Chapter Text
Will awoke to the certainty he was lost.
Even though he was laying on the ground, his head was spinning and he felt like it was full of cotton. His entire body protested as he tried to get up, only to fall on his knees as nausea took over and he began vomiting on the sand. In Serra’s name, he was pretty sure he'd never felt as awful as he did in that moment.
…Wait, who is Serra? Actually, who was he?
Will couldn't remember a single thing about… anything, really. He had no idea where he was or how he ended up here.
“-member: Sit, Think, Observe and Plan. That's all-”
A voice echoed on his head, like a fleeting mist being blown by the wind. Will tried to grasp that memory, or whatever it was, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Well, isn't that unfortunate.
At least he had some sort of tip of what to do next.
Will crossed his legs and sat on the sand. That's step one. Then, he tried to think and maybe remember something, only to be rewarded with a sharp pain across his forehead, like a knife was shoved into his skull. Apparently, he really had full-on amnesia, aside from the fleeting thought from earlier. Step two didn't help as much as he hoped for. Onto step three then.
Looking around, Will realized he was on a beach. The sea was behind him, looking almost like it was made of lava thanks to the sun setting in the horizon, painting both the sea and sky with a deep, bright orange. Fine, white sand stretched along the sea to his left, and to his right, in the distance, the end of the beach. Not much far ahead, a forest of some sort met the beach. All in all, it was a rather unremarkable place. Except for the strange markings on the sand around him. Some kind of magical circle was carved in the sand, with intricate runes and symbols all over the place, looking like they had been pressed in the sand rather than drawn by hand. He could also see some glass shards near the marks, probably due to the heat released by the spell.
Will had no idea how he knew that. Perhaps it meant he was some kind of… magical person? Wizard? Sorcerer? He wasn't really sure, but somehow, he knew some stuff about magic. Hopefully, that could be useful in the near future.
The magic circle itself seemed pretty generic, except for the five repeated symbols carved around it: An open left hand, holding a single eyeball within its palm. Will didn't really understand why, but looking at it filled him with dread. Whatever that was, it definitely felt ominous and dangerous.
Now, for step four: Will had to plan. But plan what, exactly? How was he supposed to make a plan if he didn't even remember who he was? Maybe he should find a town or some other type of civilization and ask for help there? This “plan” was as unreliable as it gets, but at least it should be better than sitting on a beach as night fell.
“I should check if I have anything useful…”
Will’s voice came out hoarse, and God, his throat felt dry like a desert. Also, his stomach was definitely empty. As for his clothes, he was wearing purple robes with golden and yellow details all around, a dark purple cloak, brown gloves and a brown leather belt. They were a bit torn and damaged, but they were still usable, at least for a while. Unfortunately, Will quickly realized he wasn't carrying any type of resources with him: Water, food, money, weapons, or any clue about what had happened. So, step four helped as much as the previous ones: Almost nothing at all.
Will was lost, hungry, thirsty, dirty, suffering from amnesia on a beach he didn't recognize and night was fast approaching. Wonderful. He slowly tried to get up again, and although his vision had blurred from the effort, he managed to stay on his feet this time. He walked to the sea and tried to drink a handful of water, only to be met with an awful salty taste that almost ripped his throat open and left him with even more nausea. So, drinking from the sea was a bad idea. Noted. After coughing for a bit, he finally set on a slightly more reliable plan.
“Since there's a forest nearby, then there should be a river connecting to the sea somewhere… I should walk along the shore for a while until I find it. Hopefully it doesn't take too long…”
After walking what felt like an eternity, Will finally found the estuary. He laughed and almost ran upstream, following the river until he entered the forest. After quickly looking around the nearby area just to be sure he was safe, Will knelt down near the river, scooping up a handful of cold water and drinking it as the last few rays of light disappeared from the sky and night finally arrived.
Will kept drinking until he felt as satisfied as an Megatog on Mirrodin, and then he made a mental note to discover what the fuck is a Megatog and where the hell is Mirrodin. Is that where he came from? Or maybe he is in Mirrodin right now? If so, Will knew he definitely did not want to meet a Megatog. Anyway, that was a problem for his Future Self, since Present Will had bigger fish to fry, like surviving the night with no food or light.
Right now, he was standing alone in a forest, at night, and even though he didn't see any threats around when he arrived here, Will knew it wasn't safe to stay still so long in such a place. The safest option seemed to be following the river upstream as quietly as possible. Luckily, he would find a city, perhaps a farm or just any sort of civilization. Thus, up he went.
The food issue was solved a few minutes later, when Will finally found a mango tree. Sure, it wasn't a full course meal, but it definitely beat the whole “almost starving to death” situation he had going on. At this point, the moon was already high in the sky, bathing the forest in moonlight. As he ate the fruits and watched the bright light shining through the treetops, Will could almost pretend things were fine, like he was just taking a stroll through the woods at night. If only.
Will kept walking until he found himself in the margins of a lake. A thin mist covered the lake, revealing how cold the water should be, but looking at the moonlight reflected in the calm waters and feeling the gentle breeze blowing there, he realized how much he needed a bath after so many hours of walking. What's the worst that could happen? After all, even if he did find a house or something, Will would have a better chance of receiving help if he were more presentable. Will then stripped down to his boxers, left his clothes on a rock and entered the water. As expected, it felt cold, but after an entire day of walking covered in sand and dirt, Will couldn't help but feel relaxed. He didn't wander too far into the lake, of course, since he didn't even know if he knew how to swim. “What a strange feeling”, Will thought. Of course, he knew he was “Will”, but he didn't know anything about himself. Come to think of it, he didn't even know what he actually looked like. Under the moonlight, Will looked at his reflection, trying to memorize his own features. Looking into his own eyes, he saw they were hazel. His hair was brown and a bit long, like a slightly grown bowl cut. There were tattoos on his face as well; Golden lines descending from his eyes and lower lips down to his chest. On his arms and hands, he saw more tattoos; A few circles here and there and more lines starting from his fingers and crawling up his arms. When he was taking off his pants, he saw those same tattoos on his legs as well.
Suddenly, Will heard a loud crack. Something was moving in the woods. And it was close. Close enough so, when whatever-it-was moved, Will could hear the twigs cracking. Did it see him? He couldn't know. Maybe it was just a harmless animal walking around the forest. Will’s head shot up and he looked around to try and see the creature, but he saw nothing. He heard something moving in the bushes, but the noise distanced itself from him. And then, silence fell again. Like there was nothing there to begin with. Anyway, Will had already bathed himself and he definitely wasn't going to stand around waiting for the mysterious creature to come back. He quickly went back to the margins, dried himself as best as he could using his cloak, dressed up and started to walk again.
Eventually, Will managed to find some kind of abandoned outpost near the river. A white (or at least, it used to be) tent stood roght in front of him, and sure, it looked a bit damaged and ragged, but Will saw an opportunity to sleep relatively safely. Inside the tent, there were wooden tables covered in dust, mold and a bunch of yellowed paper, grass poked through the damp carpets and some yellow sheets were scattered on the floor, confirming Will’s suspicions that the tent was abandoned. He investigated the papers using the moonlight peeking through the holes on the ceiling, only to find out they were maps, and unfortunately, useless. Not only he didn't have any idea where he was, it was also written in a language he didn't understand. Thankfully, under the maps, Will found some sort of golden knife with an intricate rose carved on the hilt. It obviously had seen better days, but it was better than having nothing at all.
"Maybe I could use those sheets to lay on the ground and cover myself? Assuming they aren't completely soaked, of course…”
Lifting one of the sheets, Will realized they were actually flags. Each had a black rose embroidered in them, the same symbol as the one in the knife’s hilt, with a few words under them which he assumed to be written in the same foreign language as the maps. But they were relatively dry, so he counted that as a victory. After such a day, even though he was laying on a weird flag he didn't recognize, using his own cloak as a pillow and holding the newfound knife under it, sleep came quickly to Will.
You sit by the lake, looking at the palace in the middle of the forest. Flags with seven-pointed stars hang from the windows. By your side, there's a boy. A young knight with dark hair whose face you can't quite see; His mouth is moving, but even if you're unable to hear it, you know what he's saying. A promise.
Oh, William. You and I... we are going to do such beautiful things together.
Will suddenly awoke from his strange dream. He had no idea how much time had passed, but he was sure of one thing: Something was approaching. He could hear footsteps and the rustling of leaves and branches as something—or rather, someone—circled the tent. Since his back was turned to the entrance of the tent, he decided not move too much, as he didn't know how close the threat was. Slowly, Will brought his hand to the knife hidden near his head, preparing to defend himself from the intruder. The footsteps drew closer, and now Will could see the humanoid shadow on the tent walls and hear the heavy breathing, slowly getting closer to him. Will's mind was racing. What if it was an innocent person, perhaps wanting to help? Or someone looking for him? He quickly dismissed these possibilities, as no one approaching so stealthily in the middle of the night could have good intentions. He gripped the knife handle, preparing for the inevitable confrontation. As soon as the individual's shadow got close enough, Will instinctively jumped off the ground, pushed the man, put his left arm over his neck to pin him to the ground, and quickly plunged the knife into the man's chest.
“Feisty, are we?” The man laughed, clearly unbothered by the knife on his chest. “Good. I love when my prey fights back. Now, run.”
His skin was pale white, almost the same color as his ragged clothes, which contrasted with his black hair and goatee. His bloodshot eyes were almost completely red, except for the deep black irises, like the sky on a starless night. When he smiled, Will saw long fangs staring back at him. It was a vampire.
The vampire grabbed Will's arm, sinking his claws into his arm, and bit him, almost making him scream. Will then landed a solid punch on the vampire's face, freeing his arm from the vampire’s grasp, and quickly started running into the woods.
As he ran, Will could hear the vampire’s manic laughter right behind him, coming from many directions. When he glanced back, Will saw the vampire running and jumping on the trees, clearly having lots of fun, like this was nothing but a game to him. Will ran and ran, randomly changing directions throughout the woods until his lungs burned and his legs started to give out. But the vampire was still on his tail.
“Shit, I need to distract him as fast as possible. I don't know how long I can keep this up.”
As if answering the request, Will's tattoos began to glow faintly, and a bunch of illusions appeared, running alongside him. He slowed down, partly due to exhaustion, partly due to being utterly confused at what he saw. In a circle, four Wills stared back at him; They looked identical to him, except for the fact they were made of golden mist, and when Will looked down, he realized he looked like that as well.
The vampire approached slowly, wearing the same mocking grin he had when Will stabbed him on the tent.
“Illusions? Don't make me laugh, boy." The vampire's voice was deep and scratchy, like a multitude of fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard. He licked his lips and teeth, savoring Will's blood. "For someone with an unique constitution, I expected more than a cheap party trick, planeswalk-"
The vampire suddenly stopped, thanks to the dagger sticking out of his throat. Two more flew through the air, hitting him on his legs, and he fell onto his knees.
Behind Will, a boy appeared out of thin air, lowering his green hood. He was taller than Will, had tan skin, wavy black hair, a sharp jawline and was dressed with a black leather jacket with dark green accents, black leather pants, a white shirt with orange patterns, dark green fingerless gloves and black boots. On his left hand, he held a bunch of chains and a pair of handcuffs. How did he get so close without Will noticing him?
“Fuck,” Will blurted out, as he walked backwards, “P-please, don't hurt me. I'm unarmed, I swear. He was chasing me a-and-”
“Hey, hey, it's okay. Trust me.” The rogue said as he slowly closed the distance between them and put his hand on Will’s shoulder. "I'm only after him, ‘kay? Relax."
Something about the rogue’s voice and tone made Will relax. The illusions disappeared and he timidly smiled and nodded as the rogue smiled back. Looking at him, Will felt his ears burn.
“You should trust him. He's only after the vampire. Surely, he means well.”
…Wait, no. That wasn't right. Why would he blindly trust a stranger in the middle of the woods? Was he messing with Will's head?
“Esteban Valenciano, in the name of Queen Miralda the Pious, you are under arrest. By the Queen's decree, you shall be taken to Alta Torrezon so you shall be judged by the crimes of conspiracy and treason. Nod if you understand.”
The boy now spoke directly to the vampire—Esteban, apparently—while he tried in vain to remove the daggers in his body. Again, the rogue’s voice was commanding, but sweet. Will felt compelled to nod again, even if the rogue wasn't even talking to him, but managed to stop himself. Esteban nodded, and the rogue approached him.
“Now, you're going to follow me, just like a harmless sheep, hear me?” Said the rogue as he lowered to the ground and grabbed Esteban's face, forcing him into staring at the rogue's eyes.
“Yes. I shall follow you.” Esteban replied, as best as he could with a dagger on his throat and a blood-filled mouth.
“Good boy. And you better pull no trickes, because the queen never specified if she wanted you dead or alive. Got it?" The rogue started to chain up Esteban, fastening the handcuffs to his hands and tying the chain around his neck. "So, uh, you're coming along, golden boy? We set up a camp not far from here.”
“Oh, hm... Me?” It took Will a few seconds to realize the rogue was talking to him.
“Yeah,” The rogue looked over his shoulder, staring straight into Will's eyes. ”I mean, you did help me to capture this guy, so I guess I kinda owe you one.”
“But I didn't do anything. I just… ran when he attacked me.” Will felt his ears burn again, and hoped the woods were dark enough to hide how red his face surely looked, if the heat he felt was any indication.
“Which distracted him and made him tired, making my job easier, so… Yes, you kinda helped. Even if you didn't mean to.” The rogue got up and walked in Will's direction, sticking out his hand towards him. “I'm Chance, by the way.”
“I'm... William, I think? You can just call me Will." Will said as he shook Chance's hand.
“Ok, Will. Why do you think that's your name? You forgot it?” Chance smirked, walking forwards to the camp and pulling on Esteban's chain, dragging him like a dog.
“Uh, well... Yeah. I'm pretty sure I've lost most of my memories. Or maybe all of them.” Will quickly followed him, not wanting to stay behind and close to the chained vampire.
“Damn, even your own name? You don't remember anything at all?”
“I remembered a few names and had a weird dream… But not much beyond that.”
“Mind sharing what you saw? Maybe it could ring a bell or something.”
“Hum… I remember seeing flags with seven-pointed stars in a castle, but I've no idea where it is. I do remember... Mirrodin, though? Is this where we are right now?”
“No, definitely not,” Chance said, smiling. “This place is called Ixalan. But I don't think you're from here, or Mirrodin.”
“Why?”
“Well, as far as I can tell you're not made of metal, so you being from Mirrodin is unlikely. Most begins from there are automatons, cyborgs and similar stuff. Are you a cyborg?”
“... What's a cyborg?”
“Okay, I'll take that as a no. As for Ixalan, while there's plenty of humans around here, they certainly don't dress like you. So, I'm assuming you're from somewhere else.”
“What's wrong with my clothes?” Will asked.
“Aside from the fact you look like you've got burned with a flamethrower, thrown into a meat grinder and stomped on by a tree elemental? Hm, not much.” Chance hummed, with a mischievous smirk on his face.
“Hey! I’m…” Will looked at himself and saw how he was covered in leaves and the brand new tears on his clothes, probably due to running between the trees. He hadn't even realized how his right sleeve was holding on by a few threads. Will finished ripping it out and threw it on the ground. “Actually, at this point, you might be right. Also, you forgot the whole ‘chased by a crazy vampire throughout the forest’ situation.”
“All's well that ends well, right? But don't worry, Will. You still look pretty.” After a few seconds, Chance's eyes widened, and he cleared his throat. His face turned slightly pink. “Good. I mean, pretty good. You still look pretty good. That's what I meant. Y'know, all things considered and what you went through tonight and, uh, etcetera. Yeah. Oh, look, we arrived.”
Before Will could quite understand what had just happened, Chance quickened his pace and arrived at a clearing. A small campfire was lit in the middle of the clearing, and nearby, a boy with blue eyes and brown hair was tending the fire while roasting a few sticks with meat on them. Around him, scattered on the ground were a bunch of weapons, a few sacks, sleeping bags, and a man with long, wavy dark brown hair laid fast asleep, if the way he snored indicated anything. Will pretended not to notice the man's fangs—longer than Esteban's — and pointy ears. The boy by the campfire saw them and stood up, walking towards them.
“So, you actually managed to capture him? And you even brought a bonus? Damn, Lawson, you're better than I thought.” Said the boy, looking at Will as if he were some kind of extra prize.
“Of course I did. I told you guys he'd be close to that abandoned Dusk Rose camp. And he isn't a bonus, Emerson. His name is Will, he helped me capture Esteban.” Chance replied while tying the vampire to a nearby tree. “Will, this is Gareth. He's one of my… companions, I guess.”
“Oh, did he now? Hm, okay then.” Gareth turned around and grabbed one of the sticks above the campfire. “You guys want something to eat?”
Will's stomach growled loudly when he saw the meat, answering in his place before he could even open his mouth.
“Yeah, hm, I'd like that. Sorry.” Will looked at the ground, clearly embarrassed.
“Don't sweat it, man. Take a seat.” Gareth sat on the ground, quickly followed by Chance.
Will started to sit down as well, but when he supported his weight on his left arm, he winced, having forgotten about the injury from earlier.
“Shit,” Will said, rolling up his blood soaked sleeve and removing his glove to look at the wound. “I completely forgot about this.”
“Let me take a look.” Chance moved closer to Will and gently held his arm. Will felt as if Chance’s touch was pure electricity, tickling his skin as he brushed his fingers over the bite marks. “Gareth, pass me the medical supplies.”
“On it.” Gareth then grabbed and threw one of the sacks at Chance, who caught it in the air.
“Will, do you mind if I cut off this sleeve as well? Just to make it easier for me to patch the wound.” Chance asked.
“Oh, okay. Sure.” Will replied, trying not to flinch when Chance materialized a dagger out of nowhere and cut the sleeve up to his should in a swift motion.
“Don't worry, Will, Chance is just a fashion freak. Those sleeves were probably driving him crazy.” Gareth said.
“I’m not a 'fashion freak', stop saying that. I just prefer to dress like a proper human being instead of walking around like an accident between an earthquake and a hurricane, like you guys.” Chance grumbled back, picking up bandages and other supplies inside the sack.
Will had to bite back a chuckle, because he could see it. With so many layers and fabric all around, compared to Chance, Gareth looked… messy, to say the least.
“Yeah, sure. And this is not dinosaur meat.” Gareth replied, taking a bite out of the meat.
“Wait, this came from a dinosaur? There's dinosaurs around here?” Will asked, feeling a bit scared and surprised at the same time.
“No, it’s not-” Chance sighed and ran his hands over his face. “Emerson, stop being weird, you're scaring him. Also, we've talked about this before. Those things weren't dinosaurs, they were overgrown chickens at best."
“Yeah man, sure.” Gareth said, dismissing Chance with a wave of his hand. “They had scales, feathers, claws and roared, but sure, they weren't raptors, they were ‘just overgrown chickens’.” He made sure to deepen his voice at the end to mimic Chance’s tone.
“They were also, at most, one meter-ish long. We're in Ixalan, dude. Even the humans have ‘scales, feathers, claws and roar’ around here. You just refuse to admit you got scared by a bunch of chickens.” Chance retorted, mimicking Gareth's tone as well.
“Holy fuck, you're impossible.” Gareth sighed as he pinched his nose.
“No, you're impossible. Asshole.” Chance answered, sighing as well.
“Anyway, Will,” Gareth said as he rolled his eyes in Will's direction, deciding to ignore Chance for a while. “Chance said you helped him capture that bastard over there, right? How did that happen?”
Will told them both about how he woke up lost in the beach, ended up “meeting” Esteban and was saved by Chance. During this time, Chance finished patching up Will's arm, but didn't move himself back to where he was beforehand.
“Actually, in retrospect, I think Esteban had been following me for a while. I, uh, stopped by a lake and heard something moving around me, but couldn't see anything nearby. It must have been him, right?” Will pondered as he ate the not-a-dinosaur-but-an-overgrown-chicken-at-best meat.
“I don't think so. As far as we know, Esteban is on a blood fast right now. When they're fasting, vampires don't really hunt, they just wait until an easy prey is 'provided' to them and then feed. It's more likely that he meant to go to that tent to rest and just stumbled upon you.” Gareth replied.
“Oh, then it must've been an animal."
“No, that's unlikely as well. I don't know if you've noticed, but there are no animals around here, not even insects and stuff. I'm not sure how it works, but they usually vanish from the area when a fasting vampire is around, like they're afraid or something. The only things in this forest right now... Hm…” Gareth tilted his head a bit and stared at Chance for a few seconds before he yawned. “Nevermind. It must've been the wind. Right, Lawson?”
Will looked at Chance, and for a few seconds, he could almost swear Chance was blushing a bit. But he quickly discarded the thought, since, surely, it must just be the fire playing tricks on him.
“Yeah, must've been the wind.” Chance mumbled as he averted his gaze to a very interesting rock nearby.
“Sooo, Will. You truly can't remember anything? Nothing at all?” Now, Gareth was looking at Will.
“No, nothing aside from what I've told you guys. Whenever I try to, it's like… my mind fights back and stops me, for some reason.” Will replied.
“But you do remember how to use magic, right?” Gareth asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I wouldn't say I remember how to, it's more like an instinct, I guess? Just like I knew I would find a river if I walked on the beach long enough. I thought ‘I need a distraction.’ and it just sort of happened. But I'm not sure if I could it on purpose." Will started to draw on the dirt with his stick as he spoke.
“Hm, that's definitely interesting. Well, I’m going to sleep now. I've been awake for hours waiting for this dipshit,” Gareth motioned with his head towards Chance, who answered him with a very impolite finger. “and now I need my beauty sleep. Good night everyone.”
After he got up, Gareth walked to Chance and bent down to his ear, whispering something that Will couldn't quite understand. Then he patted Chance on the back, laid down in one of the sleeping bags, and fell asleep.
“What did he say?” Will asked. Sure, he'd met them both barely an hour ago and if Gareth had whispered, it probably meant that he shouldn't know what was said, but his mouth moved faster than his thoughts and he ended up asking anyway.
“Uh, nothing special. Just asked me to keep watch until the Captain wokes up. I was already planning to do that anyway, since I need to keep charmspeaking that prick over there so he doesn't try to escape while everyone else is sleeping.” Chance pointed to the tree where Esteban was chained up, still with four daggers piercing his body.
“Charmspeaking? What's that?” Will looked at Chance, curious, and brought his own knees close to his chest to lay his head on them.
“It's one of my abilities. I can… persuade people and convince them to do what I want them do to, basically.” Chance moved his hand around in the air. “It works better when the person is attracted to me.”
“Hm, I guess you don't need to worry much about that,” Will yawned, clearly exausted. “Right?”
“And what do you mean by that, golden boy?” Chance asked, with a half smirk forming on his face.
“I, uh. Well, I just meant,” Will felt that familiar burn on his ears and neck, and realized he had backed himself into a corner. He laughed awkwardly. “It's, hm… It's nothing, sorry. I guess I'm too tired, that's all.”
“Well, if that's so,” Chance trailed off, thankfully letting the topic go. “Then you can take my sleeping bag. I'm not using it, anyway.”
“You're sure? What if you need to sleep later?”
“Worst case scenario I'll just wake up Gareth and tell him to keep watch on my place.”
“Why not swap with the, uh… Captain, right? He's been sleeping ever since we got here.”
Chance laughed and shook his head.
“No, thanks, I'd like to keep my head attached to my neck for a while longer. He really hates when people wake him up, especially in the middle of the night. I'm fine, trust me.” Chance got up and walked towards Esteban. “If you're going to stick around, then you should go to sleep, Will. We've got quite a full day tomorrow.”
"You're… inviting me to stay with you guys? Really?"
Chance shrugged. "Well, I can't just leave you alone in the middle of the woods, right? I'm sure the Captain won't mind. There's nothing he loves more than a 'lost sheep', as he says so often."
“Oh. Thanks. I'll lay down then.” Will yawned again and laid on the remaining bag. “Good night, Chance.”
“Good night, Will.” Chance replied, removing the dagger on Esteban's throat.
And as Will drifted into sleep again, he felt at peace for the first time in what seemed to be a very, very long time.