Yuga finds himself standing alone in a vast open field covered in green grass. Where was this? He couldn’t tell. Once again he was in a location peculiar to him. But this time things were even more confusing. Not only did he not remember where this was or how he’d gotten here, he couldn’t even remember waking up here, or at what point he gained awareness. He simply was.

It didn’t seem strange though, which Yuga imagined was due to how he felt at the moment. He felt disembodied, as though he were observing the world through another person’s eyes.

He looks down at his hands. They were indeed his hands and this was his body, yet he felt like a spectator.

Above the open field, the world was shrouded in the darkness of night. There were no clouds, stars or a moon and the sky was a blank canvas…. Save for one spot.

Far in the distance a curtain of colourful lights shimmered in the sky gently shifting colour tone from green to blue to red.

Although faint, Yuga could hear the sound of music in the air. Its origin seemed the be the area where the lights shone. A soft sad tune it was, invoking melancholic feelings in the hearts of those who listened.

Yuga’s body suddenly makes a one-eighty degree turn but the movements weren’t his, it moved of its own accord. He now stood face to face with another figure in the field. When did they get here? And without his notice too. Still, the him he shared body with didn’t think it was strange.

The new arrival stood only a meter in front of Yuga yet he was unable to make out their features. Their form was obscured by a veil of shadows but he seemed to recognize who it was even though he the spectator could not.

Yuga (the body) and the entity begin talking and for some strange reason, he couldn’t hear what was said. Their voices were muffled like they were in surrounded by water rather than air.

Although he wasn’t privy to the ongoing conversation, Yuga could feel what he (the body) was feeling. His feelings on encountering this veiled entity was a momentary surprise to relief, a bit of sadness then happiness. He seemed to be fond of this person.

The conversation goes on for while and his feelings shift from lighter emotions to shock and confusion, subsequently progressing to alarm and dread.

At this point their voices become clear and he’s able to hear what they’re saying.

“Almost everyone will die.” said Yuga (the body)

The veiled form smiles, he could tell its expressions from the way the shadows moved.

“That’s the goal. I believe this place needs an overhaul” they said, “I’d like things to be different. If there’s anyone you want to save you better move fast, it’s almost time. Though I doubt you’ll make it.”

Now Yuga was running, mustering every bit of energy he had in him to move if only a little bit faster. His destination, the land below the curtain of lights.

He runs and runs, getting closer until…. He wakes up.

Yuga’s eyes snap open.

A dream…. No, not a dream. A memory

Memories were just what he needed but this dream left him even more confused. The veiled person, the open field, the curtain of lights, none of it made sense, he didn’t recognise any of it. Except for the music. He couldn’t tell what but the memory of the tune tugged at something in him, something that filled his heart with despair.

Who brought me here?. Yuga lay on a soft, supple bed. Above him was low hanging ceiling crafted from light brown wood. The last thing he remembered was talking to the man.

He sat up, raising his upper body with a bit of difficulty. On the right, adjacent to him was a small, square window giving a view of falling snow. To the left, in the corner of his eye, he could see the form of a person across from him. Yuga turns his head to see who.

In the middle of the room, seated on a wooden chair was the man he’d tried to escape. His eyes were trained on Yuga and he maintained demeanor so calm it was menacing. A sword rested across his laps, his right hand loosely wrapped around the handle. It wasn’t pointed at Yuga but he handled it in a way that was subtly threatening, like he was ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

On closer inspection his sword was quite eye catching. Yuga hadn’t paid it any mind in his first encounter given the situation, now he was in less dicey circumstances it was hard to ignore. A long sword, longer than the average saber but not enough to seem oddly long. The entire sword was coloured crimson even up to the handle and there were patterns and symbols etched on the entire length of the blade. It had no guard instead the blade was a bit wider where it connected with the handle.

Swords, their average length and general appearances. Descriptions he could recall but not memories.

Yuga takes his eyes off the sword and looks up to the man’s face. The man’s expression was unreadable, what did he want? He couldn’t tell what the right move was here.

Luckily, the man breaks the ice by asking a question, “Who or what are you?”

That was the same thing he’d asked before Yuga passed out. “What” am I?* Weird question.

“My name is Yuga.” replied Yuga.

“Just Yuga?” the man asked.

“I don’t remember any other names.”

“Are you a voyager resident to this planet?” asked the man.

“I don’t know where this is, I don’t know about travelling either.”

“Travelling? I’m asking if you’re a voyager*”

“What’s a voyager?” asked Yuga, taking that the man meant something different.

“Voyagers. Those who traverse the stars, you don’t know what a voyager is?” questioned the man.

Yuga shakes his head in reply.

The man pauses for a moment. “A voyager that doesn’t know what a voyager is.” he says.

“I’m a voyager?” asked Yuga, surprised.

“I can sense drive from you, your first sail wasn’t too long ago.” the man replied, which only succeeded in confusing Yuga the more. “Do you remember where you came from or what you were doing before now?”

“No.”

“What do* you remember?” asked the man.

“My name, language, basic descriptions and nothing else so far. I woke up in the middle of the snow, couldn’t remember my name, where I came from or how I got there. I don’t remember any memories from before I woke up either. Not long after, that I encountered you.” explained Yuga.

“People? Places? Age? You remember nothing of them.”

Yuga shakes his head in response.

“That’s……quite unfortunate.” the man said finally before breaking away his gaze. He reaches into a pocket on the inside of his shirt, pulls out a small cloth and begins wiping down his sword with it.

The man seemed to be done with asking questions but Yuga had questions of his own. He throws his legs over the side of the bed and proceeds to stand, however, he immediately collapses to the floor, his legs failing to support his weight.

My legs.

“Your body took damage from my battle. You won’t be able to walk for a few days.” said the man casually.

One more problem to add to his life. On the other hand, he didn’t know where to go anyway, if it wasn’t permanent then it didn’t change much. Yuga takes a sitting position, crosses his legs and asks his questions, “Who are you? Where is this place?”

“My name is Kirveas Harathole , a voyager just like you.” replied the man. “This is Lehrone, a lesser planet currently being ravaged by war. If you’re asking where the building you’re in is, this a house on the outskirt of a village. I brought you here after you fell unconscious.”

Lehrone, the name didn’t stir any memories, did he live here? And planet? He knew what a planet was but it felt odd to describe location by planet.

Yuga goes silent as he absorbed the information. In the middle of his thoughts something else he wanted to know about popped into his head.

“What’s an ‘otherworlder’?” asked Yuga.

“You heard that? And you don’t know what it is either. Otherworlders are what we call creatures with intelligence similar to humans but are not humans.” Kirveas explained.

“You thought I was one when you saw me.” said Yuga.

“Yes.”

That explained the looks Kirveas gave him earlier. “Why?” asked Yuga.

“Your odd appearance.” replied Kirveas.

“Odd?”

“See for yourself.”

How? He couldn’t see any mirrors around and doubted Kirveas kept one on him either. The only reflective surface around was the window beside the bed.

Yuga pulls himself up the bed to the window beside it. He focuses on his reflection in the window pane, blurring the view of snow.

He had ice blue eyes, pale skin, and hair that was torquoise. But it wasn’t just torquoise, it was light green, then it was blue and next it was lighter shade of that. His hair glowed faintly and changed colours of its own will. He looked young, maybe between sixteen and eighteen. Was that an accurate guess? He couldn’t be sure.

Kirveas said he looked odd but he didn’t feel his appearance was particularly strange, still, it was a distinct difference from the two people he’d seen so far….

“Do I look that weird?” asked Yuga.

“I have never seen or know of a human that looks anything like you, or close.” replied Kirveas.

“I see, what type of otherworlder am I then?”

“I wouldn’t know, I haven’t encountered one but neither has anyone else. It’s merely rumours and myths.” said Kirveas.

So Kirveas didn’t know what he was, he could be by human. He thought himself to be human. Yuga had no memories but from instinct he felt that, that was right. The man didn’t seem like he was lying either. Amnesia was strange in how he could remember some things and take them for granted but not know why he knew them.

He looks over to kirveas. Currently, he was cleaning his sword. He carried a sword and with the way he carried himself, Yuga felt he was a soldier of some kind.

“That man, why did you kill him?” Yuga blurted out.

“Like I said, there’s a war here. He mistook me for an enemy.” replied Kirveas.

That was a questionable explanation but to be fair, Yuga didn’t know what was going on at all. He couldn’t even remember who he was. True or not, there was no need to probe further. But the fact he’d killed someone made Yuga wary of him.

Once kirveas was done cleaning his sword, he gets off the chair, walks over to the door and swings it open to leave.

“Wait.” Yuga says just before he steps out. He had one more question, “Do you have any food?”

Kirveas pauses and replies, “In the room to your left you’ll find something.” Before stepping out, shutting the door behind him.

Yuga was left alone now. He had no memories, he couldn’t walk and was stuck with a potentially dangerous stranger. Everything was confusing and bleak but he was alive, and even better there might be food to eat.

Putting his worries away, Yuga begins pulling himself across the floor all the way to the nearby door on the left.