A young woman woke on a beach of black sand. She frantically looked around, having no idea where she was, or who she is. She looked down to see that she was naked, and knew she had to cover herself as the cold water she'd clearly washed in from chilled her to the bone. She attempted to stand before she fell face-first into the sand.

With a grunt and sheer determination, she stood to her feet. A pain in her stomach sent her to her knees before she pushed one last time and planted her feet firmly into the sand below. She managed to find a large tattered cloth that she placed over herself, cutting a hole for her head. The woman also managed to find a sturdy stick, and lifted it from the ground. The cloth got in the way of her attempts to practice swinging, so she cut along the right side down to the bottom.

She practiced her swings again before she quickly became familiar with her strikes, just not remembering where she learned. Sheer cliffs kept her from heading farther inland, so she walked the beach for hours before she reached a large archway made of old stone bricks.

She entered the archway into a pitch black room before a blow to her chest sent her flying back out. She looked down to see she'd been slashed before she looked back up. A grotesque creature that only slightly resembled her own kind stood with a rusted sword, ready to plunge the blade into her stomach.

It brought the blade in and she rolled aside, dodging the attack. Back on her feet in a swift motion, she swung the stick at its head. The stick shattered in to as it cackled maniacally before swinging at her several times. It swung at her once more before she grabbed its wrist and sent her forearm into its elbow, dislocating its arm and taking its sword.

With one big swing, she brought the sword down onto its head and split it in two. A small red light left its body as it inched its way towards her. The light entered her chest, and she noticed the bleeding stop, but the wound remained.

The woman continued forward as she entered the room again, sword in hand. She squinted hard, and the room became very dimly lit as her eyes adjusted and she continued forward. She walked through a hall for a while before she stumbled across a skeleton with badly rusted armor. She took any armor that wouldn't fall apart and fastened it to herself.

Now armed with a single rusted sword, a rusty chest plate and shoulder guard, she made her way forward cautiously. After a while of slow walking, she stepped on a pressure-plate that launched an arrow into her chest, blasting straight through her armor. She busted the back of the arrow, and guided it through her body before growling and taking the chest plate off, then smashing it on the ground repeatedly in anger. It shattered instantly.

She continued grumpily as the halls opened more and more before she entered a large room. The moment she entered, another arrow came flying at her before she caught it with her left hand. Angered, she threw the arrow back as hard as she could before seeing a body drop from a ledge.

She examined the body before stripping it of its armor that was only slightly less rusted than the last. Now armed with two swords, some bulky iron boots and a small chest plate, she continued through the room and through the other side.

Once she reached the other side, she exited the large building she was in and now stood outside. The wind swept over the mountains as she stared off in the distance. A small light caught her eye. As she looked closer, she seen a small tent and decided to make the trek.

She walked through the dark, cold forest for a while before she heard howling encircle her. The woman looked around to see wolves that stood up to her shoulders running around her. She thought quick, focusing harder on the sound around her harder than the sight before her. One of the large wolves jumped in from behind her and she managed to use its own weight to eviscerate it as it leapt through the air with a yelp.

Another wolf managed to grasp her left arm as she used the other arm to plunge a sword into its throat while another wolf tore at her right shoulder. The last wolf began to run off once it noticed it was the last one. She continued forward as she bled. After a while, she reached the small camp with a single tent.

A large, muscular man stood from the campfire he was sitting at and held his hand on the rip of his blade before he asked, "You should put them swords away, unless you're tryin' to look like a mort with all that... gear..."

She stood there, silent, before the man asked, "You can rest here if it so pleases you, ya crazy wench." The young woman stared again before dropping her swords and taking her armor off. "Woahwoahwoah! the fuck's the matter witcha?" She walked closer and attempted to speak, "Bud! lot of bud! Big pain, help! HELP!" The campfire illuminated her more, revealing her wounds. "By the divines woman, get the fuck over here! Lay on... my damn bedroll for now and don't fuckin' move!" She followed his orders and did laid on the bedroll.

"Now, I ain't much of a magi user, but I do know this spell. Now hold still. Crazy woman," He explained as he held his left hand over her body. A soft green light emitted from his hand, and her wounds slowly began to heal after a few minutes. Once she was fully healed, she sat up and thanked him with what words she could muster, "Th- thank! Big thank!" He stared at her in sheer confusion and replied, "Yeah yeah, now... put yer clothes back on, please? Ya shouldn't be so willin't flaunt yer lady bits to random strangers, alright?"

She replied with an enthusiastic, "Mhm!" Before getting her tattered undergarments back on and placing her armor over them. "Well... seemin' ya soaked my bedroll with blood, ya might as well keep'r." The man explained with an irritated tone.

She stared at him for a moment, comparing him to the mountain off in the distance. "Mmm... mmm!" She began to make noise. The man looked at her again, no longer surprised at her inability to communicate in a sensible manner and asked, "C'mon girl, spit it out!"

"Mmm... mmoun... Mountain!" She blurted, pointing at him. He replied, "Uhh, no. My name's Raythor." She maintained her point, and again blurted, "Mountain!" He accepted defeat and replied, "Alright... Mountain, I guess. Now, take that there bedroll into that tent an rest yerself some. Gotta figure out the fuck Imma do with you. Maybe you'll member more once ya wake.

Raythor watched as she got into the bedroll, tossed and turned, got back out, took her clothes off and got back into the bedroll. He placed his head in his hands and sighed, "Divines help this poor woman..." Before getting a spare bedroll and taking his place next to the fire.

In the morning, she awoke to Raythor cooking meat and eggs on a makeshift pan before he tossed her a handfull of unknown materials. He explained, "Put those on. They'll do better than that rustn' pile o' shit ya got there. She followed his orders and dressed in an assortment of thick hides and scaled steel armor. She fiddled with the armor for a bit before blurting, "Mountain good maker! Big like!" He replied with a chuckle, "Yeah yeah. Now git over here kiddo, got some grub for ya."

She walked over and sat in the dirt, taking a wooden plate full of meat and eggs. She took her first bit and her face lit up before she practically inhaled her meal and held out her plate, saying, "More! Big more!" He let out a laugh before he said, "Ya want more? I'll give ya more!" And began to pile to food onto her plate, each spoonful filling her spirit with happiness and determination.

The next moment she lay on the ground after having eaten too much and began to groan. "Hot damn woman, you can eat more than me and I'm three times yer size!" She groaned in response, "Mountain... too good maker... pain... pain.." He looked down at her with a smile and said, "Ya know, yer not so bad. Take a rest an I got somethin to show ya when yer done."

For a while she rest there on the ground, and once she felt better, she stood up with a stretch and looked around for Raythor. Once they spotted each other, he motioned for her to come, so she did. He opened a small chest and showed her a few swords that were shiny and clean. "Here, take yer pick kiddo. This is from my scavenging trip yesterday. Now that I got ya, you could help me carry some loot back to my place. Got me another friend there I do. He's got the brains fer makin potions an such. Uses magi too," He explained. She ogled at the weapons, and took a dagger in her left hand, and a short-sword in her right.

"Now lets git outta here, pack yer bag with what ya can n' I'll do the same. Don't carry too much now," He asked her. She began to fill her bag with whatever she could fit before she was prepared for the trek. "C'mon now, gotta bit of a hike ahead of us. Don't forget to fill yer belly with water as much as ya do food. Keeps ya standin' longer in a scuffle," He said before heading out with the young woman in tow.

On the hike, he began to explain, "If yer headn' out on yer own again, remember to keep outta the forest. Bad wolves out there. Hungry ones at that." She began to speak again, "Wolf big! Wolf bad and dumb, wolf die!" "He chuckled and stated, "Yeah, figured ya got torn up out there. Don't have a fuckin' clue how yer still standin' though. Those wounds were deep an you were bleedin' like a faucet." As they continued, he heard her mumbling under her breath, "Bl- bleedin'... Faceit... Faucit... Faucet..? Fuckin'... Fuck..?" He chuckled and shook his head.

They continued forward through a grassy trail as grey skies loomed above, not a single ray of sunshine since she first woke. The wind swept over the grassland as they made their way to a small cabin not too far in the wood line. "Now don't worry bout ol' Ryder. He'll warm up to ya quick." The young woman replied, "Mhm!"

Raythor held up a small, glowing blues stone to the door. A similar etching in both of them shone brighter before he opened the door and announced himself, "It's me, I'm back! Gotta new friend to show ya!" Another voice sounded from the basement below. "Thor, for the love of all, please don't tell me you brought back another cat!"

The man from below walked up the stairs, and the young woman blurted out, "Ryder man have big hair!" Ryder replied, "You got some 'big hair' too you scruff. Thor, what the hell are you thinking? Bringing a young woman here? where the hell'd you pick this one up from?"

"She stumbled into my camp n' got naked, sayin' somethin' like 'Big bud! Big pain! help! help!' Almost started laughin' if it weren't fer those wounds she had. Was a miracle she could stand. Didn't even bat n' eye, this one," Raythor explained. Ryder replied, "Good lord... take her to the bathroom and have her clean up. She looks likes she's crawled through a shitpit."

Raythor motioned for her to follow, "Alright girl, c'mon. We gonna get you washed up. Ya know how to wash yerself dontcha?" She asked, "Wash? Big scrub?" He replied with a chuckle," Yeah, big scrub."

They walked into the bathroom and to a wooden tub. Before he showed her around, he asked her, "Ya know, there anything you do remember?" She pointed at herself and said, "Hope." He replied, "Hope? That yer name, then?" She maintained her point and repeated, "Hope, new Hope." He replied, "We'll just... call ya Hope for now. Alright now look, I assume I ain't gotta tell you what a toilet is. Same with the tub here. Got yerself a bunch of soap over there you can use. Pull that lever and a whole bunch of cold water gonna come out. Toss this runestone in there and it'll heat up right quick. just don't hold onto it fer too long. We ain't got infinite mana, shit gets tirin' after a while."

She walked over to the soap and smelled a bunch of different bars, making an assortment of faces before her face lit up at one in specific. "This! Soap smell good!" He replied with a smile, "There ya go! Yer almost makin' sense now. That one's lavander... Us guy's ain't use that one much, so it suits ya." She immediately undressed and he turned to leave the room with a sigh.

Hope filled the tub with water and followed Thor's directions, tossing the runestone in and getting the water nice and hot. She hopped in and began washing herself, scrubbing all the grime and blood she accumulated throughout the time since she awoke, darkening the water.

She splashed about for a bit, and got a mouthful of bathwater before immediately spitting it back out. She finished up and drained the water before drying herself off and getting dressed again. She walked over to a small mirror and was slightly startled by her own appearance. She leaned in and stared at her medium length black hair and deep blue eyes.

She made a bunch of faces before giggling a bit and heading out of the room. Ryder was at the top of a ladder dusting everything in sight. She stared at him silently before growing uncomfortable and asked, "Y- yes?" Hope asked, "Where mountain go?" Ryder replied, "Mountain? You mean Raythor? He went into Greywood to trade in some of the stuff you two brought back." He came down the ladder and took a seat at a table and motioned for her to do the same. So she did.

"He said the only thing you remembered was Hope? new Hope?" She pointed at herself and said, "Mhm, new Hope." Ryder sat back and replied with a somber tone, "Hope huh? We could really use some of that nowadays, especially with the civil war..." Hope noticed his tone and asked, "Ryder sad? Want hug?" Ryder looked surprised and replied, "Hug? Nononono, I'm alright, but... thanks for the offer." Hope tried to speak, "You well... you're..? whalecomb?" Ryder helped her, "You're welcome?" She replied, "Mhm! Yer welcome!" Ryder placed his face in his hands, "Oh boy..."

"He said you were pretty torn up. Do you know any magic?" Ryder asked. Hope stared blankly for a moment and shook her head, "Uh uh." Ryder handed her a tome for a simple healing spell and asked, "Here, can you read this?" Hope stared at the words, her gaze becoming more focused by the second. Ryder added, "Don't uhhh... hurt yourself please?"

She flipped through the pages for a while and began to pace back and forth. Suddenly she stopped, pulled out her dagger, and plunged it into her right hand. Shocked, Ryder stood up and frantically asked, "Good Lord woman! Are you fucking mad!?"

Hope put her dagger away and held left hand over her right. A bright green glow emitted from her left hand, and her wound sealed up in a matter of seconds. He stared in utter disbelief and said, "I have never! I'm not even at that level and I've been training for a few years now!" She looked over at a distant wall and shot a healing spell across the room. "YOU CAN PROJECT TOO!?!?" He shouted in utter disbelief.

"Ryder have more book?" Hope asked. Ryder ran down into the basement and brought back an armful of tomes and he began to explain, "Alright, some of these are wards, lesser to greater, one's a magelight, a stoneskin tome, and a few others. I reckon its not a good idea to get you shooting flames and ice just yet, so just... take your time."

Hope began casting lights and an assortment of other non-lethal spells as Ryder watched in awe at her ability to use magic so easily without tiring. Until she began to overheat. Sweating profusely, she took a seat and began panting.

Raythor walked in, shocked by all of the lights and blank runes scattered about. "The fuck happen in here?!" He asked. Ryder replied, "It's her! She's a natural! At this at least, still cant talk much yet, but still!" Raythor looked over at hope as she sat exhausted in a chair, "Seems she cant help but overdo even the most simple of tasks. Had her lookin' like that and all she done was eat some breakfast!" Hope groaned as she looked up at the ceiling. 

"Girl, ya just showered ain'tcha?" Raythor asked as she ignored his voice and continued to rest. "Errr... Where she gon' sleep? She ain't sleepin' in no chair like that..." Ryder replied as Hope began snoring, "I think... she just did..."

Raythor walked over to her with a big sigh and took her into his arms. He watched as she growled and fought her own sleep, "There's a fire in there somewhere, she ain't like everyone else," He whispered. Ryder replied quietly, "Really?! I couldn't tell... Regardless. for now I say just put her in a bedroll and leave her... somewhere..."

"Alright, suppose I'll just toss er in my room fer now. Feel's kinda wrong leavin' er on a stone floor while I rest up in a big ol bed..." Raythor explained. Ryder tried to comfort him, "Aww its alright ya big teddy bear, we'll get her something better soon, unless she remembers where she's from."

Ryder grabbed a bedroll for Hope as Raythor carried her into his room and laid her in a bedroll that Ryder set out for her and wrapped her up. He then got himself tucked into bed, and fell asleep shortly after.