// e x e u n t
Silas is infinitely old. How old, exactly, that is, remains a mystery to most everyone. The exact date hardly matters, however, for the date is as mysterious as what exactly Silas' past contains. All that is known, is that there was a time when he was not old or wise. In that time, he was a monster, something feral and terrifying- but it is not a subject he is willing to share, and as such is not one we will linger upon.
What is important, is that he aged and he learned and he left his native land to venture out into the world, and in doing this he faced a change of heart. Instead of the vicious beast he was before, he held a desire to guard and to protect, to atone for what he had done, and with this desire he became a part of something called the Honour Guard. The Honour Guard protects the borderlands. They protect the borders of things, though which exact border, Silas does not reveal. But it is safe to guess that Silas and the Honour Guard work to keep the bad things from gaining too much power and hurting the world. The exact number of individuals in the Guard is unknown, but within Silas' group there were four- Silas, Miss Lupescu, Kandar and Haroun. Of all of them, it was with Miss Lupescu that Silas grew the closest with even though she seemed, outwardly, to be somewhat of a callous woman.
In joining the Honour Guard, Silas learned of a group of people called the Jacks of All Trades, each one of them named Jack, and each one of them a monster in their own right. They were an organization that went a long, long way back- and an organization that the Honour Guard had trouble pinpointing. They only knew of them by their actions, but so slippery were the Jacks that the Guard had difficulty discovering exactly who was behind it all. Following whispers and rumours and the unfortunate death of humans, the Guard did their best to keep the Jacks at bay. In the grand scheme of things, Silas and the Honour Guard knew very little, but what they did know of was the Prophecy.
The Prophecy, which they learned almost on accident, was about a child. Before time was truly time, a Jack prophesized that a child would be born who would walk the line between the living and the dead, and would the child grow to adulthood- the Jacks of All Trades would cease to be. Who, exactly, this child was, the Honour Guard did not know exactly. They knew a general area, but this was as far as their intel took them. Fortune must have smiled upon them that night, though, because instead of having to find the boy- the boy found them. Or more particularly, he found Silas. Just a tot, barely over a year old, the Dorian boy crawled into the Graveyard in which Silas had taken up residence. Hot on his trail, was the murderer of his entire family- the man called Jack. Silas knew what he was as soon as he saw him, and in a bout of quick thinking and a touch of the magic of his kind, Silas lead the man out of the graveyard, convinced him it was a fox that he saw beyond the iron gates, and that the child he was seeking must have petered off in a different direction. Of course, the man Jack believed him, and he left. Silas could have killed the man Jack, but it would have been unwise at the time. This man Jack was one of the best, he had no doubt, and killing him at the time would have brought the rest of the group down around their heads. If they wanted the boy to survive, it would be best to keep him as invisible as possible by any means necessary.
Mistress Owens and her husband, Mister Owens, had been the ones to whom the boy crawled to- and it was of Mistress Owens that the disappearing spirit of the boy's mother begged for her child to be protected. It was unheard of, for a living creature to remain amoungst those passed on. The ghosts held a council to discuss his fate. None could reach a decision, and eventually Mistress Owens became too irritated to remain in the discussion. They knew her stand on the matter, and she left. Silas followed, as he, too, had no trouble with the boy staying, and knew his presence would be all but superfluous should he stay. So he sat with Mistress Owens until the Lady on the Grey rode in to end the discussion. Silas and Mistress Owens were not present for the decision making, but when the ghosts dispersed, the conclusion was to keep the boy. And since he would stay, he was given the Freedom of the Graveyard.
Silas volunteered his chapel for the boy to stay in (since he was living, he couldn't very well live in the daffodil patch next to the Owenses' grave, whom were to become his adoptive parents), and to become his personal Guardian. After all, Silas was the only one of them who could corporeally leave the cemetary to bring food and clothing to the youth. Silas took his duty as seriously as he took anything else. He knew protecting the boy was detrimental to the future of the world and to their cause, and perhaps it was this reason that he started protecting whom Mistress Owens had dubbed Nobody Owens. He gathered as much information as he could, visiting the house before the policemen ever arrived to survey the damage that had been done, and he was very professional about it. However, as time went on, Silas became so much more than just Nobody's guardian. He was his mentor, his guide and his teacher, a constant being who seemed to have an answer for everything. Silas helped him learn letters, walking with him around the graveyard to show him letters and how to read, giving him games in which to educate himself with. He made sure Nobody knew why he was living in the graveyard, and that it was only here that he was truly safe- for it was the only place they could protect him. Silas had promised he would always be there, and he always was.
Until one day he was leaving. He had to take a trip to San Francisco, but in this decision, he called upon someone he long trusted to watch over Nobody Owens whilst he was away. Nobody was upset, of course he was, but like all small children with an attachment to an adult, it was to be expected. Silas explained that Miss Lupescu was to be looking over him, and he was sure the two of them would get along, despite Bod's reluctance in the matter. Then he was gone to San Francisco. Silas had gone to gather information, and while which information this was remained unspoken of, the Honour Guard definitely became a thorn in the Jacks' side (as they relay their annoyance later in the book) and Silas returned relatively unscathed. He presented Bod with a small figurine of the Golden Gate Bridge, and while he didn't know exactly what had happened while he was gone- Silas had heard rumours. Rumours of Nobody Owens and Miss Lupescu venturing further afield than he would have been able to follow. But as he had guessed, Miss Lupescu and Bod had become good friends, and the topic was never really visited again.
Bod remained a curious little boy, and curious as he was, there were only so many things Silas could protect him from. Nobody explored as he wished, as far as the graves that existed beyond the edge of the cemetary walls, and for the most part, Silas allowed him his freedom. Trouble liked to sneak up on them, and it was trouble that found Bod as it usually did. When one night Silas woke, and could not find a trace of his charge in the graveyard, and no ghost had seen him since the previous night- it was then that he became truly worried. He combed the area for Nobody, ignoring the rain that was growing angrily in the sky- and finally found him, down a side street, running through the rain. It was safe to say that Silas was as disappointed as he was concerned for the boy, but as he carried Bod back home, learning of his adventures and of the friend he had made, it wasn't until they were safely in the graveyard that he learned just how dangerous his venture had been. Bod's kidnappers had within their possession a card that would contact the man Jack. It had been a close call, but Silas reiterated that Nobody could not venture into the living world, and the boy was safe again.
In the middle of winter, the feeling in the air changed. It happened only once in a very long time, but it did happen, and it is in that time that Silas becomes more of a shadow than he already was. The night before the Danse Macabre, Nobody asked Silas what it was. Silas knew what the dance was, and he told Nobody- but in brief terms. The following night, every ghost had cleaned up and prepared for the occassion, and they headed in a procession down into the city, and they danced. The living and the dead came together in an event that humans don't remember, and ghosts do not speak of. Silas, however, was neither living nor dead- so he could only watch. And it was times like this that Silas beccame saddened and lonely, because he cannot, and would never, be a part of it. When Nobody called to him, he stepped into the shadows, and Nobody did not see him again until the following day. When Nobody questioned him why no ghost will speak of the experience, Silas told him that some things are better left unsaid, and refused to continue the conversation.
Nobody Owens continued to grow, and Silas continued to protect him and shield him from the world to the best of his ability. He made sure Bod was learning what he could from the gravespeople, but eventually- Nobody became even more curious, and clever, and he told Silas that he wanted to go to living school. Silas did not like this idea for more than one reason. It was outside the graveyard, so the ghosts could not protect him, and it was during the daytime- a time when Silas could not venture out to rescue Nobody should something go awry. But Bod was determined, and as he was a boy and was living, Silas eventually agreed. Of course, things only went from bad to worse. Silas told him to keep his head down, to go through school nigh invisible- but Nobody, noble as his heart was, got involved with some bullies at school. Silas was furious, afraid for the boy's safety, and he tried to tell the boy he could not go back to school- that he had to do as he was told. They had a heated argument, but when Nobody asked if Silas would kill him to keep him there- the man was put in his place, and he let Nobody go.
Bod continued to get involved, and when Liza Hempstock- a ghost friend of Bod from the graves just outside the barrier of the graveyard- told Silas Nobody was in trouble, Silas literally flew to his rescue. When he found the boy, he was in the back seat of a police car, and knowing that Bod was more clever than your usual fourteen year old- he stepped in front of the vehicle, letting it hit him, and lay sprawled on the pavement. As he suspected, Bod recognized him and played along, and when the policemen looked away, he gathered Bod up in his arms and flew him back to the graveyard. They agreed they had to lay low, so that the killers looking for Bod could not come find him (they had left many tracks whilst he was in school), and agreed that he could leave the graveyard to satisfy his curiousity, but in a way that would be far less obvious, and with the help of Miss Lupescu during the day time.
A year later, Silas became preocuppied, leaving for weeks at a time. The Jacks were in motion, and something big was happening, and because of this Silas was doing all he could with the Honour Guard to keep Nobody safe. Eventually, without telling anyone in the graveyard where he was going, Silas disappeared, and Miss Lupescu- who normally stayed in the graveyard in his absence- went with him. They were in Poland, in Krakow County, and while Bod was entering a battle of his own- they were fighting a war. Silas, Miss Lupescu, Kandar and Haroun were deep beneath the caves known as Dragon's Den, battling and dispatching the members of the Jacks of All Trades. When the fighting was over, Silas returned to the graveyard as swiftly as his magic and injury would carry him. He arrived at the end of a battle Bod had been waging against the last five of the Jacks of All Trades. He heard just enough to know what was happening, and he stopped a young girl who had been present for all of it before she ran away. To keep them all safe, he went against Bod's wishes, took the girl to her home and erased her memory of the graveyard and of Bod, and when he returned he spoke with Nobody Owens. It had been a time of great change. Miss Lupescu had passed away in the battles, fighting for Bod. But the Jacks were dispatched, and Nobody was finally safe.
Fifteen years of age, Nobody's world began to change. He could no longer see ghosts, he could no longer see in the pitch dark. Silas knew it would happen, and he watched it quietly, preparing for the day when Bod would finally be leaving the graveyard. The world was safe for him, as safe as the living world could be, and it was time he went out and experienced life the way only the living could. Silas was more affected by this then he expected to be, but it was not something he could change, and he accepted this fact. He sent Nobody off with a passport he had procured and a suitcase with all of his belongings, and he watched him leave his chapel for the final time. Silas, himself, intended to leave aswell. His work here was done, and there were other places he needed to be.