Rebirth of Light

Chapter 1

He woke up in a strange room with absolutely no idea how he had gotten there.  White clean walls, beds, and furniture.  Yet he has no clue what the significance of the room was.  He had no memory of being moved here.  Actually, he had no memory of anything before waking up here. He knew he had a past, he just couldn't remember any event before that moment.  He did, however, remember his name.  Gabriel. 

This was all made clear to him in his first moments of awareness.  In the next few moments, He realized two other things.  He was not alone on that bed, and the other figure was someone he recognized.  A face from his past.  He knew her face, remembered her name, and knew that she was very important to him.  However, he could not bring to mind a single memory of her. 

She was still sleeping, but she appeared to be waking up.  Gabriel decided to wait for her to wake up completely before he tried to figure out what was going on.  After all, there was a slight chance she might know something about their situation.  When she did finally wake, Gabriel was a little disappointed, yet not surprised, that she look just as confused as he felt.  

He was still trying to figure out why she was so important to him when she turned to face him. The moment their eyes connected, however, he no longer wondered; he knew.  He was staring into the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen.  Despite having no memory, he knew this to be true.  "Allyssa?" he said.  "Gabriel?" she replied.  Gabriel couldn't help it, he smiled.  Hearing her voice just confirmed what he already knew.  Allyssa then lunged at Gabriel and gave him a big hug.  "Gabriel," she said, "I'm scared.  What is going on?  How and why are we here?  Why can't I remember anything?"

"I can answer all of those questions." said a deep, low voice.  Gabriel and Allyssa both jumped  and looked to see a tall old looking man had entered the room through a door in the far side.  "Follow me and I will explain to you what I can."  With that, the man left the room.  With a quick glace at each other, Gabriel and Allyssa, both already fully dressed, quickly followed the man out of the room.  As soon as they caught up with the old man, Gabriel asked, "Who are you, and where are we?"

"Patient now, " said the old man.  He gestures towards a set of chairs, "Please, sit down and relax while I explain everything."  He then proceeds to slowly ease himself into one of the chairs.  Hesitantly, they follow his example.  "My name is Merrick, and you are in the Ormr Forest on the world of Athos.  At least, what is left of it." Merrick sighs, "You were brought here by one of the last great acts of the Order of Light.  They brought you here in the hopes that you could save this world where they could not."  Gabriel tries to speak, but Merrick stops him, "Please, no questions.  Let me finish, and then I will answer what I can.  I am merely a messenger, so I know only what I have been told."

"The Order of Light was once a secret organization where each member trained their entire lives to mastering and perfecting a specific skill. These skills all involved some form of combat, as they were training to fight a great evil.  This evil, known only as the Darkness, was said to have been sealed away many ages ago by the first Order of Light.  Many of them nearly dies in the process.  They were the first lingering spark of light in this world, and, for a time, things seemed like they were going to be okay.  The Order, however, knew that the seal would not hold forever, so they charged their followers to dedicate their lives to finding a way to destroy the darkness."

Gabriel again tried to speak, but this time, Allyssa stopped him.  "Be patient and listen.  This must be important if he is telling this to us." "Indeed," said Merrick, "This is the oldest story of our world, and it holds significance in our current situation." Merrick pauses, "Where are my manners?  You two must be hungry.  Would you like something to eat?"  They hadn't even realized how hungry they were until Merrick said something.  "Yes, please," they both answered in unison.  "I will return in a moment," said Merrick, and then he left.