Materials Collected: Seized Documents and Propaganda
Written by Giles Stuart Henderson
Artwork by @helen_urth_
The Letter
I have failed you, Goddess. The fate of heaven and earth cannot rest on my shoulders lest all creation follow me to my shallow grave. I dream of smoke, reborn of fire, I’d soon adjust to my newfound immortality as I’d take to the human custom of clothing. Considering all I’ve learned in what must have constituted just a few human lifetimes or that of a few hundred rabbits, I can’t imagine my life before the Jade Emperor granted me the gift of my station and fate would place me by your side.
When I threw myself on the wise men’s fire, I wasn’t afraid of death. I was relieved that my family might have an opportunity to survive starvation with one less mouth to feed and favor from the humans tucked in their cheek. And that if my flesh filled the bellies of these three men, then perhaps they would not hunt my many cousins and waft their tanning hides in the summer’s breeze. To my surprise the flames did no such thing, though I survived the curses of famine and flame, it was in the slow burn of hubris that I cursed the balance of life itself. There is no such thing as a true immortal any longer. Goddess, not even you are safe.
Returning to earth has been…lonely. It’s been too long since I’d left the forest. I can no longer commune with the nature that was once my home. The foreignness of my tongue is only matched by the humanly unguents which repel the other animals. It was as if the grass only sprang through my toes in a pale effort to dodge the soft pampered pads of my feet. I was a stranger in the woods as I was a stranger in the capitol.
My handlers insisted I only talk to members of the Apothic elite and the royal court during my stay. I haven’t spent much time in the capitol, but already I suspect I’m being manipulated. My suspicions are soon confirmed when several of my colleagues disappear before their meeting with the Jade Emperor. Again my hubris betrayed me, what I had attributed to the Emperor was actually the machinations of a much cunning and sinister foe, the Queen Mother.
Listen carefully, Goddess. From this moment on you must take human form and conserve the last ration of your life elixir. It is the last of its kind. In the midday sun, even the tallest tree casts no shadow. Tell no one and leave now.
Chang-e Artist Rendering
Letter interrupted from young local medicine woman
To my mentor and friend,
This is one of three letters I’ve sent to the capitol requesting guidance from my mentors. Word has come my way, that those knowledgeable in the healing arts have been summoned to the capitol as well as many scribs. Rumor from a few traders who passed through town was that they’ve been paying a fair price for all bamboo scrolls they can find with medical knowledge and several members of the village I preside over have gone missing. There’s an increased presence of royal infantrymen. The villagers whisper of monsters, but I remember our lessons on midwifery. “Whispers of war betray discretion when the gales of siege best a kingdom. Just as soldiers at the hearth ply infants from their mother’s wombs and return them so soon to that darkness now cold and vein.” At the time I thought it was an oddly specific application of the lesson or some esoteric message warning against superstition... Now I think you were trying to tell us to listen to our instincts; just like a child blooms from a mother, harm comes from somewhere, violence seeds, it grows. And life, with all its fortuitous illusion, has no timely course of action, making panic alluring in the shadow of death.
I’m equally frightened of these folk being conscripted into the Jade Emperor’s army as I am of them falling prey to this terrible monster. They had attributed the disappearances to this beast. Remaining unconvinced, I’d assumed that the parents of these missing young boys were just ashamed their sons had enlisted in an army sure to come back one day and burn the home they’d built together. I suppose in some cases it was their eventual inheritance. If it hadn’t been in Imperial interest, I’d say it would have been a right, even an improvement. I shouldn’t belie my position, but six years have brought no comfort to me. Comfort in the way of company, that is. I still don’t feel like I belong here and many villagers still view me as an outsider.
Gossip usually doesn't make its way to me, but after stumbling across some startling animal remains, I started asking questions. Most of the Soldiers were impartial to me, It took me a while to earn their trust. Some of the boys looked familiar, maybe they had been farm boys, locals. That provided little reassurance, so I opted for resourcefulness instead.
I ran out of imaginary tinctures after a few days and had to promise to extend my services in case they were “injured in combat.” I’m not sure that boy was older than 16. I didn’t expect he’d see combat before losing his life to idiocy or disease. At the rate that they were recruiting, I expected famine, most likely. We’ll see where his allegiance is when his belly aches and he finds the same rot in his rice ration as on the soles of his feet.
A Child has gone missing, the others weren’t much older than boys, but still. I can’t really say much. Pride in my mother’s wit, I thought I'd be able to help, but I can't say that I truly have. By no means could the other’s disappearance be classified with any levity. I can say that before this I had hope. I had hope that I could help. Now I’ve put our unfriendly soldiers on edge with my curiosity, and the villagers have seen my prodding as precocious. I’m not solving problems, I’m causing friction and hoping to spark some fire I can put out.
I’ve offered to stay with the family. I’ve traded with them for goods for a number of weeks now. The mother has nice linens I’ve used to make an outdoor structure that I’ll use in my costume later in this story. She gave me a drawing of the monster rumored to be the cause of the disappearances. I told her that there was nothing to be afraid of, that it was just a “man in a mask” or a misguided forest spirit turned the boys into rabbits to play with, but, just in case she gets scared, I’ll help her make a mask to scare him. Her mother gave me a sour look. I don’t think encouraging the “make-believe” was her idea of a good solution to her daughter's night terrors. So I drew a quick picture of Chang-e the moon goddess playing with rabbits and owls in the woods in hopes of keeping the child’s active imagination from turning to worry. We ended the visit with the usual sickly smiles. Maybe there’s some small good I can salvage before the next attack. If only I could just treat the children.
The only mystery I’ve been able to uncover is the level of sickness in our stalker. The Soldiers have set up camp at the farm belonging to the family of the missing girl. All they’ve seem to find is the family’s chicken coup. You can see them roasting hens over open flames and flicking chicken and pork bones to stray dogs forming a raggedy coven near the creek bed. Tomorrow morning they’ve asked me to aid them with the family and their search for the child. I guess my efforts to gain both the trust of soldiers and villagers have proven fruitful, but I can’t help but feel like those dogs: picking up the scraps.
Before you reply I think that you should know I suspect my messages are being screened so I don’t know if this will even find its way to you. I have to tell someone. Even if all this serves as a journal or confession. But it’s too much for one person and most of everyone else that was there to witness isn’t here to share this horror. My visit to the farm couldn’t wait till morning. I couldn’t sleep. It’s too quiet. With all the soldiers in town, the people seem to be afraid of making a sound or drawing any kind of attention to themselves.
There's a curfew in order. But my curiosity could not wait. I had to see if there was anything I could find before the soldiers could decide what it is that I was supposed to see. I couldn’t afford to miss any more clues; children were going missing. Sneaking onto the farm wasn’t much of a task, Walking along the creek I was able to hide in the trees and low shrubs until I reached the base of the hill leading up to the farm. The road slips through a subtle depression in the hill so, in a crouch, I could stay undetected to anyone patrolling the road.
My first thought was to look into the room she was taken from, but I knew that the soldiers were staying in the barn and I wanted to take a look before they settled in for the night and I wouldn’t get a chance till after they’d fetched me. To my surprise, I didn’t see any sleeping kit or soldiers’ supplies in the barn, though several villagers had told me they’d seen the men coming and going from the barn. I found two depressions in the goat's pen, no goat though. Not terribly suspicious at first, though I knew the farmer to be very proud of his goat. Also, he charged an extraordinary amount for his goat products. Only having one was a much more difficult task to culture. Necessary for some of my medicines I’ve haggled with him more than once. He even named it I believe.
Moving around the back of the barn, I peered inside to see what was going on in the house. I saw some pikes and spears resting in the doorway. I was confused until getting closer and seeing the bedrolls inside the family’s home. The soldiers appeared to actually be living with the family, but they were nowhere to be seen. By this point, I was nearly inside the house looking for any sign of life when I heard footsteps approaching. I didn’t have time to make it back to the barn and there wasn’t anywhere to hide outside so I had to go inside the house and hide inside a closet.
I overheard them say that they are going to take me out of my bed early instead of the next day because they’ve had it and some shit is about to go down. I had to get the hell out of there and back in my bed if they were expecting me to be there. I get there, but just a little too late. The soldiers are already at the door, so I can’t get inside while they are knocking. Naturally, I improvise a monster costume and have them scared off for the time being.
Expect my next contact through a more trustworthy channel.
Child’s Illustration of Chang-e
Investigative Report: Royal Guard’s Notes on Capitol Treason Incident
The following correspondence transpired between an unknown party (UP) and the aforementioned deceased anti-state conspirators (ASC). They were found near a campsite on the outskirts of our neighboring province:
UP: I’ve made it past the city walls. Your parcel was slightly damaged, however, I’ve made sufficient repairs to continue the journey and should be arriving at our next stop in three days’ time.
UP: Imperial Guard spotted in nearby woods. Stowed away in a small stable for the night. But I must have been spotted along the way. I'll stay off the main roads. I’ve ditched my cart and stolen some clothes, just rags, but easier to move at night. We only travel at night now. We'll be laying low till the full moon, then making the push the rest of the way. The parcel is heavy, getting heavier with each step. Feels like I’m dragging around an extra one of me, just a whole box of dead weight.
(INTERCEPTED OUTGOING MESSAGE)
ASC: Stay away from the moonlight. She’s deadly. Whisper your name in the night to keep her at bay, whisper hers at the cost of unquiet men.
Note: The boy’s clothes were found in the farmer's barn. He claimed the boy had stolen a goat, some old clothes, and a hand tool used for woodwork. However, upon discovering matching tool marks on the abandoned casket, the farmer and his family were questioned and executed. The boy is headed south.
Our trackers have found the scent of the contents of the crate. The dogs keep diverting east and eventually back around to where the family was buried. He’s either dead or nearby hiding. Tomorrow is the full moon, we’ll organize small search parties to scour the countryside methodically this time. The local authorities have proven useless.
A few men went missing last night during the search. Screams were heard from the southeastern portion of the farmer’s property. We found the only survivor or the search party uninjured but covered in blood, he claimed his cohorts were dead and there was no point in searching for them. He said they’d been…eaten. Later he even used the word “hunted.” I’d wished that was the shocking part he went on. He didn’t seem shaken like I’d seen some soldiers after battle, especially ambush, he was calm. Originally I attributed it to the fortitude of Imperial conditioning. Until (Removed)
Soon I handed the investigation over. I never want to see anything like that again.
