The Way Is Shut

“The way is shut.
It was made by those who are dead, and the dead keep it.
The way is shut.”
— J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings

Prologue

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The state mortals call limbo is a curious sensation. One is fully awake, but unaware of the passage of Time until suddenly, another soul passes by. This disturbs the surface of calm and unceremoniously yanks one into reality. When I woke up those decades ago, existence was not how I left it. It was a land of death.

In order to understand what I’m about to say, you must understand that there is a dissonance between myself and this new world that cannot be extinguished, overcome, or ignored. So listen when I say that this new world has forgotten its history. Long ago the ravages of guilt pulled Earth Kingdom into an unseen sleep of innocence that would last a thousand years. Meanwhile, its celestial guardian rested.  

When the guardian was reborn again, the sleep ended. She, however, does not want her people to remember. So they remain innocent. Ignorant.

That really, is no concern to us.  

She is the soul who dies for the rest of us, so we can continue to live free from sin. The truth is, she is only half the story. To you alone, I will concede that it is the more important half. I know that her soul is the single power that holds this fractured universe together, even if it isn’t whole. If she vanishes, then what is left of existence will fade away. The other half—our half—is testament to that.

But if she were There, she wouldn’t be half a match for Her just as She isn’t for her, in this place, here.

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