Prologue: Birth
From the moment that he first closed his eyes in that blaze of hell-fire, to now, was just a quick blink of darkness, a singular second in which nothing existed, and then he became nothing.
Six months of deep sleep.
He opened his eyes, ending his deep slumber, a bright and warm light shining itself unto him. He winced as if he were seeing it for the first time, the sun. A silent groan escaped his lips, there was something buzzing in his skull, a gentle pounding and throb. He sat up, and suddenly there were two figures surrounding him on either side of his uncomfortable bed.
"Where am I?" He rubbed his head in hopes that massaging it would do away with the constant buzzing, it did not.
"You're awake?" A woman in a white lab coat and black scrubs examined him thoroughly, tucking two of her fingers beneath his chin and forcing him to look skyward and into her eyes.
"Allow him some time to recuperate." A male voice spoke, it was another doctor.
"Who are you?" The boy looked between the two with worried eyes, awaiting an answer.
"Doctor Conroy and Doctor Aniha, you're in the academy's infirmary."
"He seems very disoriented." The woman observed.
"You don't say."
"Infirmary? Academy? How did I end up here?" His questioning and confused tone worried his caretakers further.
"You mean, you don't remember?"
He shook his head no.
"You're at Light-Bringer Academy, you've been going here for years." The man's voice trembled with anxiety.
"Light-Bringer Academy?" It sounded as if the words were leaving his mouth for the very first time. The two doctors exchanged a knowing-worried glance, before returning their attention to the bedridden boy.
"Dhakari?"
There was a short moment of delay, the boy staring at the doctors in confusion as they stared back, before quickly realizing Dhakari was himself.
"Me?"
"He doesn't even remember his own name." The man stood up and rubbed a hand through his gray hair, pacing back and forth.
"This may be way worse than we considered, memory loss of such severe degree is sure to have negative effects on his motor skills."
"His speech seems pretty normal, and he's sitting just fine. Maybe it's just an effect of his recent awakening?"
"I would hope that was the case."
Dhakari silently looked between them as they spoke amongst themselves.
"Well, what do we do?"
"Inform them of his current state, tell them he'll need much more evaluation here before we can release him. We'll do all his physical therapy here and ensure he's back in shape in no time."
"Right." The woman sighed, clasping her hands behind her back and turning to the boy.
"The boys yet to make a full recovery it seems"
The room was dark, cold, allowing for no one's features to be fully seen. There were three men and two women sitting at a round table, all covered in expensive suits.
"The questions will have to be held for now it seems." One of the women spoke.
"He suffers from memory loss according to his care-takers."
"How long must we wait before getting any useful information?" One of the men questioned.
"As long as it takes, we mustn't be too hasty when it comes to this… Delicate matter." Another raised his hand in a calming gesture.
"It makes no sense, how was he the only one of all our men to make it back alive?"
"We're all thinking the same thing, and asking that question over and over will get us nowhere, we just have to wait, and when the time comes we will get our answers." One of the women reassured.
"Why wait? Why not just strike now? This reeks of foul play."
"We know nothing, we can't be too sure until the boy regains his memory. For now, relax, we'll keep an eye on him. Once he makes a full recovery we'll have all the answers we need."
The room fell silent for a moment, before one of the women finally spoke.
"Then this meeting is adjourned. We will question the boy about what occurred when he regains his memory, then we will decide our next course of action regarding the matter."