MAJOR DEEJ UNIVERSE

Although this story relates to one particular Night Marcher that was selected by the Hawaiian goddess of fire, Pele, herself, to the Pacific League, the history of the actual Night Marchers of Hawaii is shrouded in cryptic Hawaiian mythology and lore...that strangely enough, is a TRUE story.

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To begin, the lore of the Night Marchers needs to be explained.  For hundreds of years, mysterious phantom marchers have been randomly seen marching throughout the Hawaiian Isles with torches in a single file along ancient traditional routes and paths usually on nights of waning moons or a new moon.  These ‘night marchers’ are mystical spirits notorious for killing people in their path not recognized as related to ancestral chiefs, warriors or craftsmen.  Their procession is always preceded by the sound of conch shell calls or the beating of drums. Lore and story dictate that those that run away, lie prone (or faking be dead on the ground) or avert their eyes from the Night Marchers will live.  Those who don’t follow these guidelines usually are found dead on the site or die within a day or two after they encountered the Night Marchers.   Reports have been told of conversations that these spirits would have when a normal person would come across the Night Marchers’ path.  A spirit would shout “Pepehi” (Kill), but others, presumably dead relatives in the procession would call “Kali, Kali” (Wait, wait) or “Alia!” (Stop) or “A’ohe!” (No!) if the living person(s) was(were) recognized being a relative of one or more of the ghostly night marchers. Those unfortunate people not recognized might hear “Oia” (Go Ahead) before they’d either be killed on site or within a day or two of their encounter.  Autopsies conducted on those killed have yet to be explained or deduced how they actually died. Interestingly enough, these Night Marchers actually exist in our real world and universe today.

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Forward to a few years ago in the Major Deej Universe (MDU) (not real life...) when the evil Hawaiian God of Death, Milu, and his group of fellow angry gods and minions called the "Kaha Koa" had invaded the Hawaiian Islands.  Within days, the warlords and theirs tens of thousands of troops took over all of the islands.  The US military and numerous brave local citizens resisted, but were overpowered in their efforts.  Pele, the goddess of fire in the Hawaiian pantheon of gods, empowered several ‘champions’ with incredible powers to use as a team against the invading Kaha Koa.  Each was told in a dream to meet on the island of Oahu in the center of the extinct volcano in the Diamond Head crater near Honolulu.  There, the champions met for the first time. 

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As these champions began devising a plan to ally with the local Hawaiian resistance fighters and the remnants of US military personnel, the sound of a conch shell call and the beating of drums permeated the crater, as well as a foul stench of death.  Appearing through the solid rock of the volcano’s walls, a sole Night Marcher spirit walked up to the new champions carrying a torch.  It quickly recognized the leader of the champions, Kalipa’a Kamehameha, who was a descendant of one of the greatest Hawaiian monarchs, King Kamehameha.  Knowing the scary stories and lore of Night Marchers, all of the other champions dropped their gaze and/or laid prone on the ground (one of the champions, Surf, took off all of his clothes and began running around in circles (like he was being chased), all the while collecting herbs from the ground (this was a technique his grandmother had said he should do if he ever encountered a night marcher).  The Night Marcher cryptically spoke in ancient Hawaiian to “Princess Kamehameha” (that’s how it addressed her) and mentioned that Pele, as well as Milu, both ordered the Night Marchers to destroy each other's forces. It was conflicted and, since the last Hawaiian royal they'd sought out to resolve conflict was King Kamehameha I, it was only logical to request guidance from the last of the Kamehameha line.

 

The princess immediately stated to the Night Marcher that all present were ‘champions’ of Pele and that if it wished them dead, it would kill them now or break ties from Milu and instead follow her orders as per Pele's request.

 

The Night Marcher stood silent for a few nervous minutes and exclaimed in ancient Hawaiian “The Night Marchers shall side with you and Pele, Princess.  To break Milu's bond to the Night Marchers, it is required of you to demand fealty of the Night Marchers from this day hence, Princess".

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With a short, impromptu ceremony, the Night Marchers were ordered fealty to Pele and the Princess, to which the representing Night Marcher agreed to. The black, ghostly flames of his torch now burned a ghostly, normal-colored fire. The Night Marchers were now an army for the champions of Pele.

 

In further discussions, the Princess allowed the Night Marchers to appear during daylight, upon request, and that no Hawaiian, and non-Hawaiian souls would be killed, unless so ordered by the Princess (who mentioned all that supported and fought for Kaha Koa were allowed to be killed when engaged). The Princess also gave an ancient title to her new sole Night Marcher representative: “ilāmuku” (Kamehameha’s personal club-carrying executioner). The ilāmuku then swore that it deemed itself the 'spiritual' protector for the Princess and the Kamehameha line until it was ordered to do otherwise.  With that said, it marched through and across the Diamond Head crater, disappearing into the crater wall. Surf eventually fell unconscious of exhaustion and fright, but awoke fine and was back on his feet ready to join the new champions...and with a new respect for his mother's old traditions.

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Within a week, these new champions, now called the “Pacific League”, started their counteroffensive attacks against Milu and the Kaha Koa and their troops.  The Night Marcher fought like warriors possessed, killing the enemy with its death gaze and/or striking them dead with their mystical war clubs and axes.  Most of the battles included hundreds of called-upon Night Marchers, led by the princess and the ilāmuku.   Together, the Night Marchers nearly wiped out half of the Kaha Koa troops themselves.

 

Within a week’s time, the Pacific League, its allies and the Night Marchers liberated all but one of the Hawaiian Islands.  The remaining captive island, Ni’ihau (known as the “Forbidden Island”) had powerful Kaha Koa defenses, including against the Night Marchers. The Kaha Koa had blessed tea leaf-wrapped rocks strategically positioned all around Ni’ihau, warding off the Night Marchers from even getting ashore on Ni’ihau. This was the Night Marchers’ kryptonite; they could not go onto lands blessed against them with ancient Hawaiian offerings made by their own people.  Regardless, a cease fire came into effect, ending all hostilities, with Ni’ihau still under the militarized control of the Kaha Koa.

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After the liberation, the Night Marcher told the princess that she and her Pacific League warriors held the respect of all of the Night Marchers and that from that day forth, the ilāmuku would forever serve the princess and her fellow royal warriors (translation: the Pacific League) as a member of her royal warriors until she told it otherwise…or died.  The legion of Night Marchers, however, needed to continue their sole purpose of haunting and protecting the sacred lands of the islands of Hawaii their own way, however, should a future battle as great as that done for the liberation of Hawaii occur once again, then the legion of Night Marchers would, and only then, return to aid her and her fellow royal warriors…otherwise, they’ll show up when she, or the other royal warriors, die.

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To this day, the ilāmuku continues to battle beside the Pacific Legion when Princess Kamehameha calls for it.  Dubbed simply “The Night Marcher” by the Honolulu Gazette, it continues in its eerie and cryptic manner of protecting the Hawaiian Island and the Pacific Ocean.

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As a side note, although having a Night Marcher in combat as an unnatural weapon is a great thing; having a Night Marcher out in public, well that’s just dangerous.  A Night Marcher in public could kill people at a moment’s notice, before the Princess would have a chance to ever say “no!”  The workaround for this for the princess has been to personally tell the ilāmuku that for the next “x” minutes/hours/days/weeks, it is not allowed to kill any in its path or any that displease it; only the princess can tell it otherwise; that unto itself, is a blessing for most that meet the Night Marcher, however, it can also be a weakness an enemy may one day exploit.

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