Stepping haunted grounds

Mattu sits at the base of the oldest standing tree among this strange rich land. He knows that this is somewhere among the world of the living he should be at - he wouldn't be in his human shape otherwise. On top of sending off a strange message to Welwick by text.

"The timing of that text message was rather perfect." God bird lord playing about the branches and scanning out the surrounding area, "We are in the Smokey Mountain of North Carolina... Say... North America." Like any god, they know all mortal knowledge like second nature, "Wasn't the strange time jump from helping Crafter a warning about Native Americans?" Still puzzled of what they were meant to do about it and what the mage queen supposed to do wrong in that timeline that is to not be repeated here.

"My lord... there many tribes of lost Native Indian American. There no telling which ones she will upset or what imbalances she brings." Mattu is still to dazed to stand up, his right eye sight was no able to see the world correctly. The very forest of shadow around here was a maze of bricked void blacken walls if he used only his right eye. To his left eye, this was just a forest grove; lush full of pine trees as high as skyscrapers and maples leaves types.

"What did judge of souls do to you?" This stranger doesn't exist in Mattu's left eye sight.

Mattu's right eye see a strong weather worn male of tanned skin. A wise proud age gaze of a booming proud man. This man is in a hand woven fabric adorned of beads and many eagle feathers. A necklance of totem animals forms moved slightly animated and alive. Ochre red stain the tattoos a perfect line across nose and cheek bone ridge.

"A spirit elder of ancestral history, a former human spirit. You are now just a ghost or a dream walker by our standards." Omens lands on the shoulder of the spirit phantom.

"You must walk shadow feathers of white skin." Very outdated way of speaking that would have been offensive nowadays, "Walk to avoid the skin stealer." Meaning the mythical monster by modern creepypasta belief- Rake. But the Rake has a orgin of history lost with the native Indians whom feared it first. This elder phantom must have believed and belonged to a tribe that had such superstitious myth, "Its not the only thing whom walks this forest."

The North America smokey mountains is a breath taking place of hidden secerts. The very brooks along some valleys are indeed full of gemstones and flakes of real gold. The very primordial keeping of nature stays untouched even in modern times, untamed by the mile upon miles. There is death if you are careless of the world around. What looks like mountain lions, bears and even snakes aren't what they look to normal human eyes. This might as well be a hidden land of fairies... just not the ones from the human tales. No... The best image that these spirits living creatures that call this forest mountain home are closely enough related to the myth of are what humans call wendigos. A mistranslation or another misunderstanding between the native supernatural, the native local living and the settlers that have made farms / home steads here.

The closer to the human world Mattu can consider normal, the less the mythical residents there is. Stopping short of walking foot first into cars driving a tar bypass road. Lost of both his lord and the spirit phantom whom guided him. There blaring car horns and skidded tire marks. A near hit and missed.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" The driver coming out the car at screaming, "I nearly ran you over! This isn't some place to be hitchhiking you Huckleberry picker!" The driver is stopped with someone else getting out the car.

"Mathew!" Her ladyship in non mage clothing, while round belly and still cooking a bun in that oven. Healthy in her complexion. Nothing like the future timeline spilt he was encouraged prevent happenings.

"This place is not for us to tamper with. The very spirits that protects here are not what we consider textbook case." Mattu sways a little exhausted from his walking up and down miles of forest terrain. His very pale yet weather beaten.

He about took another swayed step before he fell to a knee, his leg being held on by what look like tree roots. His strange eye sees damned spirits holding his leg. Souls lost to traffic accidents. Mangled limbs pleaded to save his life.

"What did he say?" the driver asking her ladyship, Mattu spoke in the mage tongue and not English at all.

"I know him. We need to help him." Mattu was dragged even more unnatural away from the tar pave road, another car missed. The driver backed off from the inhuman way that looked.

"Fuck this. That ain't human lady. I know not to trust the things here. We are getting out of here." Forced her back into the car and dived back into the driving seat, speeds away faster the she could do anything. Mattu gets off the road in following the spirits that were protecting him. American roads were not walking safe.

There was total disregard to any sort of pedestrians - side walks were nearly non existence in rural roads like this for a reason. In fact there isn't any walking paths like in the UK, North America is to expansive for anyone to walk around to a shop or whatever. Driving is and has always been the only way. No one walks around unless it was a cityscape, campsite with nation park status or a enclosed shopping mall. Heck, even theme parks like Disney resorts requires driving between. There were some states and areas that have pavements dedicated to walking pedestrians - they are incredibly rare. North Carolina was to mountainous and typographical complex for any side walks. A state of dirt road communities that were days drive from each other. Way to untamed and wildlife dangerous for safe walking.

"We are glad you told her to not meddle. We can only hope it was enough of a warning to prevent your downfalls." The very breeze pushed Mattu head first on the elder tree he arrived from before. Unfortunately knocked cold by the sheer force and lack of energy. Laying sleeping undiscovered for a long time.

Strange chants of tribe words, shakers and flicks of healing powders spray him. Not at all able to wake or dream. The shade of the great spirit tree blocked the sunlight, healing him by dark energy borrowing of his God. Its ironic that his god was place among the Native Indian people, the crow a symbol to the people in many ways. A carrier of disease, a death eater, a crop stealer and a tell of other omens. Such birds were feed the dead of condemned evil souls away from the peace of spirit lands. Mattu is seen as a taboo soul taker, a sort of death god... but not in any way a god of death.

Its complicated as the way spirits walk here. Its why wendigos are common place... as is 'big foot'/ 'sasquash' and the Rake. Skin stealers are just as common place as animal shape shifters. To messy and complex for human folklore straightening.

"You got to be pulling my leg." The car door is open nearby again with force to cut air.

"Dont hurt him, his actually human. I promise." The lady pulling someone away from harming. There is a third set of movement steps, walking up near Mattu cautiously. This person was light footed yet still broke the leaves and twings around.

A brushed touch of a car cold hand brushing Mattu's hair away from his eyes. The same hand pressed his pressure point, counting his heart beats in the minute. Moved him into recovery position, tucking under him in a survival blanket. Making some vague demands about a medical kit in the trucks glove box.

"He is really human and alive?" The male drive spitting away, "This isn't some prank."

"Matthew is considered a god follower or as you would call a priest or shaman." Her ladyship healing and helping, "He is from where I was from originally. Its been 3 months since his last appearance, considered missing in action." She goes on explaining and looking around, finding what she needed quickly.

"That's one tamed wild..." the male paused with studying the bird, "I was going to say crow... but that isn't a crow. That isn't something from here."

"Your not wrong." The sooth voice of the person making breathing checks again and pressing areas for wounds or to hope that it wakes him.

"He is not wounded by mortal definition if that what your trying to figure out." Huff his feathered lord, "None can heal him as such... its not a simple wound. Not of a gods divinity to heal."

"What are we going to do now?"

"Take him to the truck and help him."

The three work together to make this happen. They being resourceful of the area around them. Sticks and branches for keeping Mattu straight, preventing any internal damages or potential broken bones.

"The Smokey mountains isn't a joke. Many people go missing every year. Some make that choose to cut off from the life of internet or whatever they run from. This place is often bewildering of isolation."

A snap of tone that was snarled very loudly. It encouraged Mattu (still haze minded) with being a little more aware once more of his surroundings, staring at ceiling of some wood cabin. There dances some hands often over him with checking iv drips and pulse.

There a few smells in here that really was a rustic way of cooking with to much fats / butter, earthy and woodland. It makes sense for knowing his still in Northern Carolina. Yet this was the next sort of thing that he took in just from ceiling staring and feeling a worn hand on his neck.

"That there is one very blind eye you have." The torch light flashed about four times, "OK... thats strange." Mattu had to stop them doing it again, "Sorry. Your eye is clouded in shadow but is completely normal in the light. Its a new one for sure." Light blinded to much to have a better look at this person's face.

"A sort of Shaman... I bet the bird at the window is a spirit guide then."

"Its close enough to your cultural experience." Her ladyship sits in a soft pillowed chair at the blinded eye side. The window is also at her back left.

"He is a shape shifter... for sure. I have seen something like this before." The examiner was looking at Mattus right arm, the marks and runic god patterns of his contract. They can be mistaken as tattoos for someone with gifted sight.

"For being a follower of fortune, omens and misfortune. He has a nack for appearing out of no where with purpose of preventing or helping. After all, his god is very much alike the follower. Back when I had a homeland, you could mistake the follower and god often. They played each others roles from time to time. A strange affair, unique to his faith. Not all God followers have such strength to carry such devotions to that extreme." She explains plainly in English, dipping accents from word to word. At least she was clear to understand.

"The condemned taker... such god like fella has face to our cultural for the same sort of things. Crows are clever birds." The examiner helped Mattu to sit up now, enough checks had been adequate to not worry for the expense of medical care. The homestead was well equipped for emergency care for more types of injuries. A standard for living out in the middle of no where against the bears or whatever.

"So what's a bird man like him trying to warn us about?" The annoyed 'red neck' isn't a local to Northern Carolina, the very way of Southern speak was hard miss from time to time. Biker shirt, leather coat and torn jeans. Not burly but still lean and healthy. Slightly over weight but not anything that a day of beach sand running could take away.

"You very not yourself. Is there something wrong?" Her ladyship spoke royal mage way towards Mattu, in case he was only responding that way.

"You mustn't upset the balance of things here. Our way isn't thiers. Taking energy here isn't wise. The locals wouldn't want to be disturbed." Mattu does indeed only speak Mage at the moment and with a light touch of the area that ached, he sees dried inky like blood crumble a little. He left it alone, "We must be careful to not upset the strangers among us."

"That's not at all helpful. We were asked here." she sighed with rubbing her temples.

"There is plenty whom prey on humans." Mattu spoke English and very clearly without accent, "Not all words are the definition we understand. Your better to ask for a translator or spirit guide, if you are to continue down this fate. You mustn't use the methods of our faiths teachings. You will take away the ones protecting."

"You're way of warning us is not at all creepy." The ride fella spoke sarcastic and in light sense of hair in the neck prickling.

"How will we ever find a shaman that knows the method?" the person doing all the iv checks sighed in leaning back, hand flicked out with also being annoyed.

"The creatures have always been the guides of this land. They will know." Mattu patters about with a necklace removed, a hand carving of such examples, "The real ones aren't visible to normal sight."

"That actually makes sense." the necklace taken from hand, "Do you remember how you got here?"

"The forest guided me. It will guide you too." Mattu continues being as in keeping to his strange way of vague values, "Not all trails are lost forever."

"You know... you came clean in a blood drug test... but I am very doubtful." the flashlight is lifted again, Mattu blocked it away from him.

"Please stop shinning lights at me."

"What you light sensitive or something?"

"Yes. You will upset my lord too. You wouldn't want that. He has adapted to this lands law... and thus isn't as friendly as before. You were correct to say a eater of the condemned, a spirit presence now then the god of my hometown." Mattu tilted a few ways and with back to straight attention study of this person again.

He still can not make sense of the face or voice. This person gender and age was hard to tell for him. To be honest, he was struggling to recognise her ladyship for a while back at the oak tree roots. Even since the damage to his sight was done, he had become face blind. For better or worse, it made recognising inhuman and humans harder.

"At least my lords manners hasn't changed. He still himself. I still hold faith on such souls." Mattu mutters tilting a lowered angle with watching the window being opened. The presence of his lord welcomed in yet vanish from the sight of the biker.

"Your almost talking about yourself. You have changed but still hold yourself indifferent." Her ladyship snicker lightly, "I will heed your words. You wouldn't be out here in person for nothing."

"Sometimes I could be." Mattu interjected, "Out anyway and anywhere for nothing." Mattu smirks lightly. The three of these folk left the room, a rolling topic change that was keeping about why she was here.