Sounds of incoherent screaming.

Deafening blows and explosions followed soon after.

Sensations of blood seeping off one's arms, becoming one with the ground below.

He awoke with a wild jolt, hitting his head against a branch, which made a loud clang sound- Within the second, it thwarted back and make a second clang sound. Bewildered and with no sense of where he was, he looked around to try and take in the environment. His head hurt like a pile of bricks. He found himself in some forested area. He smelled like iron all over, and not because of his armour. There seemed to be no end in sight of the trees. His joints felt stiff and were aching all over. He tried to get up, wailing in pain immediately- His wings were injured.

Despite that, he had to keep going. If he just lay there, he was bound to pass out and lose more blood than necessary. Shredding off a piece of his scarf, he wrapped it around the most crimson of wounds. Even if he had no idea how he got here, he had to find shelter, somehow.

His first destination was a relatively small cave, though at least safe from the rain that'd started to pour. He tucked his equipment safely away, and allowed the weather to wash all the reds away. For hours he stood there, taking in the drops that cleansed his bruises, his cuts, his wounds- Though there was the pain to deal with afterwards.

48 hours to rest.

Give or take.

There was some knowledge he had left, which he clung onto as tightly as his last breath. Once the cave was considered too bloody for his taste and the rain couldn't pour it away anymore- He moved on towards his next spot. Where exactly, he didn't know, as long as it was out of here.

His second destination was nearby a river, where he could replenish and enjoy a water supply without waiting for the right climate. Everything hurt. Everything was shivering. Everything was cold- And despite that, he had to press on, finding a way out of these woods. There was an inherent feeling in him that told him to seek out the environment, look ahead, find out where he was- And he tried, though severely limited by his injuries, with nothing but his own scarf to serve as wraps.

96 hours to rest.

Approximately.

His third destination was an open field, hidden within the endless amount of trees, coincidentally nearby the river. His instincts told him to set up camp and a fire- Perhaps then, someone would see the smoke in the air, coming for aid soon after. With the little strength he had left, he gathered some leaves, grass, rocks and twigs- To make himself simple bedding and a campfire. Once he'd settled in place and could warm himself near the bright light, it was a matter of waiting.

24 hours.

His wounds hurt less. His senses were improving. Yet there seemed to be no soul nearby.

12 hours.

It rained the whole day. Everything was soaked, and he had trouble setting up another fire. It would be extremely dim compared to his first attempt.

6 hours.

Sounds of limbs raking through leaves were heard in the background- Though these were slower and heavier, compared to the usual deer or two he'd seen in the past week. Perhaps these could be his saviours-

∎∎∎ ∎∎∎ ∎∎∎ was the first noise he heard, wholly different to the sounds of nature.

He couldn't make out what was said. It sounded like gibberish.

∎ ∎∎∎∎∎∎ ∎∎∎ ∎∎∎ ∎∎∎ the same voice said, sounding more threatening this time.

He immediately shrunk in defense, muttering words misunderstood. The only word relatively understood was raptor. Another voice spoke up, seemingly pointed at the first one. Some back-and-forth conversation. He shrunk further, almost turning into a ball. He didn't want to be here anymore! He didn't want to be brought back to the place with screaming and explosions and blood! He didn't know what was happening!

And then, a hand was offered to him. He stared at it, grabbed a hold of it, and was pulled up. The two figures were clad in armour much like himself, sharing similar colour schemes. He thought to himself they must be related. The two were going back and forth again, whilst leading him to what would hopefully be outside the woods.

— A NEW LIFE —

---

It was the first time in a week he'd slept soundly and on an extremely comfortable mattress, after his wounds were tended to. The following day, he was given breakfast, and talked to by the same two figures, whom he still didn't understand.

At some point, the taller one left and returned with a sheet of paper, writing something on it with a pencil. Once he was done, he pointed at the word and then back to himself- He was saying that was his name. Looking at the symbols on the paper, he only recognised about one letter, and even then it was poorly written by this individual, as if he was in preschool. The shorter one followed suit after, presumably doing the same thing. Another attempt that wasn't understood.

When the paper and the pencil were handed to him, he wrote his name sound and swiftly, in the proper symbols he knew of. Handing it back, the two looked it over, and stared at one another. It was then he realised, his language was gibberish too, in the same regard theirs had been to him. After all, his true name, which was a set of numbers in his language, didn't look familiar at all. The two figures decided to settle on Raptor, which was the most comprehensive noise he'd made since meeting them.

Over the course of the next weeks, the two figures would spend time on teaching him their language. Their basic alphabet, which had less letters than his. Their numeric system, which was admittedly way easier to go by and remember. Their way of pronunciation, which was different, but one he could adapt to. He learned the two figures were brothers, of the names Arzanium and Trine. He learned he was in their base, safe and sound- But he knew that already, as he'd been there unharmed for some time. He learned what his name was in their language, and didn't like it one single bit- He settled on Raptor instead, even if it rung a familiar bell for some reason.

They, in turn, learned that Raptor had no memories prior waking up. They learned that Raptor wasn't some sort of demigod, despite the fact he had wings. They learned that Raptor was stuck in that damned forest for a week. They learned that he looked similar to their kind, yet not at all- It was as if Raptor was from a wholly different region, similar to the strange folks talked about in their tales and legends. They eventually concluded that Raptor had no clue about why he was here, what he was doing and who he was to begin with.

The brothers offered him a home, whether out of pity, aid, friendship or comradeship didn't matter- Raptor accepted, as he had a place to stay with nothing to worry about anymore. From then on, it was the three of them, and in the following months his understanding of their language, their home and their world would increase plenty. The knight would get along with the both of them, although he became best friends with the younger brother.

— WHOLLY ANEW —

---

Over the next few years, Raptor would become enamored with this new world he lived in. It was all so new, so fresh, so exciting! It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before, even if there were similarities- Such as the sole screaming and blood he remembered prior his wake up call. Yet it didn't matter, as Raptor proved himself agile and capable in combat, assisting the brothers in their quests at guilds.

The first time Raptor felt unsure again, filled with worry, was when the older brother Arzanium had disappeared during a mission. The younger brother Trine understandably upset- And so was Raptor, as these siblings were his friends, neither of them having an idea where the older one possibly could've vanished off to. The knight put in great efforts to aid his pal Trine, akin to everything they'd done for him already. When that yielded nothing over months, they were stuck.

Luckily, life managed to surprise them once again, as Arzanium had returned- Though this time, he was accompanied by two new beings, Excalibur and Pallas- Who would turn out to be new friends in due time. Excalibur, in fact, wormed himself in-between Trine and Raptor, with them both happy to have a best friend trio instead of a best friend duo!

And as life would go on, Raptor was satisfied, though doubt would form in the depths of his mind. As if something was missing- What started out as weekly turnovers in one's sleep, turned to insecurities that would frequently gnaw away at him. The knight had never figured out his past, nor did he ever remember anything besides the noise upon waking up in that forest. Plenty of nights spent on the roof of the base, staring at the moon whilst brooding about himself and the past that was devoid of anything- There was a time he tried to seek it out, with the help of his friends. Though it seemed futile, as there proved to be nothing even similar to the language he'd long forgotten by then. It would remain akin to a gaping hole in his soul for a long time to come.

— EXISTENCE'S QUARRELL —

---

The answers to his questions would arrive years upon years later. The day had started as any regular one, Trine and Raptor about to leave base to fetch quests at the Haevirndawn guild. Before they could, a stranger appeared at the bridge across, standing utterly still at the edge of the other side. They were clad in white and blue armour, in possession of wings akin to Raptor himself.

"Who are you?" Trine's voice traveled over to them.

No response.

Yet something about the individual felt somewhat familiar to Raptor, though he couldn't figure out why. His friend repeated himself, which resulted in still nothing. The knight was getting a bad feeling about the entire ordeal-

A red dot.

Screams. Explosions. Blood.

Everywhere.

A loud shot echoed throughout the environment- A second later, pain shooting up in his left arm. In utter shock, pulled back inside by his ally. In the background, he could hear a voice screaming, in an old language that became all too familiar again.

"I SAVED MY LAST SHOT FOR YOU, ASSHOLE!"

Not one, but two strangers- Specifically targeting Raptor himself, though he was lucky he had allies on his side. The other four of their squad were around him swiftly- Pallas tending to his wounds, Excalibur and Arzanium barring up any openings, and Trine asking if he had any idea who these strangers were.

Before Raptor had any chance to respond, the winged one broke through a window on the upper floor- Two sets of footsteps tapping over the tiles, which meant he had taken the second one for a temporary joyride. The two brothers and Excalibur all stood protectively over Raptor, while Pallas was trying her damn best to stop the bleeding that seemed to endlessly seep from his arm.

It all happened extremely quickly, yet at it felt all of time had slowed down specifically for this moment. Lunging past the others as if there were no barrier to begin with- Hell broke loose- The winged enemy knocked him well into the gates- The wind moved past his ears as if it were as loud as thunder- The splinters of the bridge beneath creaking- An incredibly sharp, shiny dagger- A beam of green light and a loud clang- Presumably Excalibur- Followed by what he thought was Pallas- Other clangs in the distance- Presumably Trine and Arzanium with the second enemy- Rumbling of the base- A scream interrupted his endless train of thought.

"RAPTOR! GET UP!" Trine was yelling at him, the knight pulled him up swiftly and Raptor found himself on the bridge once again, back to his senses. He recovered swiftly and pulled his spear, rising in the skies ready to aim- A loud boom- Arzanium just flew past him- A gaping hole in the base- It was going to be ruined at this rate- A sniper's helmet popped up, rising with fires blazing- Turn! TURN! TURN YOU IDIOT- A clang, bullet bounced off- Thank the Gods-

The sudden sound of flight behind him- Weapon turned 90 degrees in instinct- A collision with the aerial unit- The dagger just out of reach- The spear pressing into his left- His arm utterly screaming- More sounds of crumbling bricks and architecture- Pallas' voice yelling about what their problem was- Screams, explosions, blood everywhere as far as the eye could see-

"STOP!" a different voice wailed in utter desperation.

A third stranger appeared out of the nearby woods, running towards the scene without a thought as if life depended on it- Their voice creaking with emergence, begging for the other two strangers to please stop already- The aerial unit and the sniper unit, surprisingly, stood still for one second- One too long, receiving a retaliation in full force- The former knocked into the endless sharp, annoying twigs of the trees- The latter knocked into the rubble of bricks and dust.

And then, it was utterly silent.

He shut down.

— TRUTH ASUNDER —

---

In the darkness, he dreamt of more than the first triad of memories. He dreamt of a desolate stasis, afterwards of machines, robots, copies of himself, wars..

And thousands, upon thousands of losses.

The next time he awoke, he found himself surrounded by concerned allies, friends and enemies alike- Well, rather one, as it was the one begging for everyone to cease fire. His thoughts filled with nothing but war, everything would soon come flooding back.

Seated in a secluded room, he sat with the two brothers and the two strangers- The third one left out, as he, too, was suffering from amnesia. He was seated in-between the four of them, feeling the smallest out of them all. He noticed the strangers had been here a while, for they too could speak the language of this world.

"He's a clone", the aerial unit spoke lowly, who'd introduced himself a minute prior as Nestor.

"We fought against those in a war", the sniper unit said afterwards, going by the name of Laszlo.

All he could do, was sit there- Taking in all the information, speaking none of it as his brotherly friends would ask further questions. It was as if he was witnessing his own sentencing to doom- His entire history was laid bare, no detail left out, in front of them all. He wasn't sure if he truly wanted to know the truth. He'd come from a different world, a different planet- It explained the gibberish. He fulfilled a purpose as a lower aerial unit, the weakest of the agile class- It explained his wings. He fought in a war on the side of the clones- It explained his lack of other things. He'd fought and failed, discarded in a gateway, ending up elsewhere- It explained his sudden wake somewhere unknown.

It made him sick to the stomach, even more so once the memories returned snippet by snippet- Drop by drop, cut by cut, as he was bleeding on the field- Nearly surviving his last blow, yet disregarded so easily. Stranded and lost all those years ago, caused on purpose. He was fighting for a purpose. He was made on purpose.

And with that, the strangers stood up, surprisingly lending their hand in rebuilding parts of the base. Then, they left, supposedly on neutral grounds with the knights- Yet, he knew these strangers despised his guts, save for the third, whose name he never asked for- As he was the one to save his life.

It turned dark more often, the shadows seeping into the restless nights- Tainting the days, as he was arguing with the two brothers, barely catching wind of the changes around base. It ate away at him, now more than ever- How could he justify doing good, if he was quite literally made to do evil?

He found bits of himself back by taking up a new hobby- Woodcarving, in particular. The knight felt his interest in the craft pulling him away from all that, distracting him enough to keep him busy. It's as if he'd lost sense of all the progress he'd made in the last decade since arrival. What a shame. What a waste. What a typical thing to happen to something of his kind.

Perhaps one day, he would find himself again, regard himself as an individual, as a knight, as Raptor- Separate himself from his origins, realising that he in fact, had only done good, ever since this life lived on this particular world. For now, he had sunk his teeth in his hobbies, quality time with his allies and plenty of brooding nights.

— END OF DAWN —

---

Once the End Of Dawn arrived around the corner, the events would challenge many- He was not excluded. Stuck with allies and enemies alike, he was forced to face his old enemies again- It brought some solace, knowing they weren't optimistic about the ordeal either. No one was, really- Forced to get along by the ones looking over them, the tenseness would slowly dissipate with time- On his side. Surprisingly, on the strangers' side, also. Eventually, he felt he could stop walking on eggshells around every single one of them- With a clear mind, he could do his duties. His primary one was scouting, and he utilised these moments to think to himself- It was pretty much the only alone time he could afford during these odd events- The knight tried to squeeze this out as much as possible, which slowly drove him a tad insane as the events had no end in sight.

He'd felt dread plenty of times in his life- And it retaliated horribly, once Arzanium had been ended in combat- It formed in the true fear of losing everything he knew and cared about. He'd have given up on the journey himself, if it weren't for his allies slapping sense into him- To him, it was merely to win or to lose, akin to a war- Without anything at stake, what else would there be to live for?

After an exhaustive chain of events, eventually the mortals got their victory. The knight was thankful it all ended well, regardless of the sacrifices made. If he couldn't have done anything about his own fate, he'd be more than happy to aid his allies.

The odd thing was, he'd looked at his old enemies after the events, and felt nothing akin to fear anymore. There was some sort of catharsis, once they shook the hands of his allies, and then stuck them out to him. The knight stared at the gesture, wondering for a second if it was genuine- And Raptor pushed the thought away, returning the grip and shaking it tightly.

Quiet, peaceful serenity.

A long road awaited him on the path of healing, that much the knight knew. Upon recommendation of Pallas, he picked up meditation, as it'd helped Arzanium before, who was left to be grieved still. The strangers had become allies, forming a group of four with their reunited lost friend, staying a little while longer on the knights' world- There was a pact, an agreement to come together as one, when the need called for it. The seeping blood that ran between the knights and the strangers was gone- Another reason to walk the road further. The more these two groups of warriors ran together, the more they became akin to friends- And it added another pile that'd aid him in healing.

As the months passed by and he settled back into the familiarity of life, the knight would realise he was making progress thanks to his own and others' efforts. With more progress would come more realisations- It'd form as a thought on a calm, cool evening when everyone had been celebrating the defeat of a dragon. Everyone teaming up earlier that day, the victory was well worth a good few drinks- Some drunk and about to fall off a table, others horribly singing tunes from the top of their lungs.

The knight was sitting by his lonesome, enjoying his fresh drink in peace, when the strangers-turned-friends would plop down next to him, clinking their glasses together. It hit him- He wasn't doing bad, despite the intended fate behind his origins. He wasn't doing bad for quite a while, actually- He was part of this knight squad, as he wanted to be with his allies and friends- He was part of this world, as he wanted to aid his home for the better- He was part of this life, as he wanted to, refusing to ever let go of it. The knight had plenty capability to overpass what he was meant to do, as he'd become his own individual in the time spent on this world.

With that realisation, Raptor stood up as sure as ever, holding his drink up high- Dedicating a toast to himself out of pride and love, as he finally could see himself as he was, and be eternally grateful for it.

"TO RAPTOR!" everyone else would cheer, soberly and drunkenly alike, into the peace and quiet of the night, filled with darkness no longer.