Lost girl

The weight of the truth

Ellara stood in the clearing, the echoes of her vision still ringing in her mind. The ancient tree loomed behind her, its twisted roots seeming to pulse with an unseen energy, but it no longer held the promise of forgotten answers. The memories it had revealed burned in her like an open wound, vivid and sharp—*too real to be denied.*

She was a Guardian. Once a protector of this world, one who had fought to keep the darkness at bay. But now, she was something far more dangerous. She had failed, and in her failure, she had become a threat to the very thing she was meant to defend. That knowledge clawed at her, heavy with a guilt she could barely comprehend.

The man in the mist had vanished, fading back into the shadows after she had pulled her hand from the tree. His parting words hung in the air like a bitter aftertaste.

"Whether you will save it, or doom it, depends on what you choose next."

She clenched her fists, staring down at her hands. They felt unfamiliar now—hands that had once wielded magic, that had fought against forces beyond her understanding. But she had no memory of those battles, no knowledge of the power she was supposed to command. The amulet around her neck pulsed faintly, its magic stirring in response to her thoughts, but it wasn't enough.

I can't do this, she thought. I don't know how.

The weight of it all—her past, her forgotten identity, the looming darkness—threatened to crush her. She had come so far, but now, standing at the edge of the truth, she felt more lost than ever.

A rustling in the trees broke the silence, drawing her from her spiraling thoughts. She spun around, her hand instinctively reaching for the amulet, though she wasn't sure what she intended to do with it.

From the mist emerged a figure, smaller and less ominous than the man who had guided her here. As the figure came closer, the haze parted to reveal the familiar, round face of Finn, his brown eyes wide with concern. He was one of the people she saw in her flashback moments. If it weren't for that, he'd be a stranger to her.. just like everyone else she had seen.

"There you are!" he exclaimed, his voice a mix of relief and exasperation. "I've been searching for you for hours! What are you doing out here?"

Ellara let out a shaky breath, her body trembling with the weight of the vision still lingering in her mind. "Finn..?" She was trying to figure out how she remembered him but not the other people—things— that she saw, but she knew there wasn't time for that. "I...I found something. Something I needed to see."

Finn's brow furrowed, and he took a step closer, his eyes scanning her face. "What did you find?"

For a moment, she considered telling him everything—about the memories, the tree, the man in the mist who knew more about her than she did. But the words felt heavy, too tangled with fear and uncertainty to be shared just yet. She barely understood it herself.

"Pieces of who I was," she said quietly, her voice raw. "It's... it's more than I expected."

Finn looked at her for a long moment, his expression softening. He didn't press her for details, but his concern was clear. "You don't have to face this alone, you know. Whatever it is, I'm here. We'll figure it out." He was fully aware of the fact that she had lost all her memories, but that wasn't something he could bring up in the moment so he followed her conversation, almost as if they had never separated.

His words were comforting, but they also reminded her of the growing burden she carried. The darkness wasn't just coming for her. It was coming for everyone—Finn included. And if she was somehow connected to its return, then she was putting him in danger simply by being near him.