Chapter 2
Where am I? It's warm… and bright… Is it morning? Am I on a bed? What was I doing before now? Ahh… my head hurts… everything’s all hazy… wait something's missing… ok, I have two hands and two legs… and two… WHAT?! MY WINGS! WHERE ARE MY WINGS?! Damn the Light! They’re gone! Oww… it hurts like hell… How could something that’s not there hurt so much? Wait a minute… Who's that girl? Beautiful emerald eyes and long lustrous teal hair… very young… probably only 10 winters old… hey… Why is she coming towards me? Is she talking to me?
"Oh! You’re awake." the girl said brightly, "You have been asleep for four days now. Not surprising though, it looks like you’ve been through something horrible… Would you like something to eat?"
"Eat?" The boy croaked, his throat dry and hoarse form lack of use and moisture, then he asked another question, "Where… am I? Who are you?"
The girl looked sincerely happy that he was awake; she helped change his bandages after taking fresh ones from a small chest next to the door and continued, "Why, you're in the chapel grounds of Greenshaven. You must be starving… hmm… let me see what I can get for you. By the way, I’m called Filia Tealhair, what’s your name?"
"Name?" the boy repeated… and like a bolt out of the blue, a vision came vividly to mind…
FLASH
They were in the woods, preparing to ambush their prey. They have trained their entire lives specifically to hunt down their hated enemies. When the targets were in position, they struck. Causing their feather-winged foes to panic and become confused from the surprise attack. The leader of their enemy quickly gained control and shouted, "Anderson! Get down! All of you to me! Defensive formations now! What? They have a Shaper? Impossible! They're supposed to be extinct!"
FLASH
"Ahh… my head…" the boy moaned in pain and anguish.
"It’s ok, you don't have to strain yourself you know, and I think you may have some memory loss. You took quite a blow to the head." Filia quickly said after seeing the boy’s discomfort as she neatly finished changing the bandages.
"My name is… Anderson… Shaper… and yes… I’d like something to eat… thank you…" the boy managed, impulsively fashioning a name for himself based on the vision he had, his voice croaked horribly from dryness.
"Anderson Shaper huh? That’s a weird name. I’ve never heard of a family name called Shaper before." Filia mused while taking out a small loaf of fresh bread with some ham from a food basket next to the bed. She also took a flask of plain water, poured some into a cup and gave it to Anderson.
Anderson gratefully watered his throat with the water and then proceeded to eat the rest of the food. Though he was ridiculously hungry, he chewed his food thoroughly before swallowing, eating his food with disciplined restraint.
"I’m sorry about what happened to your wings… I wish we could have done more to help." Filia said sadly, then suddenly changed the topic, "You’re an Harc right? I've never seen one before. I hear your people live quite a ways down south. So what are you doing all the way out here?"
"I don’t know. I can’t remember anything, it’s all blurry…" Anderson replied, though frustrated with his memory loss he savored the sound of his voice, which was no longer raspy now that it’s watered.
"That’s alright, don’t worry about it." Filia said, accepting his memory loss philosophically, "I apologize but I have to go and report that you've woken up, I think there would be some questions for you. But don't worry I'll make sure they're short. If you're still hungry, there’s more food in the basket. I’ll be back soon."
Not knowing how to react properly, Anderson just nodded as Filia left the sanatorium. He felt slightly annoyed that he was going to be questioned of all things, like some criminal. Still, he still owed the priestesses who saved his life that much at least.
He sighed. Now that he was alone, he took the opportunity to look around his room. Apart from a closet and the small chest that Filia took the bandages from, the room was practically empty. But ironically, what was most obvious was what he noticed last.
The wall next to his bed was made entirely out of glass, probably to let the patient feel at ease with nature as the window offered a most enchanting view of the chapel gardens. The aroma from the herbs and flowers there made him feel invigorated but tranquil. He took a deep breath. Allowing the fragrance to wash over him, enjoying the heady scent.
Then he heard a clash of wood on wood. Jolted out of his reverie, he quickly scanned the grounds through his window, his stomach knotted in tension at a possible attack.
After a few tense moments of searching, he finally found the source of the clash. It appears that there is a large group of priestesses brandishing wooden swords and are in a middle of a training drill. Why are priestesses having weapons training was beyond him, but he can’t help but admire their graceful strikes and elegant parries. Even so, he noticed several irregularities from many of them.
"Hmm… that one's grip is all wrong…" He mused to himself, "and that one cares more about her pose than doing the form correctly."
As he suddenly came to the realization that he made his remarks almost instinctively, he started, wait a second, how do I know these things? Was I a warrior?
He struggled to remember, trying to recall some spark of his past. But like a blind man grasping in the darkness, he could find nothing. He kept at it but was rewarded with a sharp throbbing in his head, forcing him to give up.
He nearly spat in disgust. Mentally drained, he fell back onto his pillow and closed his eyes. Tired, but unwilling to surrender to sleep just yet. After several long moments, he heard a knock on the door before it opened and in came Filia and two other priestesses. One was tall and would be beautiful if she didn't look so stern, and another was very old but had kind, wise eyes.
I suppose the questions will come now. Anderson thought bitterly, I only hope this blasted mind of mine has the answers.
Labels: Novel Updates
Signing off at...
10:25 PM
