A Forgotten World

A Dead World

He woke up with someone peering down at him intensely. He couldn't read their face because they had some sort of wooden mask on.
"He's awake!" The masked person would shout as he struggled to sit up. He noticed there were a couple people surrounding him, holding candles.
"Where am I?" He asked, rapidly looking between the masked people, recalling the events that got him here. He appeared to be in some kind of large tent.
"Slow down, you just took a nose dive into the ground." One of the masked people laughed at him, shaking their head. This did nothing to appease his current mood, and he moved to get up before the person next to him put a hand on his shoulder.
"Here, hold this." They handed him a candle, which he hesitantly took, and held it close to his chest as directed. He felt his aches and pains dull, and his energy seemed to be replenished. Magic? He then remembered his cape, and noticed that they had taken it off of him. He felt a sense of loss without it, like his protection was ripped away.
"My cape..?" He asked the group.
"Give us a moment to explain a couple things to you." The one who gave him the candle spoke. "I'm Atlas, let's take a walk." She said to him, taking his hand and pulling him up off the table, he left the candle lying on the table to follow his new tour guide apparently.
"I don't.." He began, feeling like he should give his name in response, if only he knew it.
"Most don't remember their old name, we give each other new names based on what fits them. Right now people have taken to calling you Crash." Atlas giggled at this. He felt his face burn, how many people saw him plummet to the ground.
"How'd you get your name?" He asked after clearing his throat. He hoped his name could change, he didn't want to go by Crash permanently.
"I am good with directions, and I can memorize any map upon looking at it." She paused and glanced at him. "Don't worry, our names evolve with us. When I first arrived, they named me Trip, because I couldn't seem to stop tripping over things." He would nod along at her statement, secretly relieved.
"What's with the uh- the masks?" He asked, looking around as they walked. Everyone wore masks. They seemed to be doing normal people things, talking, trading items outside little huts. He looked around for the castle he had spotted before he crashed here, and he found it was far behind them.
"We don't have to wear masks here, but most places we do, it becomes habit to just leave them on." She answered, leaving him more confused than he was before.
"Can you take your mask off?" He asked nervously, something about everyone but him having a mask on unnerved him. She obliged though, hooking her mask to a spot on her belt.
"Don't worry, we'll get you one soon. You'll need it for your tasks!" She grinned, he gave a nervous smile. Tasks?! He then noticed that everyone had white hair. Even her. Her white hair was tied in a ponytail. He reached up and touched his hair, pulling down a bit of his hair so he could see it. Sure enough, it was white. He noted that despite that common factor, everyone else seemed to have color to their skin. He stopped and looked around questioningly. "We don't know why our hair turns white, but most of us don't remember what we used to look like anyways. And as for your skin, you'll regain some color." She said, as if reading his mind.
"What we used to look like..." he repeated, confused. "Are we.. ghosts?" He asked.
"Not exactly. We aren't entirely sure what we are." She shrugged. "We have our theories. Most say we're dead, and this is our afterlife. It makes sense, as there's quite a few who remember painful memories of death. Some say we were brought back to this land with a purpose." She kicked the ground with her feet.
"So do you all just kinda spawn around?" He asked, thinking back to waking up and a random place.
"Generally yeah. But we send out search parties to find new ones. They're limited to appearing in the Isle of Dawn, which is where you popped up. We've never had a new one manage to fly here though- speaking of, where did you find that cape?" Atlas furrowed her brows.
"I just followed a speck of light, it led me to the cape and then the cape kind of- absorbed it so to speak." He shrugged, his hands going to his bare shoulders, reminded of the absent cape. "Can I have it back?"
"Of course. Normally you're given the option to pick out a cape but I suppose if that's the one you want." Atlas said with a frown. "We'll have to supply it with some wings of light though. I am curious as to how you flew with it, because you can't fly without a wing of light. That speck of light may be a spirit." Atlas pondered out loud. He decidedly didn't press that subject, as it seemed more confusing than enlightening. He did want to know what the hell a wing of light was.
"What is a wing of light?" He asked.
"It's unclear, we know that they can be used to charge our capes, and help us fly longer the more we find. But we don't know how they come about. I think they're gifts from old spirits." Atlas answered, resuming their walk toward a group of tents that looked like shops.
"Do the capes run out of wings of light?" He asked, wondering if you had to constantly get more.
"They're kind of like batteries, you recharge them with light sources. I'll tell you more when we get out in the world." She grinned and walked toward one of the tents with a bunch of hanging capes. "Quill!" She shouted, and a short, pudgy looking man, with a cap decorated with feathers came out of the tent flap in the back.
"Quit your yapping, what'ya want?" Quill sniffed before looking at Atlas and himself.
"A cloak was delivered here awhile ago, it belongs to him." Atlas nodded, folding her arms across her chest as if she was doing serious business.
"Ah so this 'ere is that Crash feller." Quill looked at him and grinned, he grimaced in response. Atlas chuckled and confirmed. He had to figure out how to get people to call him something different. He was not about to start answering to 'Crash'. It was a bit on the nose if you asked him. "Curious piece of work that cape is, no Wings o' Light, yet it still flappin' about despite being put on the hook." Quill raised an eyebrow. "Where'd ya get it?" Quill turned his gaze suspiciously toward Crash.
"I just found it." He shrugged, offering no other explanation, not that there was one, besides that curious little ember.
"Well, 'ere ya go." Quill sighed and handed the cape to him, which seemed to hum with life. "Oi, Atlas, are you takin' him?" Quill would ask when they turned to leave.
"Yes, me and Harmony. We're going to show him the ropes, I don't know what group he'll be put in yet." Atlas and Quill spoke about him like he wasn't standing right there. He bristled at that fact. They left the cape shop and continued down the path. They got to a fountain where a rather pretty man with curly white hair stood. He was one of the few that weren't wearing a mask. He had a cyan cape on that had all the stars lit up on the spine, whereas his own cape only had one star lit up. He stole a glance at Atlas and noted that her cape was a deep purple, and not only did it have all the stars lit up, it also had rings around each of the stars.
"What's up!" Harmony said cheerfully. "Crash I presume?" He held out his hand.
"How quickly can I change my name?" He asked with a sour expression on his face, but shook Harmony's hand nonetheless.
"When something fits you better." Harmony said with a shrug.
"Might rename him to impatient." Atlas said, rolling her eyes.
"I have to say, most choose newer looking capes." Harmony said, circling him. He tugged on the cape lightly with his arm, feeling defensive over his attachment to the thing.
"I think in this case, the cape may have chose him." Atlas said, giving him a quizzical look.
"Hmm. Is Rogue coming with us today?" Harmony asked.
"Nope, couldn't find her." Atlas replied quickly. He absentmindedly looked around while they spoke. "Welp, let's get a move on!" Atlas said, almost rushing.
"Woah, does he have a thermos? Or a flame?" Harmony raised an eyebrow, wondering why Atlas was so quick to get the newbie out and into the open.
"Oh. I forgot about that. I'll be right back." Atlas said, huffing before running off.
"Oh and a mask!" Harmony called after her, hoping she heard.
"So, Crash, what're you thinking?" Harmony nudged him with his elbow.
"I'm thinking... that I'm confused, and no one has really explained shit to me." He huffed, feeling grumpy.
"That's to be expected, especially with Atlas. She was the same way with me. She's been here a whole of a lot longer than anyone else I know. I think she forgets what it's like to wake up in a strange place, with little memories." Harmony said sympathetically.
"So what are we all doing here?" He'd ask Harmony, warming up to the man.
"You won't entirely understand this until we take you out there, but, we're trying to heal a dead world." Harmony glanced off into the distance.
"It doesn't look dead." He'd look around, people running from place to place, tents, the grass was green, and there were trees.
"Do you remember where you woke? The Isle of Dawn?" Harmony asked.
"Oh, yeah. The desert." He'd answer.
"Yeah, that place used to be an archipelago. Before The Shattering." Harmony seemed sad, his tone growing almost melancholy.
"The shattering?" He'd ask, wondering how such a desolate place could've ever been a archipelago.
"You aren't quite ready for that story. But just know that before The Shattering, the world was better." Harmony's face lit up as he saw Atlas sprinting back toward them, holding up some peculiar items. "You're about to see what the fuss is all about." Harmony said with a grin. He had so many questions, even after everything he's asked today. He feels like the more answers he gets, the more confused he gets.