Sumter/Introduction

Joshua Dean Sumter "I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but it's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it. And then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I'm talking about I'm sure, but don't worry. You will someday."

---

xxxxxJoshua Dean Sumter was born 45 years ago, in the sleepy little town of Seville, deep in the heart of Texas. His childhood was an uneventful one. He grew up, he went to school. He wasn't the brightest of lights, but he did well in athletics. He lifted weights, he played football, and while he enjoyed doing those things, it was when he was sprinting on the track, going as fast as he could possibly push himself... that was when he felt really alive.
xxxxxJosh had an uncle, a man named Don, who was part of an OMC in nearby Houston. Mom and dad never talked about him much--he was the 'bad boy' of the Sumter family. Josh never saw him outside of visits for Christmas and his birthday. But even as a boy, he was fascinated by Uncle Don's Harley. Sometimes, when he thought his parents wouldn't find out, Josh would beg Uncle Don to take him for rides. The sensation was like nothing he could ever have at home, and he craved it. When he turned sixteen, his parents gave him money to pick out his very own car. He horrified them both by leaving the car dealership and going to the lot selling old Harleys across the street. The fight they had that night led to Josh leaving home and moving in with his Uncle Don. He would never see his parents again.
xxxxxWhen he was eighteen, Josh became a legal adult. But his grades, while enough to earn him a high school diploma, weren't nearly high enough to win him any scholarships. Though Uncle Don had taught him how to work on his Harley's engine, he didn't feel that the life of a mechanic was for him. Nor did he truly feel that his uncle's OMC was the place for him either. He was an adult now. He was free, or so he thought. He wanted to go out and see the world. He wanted to do more than he had before. After careful consideration, he decided to enlist in the United States Army. He finished his basic training just in time to be shipped to Iraq for the First Gulf War.
xxxxxArmy life would change Joshua forever. He got used to being called by his last name, Sumter. With his knowledge of mechanics, he was able to find a posting servicing military vehicles in Iraq. But as the months drew on, he found himself realizing that this wasn't the life he wanted either. The regimen was all well and good, and the Army kept him in peak physical condition. But everything else--the rules, the regulations, the protocols--they felt like a straitjacket, or a noose around his neck. When his four years was up, he mustered out and returned to the States.
xxxxxRootless and unemployed, Sumter began wandering the highways on the back of his Harley. He took day jobs at the various cities he passed to earn money. When he could afford it, he'd rent a cheap motel room for a few days to rest and relax. It was better than the life he had had before, but there was still something he was lacking. It wasn't anything he could ever put his finger on. He just knew, deep in his heart, that something was missing. He had to keep riding. He would find that missing piece of himself high in the Colorado Rockies, and it would change him forever.
xxxxxIt was a clear, cool night in July. He'd just left Leadville, riding down Highway 24. The sky above was breathtaking. There was nearly zero light pollution where he was, and he'd never seen such incredible stars. The more he saw, the more he wanted. The more he needed. As his gaze beheld the North Star, something in him shifted. His mind exploded with awareness. His Avatar burst into radiant wakefulness. The sudden rush of enlightenment flooded his body with rapturous ecstasy the likes of which he had never known. So intense was the experience, he completely missed the bend in the road. He slammed into the guard rail and went flying down the hill, breaking several bones. But luck was smiling on Sumter that night, for he landed only a couple hundred feet from a small commune of hippies living off the land. One of them, Janice, was an old soul, a Seer of Chronos, and she recognized the newly Awakened Avatar brimming in Sumter's heart.
xxxxxThe commune took Sumter in and nursed him back to health. As he convalesced, Janice taught him about the Seers of Chronos, or Cult of Ecstasy as some called them. She told him of the Cult's long history, and of its mission to shatter the barriers of perception, to behold the Truth of the universe. Sumter devoured those lessons with rapt fascination. At long last, he'd found what he'd been looking for. Over the course of long months, he became Janice's apprentice, then her lover, and she taught him all about the miracles he could now bring forth. When winter had passed and spring returned, he was recovered from his injuries and ready to strike out on his own. He has never forgotten Janice and the lessons she taught him, and corresponds with her regularly to this day.
xxxxxToday, Sumter is an accomplished Seer of Chronos himself. He's still riding all around the country. His journey is neverending. He may stop and lay over for a time in some place or another. He'll need work to earn some cash, or he'll find someone in need of his help. Now and again, he'll find someone who was just like him, someone searching for the Truth. He'll stay with them for a time, sharing what he knows and helping them find their own moments of Ecstasy. So far, it's been a good life. It's the life he's always yearned for.
xxxxxAnd now, Sumter's travels have brought him to Prospect. Something about the City of Hope has drawn his attention. He's ready to settle down for a few months, maybe a year, and see what this place can offer. If it turns out to be nothing, then he'll continue his journey. If not... he's ready to explore that too. The world flows on. Time never stops. The road to Ascension is long and dangerous. But that doesn't mean it has to be boring.