Difference between revisions of "Vagabond"

"Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else. We're a collective consciousness."

ORIGIN STORY

Serenity Barrington was born on the 18th of June, 1984, to a house-cleaning mother and construction-worker father in Fells, Mississippi. It was a decently sized city, tucked in between the Lauderdale and Jasper County. Serenity was raised around the occult and fetishes as her mother was a devoted Wiccan, carrying over the traditional religion and values passed down the family for the past three generations. Despite this, and being an only child, she was not isolated or separated from other children. In fact, she was a very outgoing, social, and charismatic young woman.

As Serenity began to come of age, she had learned the ins and outs of their families religion, to the point that she developed her own perception of its doctrines and practices. Though she never fully committed to Wicca, she held it's teachings close to the chest. Stemming from this was where she learned to not only be universally accepting of life, but also retain the mindset that not all secrets and knowledge should be presented freely. Everything had become normal and there was no bias towards either good or evil.

It wasn't until the year 2002 that things changed. Serenity as an eighteen year old senior in high-school, socially accepted by her peers and generally had some value or impact in most people she touched. She became part of the Fells High Cheer-leading squad, started to date the running-back of the football team, was well on her way to becoming the potential Prom Queen, and had won 'Best Personality' in her high school senior year-book. Life couldn't be more perfect for the petite, porcelain skinned young woman. All the way up to this point, life was a bright, optimistic reality where magic was not but novelty. Little did she know the darker side of things - yet.

On a winter Thursday night, the pivotal moment that changed Serenity's life forever struck itself into reality. She came home to see things amiss with her home after her time with boyfriend after school, inevitably leading up to finding her mother murdered through the use of knife. It wasn't until much later in the evening that the one who committed the crime came back for her. There she came face to face with the pastor to the Fell's Catholic Church, a man who she once respected to be a devout and almost humble old man. Fearing for her life after escaping her first kiss of death, she turned her back on her former life and hitch-hiked her way to New Orleans, Louisiana.

With a new perspective and reduced to a wandering homeless young woman, she was found by a man who presented himself a friend of her mothers. He claimed that he was sent to find her after he received word from Serenity's mother just before the murder. Weeks passed, and Serenity struggled to fight every urge compelling her to return home. She wanted answers and the man who had taken her under his wing for safety had none. Like him, she was barely getting by before a golden opportunity came to them. The job honestly sounded too good to be true. It was a simple delivery job of some crates to El Salvador. The reward would set them up for years financially. The risks? Entering the highest crime rate country in the world.

During the drive into the smallest country in Central America, they had a long series of dangers and challenges before them, so the man who took her under his wing decided to teach her how to defend herself. As his family had been taught for generations, he was trained in the ways of Apache knife-fighting and delivered the same teachings onto Serenity. Eventually, they came to their destination where the end and beginning of this chapter of her life closed. The delivery was of something they only knew to be called 'Wander', an imported 'psychadelic drug' rumored to carry people into a dream-like state. In reality, it rendered those under it's influence into a half-consciousness where one was easier prey for atavisms to feast and grow stronger. The product of a man Serenity would meet shortly.

The police had squatted in on the entire illicit exchange and burst into the building it had taken place. The criminal drug lord who had ordered the trade assumed it was fault of Serenity and her companion, which earned the latter's death before much reaction could happen. Serenity ran for cover, knowing what knowledge she had in knife fighting would not do her any good against firearms. By the end of this, the drug lord, her companions, most of the criminals, and some cops had been killed while Serenity was taken into custody by the El Salvador police.

Little did the police know, Serenity had inhaled quite a bit of the drug within it's powdery cloud during the firefight when some of the bags burst from the impacts of bullets. She was half-drifting between the Material plane and the Astral. While most of her focus was in the Astral, she came face to face with a masculine figured draped in a white thick robe which held it's arm out for her. He introduced himself as 'The Architect', and said he had a job proposition for her. Taking the offer, the police only saw the petite young woman's body slowly fade to an intangible gray-scaled replica before disappearing entirely.