From Chapter 10 the Cat the Monk and the Truth
Far across the seas and high above the lands, in the coldest and deadliest of mountains in the cavern of a cave sat an old dark-skinned man crossed legged wrapped up in the fur of a bear by a burnt out fire. The man sat motionless with his eyes closed, he had been sitting this way for a day and a half locked in deep meditation. The cold had crept into the cave and he was beginning to freeze. He was in his meditative state while his life was draining away unaware of the danger he was in, flashes and visions came to his mind. He saw what appeared to be a human heart in the palm of a thin grey hand, the heart began to beat and grow and grow until the vision changed into three men different in shape size and origin, then he saw a forest, a forest so big it crossed wide along the lands.
He was still deep in his meditative state unaware that his fire had burnt out when a creature with white fur and sharp white teeth slowly walked into the cave on all fours, with its yellow eyes locked on the old man it approached him. The old man was too deep in his world of visions and dreams to notice the great paw of the creature raised towards his head, and with one movement the paw knocked the old man over. Immediately he woke feeling the ever dangerous frost that had been biting at him for many hours, he had no feeling left in his fingers and he began to shake uncontrollably.
“Ttthank yoy you Llli Light” His teeth chatterers as he struggled to speak “I…I had hoped you would of… of… of come sooner.”
The white panther pushed the man’s fire powder pouch towards him with its nose
“Please fetch me…fetch me wood from the…………..” he said weakly still shivering, before he could finish the large cat was gone but soon returned with bunches of twigs clutched in its jaws. It laid it down where the previous fire had been lit, the old man struggling poured the powder from the pouch over the twigs, and then struck a rock on another rock that also contain the powder and caused a spark that immediately lit up all the powder and began to burn the twigs. Again the cat left and returned with a small log dropping it in the fire.
“You may… have saved my life… this day old friend,” he said faintly before he passed out.
A whole day and a night went by before he woke finding himself covered in more of his furs and his fire still burning and the large cat lying beside him waiting patiently.
“Good Light you have kept the fire burning”.
The cat was not his pet but his companion and trusted friend, it had intelligence high above that of any other animal and the old man would gladly give his life to save that of Lights. The man stood up slowly feeling the blood flowing through his veins; Light raised her head glad to see her friend back on his feet.
“I have had strange visions Light and I fear these are the times we have waited so many years for.”
He placed his hand on the panther’s head and closed his eyes, moments passed as if his hand had connected them both physically.
“You must go to the black forest and find them protect them until I see you again” He removed his hand from the cats head and the cat leaped up as quick as it could and turned towards the exit of the cave and out into the snowy ice felt mountains.
The old man left the cave and stood at its entrance at the top of the mountain holding his staff a snow blizzard blew all around him, he watch the white cat head down the mountain leaving paw prints in the snow until it became nothing but the snow itself.
“Your journey has just begun my friend,” he said as the blizzard blew his fur cloak making it flutter in the wind