Memories Lost - First of Apocalyptic Hell Series

Old Friends

    “Calm yourself, Sayuri.” The voice from before echoed through the fog, “No need to panic at this time.” I froze and searched for the source of the voice, but there was nobody, not even a silhouette in the fog.

    “Hello?” I waited, “Who’s there?” Taking cautious steps forward, I resumed wandering through the fog. 

    “You have great power within yourself, but you must learn to control it.” The voice echoed once more. It was a woman’s voice and it sounded familiar. There was a sudden light that appeared ahead through the fog. I felt as if the light was drawing me in, like a moth to a flame, the pull was strong. I hesitated for a moment at the gap in the fog where the light broke through, there was something on the other side of that I was drawn to. The force that was drawing me finally won and I stepped through the opening, closing my eyes against the blinding light. 

    “I was wondering when you’d come,” a soft woman’s voice sounded in front of me. I opened my eyes and blinked a bit to adjust my eyes. Once everything cleared I was greeted with a beautiful scene, a large lake with water so calm it could be mistaken as a mirror, the bank was covered in pale, smooth sand that glowed in the moonlight. 

    There was a lone tree standing stoic and tall, a large weeping willow. It’s branches swayed lightly as if the tree itself was breathing, the branches began to part to reveal a woman sitting at the base of the massive trunk. The woman had flowing hair that was as black as the night sky, her skin was pale as perfect as porcelain and features were soft. She was wearing a long, flowing white gown and wore an obsidian crescent moon pendant. She looked up and met my gaze with soft eyes of pale blue, she smiled softly at    me. 

    “It is a pleasure to see you once more, I’m happy to see you are well.” She rose with such fluid grace it didn’t seem quite real. “Merry meet and blessed be, Sayuri.” She seemed to float as she approached me. It struck me suddenly who was standing before me. 

    “Merry meet and blessed be, to you as well Goddess Nyx!” I was shocked to see her once again. “Why are you here? What is this place?” I questioned. 

    “We are currently in a place that goes by many names. It is most commonly known as limbo, the place between that realm of the living and the realm of the dead.” She gave me a stern look, “You have great abilities, some that have never been witnessed within the immortal races in centuries. You must learn to control those abilities, being reckless like that can cost you your life and can cause other problems for the rest of the world.” She gave me a stern look. I looked away feeling like a child that had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I remained silent for a moment as I thought about what Nyx had spoken, why would my death cause problems for the rest of the world? 

    “I don’t mean to question you, but why would it matter to the rest of the world if I died? Granted I’m an immortal so the most it would do would throw me into a long sleep till my mana sources built back up, but I don’t see how I could be that important to the world.” I sighed as I looked down at my feet, “I’m nobody. Theoden would hurt the most if that happened as would those close to me, but the rest of the world would go on, many don’t even know my name. I matter little to none to the world or it’s survival. Queen Alenia is who matters the most, the next queen chosen will be the one who matters as well. I matter none.” 

    I knew my place in the world, I mattered most to Theoden and to those close to me, but to the rest of the world I matter none. I’m just another being in this large world, there are many others like me out there, many others that could stand up and take my place in this world, in this war. Nyx turned to face me, concern etched into her soft features. 

    “Is that what you think of yourself?” She forced me to look at her, “You are much more than just an immortal. Think about the abilities that you have been granted with, consider how much power you have. How many immortals can speak with me?” I looked her over before getting suspicious of what she was speaking of. 

    “What are you saying, Nyx?” I stepped away from her, facing her full on, “What does my powers have to do with anything?” Nyx sighed in slight frustration. 

    “I had hoped Queen Alenia had discussed things with you, but since she hasn’t.” She paused for a moment as she seemed to think about her words, “We will talk again soon, for now linger here and rest. You’re mana wells should be full soon and I’m certain your compatriots have been worried about you.” She gave me a soft smile. I panicked for a moment, it seemed as if she was going to tell me something. 

    “Wait! You must tell me what you mean?” I reached out for Nyx as she faded into the darkness. I stumbled forward as my hand grasped at air till I collapsed on my knees. My thoughts swirled in a raging storm. What did she mean? Did she know something about my past that I don’t? Do those missing memories hold the secret to my future? 

    Thoughts that I never had thought before started forming. I turned in a panic searching for Nyx, someone, any sign that I wasn’t alone in this darkness. My spinning stopped all of a sudden when I turned into the tree, stumbling down to my knees. I clung to the great tree to steady myself as I worked to calm my mind. I turned, putting my back to the tree as I faced the lake. Just watching the water helped to calm the storm in my mind. 

    I couldn’t believe that I was that important to the world, I was nobody. Yes, I have great power with magic and I am an immortal, but outside of that what makes me so important? For the exception of Theoden and those close to me, who would miss me if I were to never wake up? As I thought on what Nyx had said there was light that popped up down the lakefront from where I sat under the great willow. I looked at it before rising to my feet and started walking towards it. 

    I was a few yards away from the light when I saw there was a being in the light, working on a painting. As I drew closer I could see that the being was a man, an older gentleman that was wearing a simple tunic and a light cap to cover his grey hair. He had a grey beard to match and even though he seemed older, his movements were precise and exact. It suddenly dawned on who was sitting there painting away on a portrait. 

    “Leonardo?” I said softly. The man perked up as he had heard his name, he turned and his face lit up as if he were seeing an old friend. I stepped into the light and felt a slight rush flow over me and when I looked down I was wearing a dress from the Renaissance era. I looked around confused for a moment before Leonardo’s voice forced my attention back to him. 

    “Ah, my old friend. Bon-jour, come, come! Take a seat and let me get a good look at you!” He reaches for my hand to guide me to a stool that was close to him. He grasped my face with the gentleness of a child with his calloused hands. 

    “Oh, Leonardo,” I choked up a bit as I closed my eyes, remembering his touch, “It certainly has been quite a long time.” 

    “You certainly haven’t aged a bit,” he paused as he dropped his hands away from my face before chuckling, “I, alas, have aged quite a bit.” He laughed, I laughed with him as if it were the old days. 

    “What are you doing here? I heard you’d died?” I asked him curiously. 

    “Ah, well I did, but I did not die in vain nor did I die alone. You can just hush on those tears and apologies,” He scolded me briefly before patting my hands, “I lived a very full life and I enjoyed every day and now,” He gestured to the workshop, “I can continue to create and paint to my heart’s leisure. I even get a visit or two from family and old friends.” He gave me a wink. “That wonderful goddess gave me quite the set up, she has always had a fondness for my work and she felt that I was better here, she even checks in on me often.” 

    “Which goddess?” I asked him curiously. 

    “Why, Nyx of course!” he motioned towards the painting he was currently working on, “She is the Goddess of the Night after all, but I do prefer sunshine over darkness.” The painting was a portrait of Nyx and it was beautiful, even if it was only half done.

    “Why would she do that? You aren’t of the fae realm?” I asked curiously, it didn’t quite make sense to bring a mortal soul to the realm of the fae kind. 

    “I didn’t really ask, but she worked it out with God and they made it happen. Plus I think she felt she would need help with you, young lady.” He waggled the end of his paintbrush at me. “You can certainly be a handful, there was that time when you left France suddenly without a word. Only later to reappear in Greece and cause quite the ruckus there, nearly 500 years you would disappear and reappear randomly whenever there was a war going on. Nyx was incredibly worried about you, but she felt that Ares had something to do with your behavior. It was rather odd.” I snapped to attention when he mentioned Ares and 500 years. 

    “Wait, do you mean to say you were watching what was going on?” I asked and leaned close to him, our faces rather close. He chuckled and his beard tickled my face a bit. 

    “I wasn’t watching you, but Nyx certainly was and she was searching for you too. You had her and,” he paused for a moment, his face got all scrunched up like it always did when he was struggling to remember something, “Oh what was that queen’s name?” he questioned for a moment as he thought about it. “Oh, that’s right, Queen Alenia! You had them both worried sick, what were you doing running around with the god of war?” I was shocked when he said that. 

    “I wish I knew, but I don’t remember ever leaving France. I lost those memories, I don’t know anything of what you speak of.” I watched him for a moment when I caught the glimpse of something in his eyes, “What do you know, Leonardo?” I asked him curiously. 

    “Well, if you truly want to know then I think you should speak with Nyx or the queen. It isn’t my place to tell you of your future or of those troublesome missing memories of yours.” He chuckled before returning to his portrait. I huffed in frustration as I crossed my arms giving a slight pout. “Don’t pout, it is rather uncouth for a lady.” He glanced at me before chuckling at me when I stuck my tongue out at him. 

    “You know of these missing memories, now finding out that Ares may be part of the blame. Leonardo,” I looked at him pleadingly, “Dear friend, I beg of you,” I took hold of his hand, “I must know what happened during that time.” I gave him a pleading look, hoping to win him over to give me some form of details. No one had mentioned Ares to me at that time. He sat his brush down and clasped his other hand over mine and looked at me with sad eyes.

    “My dear friend,” He sighed, “I cannot be the one to reveal those to you. If you truly wish to know I would suggest the Fates, they would be able to tell you.” He patted my hand once more before returning to his portrait. I sat there for a moment at a complete loss, I knew I was stuck till my mana wells built up enough before I would wake. For now I was simply stuck here, I wish I could speak with Nyx again or even the Fates, but the thought of going to the Underworld, to Hades’ realm in this form sent a chill up my spine. 

    “It has been wonderful seeing you once more, old friend, I must continue on seeking these answers. I must know what happened. I certainly didn’t expect this to be a part of my journey.” I gave him a sad smile before pulling him into a deep hug, gods had I missed this man and his brilliant mind. He squeezed me back and for a moment it felt as if we were truly sitting in his workshop in France all those centuries ago. 

    “I do hope to get to see you again, but if we don’t, just know that I will always be here for you.” As I started to walk away from him and towards the darkness he spoke a final comment, “That Theoden is quite the gentleman, keep him around. You did good with him.” He gave me a coy smile before going back to his work.