Prologue: Despair

A disk of milky white, shining against an inky darkness. It was a bewitching sight, the dark sky exceedingly magical on this particular night.

My eyes remained locked on the horizon, shifting not in the least.

Blades of grass parted before me as I made my way across the plain. Under the moonlight, this sea of green appeared a drab gray, dull and lifeless.

Like the sky, I disregarded the sight. Trifling matters like beauty, or lack of it, mattered not one bit under the weight of my goal.

A breeze drifted across the plains, scattering the tall grass like waves in the sea. With it, the night air became the slightest bit cooler.

I pulled my cloak tighter around my body and pushed forward, feet guided by an unseen path.

I had forgotten how long it had been since I first departed on this journey. The start was now nothing more than a distant haze.

I had travelled for far too long, a far too many times.

It could have been an eternity. It could have been an instant. But it didn't matter either way.

I was tired. Alone. Forgotten.

Everything thing I experienced was like the grass before me: gray and lifeless.

No matter my actions, no matter my efforts. No matter what my wishes were, that did not change.

But there was a chance. A chance for a difference. A chance to overturn it all. A recollection of a promise made, the flash of an important oath.

An oath to-

My thoughts skipped. I didn't remember. What was the oath? To who did I swear it?

A flash of memories. Flickering through my mind, I saw faces of dear friends. I saw the long stretches of land we crossed in our journey. I witnessed the sorrow accompanying our premature partings. I witnessed the bloodied fields of war. I witnessed the callous displays of violence.

I felt the pain of failure.

I staggered, my feet stumbling against the uneven ground. Grass crumpled before me, trampled by my action.

My vision dimmed as the powerful images began to erode reality.

I waited.

Gradually, the memories and images faded and the quiet night returned to me.

The world spun, and my vision was hazy.

I took a deep breath and regained myself. There it was.

I could see it now, off in the distance. A dim light that guided my way. The place I had to reach.

I walked towards it, taking slow, methodical steps.

As I walked, my thoughts turned to the memories I had seen.

Though I could not recall how often I experienced them, it seemed to me that it was a common occurence. Those memories flickered before me and erased reality, replacing my sight of what was real with what was not.

These memories that were mine, yet were not, clashed with what I knew to be true.

I remembered a life of war and violence, then of peace and love. I remembered the warmth of a family, and then the icy embrace of solitude. I remembered a bright childhood spent, and then I remembered none.

These conflicting facts, these bent truths could only leave me as I was: disoriented and confused.

Who am I? Who was I?

I didn't know. I didn't know my name. I didn't know my face.

I didn't know.

A chilly breeze cut across the plains.

I pulled my tattered cloak even closer around my body. It didn't help.

My vision was fading again. With every step, it dimmed.

With every breath, it darkened.

I continued walking.

One step. Another.

Dark.

I couldn't see, couldn't feel, couldn't breathe.

My time was running short.

Just another step.

One more breath.

I need to get to-

"Lyn..."