Page 1 of Jacob Michaels is Dead

Point Worth, OH

1975

Sitting atop the tree stump just inside the halo of light cast by the campfire, the man slowly opened the book, letting it come to rest upon his lap. The children gathered around the perimeter of the campfire sat in the lotus position, leaning forward expectantly. All of their parents had brought them to the old lands out by the lake to hear this story, just as parents had been doing for many generations past. Flames from the fire licked high into the night air, sending sparks and embers floating into the velvety blackness above. Skeletal arms and fingers of the trees in their deep autumn slumber flickered in and out of sight with each spout of flame from the fire. The man looked slowly around the circle of children sternly, solemnly, before suddenly clearing his throat, making the children twitch anxiously. Looking down at the book, his mouth opened, and his grave voice poured forth:

“Once upon a time…”

evil came to this land.

Its name…was Bloody Bones. Though, what it was, no one knows.

Where it came from, no one knows.

What it looks like, no one knows.

What is known is that it has almost always been here. Lurking. Waiting. Watching. From beneath us.

Rising from the depths of the water, it would drag wicked children into the depths, never to be seen again.

“Sass your parents…Bloody Bones will getcha!”

“If you don’t clean up your mess…Bloody Bones will getcha!”

“Fight with your brothers and sisters…Bloody Bones will getcha!”

Parents would often say these things to their children, warning them that bad behavior would summon it. Bloody Bones would come for the wicked children. No one knew why everyone thought Bloody Bones only came for wicked children because, truth be told, he comes for all. Eventually, Bloody Bones comes for all of the wicked people, children and adults alike. No one is safe from it. It is everywhere at all times, waiting for its next wicked soul to claim. Though, no one really knows much else.

The one thing that is known is why it is here.

Many years ago…centuries…eons…who knows, really? Bloody Bones simply rose from the ground, given life by the very magic that permeates every inch of this Earth. But it wasn’t just the magic of the land that gave life to it…it was also the evil that seems to fill the nooks and crannies where magic doesn’t reach. Where there is good, there is always evil. You can’t have one without the other. There must be balance.

Bloody Bones began its wrath of terror, claiming souls for its own. Ripping children from their beds and dragging them away, leaving tearful mummies and daddies wondering where their babes had gone. It killed livestock and family pets. Flying through the countryside, distorting the very magic which had begat it, attempting to create a new world in its vision.

Hell on Earth.

And if Bloody Bones had its way, that’s precisely where we would be now. Instead of sitting around this campfire, safe and sound.

For many years…generations really…the people of this land lived in fear of and in servitude to Bloody Bones. Afraid to anger the master of the magic of this land. Parents clutched their children tightly to their bosoms as they put them to bed each night, wondering if Bloody Bones would come. Food and drink, sometimes pets and livestock, were left as offerings on the doorsteps of the homes as the sun went to meet the horizon each night.

Bloody Bones was satisfied…for a time.

It had magic.

Rule of this land.

Blood. Meat. Drink.

It was king.

But even kings grow weary and dissatisfied with their kingdom.

Bloody Bones wanted more.

More children were taken. More livestock destroyed. Houses were burned with families inside. His wolves terrorized the villages. Years of famine and illness cast a dark shadow over these lands. Bloody Bones cast these lands in darkness for many years.

But…as things usually go…where there is magic, there is hope.

Just as Bloody Bones appeared, so did The Guardian and The Oracle.