A New Light

Slowly rising from the bottom of an endless sea expanding in all directions, a young man with silver hair reached the surface of the endless black waves. As the water slowly parted, to allow his face to meet the warm air above, and relinquish him from the cold dark abyss below. He opened his sky blue eyes and blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the light that was invading his pupils, for the first time in what felt like forever. He sat there; the only thing he was aware of was an overwhelming feeling of emptiness. The fog that comes from waking up slowly lifted from his mind and he examined his surroundings. He was in the middle of a lush green field sitting up against a tree whose shade had protected his slumber from the rays of the midday sun. As he stood up he noticed a small dirt path that went out into the distance and disappeared before his eyes could find its end. Despite the beauty surrounding him he was consumed by a sense of loneliness, as if he was surrounded by all the people in the world and still felt alone. The one thing his heart searched for which was unknown even to him was missing. The young man, now fully awake, started to wonder why he had been sleeping in the middle of a field with nothing but a tree and a small dirt path for as far as the eye can see, but when he tried to search his memory for answers, he was unable to find anything that explained his current situation. In fact, when he tried to dig deeper he realized that not only did he not have any memory of this field and why he was here, but he had no memories at all.

As this realization hit him, he started to frantically reach for any memory. He desperately wished to find something, anything that would give him even the slightest clue as to who he was and what was going on. His search was in vain. He could remember nothing, nothing except the word Arbit. Maybe the name belonged to him or maybe it was the name of someone he knew. He decided to take the path hoping that it would lead to people and maybe answers.

As he walked, he continued to rack his brain to no avail. It was around two hours of walking before he reached the small town Salutem. He walked down the empty roads of Salutem with no real destination in mind, All he wanted was answers. The darkness of night was quickly approaching so he decided to start looking for food and a place to sleep for the night. He made his way to the local tavern. It was a charming little structure made of wood and stone and as soon as he entered he could feel the lively atmosphere. He made his way up to order, but he realized that he had no way to pay. He decided to ask for food anyway.

Young man: Excuse me sir, I would love some food, but I don't have a way to pay for it. Maybe I could do some work for you or something?

Cook: Say kid, you're not from around here are ya? I mean, I know everyone in Salutem, but I have never seen ya before.

Young man: Well, um not really, I don't think I am.

Cook: Well tell you what kiddo you've got my curiosity. If you tell me about yourself then you can have a meal on the house.

Young man: Well, to tell you the truth, I can't remember anything past just a little while ago.

As soon as he said this he thought that he saw someone get up, and go into the kitchen out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look there was no one there and when he turned back to the Cook and saw that he had made no reaction, he thought that it must have been nothing.

Cook: Well than you are getting quite the deal aren't you!

The cook gave a rye grin, and went back to the kitchen to cook the meal. The young man sat down at the bar. As he sat there waiting for his food he looked around the tavern. The whole building only had two rooms: the main room and a kitchen in the back. The two rooms were separated by a bar where the drinks and food were sold. The wooden floor was clearly old but it was still relatively firm. He was also the only one other than the cook in the building. He was pretty sure there had been a man with golden hair, because his hair had caught his eye when he came in, but he must have left when he wasn't looking. The cook came back from the kitchen with a plate of food. He put the plate on the bar in front of the young man and closed the door behind him.

Cook: Well now I do believe that you own me a story! I guess that we can start with your name.

Young man: Well I guess that, It is probably Arbit. That name is all I remember, so I guess that is my name.

Cook: Ok that is a good start, but is that really all you remember?

Arbit: All I remember is waking up in a field and then walking here.

The cook starts to speak now more to himself than to Arbit.

Cook: Well than you are in quite the predicament. You've got nothing, but the clothes on your back, and it is already luna.

As the cook was talking, he had grasped his chin with his thumb and index finger, and fell into deep thought.

Cook: Alright kid tell you what, you can sleep here for the luna, and I will help you find a job in the sol ortum.

Arbit: Woah thank you sir. That would be a huge help!

The cook brought him into the kitchen and showed him to a bunk bed. The kitchen was about half as big as the main room and it looked like the cook lived there. On one side there was the oven, pantry, and counter. On the other side there were bunk beds, a small table, and a second door that led outside.

Arbit: Do you live alone? I don't want to take someone else's bed.

Cook: Oh don't worry kid that bed is reserved for strays like yourself. Now get some sleep.

Arbit took the top bunk, and was asleep five minutes later.

* * * * *

Suddenly Arbit could feel his arm being shaken.

Cook: Hey kid wake up we're gonna be opening soon.

Arbit: Oh um good morning

Arbit drowsily tried to get out of bed, and forgetting that he was in a bunk bed he ended up falling out. He landed on his back. After that he was pretty awake.

Cook: Here follow me real quick, and be more careful or you will give yourself even more amnesia.

The cook walked out into the main room, as arbit followed close behind, rubbing his head. He walked up to a board covered in sheets of paper.

Cook: This is the quest board. This is where people go when they need something done. In other words it is a great place to earn some money.

Arbit: Oh I get it. So which one should I pick?

Cook: Well I looked through all of the job requests last night, and I think this one suits you the best.

As he said this he pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket, and handed it to Arbit.

Arbit: It says that it is a "party member request", What is that?

Cook: It means that they would like someone to join their party.

As the cook looked back at Arbit he realized that his explanation had still left Arbit very confused.

Cook: Oh right, your memory loss. You probably don't know what a party is. Well then let me explain, a party is made up of a group of heroes. Their purpose is to deal with problems that require force. I thought that you would be a good fit, because you are young, and you look fit enough, plus it should pay really well.

Arbit: Well that sounds good when do I start?

Cook: The request says to rondevu with them right now so I would get going.

Arbit: Oh ok!

He turned around and started running for the exit. As he swung open the door he turned his head to look at the cook.

Arbit: Thank you for everything I promise that the next time We meet I will pay it back ten fold!