Memory

***Memory*** is the third book in a (yet-unnamed) series written and created by internet user VanquishedHydra under the pen name "Adeillan Yeganrac". In order of being written, *Memory* is preceded by *Whistler*, *Truths of Bad Intent*, *The State of Broken Things: Stories from the World of "Whistler"*, and *Thalassophobia*. In in-universe chronological order, *Memory* is preceded by *Truths of Bad Intent,* several stories from *The State of Broken Things, Thalassophobia*, and *Whistler*.

## Memory

### Author

VanquishedHydra, under the pen name "Adeillan Yeganrac"

## Summary:

*How far would you go to find the person you used to be when you don't even remember that that person existed?*

*Such is the question facing Edwin, or well, whoever he actually is, seeing as he doesn't remember anything prior to being dumped in an alley to die. But instead of dying, he was found, taken in, and cared for by one Mr. Lachlan O'Leary, who knows about as much as Edwin does in regards to his origins - virtually nothing.*

*But just as Edwin is settling into his new identity, content to be little more than a nobody, he is forcibly dragged from his quiet life into an intricate web of lies and deceit that has been nearly ten years in the making, and one that he may well be directly at the center of.*

## Dedication:

*To A.B., who has a talent for finding missing things.*

## Epigraph:

*"You do not what you are doing, or where you are going, or who you are."* -Euripides, *The Bacchae*

## Plot:

#### Prologue:

Three members of the Gilded Hand arrive with a carriage to a back alley in the Faulkensund District around 3:00 AM. As they pull the carriage further into the alley, one members of the trio, Jack, remarks that he's a little nervous about doing this, considering the area they're in. Will one of the other two members of the group, mock Jack for seemingly being scared, as Toby, the third member, interrupts in order to tell Will that Jack is worried about a local legend that the residents have in the area: stories of an enormous Black Hound, which Toby personally believes to be little more than stories told to keep little kids from wandering out late at night.

The three of them briefly get into an argument before Will orders them to stop arguing and do what they came there for. They agreed, and dragged out a fourth individual, one whom the Gilded Hand had had their hands on for seemingly quite a while, judging by the person's general state. The person was dressed in little more than filthy rags that may have once been rather nice clothes, and had a bag tied over his head, likely in order to disorient him.

Will orders the man to walk, but he doesn't really respond except to whine weakly. Toby shoves him from behind, causing the man to stumble and fall due to being physically incapable of walking, as his legs seem to be severely broken. Will orders Jack to put their captive over by a pile of garbage sitting in the back of the alley, and Jack hoists the man up by his armpits and drags him over before propping him up. The man attempts to move, but only succeeds in rolling off of the bags, and causing several of the bags to fall and spill their contents over him in a putrid smelling mess, much to Jack and Toby's combined irritation.

The man curls into himself and begins attempting to bite his arm through the bag over his head, but is stopped by Toby kicking him in one of his broken legs, causing him to let out a howl of pain. Will begins to talk about how he didn't think that their contact, who they were handing their captive over to, would have any problem with whether or not the three of them beat the man up a little more, but is cut off by a low, drawn out growl from behind him.

The three turn to see a large, completely black dog-like creature with flaming red-orange eyes, just as it lunges for Will, seizes him, and throws him across the alley like a chew toy before ripping him to pieces. The dog then turns it's sights on Toby and does the same to him. Jack decides it would be better to try and run than stick around and wait to be killed. He manages to nearly get out of the alley but is stopped by running full force into a solid, furry wall. He looks up in time to see the dog staring down at him. Jack hears a voice in his head, one that seems mildly amused at his predicament, even as Jack attempts to figure out how the dog had gotten there as fast as it did. The dog tells him that he isn't allowed to go back to the Gilded Hand, and Jack finds that, oddly enough, he's already accepted it. The dog tells him that it will make his oncoming death quick, and it's eyes are the last thing that Jack sees.

#### Part One: Shattered

The story opens with a person slowly regaining consciousness and becoming aware of feelings such as being gently handled by someone he can't see, of hearing a voice speaking, presumably to him, of the way his heartbeat and breathing sounded. He finds that he can't lean into touch for more than a few moments before having to pull away again, and tries to open his eyes, only to find that nothing has changed, and that he can't see anything except for a dark haze spotted with flashes of light that burns when he tries to focus on them. He buries his face in his hands only to pull them back when the sensation of brushing his fingers against his eyelids causes his eyes to flare in pain. He whines involuntarily, and the stranger taking care of him shuts the curtains before asking if he wanted to try again.

He tries for a third time, but still, nothing changes. Instead, the person focuses on his surroundings, trying to gauge where he is and what's happening by touch. He determines that he is likely in a bed, and is wearing what seems to be a nightshirt several sizes too large for him judging by the feel and size of the fabric. There were things that he presumes to be bandages wrapped around his hands, arms, torso, and legs, the latter of which are propped up on what seem to be more pillows, leading the man to conclude that he must've either severely sprained or broken his legs at some point.

The man begins to spiral into a mild panic over being barely able to remember anything before being dumped in an alley amidst a pile of trash, but is quickly pulled out of it by the sound of the stranger moving and taking hold of one of his hands before asking to nod twice if he can hear the stranger. The man does as ordered, noting that the stranger's hands feel gentle, yet calloused. The stranger briefly cradles his face, and the man leans into it before pulling away again. The stranger rhetorically questions what happened to the man as he lightly brushes the back of his hand down the man's cheek before pulling away.

#### Epilogue:

Edwin, the members of the Society, and several of Mr. O'Leary's neighbors conspire to believably fake Jacob Harriden's death, partially for Edwin's peace of mind, and partially to finally lay the memory of the Society's founder to rest. The Society obtains a corpse that was mauled by various animals off of a grave-robber that the Society's resident Thanotologist happens to be friendly with, and after dressing it in the shredded, bloodstained rags that Mr. O'Leary found Edwin in, dumps the cadaver in an alley about a block down from Mr. O'Leary's house behind several bags of trash, and leaves it there. A police investigation ensues after one of the neighbors "reports" it, and Edwin moves back in with Mr. O'Leary for a while in order to allay suspicion. A few months after the investigation dies down, Jacob Harriden's will is conveniently discovered in one of his desk drawers, naming one "Edwin O'Leary" his heir and executor of all estates and possessions thereof.

A few weeks later, Mr. O'Leary is interrupted in his nightly reading by a knock on his front door. He opens the door to find a traveler who is looking for directions to the nearest inn on his doorstep. Seeing that it is beginning to snow, Mr. O'Leary refuses to let the stranger go further, and insists on letting the man stay with him for as long as the man needs. The traveler protests, but gives up after Mr. O'Leary refuses to take no for an answer and herds him and his baggage into Mr. O'Leary's sitting room. Mr. O'Leary gives the stranger a cup of tea and asks why he's in the area, The traveler replies that he's there on personal business, and asks Mr. O'Leary's name. Mr. O'Leary, not anticipating the question and realizing that he's forgotten to introduce himself, states his name, and asks the traveler's name. After a moment, the traveler responds with his name: Tristan Ferrel.

Meanwhile, in the Society's basement, from behind a door that most of the Society's members have never seen opened, comes an ear-splitting, deafening shriek, accompanied by a flash of light shining around the door's threshold before everything falls silent again. No one really notices, except for Nathaniel Crogan, the Society's resident ghost, and E, whose sensors pick up the disturbance, if only for a few moments. A conversation ensues between Mr. Crogan and E, in which E informs Mr. Crogan that it has already informed Mr. Crogan's colleagues Evangeline Bowditch and Sigrid Johnson of the disturbance, and that they are working to try and determine it's nature and origin, after which E leaves Mr. Crogan alone.