It’s a voice from beyond the void of sleep that speaks to you. You know with a cold certainty that you should wake up. It was important. Why was it again? You don’t know. It’s too cold to care. You want to tell them to leave you alone but it’s too much effort. A pair of hands grab you by the shoulders There was something familiar about that touch…
Why do you always make this harder for me?
He pulls you up and you gasp like someone fighting for air. The man wears a genderless cloak of grey with the hood pulled up which played havoc with the shadows across his face. It was a him right? It was hard to say. The features seemed familiar and different all at once and seemed to change depending on the way the light hit it. The voice was the same.
Are you here?
You nod without realizing what they meant. It felt right though when you did it. It must have been what they wanted to see because they smiled as they released your shoulders. Where was here though? Certainly nowhere you’ve been. There was a dense mist that clung to everything that made it hard to see much beyond a few feet and yet one detail was impossible to miss. The towering wall that stretched out before you in every direction as far as you could see. What was it and who had made it? The nearest part seemed to be made of grey stone and yet further along you were certain that it was brick. Further up you could make out a reflective surface. Metal? You wanted to open your mouth and ask but before you could your eyes followed the wall upwards and into the impossibly grey sky. Were those supposed to be clouds? They felt off. Everything here did.
Who are you?
Odd, now that he mentioned it you weren’t really sure. That’s not right. You try to recall it and just as you seem to be about grab hold of something it slips out of your hand. You realize that he’s been staring at you quite intently for some time.
You don’t know.
You agree. He nods and seems satisfied with your answer. You ask about this place. What is it?
It’s where all things that forget or are forgotten go.
Does it have a name?
If it did it doesn’t remember.
What’s that mean?
Exactly what I said.
Can you at least tell me how I got here?
I forget.
You don’t find that very funny. He doesn’t seem to care.
You forgot. Or were forgotten. Does it matter?
You go to answer and find that you don’t have a response. You shiver as the mist causes a chill to run up your spine. The realization strikes you as for the first time you notice that you’re bare. The stranger seems to notice your distraction.
Better?
What? Ohh, he put clothes on you. Nostalgic ones. You ask how he did that.
I remembered you with clothes. Here, in this place that forgets, memories are power. If you have them you can eat, drink, or wear whatever you can recall.
That sounded rather strange. It was wrong but so was so much else here. You ask him if you could do that too.
If you want to. You just need a name first. How about [ ]?
That’s not a name you tell him. He shrugs.
It’ll do for now. You can go by another one as soon as you remember it. Deal?
No. That’s stupid. Why would you do that?
Well, too bad? We can talk it over next time.
Next time? What did that mean? Are they leaving? That didn’t seem fair. Yet, the mist seemed to be growing thicker and the familiar stranger became harder and harder to make out.
Remember this. The exit is lost. The way is shut. The fee denied. Find yourself to find escape.
He was gone and you were alone. Just another forgotten thing.
Premise In this world that suffers from amnesia there is only one thing to do: survive and gather memories. To do otherwise is to fade into the mist never to return. You make your way to the only stable thing in this world. Mnemosyne. The town where everyone like you calls home. Just like everything else in this world the town itself changes--the buildings changing locations and architectural style--but overall it remains the most stationary thing in the world. Besides the wall that is.
Everyone wants to escape outside of it. It’s why they hunt out the dungeons of memory in the mists. What are they? Well, they are memories of a place in time that needs a bit of help completing it self. Do that and you’ll be stronger here. The stronger you are the more your own memories will return to you. That’s what they say at least. Nobody really knows but what’s the harm in trying? Even if you die all you do is lose a bit of memory and come right back. They say if you lose too many you’ll fade away too but it’s worth the risk. It has to be.
