Time to update this then. It seems that the secrets started before we even entered the hunting ground some were mine and were kept for good reason and others I have only recently discovered. So, to start witht he ones that were mine!

I was born Sophie Ellis to a wealthy family in Chantilly, near Washington. The third child and only daughter of Benjamin and Clara Ellis I was cosseted and allowed to follow my every interest. Always curious I would often go out in disguise so that I wouldn’t be recognised. When she I 14 a fair came to town along with a photographer, I instantly became fascinated. I disguised myself and ran away with the fair, apprenticing myself to the photographer until my father tracked me down and brought me home. After this my parents became stricter about my wanderings. When I was 16 and bored at a family event I saw Samuel Jackson, the son of another local wealthy family leave with another two men I didn’t know, curious I followed them, more from the boredom than any real thought that I would see anything interesting however what I saw and what happened after would change my life. I followed them out of the town to a small clearing where they met with two other men who were already there, I then watched as a sixth man was brought into the clearing, gagged and bound. I recognised the man as Alistair Sutton, the son of a politician from Washington with known copperhead sympathies who was a sometime visitor to my father. There followed a conversation in a language I didn’t recognise before Samuel stabbed the man in the heart. As I watched in horror a slight scream escaped my lips and the men turned, I ran but they chased, the last thing I remember was something hitting me on the head. When I came to I was lying beside Alistair’s body, a knife in my hand and covered in blood, as I came round I could hear the sounds of people in the area and realised the conclusion that anyone coming across me would come to, so I got up to hide. As I got up members of what was obviously a search party saw me and I ran. When I reached a town a distance away I sent a message to my father using his name for me when I was a child, Fifi, to say that I was innocent, he replied to assure me that he did not doubt me but that I was wanted and needed to get as far away as possible, he sent enough money for me to buy my photography equipment and necessary clothes to be able to disguise myself and the assurance that he would so all he could to clear my name. I became Owain and headed to New York to begin my new life.

So that’s the truth about who I am. I have since discovered more about my family and begun to discover some of my family’s; or more accurately; my mother’s secrets.

Okay, for those of you who can’t be arsed delving into my Bio page, here’s what Colt/Walks (Walker for short?) learned during his trip to the Grand Canyon:

It has been revealed, via the mysterious (and presumably ancient) shaman Jordrava, that Colt’s tribe was the Saponi. It is still unclear as to whether there were any other survivors of the massacre.

Colt’s father was killed by a Sioux brave called Pale Dog. Pale Dog is dead but his spirit revealed that Colt’s father was merged with a spirit called the Eternal Hunter. Colt’s father was responsible for acts so terrible that Pale Dog refused to recount them or even give the man’s name. It is unknown whether the acts committed were due to the man or the spirit.

The Eternal Hunter is waiting out in the West for someone to bond with. Colt was offered the chance to merge with the spirit, and considered it, but then realised that if it was responsible for the horrors committed by his father then he would probably succumb to the same evil. Colt has resolved to one day banish the spirit back to the Hunting Grounds.

Finally, Colt was advised to use a new name due to the powerful medicine contained in names. If Colt shares a name with someone else then it would be wise to adopt a new name. Jordrava dubbed Colt – Walks-In-Two-Worlds.

I’m gettin’ there with my letters, so I’ll be starting to read my bible soon. As to the augmentations, yout guess is probably better than mine, maybe one of the more book-smart could look into it.

A quick note to record that the following telegrams were sent recently:

Colt to Senator Keeley – asking for a photo or drawing of US Marshal Colt McCoy along with his service record. Obviously this information is to be posted to Gomorrah.

Ben Cooke to New York paper – asking for the historical details of a certain journalist called Benjamin Cooke who joined the Confederate army during the war…

The thing with the ageing, I haven’t aged, or got younger, don’t think that Jeb has either. Maybe if Adam cracks the code in my book we may get a bit more?!

Well I managed to crack my puzzle box and there was taoist scriptures inside. The weird thing is it’s all in my handwriting. I think this is key to what’s been going on.

Firstly, I can vaugely recall these notes, so they must have been written in my past. As I don’t remember when, I must be suffering from some sort of amnesia. Maybe something to do with the hell portal and the same thing seems to have befalled everyone in the group.

Secondly, with me being the obvious exception, everyone is either older or showing some sign of development from how we were when we entered the portal. This would imply that some time has passed for our physical bodies, even if we can’t recall that time. My personal situation doesn’t necessarily stop this from being the case – maybe something has happened to me in the past (this missing 16 years) to cause me to get younger. If the walking dead exists maybe the fountain of youth is out there somewhere!

Finally, from the time we stepped through the portal to when we appeared in the cave, our equipment changed, with a few new items added. We didn’t pick them up in the cave, they were already in our possession. If we really had travelled forward 16 years in the future why don’t we remember picking the items up or changing clothes?

So, what’s going on? Maybe it’s all hell magic and that’s that. But I’m thinking maybe we came through the hell door and it was 1863 and we’ve had a bunch of adventures around the West since. Now, in 1879, for whatever reason we ended up in hell once again and we headed for the one place we knew we could escape, the cave. But when we came through, something happened, and we’ve lost the last 16 years. That’s why we’ve got all this new equipment – it’s stuff we’ve picked up over time and had with us when we came through.

Now, the legless skeleton, who may or may not be another Colt McCoy. That one’s still causing me to scratch my head a bit. If my first theory proves correct, maybe you became a marshal during the missing 16 years. Don’t know why the badge was on the duster instead of you though. Maybe it is coincidence and there was another Colt McCoy out there and he tracked you down in the past. Colt McCoy isn’t your birth name after all so it’s possible. Maybe, after this Gomorrah thing plays out we should try heading to Chicago to look into that Colt?

My books all on code, no clue what it’s about! Adam’s looking at it for me, I figured that after days of looking at it I has to trust someone, couldn’t cope with waiting until I could work it out, just hope we can trust him! Not just with the book either but with this whole Gomorrah thing, I mean we have no idea what’s happened in the world and we coul just be walking into a someone else’s drama! Can’t say that I’m not into the whole detective thing though!!

The trip didn’t seem to change me as much as some of you, obviously my clothes changed and my hair grew but other than that I’m pretty much the same. Feels odd to be backs s a woman after so long, guess that’s why I cut my hair off, might be nice to be myself again though! That book I brought through is pretty strange, never seen a metal book before, really curious to see what’s inside but haven’t really had time. I’m just glad we all came through together, after all we’ve been through I know we can trust each other to watch out for us all!!

I dunno where the bible came from, but apart from my guns changin’ it’s the only new thing that came through with me, newfound neatness aside.

If the name in the bible is who I think it is, then I may have the hankerin to learn my letters, as the only Bear I know taught me everything ’cept them.

Being in Purgatory may explain why Jeb ended up with a bible, so he could learn about the Lord. Pity he can’t read yet. Still, I don’t think we are in the afterlife ‘cos I didn’t see the Spirit Horse, he’s supposed to come get ya when ya die.

Maybe we all have… what’s it called… the one where you forget what you’ve done or who you are? That one.

Ben, didn’t you end up with some kinda box too? I know my guns changed but I didn’t pick up any weird items.

Changes:

Okay, so we’ve all come outta whatever that forsaken hole in the ground was with a few differences to what we was before.

I look a bit older, don’t feel old though. Maybe it was the stress of Gettysburg that got to me?

Also I’ve seen strange thangs in the mirror and a couple of gentlemen thought I was a US marshal, despite me not wearing a badge. I ain’t weared a badge since Osceola burned to the ground.

The rest o’ you have changed too. Thought it might be a good idea to have a talk about it and note alla this down. Maybe some day it’ll make sense.