In lands beyond your name reverbs across the walls.
They speak of you as a higher figure, the one above them all.
Some shy at your name your syllables almost coming across as forbidden speech.
For none could comprehend the unhinged souls in you.
Under my watch you challenged through.
The kingdom shall know your name.
Not anymore as the being you used to be.
But as the one I desire you to be.
Come forth.
Protector of Freihella.
That was a passage of The Freihella Anthem, a novel written by the first king.
It spread literature across the common people, the first step towards becoming the thriving kingdom it would eventually be.
That was the only sound my mind could register.
Or perhaps the only sense.
My vision was blacked out completely, not a single source of light could come through my eyelids.
It almost felt as if floating in air, minus the breeze, or the falling sensation, as my hands, legs, chest, every place with nerves was completely numbed.
I couldn't feel anything around me.
My consciousness had come back.
Or at least I thought.
Saying it came back wouldn't work if it never went away in the first place, but had I been conscious previously?
I'm sure of it.
But I just couldn't prove it.
I tried rummaging through my memories but nothing came.
A visual clue? Auditory? Perhaps a sensation?
Nothing.
That passage and my language was all that remained in my memories.
Gradually, in the void of darkness I found myself in, sensations came back.
Something coarse was below me, coarse, rough and solid.
It spread along from my chin towards my neck, chest, legs, and ending at my feet.
"Nngh-"
I managed to groan out, seems I was actually waking up now.
Trying to move something my leg jerked, perhaps involuntary as I was just spamming my brain's control board.
But I could register pain.
My leg hit hard against the surface below me.
I groaned again at the pain, feeling my face muscles move as I grimaced.
Yup, I'm awake.
Now that I could feel my face muscles it was just a matter of solving a small brain puzzle to open my eyes.
I tried finding whatever brain signal could open my eyes.
My mouth twitched and my eyebrows raised and fell a couple times but I managed to slightly open my eyes.
Now it was just a matter of pushing through.
Whatever was in front of me was a blurry mess of purple and blue.
I was slowly regaining control of my body.
Focusing on moving my body or opening my eyes was a rough choice.
But whatever I chose I'd have to do the other one eventually.
So I did both at the same time.
I tried to lift myself up and open my eyes at the same time.
If this only got me exhausted I could just fall back on the ground.
It's not like I'm in a rush.
First my arms raised my torso, a painful inch at a time.
It felt as if I hadn't moved my muscles in ages.
My elbows cracked, another signal of my lack of movement.
How long had I been sleeping for?
My legs followed, same deal as my arms.
An electric sensation ran from the base of my feet all the way to my spine.
The coarse texture below me finally registered itself completely, every bump and ridge against my bare feet.
I should've stayed down but I was too far gone now.
Now that I could control my arms I used my hand to force one of my eyes open.
Same went for my other arm.
My eyes took a while to wake up.
But sooner than later the image went from blurry to sharp.
Seems I was in the caves.
Rock, stone, boulders, and whatever synonyms you can come up with was all that surrounded me.
A rather pretty blue as a base and purple at the highlights.
Including some orange and gray torches that hung on the walls.
My body was back in my control.
The pressure I felt on my back when I was on the ground was nothing weird, my hand was met with the cold sensation of metal.
A sword?
Indeed, it was a sword slung over my back, seeming to be a part of my belongings.
What else?
I looked down and noticed the front-slit tunic slung across my shoulders.
Black and the material seemed to be a fine silk.
Surprisingly well-kept.
There weren't any weird stitches or torn patches, let alone stray strands of silk.
Below it, just my fur, seems I was pretty strong judging by my physique.
All of that accompanied by some regular brown pants, made from a rougher material than my tunic, linen, perhaps?
I have a vague memory of a particular skill that could be helpful right now.
"Status appraisal."
A window popped up in my view, white text, and a translucent light blue background, almost like a hologram.
[ Name ] [ UNKNOWN ]
[ Age ] 23
[ Job ] [ UNKNOWN ] kingdom's knight
[ Race ] Mankyn Hound
[ Level ] 5
[ HP ] 110
[ MP ] 100
[ Attack ] 120
[ Defense ] 90
[ Agility ] 100
[ Skills ] Appraisal, Blade Proficiency I
I stood still for a moment, trying to process my information screen.
Unknown?
What the hell was this? Some glitch in the system?
But no, magic couldn't glitch like that.
Everything looked about right after that until I reached my skills.
"H-Huh?"
I could swear I had more skills than those two.
Despite only being vague memories I could remember a compass skill that would be extremely helpful in a situation like this where I have no idea where I am.
I closed my status screen.
Not a name or a kingdom to my name, despite being a knight.
My stats looked about right, all of them around the 100s, stronger than the average entity around the world, judging from whatever memory I could find through my brain.
Well, if I wanted an idea of where I am I should first get out of this cave.
Unsheathing my sword I took a couple steps forward, finding a wooden door that blocked my path.
I tried twisting the doorknob but it wouldn't budge, so I did the only reasonable thing.
SLASH
The wood tore apart completely in a single slash, seems Sword Proficiency would come in handy.
I began walking along the cave system.
Onward to a new journey.