Chapter 1

I opened my eyes and saw a clear blue sky with several clouds. I lifted my head, and around me there was a meadow surrounded by mountains and a large lake in front of me.

Where am I?

I tried to remember, but I could only see things vaguely, as if all my memories were covered in a thick fog. I couldn't even remember my name.

I stood up and looked around to see if I could spot a house or someone, but everything was completely empty. The atmosphere was cold, but I was wearing a thick coat, so I wasn't cold.

A giant shadow appeared in the sky, approaching me. When it got closer, I could make out a giant winged lizard. A word came to my mind:

"A dragon."

I don't know how I knew about it, but my body was telling me I had to run away—it was dangerous. But I didn't have the strength to do it. Then, when I tried to take a step, I fell. I'd just woken up and I was already going to die, I thought.

"I suppose that's you."

I heard a voice, but I didn't know where it was coming from. Then I saw a figure descending from the dragon's back. He wore a long robe and had long white hair. He was young, around 30 years old, and carried a staff in his hands.

"Who are you?" I said nervously.

"Don't you know? Well, that makes sense. Most of your memories must be blurry for you right now."

"Do you know who I am?"

"This is the first time we've met, but I'm aware of your situation. They asked me to come get you here and teach you."

"I don't even know who I am right now. Could you tell me what happened to me?"

"I only know that you sealed your name. To help you understand—your very existence is sealed now, which is why your memories are blurry. Even people you knew will have trouble recognizing you."

"Did someone do this to me?"

"As far as I know, you did it yourself, voluntarily. I don't know your reasons, but I imagine you wanted to run from something. It's something only you can discover."

That I sealed my own existence—this had to be a joke. It's as if I decided to erase myself. But this person didn't seem to be lying.

"This is very confusing."

"I suppose you must be very disoriented. They left me in charge of taking care of you, so I'll take you to where you'll be living for a while."

"I suppose I don't have another option."

"I'm Aedric, and for a time you'll be in my care," he said with a smile. He seemed quite trustworthy.

"I'm sorry—I don't remember my name."

"I suppose we'll have to solve that, or it'll be a nuisance."

Aedric started thinking. A new name. It was a very strange situation—it was as if I'd been reborn.

"How about Navnlos? It would be something like 'nameless.'"

"It fits my current situation, so I suppose I'll keep it."

"Well then, Navnlos, let me reintroduce myself. I'm Aedric, and I'm a mage. I'm also the owner of a potion shop—that's where you'll be living."

In my head it sounded like I should be surprised, but nothing arose in my body. After all, I didn't know if this was a normal job or something weird, and right now I was alone, so I had to stay here whether I liked it or not.

"Does the dragon live with us too?" I said while looking at the giant lizard behind Aedric.

"He's my familiar. Once he takes us there, he'll return to his family."

I kept staring with a look that wanted to ask more things, but before I could speak, he cut me off.

"First thing is to take you to your room. There will be time for you to ask me questions."

Aedric climbed onto the dragon and gave me his hand to help me up. Once on top, it felt hard due to the scales and quite high. I felt that if I fell to the ground I could die.

"Hold on if you don't want to fall."

I grabbed onto Aedric's waist as he suggested. The dragon began to move its wings. I felt us rising, and the ground looked increasingly distant. When it gained enough altitude, it started moving forward, and I felt all the wind on my face from the speed. We were moving so fast that I couldn't focus on the landscape. We traveled across plains, mountains, and some small lakes. At that moment, I was surprised that no one had seen dragons before. That very thought surprised me, given that I had no memories. How could I even speak in the first place? My memories are inside me, but I can't access them. I can only see some vague ideas or things I have deeply internalized, like speech.

We spent a few more minutes flying at that speed. By eye, I'd say it was between 20 to 25 minutes until the dragon left us in a fairly dense forest, though it seemed we were no longer in the mountains.

"We still have a few minutes of walking."

We both started walking along a forest path. It was quite silent, and I didn't see any animals. I only heard some bushes moving from time to time. Still, for some reason I was uncomfortable—it was as if I was being watched.

After a few minutes of walking, we left the forest. In the distance, you could see a small village.

"That's where we'll live. It's called Brumblewick. The nearest city is several kilometers away, so you could say we're somewhat isolated."

"Do the villagers know you're a mage?"

"No one knows. Most of the items we make, we take to the city once a month. In the meantime, I make natural remedies and some more complex medicine, since I also have knowledge of chemistry."

"So you're the town pharmacist?"

"You could say that. With that, we have more than enough to live on."

"Does anyone live with you?"

"Ah, I forgot to tell you. My apprentice also lives there. She's a girl around your age named Hina. Also, some fairies live with us who help with household chores and various tasks."

"It seems the house is more lively than I imagined."

"Yes, I'm sure you'll have a good time."

While we talked, we entered the village. The roads were quite old stone, and I didn't see anyone the whole time we were walking. The house where I was going to stay wasn't deep in the village—it was on the outskirts and had a large yard with a vegetable garden, flowers, and some trees.

I crossed the large yard behind Aedric, observing all the flowers there. He opened the door. I followed him. There was a large foyer with a hallway leading to stairs for the second floor on the right, and on the left there were two rooms. Right in front of the stairs was another fork to the right and left.

"I'm back!" Aedric shouted.

Suddenly, noise started coming from the rooms. A large black dog came running, barking, and approached Aedric wagging its tail. Behind the dog came a woman taller than me wearing an apron. She looked like an adult. And behind her came something that surprised me—a two-legged lizard. It was quite small, like a child in size. It wore glasses and a formal suit. It looked quite scholarly.

"Let me introduce you: the dog is called Drust. He's a Cu Sith, Hina's familiar. The woman is a house fairy who helps with household maintenance. Her name is Aine. And lastly, what looks like a mage lizard is a kobold who helps me make potions. His name is Quindle."

"Is this the boy?" Quindle asked while staring at me intently.

"He doesn't look like much," he continued.

I had the feeling that he and I weren't going to get along.

"Where's Hina?" Aedric asked.

"The young lady was in her room. She'll come down any moment," Aine commented calmly.

I found it strange how formally she spoke, but it was the first time I'd seen fairies and magical beings, so I didn't have much knowledge of what they were like either.

Suddenly, someone could be heard running down the stairs. A girl appeared with blonde hair, a bit shorter than me, wearing a shirt that covered her entire upper body and a long skirt on the bottom that reached just above her knees.

"With how eager you were, and you're late," Aedric joked.

She ran over to me with a smile on her face.

"I'm Hina. I hope we get along really well." In my head, it looked like she was surrounded by a strange light—it was too bright.

"I don't remember my name. For now, call me Navnlos. I hope we get along."

"So it's true that he sealed his name. I don't know how stupid you have to be to do it voluntarily," Quindle commented with an air of superiority.

I could only look at him in silence, but he annoyed me.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll make lots of memories here," Hina said excitedly.

"Well, let's not stay at the door. Aine, can you show him the house?"

"At your service."

"I'll come with you too," Hina commented excitedly.

Aine and Hina started moving. I followed them. First they showed me the living room. It was just to the left of the entrance—quite spacious with two large sofas facing each other and a low table in the middle. There were armchairs in the corners of the living room and several windows on the walls facing the garden. It was also decorated with quite a few plants and landscape paintings.

Next we went to the kitchen, which was right across from the living room. It was quite spacious and classic, although it had all modern appliances. I'd say it's the most modern room in the house. The kitchen had two entrances. To the left of the main hallway entrance was another entrance that led to another hallway, and right in front was a room with a large table. It looked like that was the dining room. There was only the table and chairs. It was decorated with windows, paintings, and plants like the rest of the rooms.

The hallway opposite the dining room had Aedric's, Quindle's, and Aine's rooms, which they wouldn't let me enter, and the downstairs bathroom with a bathtub. We went to the second floor where there were only two bedrooms—mine and Hina's—and another bathroom that it seemed only the two of us would use. I was glad not to have to share a bathroom with a lizard, but it also seemed strange to be on a floor alone with a girl my age. Moving on to the bedrooms, Hina did let me see hers.

"This is my room."

She opened the door. It was a medium-sized room with a bed near the wall, but not against it. There was a large window that lit up the whole room, and many bookshelves with books and a writing desk by the window. What stood out most about the room was all the books.

"So many books."

"When I was little, I had to read a lot, so it became a hobby. Most of them are also potion books and theory books to help the master."

By master, she meant Aedric. I wondered if I also had to call him that. I'm still not very clear about what our relationship is. I also got curious to ask about her past, but I suppose I'm not the best one to ask about those things.

"Although the master values practical experience much more," Aine mentioned.

"It never hurts to review the theory," Hina said.

It seemed that Hina and Aedric had some friction about their way of doing things.

"The room next door is yours," Hina said as she moved to the next door.

"We're neighbors," Hina joked.

Aine opened the door. The room had the same structure as Hina's, but without any books or decoration in general—just empty shelves, the desk, and the bed.

On top of the bed, I noticed there was a suitcase.

"What about that suitcase?"

"Those are your belongings. They were sent here directly."

"My belongings?"

I opened the suitcase. Hina approached with curiosity. Inside the suitcase were clothes and a letter.

I looked at the back of the letter to see if it had a return address. It had a name: "Ailith." A blurry image of an adult woman came to my mind.

I opened the letter. When I took out the paper, I saw there was something else inside—a key. I proceeded to read the letter:

"I hope your things arrived safely. I'm Ailith. Since you won't remember who I am, think of me as the woman who got you into this mess. But don't worry—I'm sure your soul will revive in this new world and your determination will move it. Besides, Aedric will surely teach you well. He's a reliable mage, and who knows—maybe the next time we meet, you'll even have a girlfriend. If you're wondering what the key is for, it's the door to your memories. When you feel it's the right time, use it and everything will return to you."

"Ailith seems quite troublesome, but she's a good person," Hina said after seeing the letter was from her. It seemed she hadn't looked at the contents of the letter.

Although my real question was whether to use the key now or not. If I recovered my memories, everything would be easier. After all, I'd know who I am. But I suppose if I ended up here in the first place, I must have done it for some reason. From Aedric's words, this seems to have been by my own will, although the letter makes me doubt a bit because of Ailith's personality. For now, I suppose I'll leave things as they are.

I hung the key around my neck and put the letter in the suitcase.

"Rest for today. Tomorrow the master will give you instructions," Aine mentioned calmly.

"You've had quite a busy day today, and the next few days will be tough. I'll call you when dinner is ready."

Aine and Hina left the room, leaving me in that empty room.