Thread: Strange object, a fight, and amnesia. (extremely long)

1/2/2004
There was an attack last night. I was walking on a sidewalk, among a group of people that I didn’t know. I was a stranger in their town and all of them ignored me or stared at me suspiciously. I was wearing a heavy cloak and as I walked, I noticed something sticking out of one of the pockets. It was a strange device… it looked like a crystal spring. The threads were large and flat and the whole thing was no bigger than, perhaps, eight inches. Maybe even a bit smaller. It was glowing florescent yellow, blue, and green. I had the feeling that it had either been a gift or a prize. I couldn’t remember… Come to think of it, there wasn’t much I could remember about it or myself other than I was aware that I was in the Dreaming, and there it was, in my hand. I was staring at it, wondering what to make of the device, when I heard someone scream. Someone shouted, “They’re coming!” and chaos suddenly exploded around me. I followed everyone’s line of sight and looked to the sky.

There were hundreds of them… creatures that resembled humans in body, but birds in feet, head, and face. They were descending rapidly, their wings acting as parachutes to slow their fall. I don’t know where they came from but they filled the sky like locusts. I felt, even from that distance, that they weren’t on a friendly visit…

“Ready your weapons!”

I tore my gaze from the birdmen to see that a group of warriors had arrived. An older man with slate gray hair led them. He looked battle-hardened, yet kind and respected. I found out later that he was the Lord/mayor/duke of the town and well loved by his people. All of the warriors looked capable and strong, but still I began to worry. They were nervous, and I thought I understood why. How could they fight these creatures with only the weapons in hand? There were more than one hundred of the birdmen, and only about twenty or so warriors. And me. I decided then that I would stay and help them, regardless of the distrustful looks they cast my way. I felt the spiral device begin to pulse in my hand as the birdmen drew nearer. They were about half a mile away now, and descending quickly.

“Woman, are you mad?” The old man waved his hand at me impatiently. “Get away from here!”

“Let me help.” I hoped my tone of voice made it clear that I wasn’t asking permission. “I have magic. Please, let me help.”

My statement drew frightened and suspicious stares. I’m getting rather used to such a reaction when people discover this about me. I ignored them and threw off my cloak, my arms open. I already knew I was walking the Dreaming. I also knew had a solid hold on the body in this world. Control was vital. I knew a spell… The crystal spring pulsed in my hand. It was almost as though it was anticipating my next actions. In retrospect, I don’t know why I didn’t just throw it away. Or at least return it to my pocket. For some reason, I held onto it. I began to softly speak the words to a spell that would summon forth spirits of Air in great gusts. My intention was to knock as many birdmen from the sky as I could, and hopefully render a few of them unconscious as they slammed into one another. But something happened then… the crystal device began to glow brightly white and I felt the energies forming my spell being torn out of me. My whispered voice rose to a booming bellow—not of my own accord. It, too, was being torn from me. At first I felt cold fear in my stomach, but it subsided to awe when I saw the effect my spell had taken.

It was like nothing I had ever done before… Sure, I can make the wind blow—and even on occasion blow hard—but this… this was something else entirely. Massive black clouds filled the sky around the birdmen, bursting with power that I could hardly believe had been instigated by me. I, as well as the warriors around me, watched in shock as tornadoes formed between the clouds, ripping birdmen apart. It was a grisly sight… even more so to me for the simple reason that I was the one who had done it.

I felt eyes on me. I glanced around at the warriors before settling my gaze on the old man. He was staring at me with wide eyes. He gave a curt nod and yelled, “Flank the woman! Keep her shielded so she can work her magics.”

The warriors still looked suspicious of me, yet they obeyed their leader’s command promptly and without protest. I wanted to say that while I appreciated the notion, I didn’t want their protection. I was the stranger there and the last thing I wanted was to get in their way. But there wasn’t time to say anything. My spell, though impressive, was short-lived. I had thinned the ranks of the birdmen, yet they still considerably outnumbered us. They had regrouped and continued their descent. And so my attention was on them once more. I doubted I had the energy to do the Wind spell a second time, so I opted for a magic-missile based spell. As before, the device I held glowed violently, and when I released my spell I felt like all of my energy was being sucked from me, as though feeding the missiles. Even then, I didn’t let it go. Maybe I couldn’t let it go? I don’t really know…

My missiles, guided by magic and bolstered by the crystal spring, struck true. A flash of light ripped through the sky and more birdmen plummeted to their ends. I stumbled backwards a couple of steps. My legs were threatening to drop me where I stood. Someone grabbed my arm and steadied me. I mumbled thanks, though I never did find out who it was.

The birdmen were upon us, and the warriors burst into action. The birdmen had no weapons, but it wasn’t long before I realized that they didn’t need them. They were using their legs, wings, and sharp beaks to great success. Men and birdmen alike began to fall around me. Despite how tired I was, I picked up the sword of a fallen warrior and began to fight. I must have looked a fool, swinging the sword with such weak arms. The warriors probably thought that I was inexperienced with a blade, for they stayed closer to me than was truly necessary. Many of the birdmen hit me, but only one caused any amount of real damage. I felt its beak tear into the back of my head. Not even my most excruciating headache can compare to what that felt like. I was lucky that it didn’t pierce me deep enough to kill me. Still, it had drawn blood and caused enough pain to distract me and make me feel woozy.

One of the warriors slammed my attacker with a thick staff. The birdman fell to the ground with a sickening splat. I never got the chance to thank my hero; another birdman tore into his neck and killed him… I screamed and stumbled around the warriors, swinging my sword wildly. The birdmen were startled by my sudden outburst and they scattered to the sky, most taking to the trees. I didn’t even think—I raised the hand holding the crystal device and spoke the words to another spell. It guilts me to write this, but in that moment I felt that those birdmen were less than monsters. They were evil to the core. I said the words, and I felt the bliss of the magic flow out of my body, through my hand and into the sky above. The sky answered my call. Bolts of lightning seared the air, striking the birdmen and reducing them to little more than piles of dust. The crystal spiral was hot in my hand, burning my palm and fingers. Its rhythmic pulse grew more urgent as it latched onto what little energy I had left and pulled it out of me. I can’t begin to describe how violently it took the energy from me.

Suddenly, time itself seemed to stop. The lightning stopped. The birdmen were dead. The surviving warriors’ eyes were on me. The crystal device snapped into pieces. I fell backward, overcome with exhaustion. Everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a floor mat with a blanket over me. Someone had washed my hair, for it was damp and smelled of subtle floral. I had also been clothed in a simple, pretty dress. The old man sat near where I lay, his back against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes were closed. He was dirty and looked terribly ragged. I sat up and his eyes immediately opened.

“You’re awake,” he said. His voice was gentler than when we’d first met. He looked at me with a sort of fatherly concern. “I was afraid you’d sleep forever.”

I glanced around. My vision was slightly fogged and my head felt sluggish. “I don’t think I was supposed to wake up.” I said.

The old man made a sign with his hands and said in tight, hushed tones, “Don’t say such things, stranger! It’s bad luck.” I answered with a confused stare and he softened again. “You must be very far from home. No one here wields such power as you have. Do you have a name?”

I opened my mouth to reply… and realized that I didn’t know my name. Something was very wrong. Names flitted through my mind; names that I knew were mine. But I could grasp none of them. I could not even make one up, for even the names I hadn’t yet taken as my own escaped me. I sighed in defeat. “I don’t know.” I said quietly.

He nodded. “I’ve heard of such things as warriors losing their memory after being struck a powerful blow. I suppose it could happen to a woman as well, especially one of your ilk.” My ilk? I assumed he meant the fact that I was a witch and I left it at that. “You carry an interesting weapon…” he watched me carefully, as though his statement were a lead-in to something deeper.

The crystal spring! It wasn’t in my hand, nor could I see it after a quick perusal of the room. “Yes,” I said. “Do you have it, please?”

He fished around in one of the pouches that hung at his belt. He produced the strange object—no longer whole, but three separate spiral parts (one green, one yellow, one blue). He placed the pieces in my hands and I examined them, trying to puzzle out what this item was (or rather, had been). What was its use other than sucking me dry? Where and when had I gotten it? Why didn’t I remember?

The old man’s apologetic voice broke into my thoughts. “We tried to mend it, but nothing held.” I nodded and he added, “May I ask what it is? It doesn’t resemble any weapon I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank you.” I said. “I appreciate you trying to fix it.” I tucked the pieces into a pocket of the dress and said nothing more about it.

The old man seemed about to press the subject, but instead he climbed to his feet and said, “Well, then, if you’re feeling better, you are free to wander our lovely town. If you need anything before you go, our people will be happy to accommodate.”

“Thank you very much,” I said sincerely. He left, and I got up to explore while I could. I felt that my time there was limited, but I didn’t know why. I left the tiny building I had been resting in and took a long walk around the town. Most of the buildings were pretty nondescript wood-and-straw huts. They had a small, beautiful cathedral dedicated to some god or goddess. I smiled. They seemed like a good, honest people. The town wasn’t very big, and I had walked around it a number of times when evening finally fell. I made my way back to what I guessed was the town square. A crowd of men, young and old, had gathered there and the leader of the town was speaking. Curious, I joined them. I was received with stares.

“Come,” the old man said. “Sit with us and learn. Ask your questions. You must have many.”

I took a seat on a short stone wall. Still, they stared. Embarrassed at suddenly becoming the center of attention, I cleared my throat and asked a question. “Who—what were those bird creatures that attacked?”

The old man nodded as though he had expected my question. He pointed to a little boy, who jumped up excitedly and said. “The Gith.” He sat down again, proud of himself. The old man went on to explain that the Gith were their ancestral enemies. Since they could remember, the bird creatures would attack from the sky with no warning, no reason whatsoever. They could not be reasoned with. Many of their people had tried and failed.

I asked why the Gith would attack them. Had the people moved onto their land? Had they inadvertently done something to offend the Gith? My intentions were innocent enough, but my innocent queries were met with disgusted and insulted glares. The leader held up a hand and asked his people to forgive me since I was a woman, from a far-off land ignorant to their ways, and stricken with a mind-sickness that had taken my memory. I almost laughed. He explained that his people had been there long before the Gith had made themselves known. He suspected that the Gith were from another world entirely (a few of the men in the crowd scoffed aloud at this idea).

There was more to the gathering, but I don’t remember the details now. When the crowd dispersed, I said my goodbyes to the old man and started walking. People stared, pointed, whispered, and even crossed the road to get away from me. I was a bit hurt… I had nearly killed myself helping them. Why were they afraid of me? The pieces of the device jingled in my pocket. I took them out and looked into the crystal surface. I saw my reflection… my eyes looking back at me… my face. I got scared. There was a spark of recognition, but I didn’t know! I started to run. I stopped at the edge of town, far away from everyone, and I called out to Seri. I called his name, over and over again, until I thought I would go hoarse. I was about to give up when I felt a tap on my back.

I turned around to see Seri, smiling his beautiful smile. “You rang?” He said.

Relief washed over me. “You came! I’m so glad you’re here! I don’t know what’s going on. I have this crystal thingy, and there was a fight, and I don’t know who I am!”

He raised his eyebrows. “Really?” We sat down in the grass and I held up the pieces of the crystal spring. I slowed down and told him everything, from my first memory of walking in the town, knowing I was in the Dreaming, and the Gith’s attack to the moment I ran away, calling to him. He listened attentively, without a word, and as I got further and further into my story, I felt a bit of myself come back. When I was through, I grinned. “I know who I am now, but I still feel weird.”

“Maybe it has to do with that?” He gestured to the broken crystal device in my hand.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t know what it is, or where it came from. It was just… there. I was holding it when I cast a bunch of spells and I swear it almost killed me. I was casting some crazy stuff with it.”

“Yeah, well, be careful.”

And that’s when I woke up.