Ludo woke up in absolute darkness to the sound of a faint knock at his door. He sluggishly got off the bed and limped through the gloomy room, crashing into the furniture twice, before reaching it. He cautiously opened it and was greeted by Emmer who was wrapped in a cloak, had a large bag strapped to his back and held a lit candelabra. Through the shadows, Ludo could notice two things sticking out of the bag, but it was too dark for him to make out the details.

“Good day, Ludo,” Emmer said with a smile.

“What time is it?” Ludo yawned.

“A few hours before daybreak. Come, follow me.”

Ludo groaned as he thought more than once to decline Emmer’s offer, but a voice within joined the conversation.

“Weren’t you thinking about sticking close to Emmer because he could help you remember?” Ben said.

He had a point that Ludo could not ignore. Yawning a second time, Ludo followed Emmer out of the house. It was not long before they ventured into the forest. It was incredibly dark and Ludo could not see beyond the candelabra’s light. The trees seemed to be alive as their branches and roots clung onto Ludo’s clothes and pulled his feet, almost dragging him down twice. Despite the struggle, he kept up with Emmer’s steady pace.

“You said the forest was dangerous, right?” Ludo asked while evading a branch aimed at his head.

“Indeed.” Emmer nodded. “But I have made it imperative that the forests close to the hamlet be cleaned of any possible dangers. That’s why I was worried when I saw you and assumed you were with some daring brigands. But there is nothing to worry about at the moment. All possible monsters roaming this woods have been driven away.”

“Emmer seems to have everything under control around here,” Ben said.

“Seems like he does,” Ludo replied within his mind. “Should I tell him about y—”

No! You mustn't tell anyone.”

Ludo was surprised by Ben’s sudden protest but before he could continue the conversation with the voice in his head, Emmer stopped in his ahead of him and stared right at him.

“Something’s in your mind? You’ve been quiet for a little while.” Emmer said.

“No… I’m… fine.”

Emmer turned back and they marched up a gentle slope. The trees decreased in number and the first rays lit up the deep blue sky, giving it a stripped look of vibrant oranges, yellows and reds. Meanwhile, the birds, hidden away in their nests and holes, sang joyously to the arrival of the new day.

“Is it bad?” Ludo asked. “That I don’t ask anything?”

“No, but if I had lost my memories, I would not stop questioning everything I see.”

“Well, its not as if I don’t know anything. I know what trees, bugs, and the sky are.”

“So what is it that you don’t remember?” Emmer asked as he stomped past wild flowers and tall reeds.

Ludo took a good while to answer the question. He was once again at war with his own mind, trying to remember anything but all he got was an empty void. Yet he was now even more confused due to the arbitrariness of his memory loss, and the question about how he had gotten it fired up in his mind once more.

“Calm down Ludo,” Ben said. “I’m sure Emmer is going to help you remember.”

With Ben’s encouragement, Ludo finally replied to Emmer’s question. “My memories. Whenever I try to recall who I was before waking up I get nothing. It’s as if I didn’t exist.”

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“Mmh. Is it only your memories then?”

“And, well, the monsters. I was surprised to see them in the book you gave me.”

Emmer did not say a word after this. Ludo thought it prudent not to continue the conversation further as they marched in silence up the slope. He did not want to say anything that could end with him being kicked out by Emmer. By the time they reached the top, the forest had exploded into large sets of greens, reds and yellows, the sky was no longer dark blue but was now a mixture of light oranges and a faint yellow. Emmer stopped at a particular clearing right at the center of the hilltop and Ludo knew exactly why. They had reached their destination.

Emmer carefully placed the bag on the grass and pulled out the two things sticking out of it. Now that it was bright outside, Ludo realized these were wooden swords. Emmer pulled them out carefully alongside two pieces of bread. He gave one of each to Ludo.

“Serve yourself, this will be our only meal for the morning.”

Ludo looked at the bread and ate as slowly as he could. Once they were done, the two of them grabbed their wooden swords and stood in front of one another. It was the first time he had seen a sword up close, or the first time he could remember, even if it was made of wood, the unfamiliarity and dangers that would surely come from learning unnerved him.

“Don’t worry, these are intended for training only, worst thing you would have to worry about are a few bruises here and there. Now, where do you wish to start?” Emmer asked.

“Is it necessary?” Ludo asked, knowing deep down it was a stupid question.

“Ludo, here in Adreria there is one simple rule. If you don’t know how to use a sword, you die.”

Ludo felt a cold breeze hit his nape. “Then… teach me.”

“It’s not that simple as just ‘teach me’,” Emmer said without any hesitation. “A sword is not a book, it’s a tool used to cause harm and take life thus, you need to treat it with respect. It’s not only necessary to be physically prepared to wield one, but mentally as well.”

Ludo looked at the sword in his hand, even less confident than before. But inside his mind, the persistent voice of Ben kept encouraging him to take up the sword.

“You heard him, Ludo. You are doing more harm to yourself than others by not knowing how to wield one.”

But I don’t want to kill people!

“Unfortunately, it seems Adreria has already decided that you will.” .

Ludo sighed, resigned to his fate, and raised his chin. He agreed to let Emmer retrain him on sword fighting and Emmer was quick to begin instructing Ludo on the basics.

“First thing you need to know, is that how you stand with your sword can determine if you survive or die. Try to stand the same way I do.”

Ludo observed Emmer carefully as he adopted a distinctive stance and then rearranged his body the best he could to imitate him. It was not enough and Emmer and Ben were quick to point it out every time he messed up. It would take multiple times of Ludo doing his best on copying Emmer for the latter to finally deem it satisfactory.

“Good, now that the easier part is behind us, we will get started with combat.”

“Isn’t it too early for that!?” Ludo slightly backed away.

“Ludo, you were extremely lucky to end up here. Had you walked off somewhere else you might have been food for a wild animal or worse. You have to be prepared for the worst.”

“Alright, then show me your worst.”

Without delay, Emmer started teaching Ludo everything in the manner of sword fighting. From basic blocks to attacks to cause harm. At first Ludo struggled and was on the receiving end of various hits.

Both Emmer and Ben said in unison. “You are not focusing.”

“You don’t aim your sword at where mine is but where it is about to be!” Emmer said. “You have to be proactive when defending rather than standing still like a dead man.”

“He is right,” Ben said inside his mind.

You are not helping, Ben.

“How about this? Look at his legs and his sword at the same time. That way you can see what he is about to do before he can successfully attack, and don’t stand still!” Ben said.

Wait, what!?

While listening to Ben’s advice, Emmer hit Ludo in the arm and then reprimanded his absentmindedness yet again. Ludo shook his head and told Ben a few colorful words (how he knew them, he was not sure) and concentrated. Emmer readied himself and resumed their practice duel. Ludo focused on Emmer’s feet as he closed the distance.

“Stop standing still!” Ben roared inside his mind, making him dizzy.

Groaning, Ludo rejoined Emmer properly. Their lethal dance lasted just a few seconds. Seconds that to Ludo felt like a lifetime, as his eyes kept moving wildly between Emmer’s feet and his sword. Despite how nervous Ludo was, thanks to Ben’s advice, he kept up with the old man, keeping the distance between Emmer’s sword and his own and then, Emmer struck, his hand moved as quickly as the wind but Ludo was just able to block him.

“Your win,” Emmer said, pleased.

Ludo and Emmer returned to their original positions and quickly began a second round in their sparring match. Ludo was much more confident, this time going on the offensive to the surprise of both Emmer and Ben but something unprecedented occurred just at that moment. Ludo’s vision changed for just a few seconds, he could see things differently. Emmer’s body was surrounded by a large cloud of something he could not make sense of. The vision lasted too long and Emmer hit him straight in the face and just like that their wholesome practice day ended.