The Pyromancer Chronicles-Chapter Two: Memory Loss

Darkness. Everywhere. Had to escape. But how? Nowhere to go. Wait—light! I ran. Slipped. Falling, sinking into darkness. 1

My eyes flashed open, only to be met with more darkness.2

My first thought was: Oh no! The sun went out! Then I remembered—it was always dark here. No light ever entered my room.3

My second thought was: Who was I? It was something I asked myself often, but never knew the answer to. I couldn’t remember anything. Nothing, and trying to think about it only made me feel dizzy. Was I supposed to know my name? Did I even have one? I didn’t know. I hated not knowing.4

What was wrong with me? 5

The door creaked open, and a man came in with a tray in his hands. The tray held a loaf of bread and a jug of water, but nothing more. 6

Finally , I thought as he set the tray on the floor and scrambled out of the room as if afraid of me. Well, that would be silly , I said to myself. I’m nothing anyone should be afraid of . I took a sip of the water, which tasted awful, but I was thirsty enough to drink some of it. I didn’t eat much of the bread, for it was stale.7

I felt a bit tired again. And dizzy. I curled up on the floor and fell into a fitful sleep.8

A commotion woke me from my slumber. Annoyed at the intrusion, I opened my eyes and stood up. I crept over to the door, where a small, barred opening let me see into the hall. A large red creature with scales growled and roared, scratching at some men in shiny armor. It was almost as big as them, and a reddish glow surrounded it. 9

"Where is she? Where is Natalie?" Somehow, I could understand what the creature said. I wondered hazily who this Natalie person was. 10

The other men didn’t seem to understand it.11

“Get it, Robert!” one exclaimed.12

“I’m trying to!” another replied. He stabbed at the creature, but it dodged the sword. The creature opened its jaws and a torrent of flames spilled out. The men staggered backwards. 13

I knew of no creature that could blow fire, so I wondered what this was. As much as I tried to think, I couldn’t remember much more than a fuzzy image of flames.14

"Where is she?" it screeched again. Another person joined the fight. 15

A girl dressed in red and orange came into view. She glowed a little, too, this time a dim orange.16

“A wizard!” one of the men exclaimed. The girl waved a stick-thing around, drawing a vaguely familiar symbol in the air. She yelled something that I couldn't make out, and a giant flaming bird appeared and attacked the men! They ran away, screaming in terror.17

"Calypso, did you get the keys?" the creature asked the girl.18

“I did,” she replied, smiling. The creature seemed to smile as well. The girl poked the keys into the locks of various doors, and when they came to mine, I was curled up in a corner, afraid of the red creature.19

"Natalie!" the creature exclaimed as the door swung open. It tackled me, and I let out a scream. 20

“Natalie, we’ve been looking everywhere for you, are you okay?” the girl exclaimed in one big breath. I screamed again. The creature was devouring my face! “Nat? What’s up?”21

“Get this thing off of me, please!”22

"...Natalie?" The creature looked at me with sad eyes. "Don’t you remember us?"23

“Should I?”24

“Oh no...” the girl murmured, rushing to my side. Then she noticed the empty jug and the half eaten loaf of bread. She picked a crumb from the bread and sniffed it. “Nala, I think Malistaire’s had a memory loss potion baked into this bread, and probably the water, too.”25

"What?! You mean she doesn’t remember any of us? At all?" The girl shook her head. 26

“C’mon, Natalie, we’ll get you out of here.” Before I knew what she was doing, the girl touched my shoulder and I suddenly wasn’t in the dark room anymore. 27

A desk took up the majority of the room, and bookshelves lined the back wall. Scrolls and books were scattered across the desk. An old man sat at it, wearing an odd blue robe and crooked hat. He looked up as we appeared in the small office.28

“Ah, Miss Firestone. You’ve found Natalie!” the man exclaimed, putting his quill down. He smiled happily and stood up, coming over to us.29

“Er, Headmaster...there’s something you should know,” the girl said.30

“Yes?”31

“She doesn’t remember anything.”32

“Ah, I suspected Malistaire would do such a thing. I imagine it was a part of his plan in order to get Natalie to help him,” the old man replied. “Don’t worry, I had a potion made to restore her memory, just in case.” He pulled a small bottle out of his robe and the cork popped out. He let it go, and the potion didn’t fall.33

The potion floated toward me, and the man and the girl nodded for me to drink it. First, I sniffed the purple liquid; it smelled fine, so I drank the contents of the tiny bottle, but almost spit it back out. The potion tasted revolting!34

Out of the blue, I felt really sleepy; I was out before I even hit the floor.35

***36

“Is she doing okay?” The girl’s voice was the first thing I heard. I didn’t open my eyes, wondering if that “potion” thing was actually some kind of poison. 37

“She should be fine,” replied the old man’s voice. “I had the herbalist whip up something to help her. Malistaire’s memory loss potion was strong. I...I’m not quite sure I can reverse its effects.” 38

"You mean...she may never remember us?”39

“I know not. We can only hope that her memories will return to her.” 40

Now, I decided to open my eyes. I still wasn’t sure if they were my friends or not, but I felt really hungry.41

“Natalie!” the girl exclaimed, rushing toward me. I sat up and looked around the room—beds lined two parallel walls, and a large door was at the far end of the room. It looked strangely medieval, but I didn’t really mind.42

“Where am I?” I asked the two odd people by my bed.43

"You’re in the infirmary, Miss DragonFlame,” the old man explained. “The potion had... unpleasant effects. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” The girl—Calypso, or something, right?—looked at me worriedly, and I just gazed back, extremely confused. 44

“How do you feel?” Calypso asked. 45

“I’m fine.” I swung my legs out from underneath the quilts and stood up. My legs were really wobbly; I teetered, and then fell onto the bed beside mine. Calypso helped me up. 46

“Here, I’ll take you to your dorm.” Calypso brought me to a tower, up some winding stairs, past a bunch of doors, and finally into a small room near the top. The walls were a reddish color, the windows a fiery orange, with a large bed taking up most of the room. A desk was against the wall opposite the bed. Stacks of books and scrolls were piled on top of its surface, spilling onto the floor.47

“I’ll be in the room next to yours if you need me,” Calypso said, and she left me by myself. 48

I sighed. My life was officially in turmoil. The same question kept playing in my mind: Who was I? Was I Natalie DragonFlame, as Calypso and the old man said? I had absolutely no idea, and that was what bothered me. 49

"Natalie! You’re alright!" The creature from before rushed to greet me. 50

“Get off of me!” I growled as the creature jumped, bringing me to the floor. “What are you, anyway?” 51

"You don’t remember? The potion didn’t make you remember?"52

“Remember what?” I asked angrily, wondering why everyone was obsessing over me “remembering” something. What was there to remember? If these people were my friends, I doubt I would forget them, I thought.53

"Us. You. Everything." Well. That was helpful. 54

Voices emanated from the room next to mine, which I remembered was that girl, Calypso’s. Curious, I went to the wall and set my ear against it. 55

“ Headmaster, isn’t there something we can do to help her get her memory back? ” the girl’s voice pleaded. She was talking about me, I guessed. 56

“ I—I believe there may be, but... ” The old man didn’t finish his sentence.57

“ But what ?” 58

“ Nothing. It is far too dangerous a journey for such a young student to travel, ” the headmaster replied.59

“ Please, Headmaster Ambrose, we have to make her remember! ” whined Calypso. The old man sighed.60

“ I suppose it is necessary. You will have to travel to the Dragons’ Den .” A gasp came from the other side of the wall. 61

“ The Dragons’ Den? But that’s only a myth! It doesn’t exist! ” Calypso exclaimed. 62

“ Actually, it does. Of course, only Pyromancers are able to reach it, as the Den is guarded by many powerful creatures and wards. There is said to be a treasure inside that could give that who possesses it whatever he or she desires...but it only works one time for each person who uses its immense power. ”63

“ And it is the only way? ” Calypso asked.64

“ I believe so. Please, meet me in my office tomorrow morning with Natalie and Nala and we shall discuss the details of this quest .” 65

“ Of course, Headmaster .” 66

The next day, Calypso entered my room and woke me from my slumber. 67

“Headmaster Ambrose wants to speak with us all,” she said. The girl didn’t explain anything else, but I already knew what it was about. No matter what they said, I wasn’t going. After all, I wouldn’t forget my own friends, as they proposed I had done. So some quest to “get my memory back” would be stupid. 68

Besides, it was probably really dangerous.69

The creature and I followed Calypso down the stairs and through to the headmaster’s office, silent. The girl was pale with fear, but she tried to put on a smile that was supposed to say “everything’s alright.” It didn’t work.70

The old man was standing in front of his desk when we entered. A chill ran down my spine as I remembered what had occurred the last time I had been in here. That stupid potion.71

“Ah, there you are, young wizards,” he exclaimed as we came in, putting on a delighted expression. “There is an issue we must address immediately. Natalie, I believe there is only one way we may regain your memories—”72

“No,” I blurted, watching as a shocked look spread across the old man’s face.73

“Excuse me?” he asked, astounded.74

“I don’t think I could ever forget my own friends! And anyway, the quest you want me to go on is dangerous. I’m not going to risk my life for something so pointless!” Calypso’s eyes filled with tears, and the old man frowned.75

"Eavesdropping is not the best way to spend one's time," he chided.76

“Can’t we just go alone, then?” the girl asked.77

“No, I’m afraid not. Only Natalie can make the wish. I know not why; it is merely the way of things.” Calypso burst into tears and rushed out of the room. The old man turned to me. 78

“Are you sure that this is your decision?” 79

“Absolutely,” I replied, slightly surprised that he hadn’t told me that I had to go or something like that. 80

“It saddens me, but I doubt I could alter your decision. You may leave now, Natalie DragonFlame.” Satisfied, although a bit irked that he still called me Natalie DragonFlame, I exited the office and made my way back to the dormitory. But for a second I paused in front of the giant, flaming tree. Its trunk rose and fell with the soft, slow breaths of sleep. A small smile touched my lips as I thought this, chiding myself. Trees didn’t sleep. And of course it didn’t have a face. I must have been going crazy.81

Hours later, when night had fallen, I couldn’t sleep. Bored, I climbed out of the big bed and wandered toward the door with a quick glance at the creature to make sure it was asleep. Opening it with caution, I peeked out into the hall—no one in sight. I edged out into the corridor and glanced around carefully.82

Carefully, I slipped through the hall and crept down the stairs without a sound. I wasn’t quite sure why I was being so guarded, but something told me that the old man and Calypso wouldn’t want me out of my room alone. Especially at night.83

For some reason, I was drawn to the big, flaming, tree. I sat down next to it, confused. Why was I here?84

The big tree opened one eye and I gaped at it, totally stupefied. 85

“Oh, Natalie!” it bellowed happily. “I’ve heard that you’ve lost your memory. Is that correct?”86

“I—uh...” Nothing coherent came out of my mouth. The tree chuckled.87

“I’ll take that as a yes. I’m Bernie," he chuckled, and then said fondly, "I remember your first day. You were late to Fire School." He let out a laugh, but for some reason I didn't feel offended.88

I said nothing, intrigued by this talking tree.89

"There were some pretty good times,” the tree said.90

“How long have I been at Ravenwood?” I asked Bernie, curious. He smiled, the bark around his eyes crinkling lightly.91

“Almost a half a year already.” Bernie didn’t look like he would ever lie to anyone. Perhaps, as they had told me, there had been some kind of potion that Malistaire guy had given me? There was only one more thing I wanted to know.92

Why?93

Bernie and I talked for hours. He couldn’t tell me very much about my adventures, as he hadn’t seen them, although what he did tell me was really cool. But before he got very far into them, the first specks of light were touching the tops of the buildings and I decided I’d better return to my room. 94

“Goodnight, Bernie,” I whispered to the flaming tree. 95

“Goodnight, Natalie.” For the first time, I didn’t mind being called Natalie. Suddenly, I made a realization. I changed directions because of this realization, instead heading towards the headmaster’s office. They’d been telling the truth. I was Natalie DragonFlame.96

And I wanted my memories back.97

TO BE CONTINUED...