I opened my eyes to a sky of scattered stars, cold and distant. For a moment, I simply lay there, listening to the whisper of leaves beneath me and the quiet breath of the forest.
Where… was I?
And how had I ended up here?
Slowly, I pushed myself upright. Dry leaves clung to my coat. The air smelled of damp earth and pine. Nothing around me looked familiar. As I steadied myself, a faint light flickered to the north—warm, deliberate, man‑made.
With nothing else to guide me, I began walking toward it.
Halfway there, a sound rustled behind me. Footsteps.
My heart tightened. I didn't dare look back. Instead, I quickened my pace, almost stumbling toward the light.
"Hey! You there."
The voice cut through the darkness. I froze.
A man stepped into view—a red cap, formal uniform, and a lantern held firmly in his right hand. A soldier.
"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" he asked, his tone sharp but wary.
"I… believe me, sir, I don't know what I was doing out here," I said, startled by how unsteady my own voice sounded.
"What?" His brows furrowed. "Do you have a slip on you?"
A slip? For what?
I glanced down at myself for the first time. A top hat. A well‑tailored suit. A long coat. High boots polished to a shine. None of it sparked a memory.
I reached into my coat pocket and found a small piece of paper—blank.
"Does this work, sir?" I asked, handing it over.
The soldier lifted the lantern, letting the warm glow spill across the paper. His expression eased.
"Permissioned pass… Alright, sir. You're good to go."
He returned the slip to me.
Asher X. Sterling.
Was that… my name?
Why couldn't I remember anything?
"Sir," I said quietly, "could you tell me today's date? And… where exactly I am?"
Suspicion flickered in his eyes, but he sighed and answered.
"It's the 21st day of the 13th month, Lunareth. You're in the nearest forest outside the city. I'm guessing you got intoxicated and wandered off."
..Lunareth?
..Thirteenth month?
What kind of place had I ended up in?
"Would you like me to escort you home, sir?" the soldier asked, glancing around the darkened trees. "It's usually very dangerous at this hour."
Dangerous…?
A sudden, violent pain tore through my skull. My vision blurred. The world tilted.
And then everything went dark.