Lonely Soul

I

Bright light filled my vision as well as my thoughts. What's happening...? For what felt like hours all I saw was light. As I sat there, engrossed in this light, I thought to myself, Where am I? What is this light? What's going on? Who am I? I knew nothing. Neither my whereabouts nor my name. All I knew was a language, a method of thought, and my own physical, healthy, male body, which I dared not move. I felt strong, but I was afraid. I was aware of a lack of sound, scent, and feeling. I understood the senses of my body, but I still did not know who I was. After so long, I noticed the light start to dim a little. I grew excited; finally I could see where I was. A few more moments and the light went completely black. My body suddenly shook, and my eyes opened.

I sat atop a bright, green hill. The scent of grass was strong, carried to my nose by a cool breeze. I turned my head to see I had been leaning against an old tree. It appeared to be an willow tree, shriveling into its final years.

Then I became aware of my clothes. They felt like hard leather, meant to protect from danger. Steel plating seemed to protect my shoulders, elbows, knees, and feet. My hair blew in the cool breeze, partially obscuring my bright vision. I truly felt alive.

That was when I looked to the distance. My hill seemed to slope down towards a large forest on all sides. From my perch on the hill I could barely see over the trees of the forest, which were dark. Over the treetops mountains could be seen in the distance. Just above, the sun shone brightly, casting even shadows across my hill.

That was when I had the misfortune of investigating the slopes of my hill with my eyes. Small stone structures, with a large one here and there, dotted the hillside, surrounding me, wrapping around the entire hill. If I had to estimate, there were thousands of these stones littering my hill. They could only be one thing: graves.

I started to panic. Who am I? Where am I? What's my name? Why am I surrounded by graves? Why are there so many graves? Where should I go? I can't stay here among these graves.

I had an eerie feeling, and the hairs on my neck began to rise. Having enough of it, I stood up, my clothing (which I now deemed armor) chinking with my movements. A small dagger strapped to my waist jostled when I stood up. I felt tall, and I felt powerful. Looking directly in front of me I saw a dirt path winding down the hill in a more-or-less straight fashion. It seemed that there was a path cut right through the gravestones to provide access to the top of the hill. I slowly descended the path, growing farther from the willow tree.

I felt very uncomfortable as I descended through the graveyard. The sheer number of graves was truly horrifying. What happened to all these people?

When I had come about halfway down the hill, I stopped. I saw something unusual to my left. I stepped into a row of graves, careful not to touch any, and made my way to what I saw. It was a large mausoleum, with a statue of a tall man with a flowing robe on each side. I carefully ascended the short steps of the mausoleum and stopped at its large, dark-hued marble door. I perceived no handle nor any other means of opening it. But that did not interest me at the time. What caught my attention was a bundle of something leaning against the door.

I knelt down and opened the bundle that had been wrapped in brown cloth. Out came a gloriously shining sword, in its sheath, and a shield. I first inspected the sword. It was in a dark brown sheath emblazoned with jewels at the bottom point. The hilt of the sword was encrusted in bright stones that seemed to shine; these stones were unknown to me. The sword was quite large, and the sheath had a strap that suggested it was meant to hang on one's back. I pulled the blade slightly out of its sheath to examine it. After investigating the bright, polished steel of the blade, I put it back in its sheath, quickly looked around, saw no other presence of life, and slung the sword onto my back, the hilt protruding near my right shoulder for ease of access. Picking up the shield, I perused its shape. It had a broad top end, curving down to a pointed bottom. On its front was a fantastically ornate willow tree, not too different-looking from the tree on top of my hill. The protective side was made of a polished steel similar to the sword, with a small handle on the inside to hold it at the ready. The shield had a shoulder strap attached as well, so I swiftly swung the strap around my other shoulder. The weight of the sword and shield on my back felt natural, and the straps seemed to fit my body perfectly. Similarly, as I hadn't noticed until now, as my armor. Where did my armor come from, and why am I wearing it? Who left this sword and this shield here? Why do they appear to be freshly polished? Why are they adjusted to fit me perfectly? Why do they feel so right on my body?

I proceeded back to the main path and continued down the hill. Trying to be more observant, I looked out over the graves as I descended. I couldn't find any as grand as the mausoleum I had taken the sword and shield from.

As I neared the bottom the forest came clearly into view. At the foot of the hill was a tall stone wall. The path I was on led to the only way out I could see: a large iron gate that looked as if it had been rusting for years.

I lifted my right arm to place a hand on the closed gate, where both halves of the gate met. There was a small insignia in the center; the same insignia as the one on my new shield: a willow tree. The moment my palm met the metal, the gate seemed to open of its own accord.

"Leaving so soon?"

I jumped, completely startled, looking around for the source of the noise. Leaning against the stone wall, right beside the gate, was a figure shrouded in a dark gray cloak. A hood obscured his face from my vision.

I tried to speak to him, using the muscles I thought I must, but I could not produce a voice.

"Leaving before you can even speak? Such a mute voyage is not suggestible, my friend." The figure threw back its hood, revealing the disheveled face of a man who had seen hard years. "Don't worry, you'll remember how to speak soon enough." He strode forward to place an arm on my shoulder. I backed off instinctively. "Glad to see your cautious. If anything, caution will keep you alive in this godforsaken place." He looked to the sky, as if he was searching for something. "Do you remember yet?"

I stared. "Remember what?" My voice startled me. It was a pleasantly deep voice.

"Aha, you've remembered how to speak so soon! Splendid!" The man's face broke into a grin that was borderline sinister. "Now tell me, what's your name?"

"My name...?" I didn't know. Why don't I know my name?

"Well, whose grave did you wake up in front of?" He replied, as if stating something obvious.

Waking up in front of a grave? "I didn't."

The man replied curtly, "Didn't what?"

"Wake up in front of a grave."

The man was dumbfounded, and started to raise his voice. "Well where did you..." his question trailed off. I followed his gaze over my shoulder to the hilt of my blade. "That sword..."

I protectively placed a hand on it, uncomfortable with the look in the man's eyes.

His look changed suddenly to a welcoming face. "Well, anyway, I'm Thamis of Igramor. I have taken it upon myself to guide those who have newly awakened. Shall I lead you off this lonely hill?" He gestured out the gate, into the gloomy forest before us.

There's really no choice, is there? "Alright. Bring me to somebody who can explain what's going on."

The man bowed. "Your wish is my command." With that he strode through the open gates.

I felt rooted to the spot for a moment, but hesitantly shuffled my feet to follow the strange, cloaked man named Thamis of Igramor.

Let me know what you think! Chapter 2 is coming soon!