She awoke in a place that was unfamiliar. The air was cooler than she remembered it being, and as she slid off of the couch that she was sure was not her own, the floor felt cold and strange under her bare feet. Her feet carried her across the floor, her slim body moving with the swiftness and sleekness of a cat in its territory, a movement of familiarity. In her case, nothing was familiar and her mind was a blank page.

Where am I?

Her thought felt numb coming from her, but she convinced herself it was only because she had just awoken. She was alone and aware of it by the way the air was still and crisp, as if not a soul but her had breathed it in for hours. Her light steps carried her over to the window, slender fingers caressing the marble that seemed to be everywhere.

Why would someone use such a beautiful material when it retained such a frozen lifelessness?

The austere atmosphere was only intensified by the sheer, lightweight fabrics in shades of silver and blue that hung about the room. They moved ghost-like in the soft breeze, and seemed to cling to her skin whenever she happened to brush against them. As she studied the origin of the wind, she discovered that the window opened up into a courtyard with a fountain in the center. Although plants had been allowed to grow and moss to explore freely on its own, it was obvious that care had been taken to keep the place pristine, particularly the fountain. A grey figure of a woman stood in the center on a pedestal, water spilling from her cupped hands as she looked into them with a fascination that would forever be fixed.

The girl's gaze moved about the room again as her mind struggled with numb fingers to grasp where she was and why she was in this cold place. The matter of who she was did not even cross her thoughts. She was somewhere unfamiliar, somewhere she felt she knew in the back of her mind. The feeling tugged at her until she was able to reassure it that she would discover where she was and why she was there. Moving towards the doorway with precise, even footing, the soft robes that flowed about her legs seemed akin to the other eerie fabrics that decorated the room. The luxury of everything contrasted starkly to the chilled feeling of the place. Every object had been placed with deliberate care and yet somehow it lacked the warmth of a home.

Questing for answers took her outside of the room she had awakened in and into several others equally as lavish, each holding no more secrets or familiar feelings than the last. Still, she persisted, her fingers and eyes exploring every object, every corner, every place within her tiny realm of knowledge. If she could not remember, she would create new memories to fill her head until she found the old ones again. It wasn't until her third time walking the same floor that she noticed the doors and her pace slowed to a halt. They were massive, silver doors that seemed to reach from the floor to the sky and engraved upon each slab of silver were what she thought were runes. Stepping closer, she brushed her fingers over the carvings within the door and with the gesture came a sensation almost like remembering... but the feeling slipped away as quickly as it came.

There was nowhere to go but through the slabs of monolithic silver. She placed one palm on each, a movement which caused a shiver to move down her spine as she began to push the enormous doors open, feeling them begin to open as soon as she exerted some force. Light flooded her vision from the rising sun, dawn bringing the light high enough on the horizon so that she was blinded from seeing anything in front of her. Her feet carried her further into the large chamber, but she had not gone more than a few steps before there was no floor let to walk on, only a large set of stairs. For the first time since she had awoken, she was unbalanced physically, but before she could catch herself, a stronger arm grasped her own. It wasn't enough to keep her completely upright, but it was enough to keep her from falling down the flight of stairs. She sagged against the stairs, her position lower on the ground which allowed her to finally survey the room. Pairs of dark eyes peered at her, many with mouths agape.

“Dismissed.” The voice was from the woman whose arm was still holding her own. She could feel the woman's fingers trembling on her arm, while her voice sounded calm and authoritative. The dark eyes and open mouths didn't move from their place on the floor at the foot of the stairs and the woman's voice rang out again, stern and angry, but there was a hint of desperation.

“I said dismissed!” The response this time was that every one of the figures scrambled to leave the room as fast as they could manage to get out.

The older woman sat down, her arm slowly releasing the girl's own. The girl noticed there was something like exhaustion in the woman's eyes, hidden by a strong exterior. She was dressed in the same flowing material that hung everywhere, but her clothing seemed heavier and darker than everything the girl had seen before. She was beautiful, but her unique qualities made her beautiful rather than her physical appearance. Her skin was a shade darker than the girl's, her figure much more massive, built up in hardened muscles that created a solid, tower of monolithic strength, though of human proportions. It was a very long time before either of them spoke, and it was the larger woman who did so.

“Eira...”

The name sent a shock to the girl's system as she felt her mind grasping onto the word, recognizing it but struggling to remember. Her body reacted much quicker than her mind could, and the shock caused her to slide back, her head hitting the marble wall that was behind her. As she winced in agony, the older woman looked guilty.

“I didn't mean to startle you.”

The girl found her voice. “Eira?”

“Yes, Eira. That's...” The woman paused in mid-sentance and instead let out a sigh, pursing her lips before she began again. “So you've finally forgotten?” The girl's blank stare told her everything the woman needed to know. “You have.” It was a look of defeat that the woman wore as she got to her feet. Everything the older woman had struggled to prevent had already come to pass. With a tired sigh, she reached down a hand to help the girl up, a gesture that felt awkward to the girl, like she was unused to helping or perhaps just unused to helping her. The girl had noticed how the woman was hesitant around her, but it only made sense now that the woman's hand was offered to her. The girl accepted the help and was pulled to her feet.

“There are a few things you had better know before you do anything else, Eira.”

The girl wasn't paying attention. Her gaze had drifted around the large, pillared room as she seized the opportunity to define the place she was in as a temple. The use of the name, however, caught her attention once more, but it was different as she realized the connotation.
“I'm... Eira?”
The woman's name was Reine and she was the Head Priestess of the Temple of the Silver One. There were a series of temples throughout the region, but the particular one that they were in was the main temple, the most elaborate, and the largest. It was the first ever to be built to the Silver One, the Goddess who reigned over the land, a Goddess of protection.

“We get the most worshippers here. All the training for our priests and priestesses is done here, as well as the important rituals and ceremonies for the Silver One.” Reine's little history lesson was beginning to cause Eira to lose interest in the story.

“Alright. I'm afraid I am not quite following why I am here.”

“I'm getting there, just let me explain. This situation is very complicated and you need to know everything. So just be quiet!” Reine's voice was stressed with a vein of frustration. Eira was startled into silence by the tone in Reine voice as if she had just stepped into a river only to find it ice cold instead of pleasantly warm.

“I'm sorry.” Eira's eyes were downcast. Reine didn't continue her story. Instead, she turned to Eira, her strong gaze fixating upon the girl's face.

“Why don't you tell me about this place, Eira?”

Eira's gaze flashed from the floor to Reine, confusion filling the depths of her eyes. Instead of replying though, she got to her feet, beginning to walk the floor of the room. She began to pull details from everything, and she began to combine it with what she had seen from the rooms behind the silver doors.

“It's cold.” She began, her eyes continuing to move, darting back and forth over everything in the temple. “If this Silver One is a protector of this land, she is a distant one. How can you believe in such a goddess?” Eira didn't catch Reine's painful-yet-amused look in her direction and so she continued.

“She has abandoned you in your time of need, Reine.” Eira turned back to her, gesturing at the temple. “Why else would this place seem so much like death? It's cold and it's empty. Your Goddess isn't here.”

“The irony,” Reine murmured, but she shook her head when Eira gave her a puzzled glance. “Eira, there is where you are wrong. The Silver One is here in this temple, just not in the form you would think she would be.”

“I'm afraid I don't understand.”

“In my duties as Head Priestess, I have worked very closely with someone who is closely linked with the Goddess. Certain events set in motion thanks to her enemies have unfortunately made this... person's... duties very difficult for her to accomplish. On top of this, these particular events would have adverse affects on the Goddess' followers.”

“Please don't begin another story like you did before.” Eira stated, but Reine began again.

“The Silver One has been good to her people. She gifted us with something, a tangible expression of herself on our world, a daughter if you will. Perhaps reincarnation would even be a better way to phrase it. This reincarnation has been a vital part of our world. She would perform blessings, rituals, and simply be there for her people. She was human, and yet not, a Goddess clothed in frail humanity. It was the humanity that her enemies sought to destroy. Her enemies staged a carefully planned attack on the Silver One's Daughter, as they knew they could not destroy her all at once. So they began with something that would eat away at her, something that they knew would slowly weaken her until they could get another chance to strike.

“One night, a powerful sorcerer slipped in, accompanied by a band of rogues who attempted to subdue the temple guards. Though the sorcerer never got close enough to physically lay a hand on the Daughter, he was close enough to use his magic. At first no one could see the effects, not even the Daughter herself, and so we all assumed that the spell had failed. Gradually, though, the effects began to show through. The Daughter began to forget. At first it was simple things such as the names of her priestesses, events that she was supposed to attend, and where objects were placed. Naturally, being so close to the Daughter, I was the one who noticed these things first. Terrified that the enemies of the Daughter would find out that their plan had succeeded, I kept her loss of memories a secret, doing all that I could to keep the Goddess from losing them all. Today, she awoke and remembered nothing.”

Eira's face had changed from a mask of indifference into one of confusion, concern, and curiosity. Her worried look melted into a one of shock as Eira drew in a sharp breath. That was why her nothing filled her head, why the temple seemed unfamiliar and cold. It was because the Daughter of the Silver One had lost all memories of who she was.

“You mean me.” Eira's voice came out soft, almost frightened.

“I do.”

“A Goddess? I can't be a...” It was too hard to speak all the ideas that ravaged her mind, pulling apart every thread of her being as they grappled with each other for dominance. Though her thoughts desperately evaded the possibility, a heavy feeling swelled inside Eira that sought to pull them back. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe, and so she did the only thing that she could. Her mind fled from the conflicted, drowning thoughts and instead sought out the sane, empty place that had cradled her just hours before. The girl fainted.