I lay in the icy water as a pain pulsed through my body. My limbs were numb and I couldn't move my fingers. It took effort to turn enough to pull my face from the shallow pool. Cracking my eye open, I was met with a scene that would be burned into my mind forever.

A great stained glass window sat behind two pillars that rose far into the darkness above. The dull light streamed in and painted everything in its darkened hues. Suspended upside-down from chains was a woman. Her skin was a sickly color and her eyes were a milky color with mere hints of blue. Her gray hair hung down to water itself. Her naked form was kept modest only by the chains that wrapped about her. One could almost assume she was a corpse who had starved to death, but the slow, shallow breaths she took echoed off the black stone walls. I lay there in her shadow, confusion being replaced with fear. The horror spoke, “I am sorry.”

Every instinct in my body roared to life and screamed at me to run. Slowly the chains scraped against the pillars she lowered. Her hoarse voice echoed out, “I'm so very sorry for what has happened to you. I am sorry for what shall come to be. You don't deserve any of this, but I can't stop it.”

I pulled against my limbs, which felt more like stones than my actual body. Tears dripped down her face as she stared at me. A shiver ran through her as she spoke again, “I am sorry. I shall be watching over you. There is no excuse for this, but we can't do anything about it. Please, don't struggle. It only hurts more if you struggle.”

Chains shot up from the water around me and grabbed hold of my entire body. As the drew taught against me, I tried desperately to pull against them. She let out a miserable sigh and said, “Please stop. It's better if you just accept it. I promise it hurts less that way.”

The very ground seemed to turn to mud as the chains pulled. Slowly I sunk down, screaming. The woman said, “I'm sorry if this world hurts you. It's my fault. Please don't hate me. I have no other choice."

Then, with a sudden jolt, my eyes flew open. A guy in front of me fell backwards and two others stood beside where he landed. I felt oddly calm, as if waking from a dream. The three wore thick padded armor and metal helmets. Notably, one of them had skin that was a greenish color and a set of fangs protruded from his lower lip. Each of them had swords at their side. The wall behind them was a simple stone and I could hear some commotion off to the side.

The guy who fell over looked to the others, a look of amazement crossing his face, and the one on the left, who's skin was a fair bit darker than the other two, said, "Hey. You OK there?"

I looked at him and blinked a couple of times, unsure what to make of any of it. He looked to the third, as the fallen one got up. The third man, who was the oddly green fellow, nodded and knelt down by me. Carefully, with the sort of caution done when to not scare someone, he waved a finger before my eyes, which I watched dazedly. He asked, "Just relax. I'm not going to hurt you. We're with the guard."

The one who had fell rose to his feet, turned, walked out of the alley, and began saying something about everything being OK and nothing to see. The one before me held up a symbol on a necklace and out a far off look on his face for a bit. Then he said, "Something is off here. I can't really figure out what though."

The one standing nodded and looked to me, asking, "Do you know what has happened to you?"

I moved lightly, realizing the wall and floor where both touching my bare skin. The feeling of heat rushed to my face as I looked down at myself with shock. My confusion must have been blatant as I shook my head. The one standing looked off to where the other was, who I could hear still trying to clear what must have been a crowd He clicked his tongue and said, "Well, shit. Martin get a cloak for this poor fellow."

He looked back and nodded before moving out of the alley. Soon he came rushing over with a drab brown cloak and handed it off to the one standing before going back to the crowd. The one with a symbol said, "OK, we got to get you up."

I nodded as the two carefully, but firmly grabbed hold of me and brought me to my feet. One held me stead and other helped put the cloak around me. The darker complexion guard said, "We're gonna take you down to the guard house. Got to ask questions and try to figure out if you are OK, safe, and who you are."

I found my legs weak, but the two guards helped me walk out of the alley. The street was lined with picturesque stone buildings. Each held a certain European feel and those that stood more than one story tall had the upper parts made of wood. Off in the distance I could see walls and a castle rising above the building on a hill. The street was lined with merchants at stalls calling out their wares. Most were clearly human, but a few had pointed ears or were shorter than any normal person. Though I felt utterly lost and confused, I also felt deep down a sense of wonder. For that few minutes, the horrid woman had left my conscious mind. Martin, the one guard who had been dispersing the crowd, looked to me and grinned lightly. He was a younger man, his brown eyes gleamed and his short trimmed brown hair was clearly kept. He said, "You look like someone who's never seen a city before. You from one of the villages?"

The question left me quiet as I considered how best to answer. I didn't know anything of this world that I found myself in and so lying wouldn't really help me. Yet, even then, if I spoke the truth they could easily think me insane. I puzzled on it for a few seconds before Martin went on, "Yeah. I grew up in Greenway. All the farms are pretty, but nothing beats the beauty city."

My memory seemed like distant dreams. As I tried to focus on anything, I got the vague image of an interrogation room. Being yelled at and feeling angry. I said, hesitantly, "I'm not really sure. My mind is fuzzy."

The guy then looked at me with a pitting way and then turn his attention to the other two. The green one patted me on the shoulder gently and said, "It's OK. We'll figure this all out. Rest assured, we guards of Garnalt will do what we can to help you figure this all out."

With that they led me off down the street, down to a stone building built into the side of the outermost wall. It had a sign in front of it that had some sort of symbols that had to be words. By the heavy looking door stood another guard, dressed similarly to the three with me. He looked at them and at me before quietly opening the door. The two helped me into the building and Martin said, "OK, I'll go get back to our route and tell the Sergeant what is happening."

  They then led me down a hall through a thick, wooden door. Down the hall, I was taken to a room. Inside was a pair of thinly cushioned benches facing each other. The floor had a somewhat ratty looking carpet. A small window was set high up on the wall and was devoid of glass. Yet I couldn't hear anything going on outside at all. The strange circle above it struck me as a possible cause. The room was lit by a hanging lamp that gave off a warm, orangish light.

  They sat me down on a wood bench. With that the green skinned man nodded and left. The other took a seat on a bench across from me. The darker skinned guard sat for a moment stretching his shoulders.

  He was a man older than me, but by how much I couldn't say. Some very light wrinkles had started to form on his face, but his hair was still pure black. It was short and somewhat uneven in places. His blue eyes were stern. He stared at me with a somewhat tired expression. He seemed more to be thinking about the situation.

  Eventually he said, "My name is Azuro Marn. Now then, I have plenty to ask, but let's start with some basics. Who are you?"

  I looked down to the carpet, embarrassed by that being how I arrived, and said, "I'm Alexander."

  Azuro then said, "Right. You seemed confused and unsure earlier. Want to elaborate on that?"

  I sat for a moment, unsure of what I could say without lying or sounding crazy. This all felt too familiar. Some about it was putting me on edge. For a moment my eyes darted to the now closed door to the room. I said, "Somewhat. The last thing I remember was a room."

  I looked up to Azuro. The man was still staring at me. He asked in a firm, but calm voice, "What happened in that room?"

  I hesitated. I wondered if admitting to remembering anything was an awful mistake. An anxiety was creeping up in me as I sat there. I said, "I remember going to bed. Then there was water."

  He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Was it your room? What do you mean by water?"

  I shook my head. Still nothing seemed certain in my memory. So much felt out of place or missing. My mind jumped between trying to figure out how to avoid certain things. I said, "I remember having gone to bed, but then waking up in a room. The floor was somewhat under water. There was a woman in chains there."

  As I told him this, Azuro sat there thinking for a moment. I stared at him as he looked to the door and then me. After a moment he asked, "Anything else?"

  I hated this situation and I couldn't exactly figure out why. It felt familiar in all the wrong ways. It dawned on me that I was looking far more suspicious. Reluctantly, I said, "She was suspended between these chains. There was a symbol of a circle of chains with a water drop in the middle."

  He went quiet. Then, with a long sigh, muttered, "The Sorrow Penitent?"

  I stared at him, feeling a shiver bolt up my spine. The man shook his head. His eye brows narrowed every so slightly. He looked up at me and said, "I'm not one to know how one could meet such a being, but you look like you met her. Hard to fake that sort of pale."

  I laced my fingers together with a tight grip, trying to drive the fear from me. I asked, hesitantly, "Who is The Sorrow Penitent?"

  Azuro raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't know. Right. Then, let me ask you this. Do you remember much of the world itself?"

  I shook my head. Azuro's gaze seemed to pierce me, looking for any sign of falsehood. He said, "I'm no priest, but...The Sorrow Penitent is one of the gods. If you have met her, thank The Sparing Grace you live. She's one of the unsafe gods."

  After a look of confusion he continued, "Not all the gods are sane beings. They all have flaws because they're all parts of some other god who shattered. The Sorrow Penitent is of the insane ones. Hopefully, you just had some sort of hallucination. Or got off without much interest being drawn. Anyways, remember anything at all other than your name?"

  I looked down with her words in my head still. After another shiver running through me, I said, "I don't know. I might know something, but I can't really tell."

  Azuro nodded and said, "Well, Alexander, we will try and find out what we can. The Captain will take an interest in this. Especially if some sort of magic was used on you."

  I looked at him. A tiredness was forming in me and I was sick of being there. I asked, "If you guys can't find anything?"

  I knew they wouldn't. I knew I wasn't of this world at the very least. Even if I couldn't remember my own at all. Azuro paused for a moment and then said, "Then we'll see what we can do to get you back on your feet, I suppose. Never a lack of work in the city."

  For some reason, I found that hard to trust. Something was picking at the back of my mind. Azuro leaned forward, arms crossed, and said, "You did say you remembered going to bed. So do you remember anything else before that encounter?"

  I thought for a bit on what to say to that. I could remember what my room looked like. It stirred a feeling of dull misery in me. For a moment, I wondered if remembering was a good idea. I replied, "I can remember some specific things. I remember my name. I think I know some math? Basic stuff I guess, but as to anything about me? I can't really say."

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  Azuro scratched his chin for a moment. He muttered, "A magic that can erase memories? Sounds like the sort of thing mages would figure out how to do."

  After a moment he then said, "You had a look out there of someone who's never seen a city before. Yet, all the same, you woke up in one. I guess I should try to jog that memory with questions. You know what year it is?"

  I replied, "Not a clue."

  He nodded and then asked, "Know who the lord of this region is? How about the king?"

  When I shook my head, he scratched his chin continuing, "Not sure why you'd know this. Maybe you were a mage who got on some other mage's bad side. What are the types of magic?"

  I looked at him for a moment. A few scant memories came to mind. One from games and books. I doubted any of those would be worth mentioning. I said, "Not a clue."

  He nodded again, leaned back, and crossed his arms. Azuro then said, "You said you can remember math. I wonder, can you read and write?"

  I frowned before asking, "Not sure, can you show me something written to see?"

  I had a suspicion I couldn't, given the sign but I wanted to be sure. The fact we spoke the same language didn't make much sense to me in the first place. Yet, the fact I might have actually met a god threw sense out of the window. He looked about for a moment and said, "Right. Stay seated."

  He got up and walked over to the door. He stood facing me and leaned on the door, knocking on it. A small slot, one that was otherwise invisible when closed, open. He said to whoever it was, "Need something to see if he can read."

  There was a second of silence. Then, A piece of parchment like paper was slid through. It was clearly a wanted poster at first glance. The letters of the words meant nothing to me, so I shook my head. Azuro slipped the paper back out the slot and it closed.

  Even having seen where it was, I still couldn't see the slot. Something about that caused a knot to form in my stomach. I fidgeted slightly.

  Azuro sat back down and said, "Well, not a clergy member then. Doesn't rule out some form of merchant assistant, though. Let's test that math then. Count to ten."

  I proceeded with no issue and Azuro nodded. He said, "Right, now. What is seven plus five?"

  I said without much thought, "Twelve."

  He sat there a moment, clearly relaxing a bit and drumming his finger against the seat next to him. His eyes stared off into nothing. The guard said, "Well you can do math. A man appears naked in the alley. Claims to have met a dangerous god. He remembers little. Has had magic cast on him. Can do math but can't read. He has the appearance of someone who doesn't do physical labor. I can't say it makes a lick of sense to me."

  He looked at the door. "What do you think Captain?"

  Looking to the door, it opened and a man walked wearing a set of armor far more impressive than Azuro's. The older man had a bushy mustache and his sideburns were well kept. His clearly combed, swept back hair was graying, yet some black still remained. His eyes were green and held a certain twinkle that spoke of a cunning, yet dangerous man. His age was clear from the wrinkles that had been etched into him by time. He stood with a strength and grandeur that spoke of a man who had led most of his life.

  He said, "Greetings, Alexander. I am Captain Haline. I do hope you don't mind, but I was listening on the other side of the door. I must say, this entire event surrounding you is indeed an oddity that sparks many a wondrous theory to me. Tell me, do you know what your family name is?"

  I looked to the captain. He had a friendly smile on his face as he stood there with both his arms behind his back. I asked, "My family name? It's Moores."

  Azuro was still watching me. I could see it out of the corner of my eye, but my attention was on the Captain. The old man's face didn't change even slightly from his friendly smile. Once more I got a niggling feeling in the back of my mind. I didn't trust him.

  He said, with what might be called a fatherly tone, "Well, you seem to be sure of your name at the least. Sadly, that is not a family of any note to me. That does, though, cut down the search for your kin a fair bit. Now, the question is what to do about this all. While I'd like to help you, I can't, for various reasons, give you much, assist personally on this matter too much. Rest assured that I'll put good men on the case, though!

  "Marn here, though, can take you down to the temple of the Shattered One. I'm sure they'd be all too happy to give you shelter till we get this all sorted. That clergy is all too happy to help those in need."

  Azuro nodded to me and said, "They might have you help, but they will help you."

  Captain Haline then continued, "I will ask you to stay within the city till we clear this up. It is entirely possible someone has caused you this issue with intent. Don't worry, though, little happens in the city without me knowing. so if you are willing, I can have Corporal Marn here take you to some of the guilds. The Guilds are always looking for fresh faces and are willing to train them. You can pick up a fair number of useful skills with them."

  Something about the captain stirred hatred in me. His tone reminded me of someone. The fake sort of care and reassurance. I did my best to hide the growing contempt. I looked at him for a moment and then said, "Yeah, I guess I can try that."

  The Captain nodded and said, "Wonderful. The Guilds are safe places with their own guards, too. Rest assured, if this is some conspiracy you've found yourself in? You will be safe. Corporal Marn, give this man a tour to see the guilds and then to the temple."

  As we walked out the door, I wondered if I was stuck in this world. I then frowned, deciding it didn't really matter. My old one held nothing for me anyways. What little I could even remember brought nothing but dark feelings. A thought flitted across my mind. "I could perhaps actually do something that might be worthwhile."

  Azuro led me through the town in silence. His eyes shifted from place to place and from person to person. I began to lose myself in staring at everything. Then, as we approached a crossroads, he stopped me by taking hold on my shoulder as I nearly walked past him. Startled, I looked up as he pulled me to the side of the street. There, upon a horse, a woman turned onto the road we had been walking. She wore a silvery dress and a circlet of gold sat on her head. Her white hair was tied into a braid, showing her angular features and pointed ears clearly. Her skin was almost a paper white.

  The woman's eyes met mine suddenly. They were icy blue and without pupils. I got a sudden feeling of fear that jolted through me as our gaze lingered. She reminded me of a doll in the worst of ways. Her eyes snapped back forward as she passed.

  Behind her road a number of other people, armed and in fine metal armor. Her eyes passed over the crowd as they rode past, everyone watching quietly. The liveliness ripped fully from the place.

  After they passed Azuro let out a sigh and said, "Gods, I see why the Captain has the guard pulling extra shifts. It'd be nice if he told us she was here."

  I looked at him and he nodded for me to follow. I asked, hesitating, "Who was that?"

  He said, clearly a bit annoyed, "That was Lady Lura'mi. A rather important person to our history. Her estate is in the area, but we weren't told she'd be back now. I had hoped she'd still be off killing monsters."

  I looked back, watching as they went past. The crowds afterwards went either back to work or were talking. This time in more hushed tones. With that out of the way, Azuro turned to me. He clicked his tongue and said, "Right, you don't know. She was a friend of King Sintal the First, who founded the country a long time ago. Elves live long lives, though I can't say how old she is now. People tend to be a bit wary of her. Given she runs what amounts to a prison legion and that creepy nature of hers? I am, too."

  Eventually we reached a tall, ornate building. The stones were painted white. Large stained glass windows that depicted abstract patterns. Memories of cathedrals returned to me. Above the large doors sat no symbol or did any imagery appear anywhere upon its walls. Azuro looked up at the place and said, "The Temple of the Shattered One. The people in this kind of temple are more charity and guidance than the normal sort in the clergies. Teaching kids and all that, too."

  As we walked in, there was no pews, nor pulpit as I was expecting. There was barely any sort of decoration to the place. The entire place felt hollow. Our steps echoed off the high walls and about the vaulted roof. The only decorations were little more than geometric shapes carved into the stones. No statues or shrines sat about the place. A priest sat at a table towards the back of the room, a book in his hand as he relaxed.

  He looked up to us and motioned to come over. The light from the windows and the candle light gave the otherwise empty room some color. The place almost felt heretical in its lack of any true articles of faith. The priest gave a smile warmer than the rest of the room as we stood before him. His age was clear as he looked up at us. Completely bald, the lines were etched deep into his face.

  He wore a pair of semi-circle glasses, with a small link chain looking from each end and behind his neck. With an unwavering smile, the old man said, "I take it this is the man Captain Haline sent word of. I am sorry that such fates have fallen upon you."

  The priest turned his eyes back to his book and said, "Anything you need to tell me first, good guard?"

  Azuro said, "Well, as the Captain said, either I or Martin will come by tomorrow to take him by the guilds. Alexander, for now, try to keep a low profile. This place is safe, but that isn't a good reason to get into trouble," His eyes turned to the priest, "Good day."

  The priest continued to read, saying nothing as Azuro walked away. He seemed so calm and unassuming sitting there. I stood awkwardly waiting for the old man to do something. The place was quiet. Rare did anyone even enter, moving past us silently and without even a glance in our direction. It wasn't till the light from the windows indicated the day was fading that the old man closed the book. By that point, I had sat down against the wall.

  He looked up at me, his face showing nothing more than that calm, kind smile. He said, "You didn't speak up once."

  I looked at him and nodded. After a certain point, I had stopped thinking about things. As odd as the place was, the peace had become comforting. I didn't mind at all how much time had passed.

  The old priest adjusted his glasses and said, "Well now, I must admit I was somewhat expecting you to just wander off."

  I stared at him, and a wry grin formed on his face. He continued, "I must admit, your story as the Captain told was hard to believe. I must apologize. It is rare that such things prove to be true. More common is good liars. Not that it would have worked, but the old fellow did ask me to at least see. I do have questions then."

  I narrowed my eyes at him, but the priest's grin didn't go away. With a sigh, I said, "I guess I'd not believe me either. Not like I plan to go anywhere. Not like I have nowhere to go."

  The priest looked about, that grin on his face loosening to a half smile. He leaned on the table and said, "Tell me, Alexander, the truth."

  I looked at him with suspicion. He sat there, a knowing gleam in his eyes. After a few seconds, he said, "I was once not a man of the cloth. I was a liar and a cheat. You only told the Captain some truths. You got the look of someone hiding something."

  I looked at his old, wrinkled face. His gaze was unmoving. There was something more there in the priest's gaze. A tension filled the space between us. After yet more silence, he said, "Ah, I promise we are quite alone. If it helps, I'll even do this."

  He held up his hand lightly and the quietness of the room grew deafening. The sounds of the outside world died away completely. I stared at him in shock as he lowered his hand and laced his fingers together over the book sitting on the table. My eyes traveled about. I noticed the abstract patterns on the walls and ceiling seemed to glow ever so lightly. I took a breath and asked, "Why should I even trust you?"

  The old man nodded and said, with a somewhat comforting chuckle, "I swear to you I won't. The confession you make here is between you and I. I do not think you are a liar by any means. It's okay to be honest. Many fear admitting to meeting the gods."

  I looked at him and hesitated. Then, I felt my emotions begin to seep into me. Trying to keep them in check, I began to speak but the words caught in my throat. I felt an urge to not trust this man, but the reasons didn't come to me. The grandfatherly look upon his face tore at me. I said, "There is nothing on me to find."

  The priest asked, "What do you mean by that?"

  I bit my lip and said, "They will find nothing because there is nothing. I am not from here."

  I didn't know why, but I felt sad and angry at the same time. It was almost like something deep inside me was screaming to not be honest with him. I kept ignoring it and said, "I wasn't in this world until a few days ago at most."

  I saw the priest's eyes widened slightly at the statement. It struck me that I was more confused than he was. The old man leaned forward, lacing his fingers together. He quietly asked, "Are you saying you are not of our world?"

  Leaning against the wall, with a harsh exhale, I said "Yes. The Sorrow Penitent? Whatever her name. She put me here. Something about some plan.

  "I don't care if you believe me. That is the truth. I lived my life in a world different than this one. I don't know what is happening. I don't know what is going on."

  The priest sat there looking at me, but I didn't look back. I just sat there, suppressing the emotional storm that grew in me. The worst part was that I didn't even know why I felt the way I did. He asked, "She said you had some sort of plan for you?"

  I gave a small nod. I sat there quietly, a long time passing in silence, feeling drained. The old priest got up, walked over, knelt down, and put a hand on my shoulder. He wore a calm look on his face with a frown.

  He said, "Do not worry. I will speak of this to no one. May the Sparing Grace's mercy be with you, for you do not need to worry anymore."

  His eyes shifted to the side. Whatever he was thinking was beyond me, but there was a serious look to him then. He patted my shoulder and continued, "Come, let us get you some food and some rest. Tomorrow will be an interesting day, no doubt."

  "What is your name?" I asked, giving my best attempt at a smile.

  For a moment, the priest almost looked sad as I asked. He returned a small smile, stood up, and said, "Olfred Marindol. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive today. Leaving you sitting here with me was a bit rude."

  The old priest led me into the back. The dining hall was rather large, but empty at this point. The old man went off into a different room and brought back some bread and cheese, with a jug of water. The bread was tough, the cheese was tasteless, and the water was lukewarm with a funny taste. Yet, I still was thankful. I was far more hungry than I had thought after all that time.

  Olfred sat quietly with me, his face still showing that small smile, but I could see that he was deep in thought. His eyes seemed unfocused as he watched me.

  After I had eaten, Olfred had led me down the halls of the temple to a line of places with no door. I realized then that most of the rooms had scraggly looking people in them already. Most wore no more than rags, remembering these priests were more people of charity.

  Despite my distrust of them, every second passed seemed to drain me more. The bedroom was much like the food, bland but functional. It held only a simple bed with a blanket. It didn't take long for my half asleep mind to go silent. My eyes closed, and I did not dream.