow and a beastly grin deformed his face into a grotesque mask that made the young man's body seize up in pure dread.

The priest was screaming. “YOU MUST! YOU MUST!”  His hands were like an ever-tightening vice on the young man’s skull.  The young man closed his eyes for a brief moment and was assaulted by a flash of light and images flickering into focus.  A voice began to call to him from all directions at once.  The omnipresent voice was like a distant breathy whisper, which under normal circumstances, he never could have understood.  These were not normal circumstances.   “Help me, James.”  At the mention of his name, James opened his eyes and began to wail in terror.  The horror in front of him began to shriek  a monstrous cackle.  “HAHAHAHA! SEE! SEE! SEE!”  The increasing pressure on James’s skull forced his eyes shut again and the images returned.  They were more focused now and James could make out a man in armor with a spear in his side slumped down on a throne.  His face was gaunt and pale and he was soaked in sweat and blood. “Help me James...make it stop...please, make it stop...”   The armored man began to weep as the images slowly faded into darkness and James lost consciousness.

James awoke in the forest on a makeshift bed of leaves and a damp cloth on his forehead.  The small fire next to him popped and hissed as shadows danced on the trees.  Across the fire the old man sat on a fallen tree, staring at him.  At the sight of him, James attempted to crawl away but he had been sapped of all energy and could barely muster more than a slight backwards movement.  “I apologize for my behavior, young James.  When He takes me, I cannot control my actions.”  James studied the man’s face.  It was no longer the horrific visage that had viciously attacked him but the kind and gentle face of a weak old man.  A face which no longer had a demonic grin, but a slight frown as he averted his eyes and shyly looked away.  <need to expand more here or rephrase>He seemed genuinely sorry for what he had done.  What had he done?
“My name is Feru.  You need not be afraid. He has left me.“
“What are you talking about?  Why did you attack me? Who is ‘he’?” James’s voice was barely audible in his weakened state.
“You need to save your energy, James.  You’ve experienced enough for today.  I will explain more in the morning.” Feru stood up and stretched his knotted hand out towards James.
“Sleep.” James was about to protest, but the word had enveloped him like a warm blanket.  His eyes closed as the wave of calming heat coursed through his veins and turned his bones to cotton.  Sleep.


There were no dreams.  There were no visions. Only sleep.  James opened his eyes and was assaulted by the daylight which only multiplied the intense pain in his skull.  The small fire was nothing more than a few smoldering embers and across it Feru still sat as if he had not moved a muscle.
“Good morning, young James.  We have much to discuss, so I suggest we get started.”
Feru walked over to James and laid his hand on his head.  He mumbled a few phrases which James did not understand and then, miraculously, the pain in his head was gone.  Not only that, but James felt invigorated again. James sat up and looked around the forest hoping to see anything familiar or signs that he was close to the road, but unfortunately he did not.  This place was foreign to him, which would make escaping that much more difficult.
“Where are we?” James asked, trying not to sound as scared as he felt.
This only made Feru smile.  “We are where we need to be.  Someone should be along shortly to gather us.”