• The morning sun was crashing in through my window. It hurt my eyes. This would be the first time in a long while that the sun had shown at all. “Dawn, the bane of my existence,” I stared out of the window, a strange glass portal that framed an unnaturally bright world. Was it really dawn? Could I be dreaming? No, I would never dream of the sun. My life was shrouded in the veil of night. The sun was my immortal enemy. Immortal; never ceasing, never failing, never dying.
    I looked away from the window as I closed the blinds and overlapped the curtains. I turned and gazed at the solid cement-brick walls of the small apartment I had holed up in for the month. To be honest, this was one of the better ones I had stayed in. The roof didn’t leak here, there weren’t any bugs, but the bed made so much racket; sleeping had been an arduous task. I had been forced to sprawl out on the small sofa and rest my eyes.
    The clock on the wall read 7:30 a.m., time to check out. I had packed my belongings the night before, not that it would have saved me any time, I only carried what my small duffel bag could hold. Clothes, first-aid kit, and some other small knick-knacks. I lifted the black bag and hung it from my shoulder. As I walked to the door I scanned the room one last time. “Home, sweet home,” I snickered at the sarcasm in my voice. What was the point in being funny when no one was around? I didn’t have any friends, let alone a home. I stepped through the doorway one last time and the door shut tightly behind me with a sharp click. Yet another world left behind.
    The sun was as prevalent as ever outside the complex. I pulled my hood over my head and tucked my long red hair inside. I watched my feet and listened to the steady rhythm they were beating against the ground. One, two, one, two. It was soothing in a way. I lifted my head seldom; just so I could see were I was going.
    Malene, the town I had been staying in, was miniscule compared to what I was used to. Unlike the city with its monstrous buildings, packed streets, and unruly criminals, this place was quiet. The trees were tall and strong; the grass was a deep parsley color with hints of yellow and blue from some sparse flowers. Altogether, the place was just a beautiful small town.
    “It’d be better in the dark,” I spoke to myself. My voice was raspy; it had been a while since I had been involved in any kind of conversation. Normal people had never been fond of accompanying me. Although I did attract the occasional, delusional, psycho who thought I was some kind of god. In fact, I was the exact opposite.
    I kept my face in the dark as people walked by. To be perfectly honest, they annoyed me. It wasn’t their fault; it was just that I had always liked to spend most of my time alone. Seeing as how I had spent my life that way, I couldn’t see any reason to change now. Besides, even if I did like people, they would take one look at me and realize that I wasn’t normal. I wasn’t one of them.
    My eyes were an electric blue yet they seemed abnormally hollow. On several occasions I had found that people could only stand to look at me for a few seconds before they had to turn away. My pale skin seemed to reflect light like a mirror, and I towered over a crowd. I always got questions like, “You’re not from around here are you?” or even “Are you human?” and the answers weren’t always too easy to think of. The truth of it was that I was human; at least I thought I was. I had awakened in a laboratory about 4 years back in a place called Eudora. I didn’t have a name or any memories to speak of; the lead scientist there, who went by Dr. Payton Welsh, described to me a horrible accident in which I was involved. It seemed too hard to believe, but what other choice did I have? I couldn’t find any family due to the fact that I didn’t have a name, but I was going to find my answers.
    I walked on, out of Malene, and continued my stroll for an indiscernible amount of time. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice how far I’d gone. I hadn’t noticed the landscape change around me, or even how cold it had gotten. The rhythm of my feet continued to hypnotize me and as the sun began to close its eyes and burn out I felt a pang of relief work its way through my body. I always felt more at ease during the time that the sun began its slumber. I lowered my hood and walked on for another unknown amount of time until I saw, on the horizon, my true destination. Vanatia, the capital of the empire, stood in front of me like some sort of heavenly city. The spires of the buildings reached to the clouds and the sharp outlines of the stone structures made a rigid line against the last bit of light that hailed from the suns last breath.
    Dr. Welsh had described this place to me very vividly but his description was nothing in comparison. As I walked through the gates I saw every detail that had been so painstakingly etched and hammered into the stone of the buildings. Even into the marble streets a conceptual design wormed its way in and out of my eyes. I wasn’t sure that I could believe what Dr. Welsh had told me. My last conversation with him had stayed in the back of my mind, but now it seemed that it was time for me to recall what he had revealed to me.
    “If you do decide to travel to Vanatia, you should visit an old friend of mine; he’s more versed in situations of this sort. His name is Ladone. Believe it or not, you’re not the first one we’ve had come around suffering severe amnesia. If my assumptions are correct, he should be able to recall your name if nothing else. He practices something called Imprinting. It’s an ancient technique that allows the reader to reveal thoughts or memories that have been either intentionally or unintentionally concealed. You should be able to find him in the slums behind the temple in the capital. Ladone will assist you in your search for answers, should you choose to seek him out.”
    I worked my way through the streets keeping my head down so as to avoid drawing attention to myself. Although, here it was different, the people didn’t seem so apt to stare. It made sense however. There were probably many different kinds of people that traveled through the capital. Now instead of being annoyed by the crowd, I was grateful for its existence. I snaked my way through the people and headed for the largest building towards the back of the city. I had managed to make out the temple by the large crest that seemed to pierce the sky itself as if by some holy divine force. After a time, I managed to clearly make out the face of the temple. Its beauty was haunting. Each brilliant white stone was bordered in a golden leaf that scrolled its way up the building. The two doors were very large, at least twelve feet tall and made of a very smooth red-colored wood. Two stained windows hung on either side of the entrance. They depicted a scene in which, on the left, a gnarled tree was rooted in barren dirt. On the right, the same tree, but with all its leaves and the ground this time covered in grass and clovers.
    I stood there taking in the temples glowing textures and colors until I realized that my mouth was starting to fall open. I shook my head and focused on my goal. Ladone. I turned my attention to the alleyways that must have led to the slums. I walked forward through the now darkening city, and continued through a black alley. On the backside of the temple, there were numerous shanty-like structures and tents laid out in a random format. I could tell that property was of no concern here. I walked through the middle of the jumble of structures and quickly found my self immersed in a sea of staring eyes. I searched my surroundings for someone that looked brave enough to give me a straight answer as to the location of the man called Ladone. An old man caught my eye. He was very thin and his clothes were considerably worn out. A sure sign that he had spent most of his life in poverty. He had a weathered face, and a rough beard that hung to the middle of his chest. As I walked to him, he looked up at me and his eyes widened.
    “I don’t have the money! But I’ll have it soon enough, please if you’ll just give me some time, I thought you’d forgotten about me. I didn’t realize you’d come back, I kept the money for as long as I could, but I had to use it. I had to have food! I had to live! Please don’t kill me!”
    I furrowed my eye brows as the man threw himself at my feet and begged. I had no idea what he was going on about. Money? I had only just arrived in Vanatia, I hardly had time to stop and rest, much less kill a man who supposedly owed me money.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about old man. I just arrived here. I’m looking for someone; I was hoping you could help me find him. I heard he lived here in the slums.”
    The man lifted his head up out of the dirt and peeked at me with one eye. He swallowed sharply and then rose to his knees. He eyed me suspiciously and then opened his mouth to speak.
    “You’re not going to kill me?” He looked even more fiercely than before.
    “No, I’m not going to kill you, so are you going to help me or not?” I watched him closely and it seemed like the words had finally taken route to his brain. “Who is it exactly you are looking for?” He asked very quickly. This implied that he still didn’t trust me much at all. “I want to find a man named Ladone. Do you know him?” When I asked this, a look of relief covered the mans face. “I see, so you’ve lost your memory then? Yeah, I know him. You see that shack covered with tarp? The one beside the well over there.” He pointed over my shoulder, and I turned around to follow his finger. Just as he said, there was a small, shabby looking building the roof of which was covered in a brown tarp. The well was to the left of it. I nodded to acknowledge that I saw the place he had designated. “That’s his place. But be careful, he’s gotten a bit skittish in his old age.” I nodded again and started to walk off, but before I did, I remembered something. “Why would I want to kill you old man?” I looked at him with obvious confusion in my eyes. “You’ll find out soon enough, and I’ll be gone before you do.” He smiled and waved his goodbye. I looked at him for a second, and then turned towards Ladones shack.
    I continued through the crowd of shelters until I came to the shacks doorway. There was a bell hanging from a rod that protruded horizontally from the building. I reached up to ring it, but before I had gotten my hand eye level, a bent old man rolled back the curtain that served as a doorway into his home. He looked at me for a second with his watery eyes and grimaced. “You are in need of assistance?” He continued to look me full in the face with a sort of disgust evident in his eyes. “Are you Ladone?” I assumed this had to be him, but I wanted to be sure. “Yes, I am, but you shouldn’t have to ask that Auro, you’re a frequent visitor here. I thought you’d know my face by now.” I was struck with a sudden familiarity. “Auro? Is that my name?” He looked a little confused, but not enough to lose his wits. “Ah, what’s this now? Oh I see, so you’ve searched me out to find your memories. Now you’re making sense.” I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “You pathetic fool. Come inside and I’ll tell you what you want to know.” He turned his back on me and stepped once again inside his home. I followed hoping that I would finally get some answers.
    Standing in the doorway, I saw that the shack was only one room. It lacked anything of value highlighting the fact that this man, Ladone, was poor. As I continued to look around Ladone had made his way to a small, dusty rocking chair in the corner near the only window. He stared out of the pane-less void and sighed heavily. “You really don’t remember a thing?” He looked at me with weary eyes and shook his head slightly. He obviously knew something about what happened so I replied quickly. “No, I know I was in some kind of accident but other than that, I can’t even remember my own name. You called me Auro, is that it? Is that my name?”