Jude returns to his apartment building after a hard day of work and some causal searching for his lost brother. As he approaches he sees a moving van unloading old furniture and antiques. He chats with his friendly new neighbor, the elderly Mr. Ellsworth. Upon checking his mail, he find a handwritten note. The letter is written in his brother Jame's handwriting.
Jude,
I need your help. Could you meet me downtown today around 5PM? I'll be in SoLo by Sinclair's off Clark St. Please come.
James
Jude gets to the location and after wandering around a bit, sees James leaning against a dumpster. As he walks over to him a van pulls up and two men in masks grab his brother and throw him in. The van drives away. Jude chases the vehicle, blowing out one of its tires. As it pulls away he begins tracking the scratches in the pavement and cast off ribbons of rubber.
The path leads him south into the old Stockyards area. Eventually he finds himself in a neighborhood he has never seen, filled with burned out hulks. Ash and lumps of charcoal cover the streets. Worse he can hear things moving in the ruins, skittering things that move on long chitinous limbs. The few people on the street (mostly Hispanics) pay no attention to them and act as if Jude is insane.
Further on he hears the sounds of a wounded calf. Following the sound he finds a scene of slaughter, dozens of animals butchers and dying. Their ravaged forms look up at him and begin to advance. They moo, cluck and cry at him cradling butcher knives and saws in their skinned limbs. As he backs away, the floor crumbles and he slides into the banks of a rotten river. Loose hair coats the edges and the surface is covered in a thick layer of blood and lard. A rancid odor fills the air. Dismal things squirm in the water or slither along the banks.
Then Jude feels a presence. Rising from the slime but untouched by it is a woman in gray. Half of her face is decayed, showing bone in places, while the other half is untouched with skin like fresh snow. She approaches the bank and reaches out to Jude with a skeletal hand. “Warrior, you must help undo the nightmares your kind have visited on this land."
She continues as he looks on astonished “The dead hungers for this city's blood. If She consumes me, young herder, this settlement will become dead like them.”
“Remember this when you mark the Stone Book.” She then waves her hand and a huge horse full and healthy rises from river. She gestures to Jude to ride it. After a moment he gets on and it carries him to the top of a hill overlooking a swamp on the edges of a mighty river. The hilltop is marked by a mosaic of seashells, depicting a man with wings. He is holding a stone above his head and on this stone is a carving resembling a book. The book is marked in crude paints and blood, depicting animals, hand prints, even crude writing. Jude feels the need to make his mark. Pulling his gun he shots the surface, creating a crack somehow spelling his name.
As he comes to on a street corner, surrounded by worried and panicking people, the van returns and the people inside urge him inside. He learns that he was forcefully Awakened by the Adamantine Arrow. After some hostile behavior on the part of Kensai, Jude, now using the shadow name Colt begins training with the Arrow but begins to look elsewhere for for his future compatriots.
Eventually by talking to Andate and Frost, he learns about the other orders and is introduced to Tommyknocker, a member of the Silver Ladder. Tommyknocker broadly outlines his groups goals but leaves it to him to choose. Intrigued in their philosophy and goals, he eventually decides to join them.