You Dream. Your mind drifts to a time before humanity.

You stagger across a red sand dune, damaged leg grinding from sand in the knee. Auto-repair function non-functional, memory engrams flickering. The map is worse than useless, all of the old landmarks buried beneath the shifting sands.

There! The point of the tallest obelisk! The Shard you seek was encased in its point. Memory engrams failing, name-data lost. You stagger onwards, your name forgotten.

The stones hold tight, red sand filling every crevice and chink between them. Auto-repair non-functional, motive units degrading. Your legs give out. You have reached your destination, but can not reach your goal.

A black-gloved hand closes over your brass one, lending strength to rend the stones. Memory-engrams failing, Alias: helper name lost. You heave, pulling at the stones alongside a helper you know that you should know, but cannot remember.

An iron staff jams itself into the crevice, crushing one of your fingers. Auto-repair nonfunctional, manipulator damaged. You let the useless hand fall away. Your helper pluts a second hand to the task, and the newcomer heaves.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The stone moves, the Shard shatters. The iron staff is thrown skywards, the newcomer taken with it. You collapse to the red sands as the energy of the Shard courses through you.

Auto-repair functional: repairs initiated. Auto-repair firmware updated: form manipulation functions enabled. User privileges upgraded to administrator.

Memory engrams stabilized. Error: data corrupted. Unable to restore.

Your helper places a blood-red gem to your chest and whispers a name. "Anai." A warm current is added to the shuddering power of the shattered Shard.

Memory engram self-repair initiated. Assimilating new data-storage medium. Data present in new data-storage medium matches existing memory-engrams. Assimilating data.

Perfect recollection scorches though your mind. You remember everything now. You take Ariavari's hand and she pulls you to your feet.

You and your lover lean on each other and head back into the khamsin, leaving your betrayer-sister Kamas to its madness.

Your mind snaps back to your own body in the present. You awaken.

You awaken with a monster of a headache. The last time your head hurt nearly this much, you had tried to drink Morrigan under the table with whitesnake. Yasha moans from somewhere to your left.