The Legacy - Prologue. Prologue: James Thomas

The air in the room is thick and heavy, to the point it looks almost foggy. Entering, feeling a familiarity with his surroundings without knowing why, he felt his black shirt beginning to cling to his back, so he stroked the palms of his hands over his black jeans trying to take away the sticky feeling of sweat.

The room is lit by torches blazing on the walls, but no heat comes from them, no light, the same with the large log fire in the inglenook fireplace, it flickered and spat, but that was all. He knew he was dreaming then, and where he was. It was the cellar of his father’s house, where a century before, girls were prepared for shipping to various clients around the globe. He had researched his family history with a passion any other eighteen year old could not have summoned.

There had always been a James Thomas, it was tradition. But this time it was different because this James Thomas had an inner self, his body shared by the first known man of that title.

Sitting down in the large throne like chair by the fire, the arms scratched and worn the seat threadbare, and leaned back closed his eyes, and just waited for the visions to start filling his head.

The full story began in the summer of 1897, the setting, a rubber plantation in Malaysia, but that was only a cloak to hide the beginnings of a deeper darker activity; where girls were bought and sold.

Even this was different from the norm as these girls were white, and British, exported round the world to the wealthy men who could afford the high prices they demanded. This was prime stock, the best you could buy to satisfy any need required, not just servants or manual workers, but also the needs of the flesh; the lustful hunger the men had, to control and inflict anything they desired.