prologue
There was a bitter chill all around, something in the air tonight felt different, almost ancient. My eye’s fluttered open from what felt like a deep sleep, I was met by the stars that sat high up in the sky, watching over me, there piercing beauty took my breath away. As my body slowly came back to consciousness I came to realise something was wrong. The breath hitched in my throat as I realised I was lying on a cobbled street, my hands gently swept over the cobbles, my heart sinking in my chest as I started to dread something was terribly wrong. What happened? The question was lingering in my mind, How did I get here? I tried to think back to last night but it was all just a blur, a fog that I couldn’t pierce, I remembered being in my bedroom, I had just had an argument with my Mum but after that, was just darkness, I couldn’t quite shine the light on it. My head was pounding, it felt as if someone had smacked me round the head with a bus, and any harsh movements felt as if my brain was going to fall out. I pushed myself from the ground and sat up, observing the scenery around me, and to my despair, didn’t look anything like home. Ancient town houses sat around me, the cream painted walls faintly lit in moon light, and the roofs a dark orange, I’d seen these houses before, but I couldn’t put my finger to it, it was pulling at my brain, but I couldn’t find the memory, it was as if my mind had been emptied of any data. Fear was starting to pump through my veins as I stood on my feet, I was hit by a light headed feeling as my body slowly swayed side to side, I needed to find someone, someone who could help me and maybe make sense of all this. Taking a few steps, I started to make my way through the street, eye’s wide as I scanned over the surrounding area; something didn’t seem right. I could see a figure in the distance coming towards me, I could only make out the darkened outlines of their body, but from what I could see they wore a hood, and some sort of body armour. I couldn’t help but feel like I needed to run, something about this hooded figure didn’t seem right, well actually, this whole place didn’t seem right. As the cloaked figure came closer and closer, I could start making out more details, his robes were white, with a crimson red symbol on the fabric, I’d never seen it before, but it sent a chill down my spine. His upper body was lean, the fabric hugged his skin visibly showing he was ripped beneath those clothes.
Fear, it plagued at my heart, it told me to run, but yet, I felt glued to the floor, I felt mesmerised by this stranger, his face hidden by his hood, but I could feel his eyes on me, and now he was only meters away, getting closer and closer, until he was at my side. It felt as if the whole world had stopped, cold air prickled down my spine, the hairs standing on end. My heart started to speed up, a lump forming in my throat as I watched the hooded figure glide past me, and I let out a sigh of relief, I don’t know why I had felt so afraid, it was as if my body was expecting him to lash out at me, or even worse. I could hear his footsteps fade away and with that went the fear, and now I was just faced with a dark street and a task of finding out where I was and how to get home.
