When the old man strained yet again to get a glimpse past the half-closed curtain, she finally shot him a politely irritated stare. He sheepishly withdrew and returned to his book, which left her proud. The sluggish, slow response of her body made coordinating everything problematic. That she’d managed to convey exactly what she meant, well, it made the situation a little more bearable.

“Hello there.” she spoke with a smile towards the infant still clutching her finger with all his might.

The child responded immediately. The giddiest of grins pulled his cheeks into chubby dimples while his legs kicked with fervor. Those dark amber eyes locked on hers without hesitation and drunk in the delight of her being there. Her smile faltered at this, and she pet those thick locks of his slowly.

“Looks as if you know me. I only wish I knew something about you.” she said with gentle heartbreak.

The child's smile faded as well. Staring in contemplation, perhaps trying to identify her words, he lay still before erupting in a gargling babble. Much to her surprise some of the sounds were near recognizable.

"You're quite the talker," she laughed softly, "If only you could properly speak to give me all the answers. But, I suppose there has to be some way to find out where we belong. Records or asking around town. I can't imagine having you with me that I would have gone far from the places I knew."

Clutching the edge of the crib, the infant sat. Again he stared with his round eyes wide open before thrusting his arms open and waiting. Her attempt at picking him up, however, didn't proceed as smoothly as expected. The dull ache in her temples scorched with passion anew as her back lifted off its cushioning pillows. Trying to push through it only doubled its intensity, and so she hurriedly laid herself back with one hand rubbing away the pain and the other covering her mouth to prevent a cascade of curses. Those she still knew. Her eyes stung with forced back tears, and she still struggled to regain control when those awaited footsteps stepped into her little section of the room.

"Are you alright?"

Her shoulders instantly relaxed upon hearing a kind voice. The male, excessively curly black locks framing his slender face, gazed with such genuine concern and kindness the tears almost did fall free- this time from relief.

"I tried to pick him up, but my body didn't agree with my decision." she joked with a weak chuckle, nodding towards the child.

"Well, let's see if we can remedy that. You've been improving surprisingly fast, but you have a bit to go," the man, short in stature but confident in skill, spoke as he sat down and unwrapped her bandages, "My name is Ti'pahn, by the way. It is a pleasure to see you awake. I had quite the heart attack finding you out in the woods like that. With an injury as great as yours, I'm surprised the impact of whatever hit you didn't steal you outright."

"You're the one who found me then? Your...I'm sorry, he didn't mention his name. He didn't tell me that when he came to speak to me."

"That's Russe. You'll have to forgive him. He's not as standoffish as I'm sure he made himself to be. He's simply frustrated as we all are with the heavier regulations being placed upon the healing wards in the past several years."

"Would that be because of that war going on with the north?"

Ti'pahn didn't get the chance to respond. When the bandages fell, he surprised her when he did nothing other than place his hand on the side of her head. A brilliant white light mirroring the moon's milky glow burst forth, and she yanked away in alarm.

"I'm sorry," Ti'pahn apologized quickly, "Russe did tell me of your state of amnesia. I should have thought to explain beforehand. Rydan prides itself on housing quite the number of magic users, and so its healing wards employ many of them in their services."

"Magic? Oh...right. That does exist, doesn't it?"

"Do you remember it existing?" Ti'pahn prompted hopefully.

"It's strange. There's nothing. No solid memories. However, something remains. Enough knowledge, but I can't say for certain how far that extends. Probably not much further than me being able to communicate." she sighed.

"I wouldn't say so. There does appear to be enough awareness of your circumstances to hint that you know more than you think. Whether that will manifest in the return of your memories, I cannot say."

"So the chance they will come back is slim?" she confirmed with a deep, expectant inhale, "Magic can't do anything to help?"

"Well, without magic you would have almost certainly died, so it is helping quite a bit." Ti'pahn teased, and she smiled. His hand returned to her head, and the reemergence of the light tickled her skin and eased the pain refreshingly, "However, yes, the ability is quite limited in us humans compared to our spirit counterparts. One of them might be able to restore what your injury took, but it is not within the possibility of even the magic users in Thuul."

"Spirits? Thuul?"

"I will bring you some books," Ti'pahn patted her hand, "Not that I don't want to stay here and chat with you for hours on end, goodness knows I could use better company than Russe, but he has been on my case due to the officers being on his. It will also be beneficial to see if you have retained the ability to read, and I'm sure you will need something to keep you busy. The orders from Suraryl have left this place more bare of conversational companions than in years past."

He motioned towards the majorly empty quarters around, and the only response received was the old man cautiously glancing over as they stared in his direction.

"Have time for a brief overview?" she requested, batting her eyelashes with an extra flutter that prompted Ti'pahn to laugh.

"See? You know more than you think. I think, yes, there is more than time to educate you somewhat. It will take several moments to complete this round of healing. It can't be forced all at once for those who don't have magic like you, yes there are ways to tell whether someone is or isn't magical, or else the infusion of so much power will leave you sick in a whole new way. For where we are, we are in the city of Rydan, a-"

A loud, irritated wail echoed out against the walls. The infant screamed no more than that, yet he sat there against the crib with both hands clutched to the edge, the top of his head poking out, and a pout so beautifully perfect both she and Ti'pahn chuckled once more.

"Sorry, sorry. Let's get you back to mama."

Ti'pahn lifted the child up and over, and she hid a frown as he so willingly cuddled content in her arms.

"Do you think he's really mine? Do we look alike at all?" she wondered.

"I can't say for certain one way or the other, of course. He doesn't bear any strong resemblance to you, but I hardly look like my mother at all. He clearly is also quite comfortable in your presence. I could hardly peel him off when I found you. I would suggest taking a moment when available to simply sit with him and let your mind calm. Memories might not come back, but emotions could. See if a connection lingers."

"I will do so. Thank you, Ti'pahn."

"You're welcome. Now where were we? I was healing you for one. I should resume that. But, yes, Rydan here is one of the sister cities to the capital, Suraryl, of the country we are in, Darshal. The Melakir family currently rules the throne. Darshal is the largest country in the south of Lidai, the southern half of the continent of Emtaphala. The unified country of Elra rules the northern half. The world itself is called Mirdal. Now, Lidai is also split into the north and south. Darshal, Lys, Ki'mon, Ashudar, Tian, and Ruthfar are the six southern countries. There are only four northern countries, but they are much larger and rule much more of Lidai. Mescaria, the largest, is the one our rulers so stupidly went to war with. There is also Eskyne, Nilio, and Andasmere. Their nobility are descendants from the nobles of Thuul, where magic originated."

By the end of his explanation, Ti’pahn couldn’t keep a straight face. Her expression begged a ceasing of information.

“I believe I will need many of those books. I followed you only up to the mentioning of the Melakir family.” she groaned.

“But that is still something, is it not? You know more than you did before, and there’s no telling where that will take you.” he encouraged.

“Most likely where I was already set to go tomorrow- out on the streets. Is there anywhere I can look or ask to figure out who I am? Who this child is?”

“We contacted the workers in charge of city records last night. There are no reports of a woman and child of your description being missing, although we are awaiting word from the towns around Rydan to check their documents. It is possible something will turn up from there.”

“What about anything identifiable about what we wore or had on us? There has to be some clue.” she pressed desperately.

“Unfortunately, there’s not much to go on. You simply wore a cream nightgown with matching slippers. He…bizarrely was dressed in nothing other than a man’s nightshirt. Your clothes were of good quality and make, which reasons you came from affluence. Past that, there’s little to be gained. It would be one thing if you had lighter skin as that would strongly hint of Elran lineage, yet you don’t.”

“What if I went to Sua…Suralyl? Su…”

“Suraryl.”

“Yes. There.”

“For more information? I doubt it would help. Their records wouldn’t be any more useful unless you were reported missing by whatever family you may have. To be truthful, that or you remembering something are your only real chances at knowing where you belong. After that, getting lucky and running into someone who is familiar with you is your best bet, and that’s not much of a bet at all.”

“I’m doomed.”

Ti’pahn’s touch against the side of her head slipped away for a moment when she flattened herself deep until her pillows rose around her like waves crashing under the might of a ship’s bow. She ignored the child in her arms nestling deeper into the crook of her neck and curling her hair around his fingers.

“I do want to be honest with you,” Ti’pahn admitted, resuming her healing, “Your situation is unfavorable. It is not a good time to have few to lean on or be down on your luck, more so than normal. People keep fleeing south to get away from the fighting at the border. Those who aren’t known in the city are facing greater resentment as Rydan reaches its limits. It is a terrible situation of the citizens being content with how things were and the government going war-hungry desiring their glory days of old.”

“I feel so much better...”

“However,” Ti’pahn pressed a finger over her lips, “There is hope and promise for your future. The rules of the Justiciar can be strict, yet he keeps Darshal safe. Law breaking is punished harshly, and crime is near non-existent. You have a strong will within you else you would have died long before I found you. If you don’t give up, I know you will find a way to support yourself. To support him. You don’t need much money to get by these days. Have faith, stoke that fire within your chest, and it will work out.”

“If only…” she forced herself to smile once more, “I don’t have the confidence you have yet. I don’t have anything. Not even a name.”

A thick, lurching sensation abruptly curdled her stomach, and Ti’pahn hurriedly drew his hand back as she recoiled.

“That’s enough magic for now,” he declared. Grabbing a mesh pouch of subtly spicy herbs from his pocket to run under her nose quelled the majority of her stomach’s ache. In fact, the scent went one step further and brought to life a voracious hunger the rumbling of her abdomen announced without shame. Ti’pahn patted her hand a second time, politely ignored the flushing of her cheeks, and beamed, “Dinner seems to be next on the agenda. I’ll have that prepared for you right away. I’ll scout out what helpful books I can find in the meantime, and, if Russe permits me a free moment later, let us think you up a beautiful new name.”