My name is Fay Le Blank of Ragewater from the great kingdom of Fahir of Airilad. Airilad is a large continent with a diverse landscape of mountains, valleys, rivers and forests. Bordering Airilad is another continent called Mesirgitt.

Mesirgitt is predominantly covered with desert, which runs through the continent like a great wide river. Mainly stone landscapes exist there, now and then small or even bigger oases can be found, which are the cities of the kingdoms of Mesirgitt.

It is not only in terms of the landscape that Airilad and Mesirgitt differ from each other. Socially and politically the two continents could not have been more different.

In Airiland, elves lived in the forests, dwarves in the mountains and valleys, and along the rivers, humans in their castles. Everyone lived together peacefully, and every decision was decided in councils with representatives of the individual kingdoms.

Mesirgitt, on the other hand, was inhabited by a warlike race of humans and dark wizards who covered their borders with curses and trap-like protective spells to shield intruders. All of Mesirgitt was ruled by a dark mage named Uthar Diablos. And despite his sole rule, unrest reigned between the kingdoms and warlike uprisings occurred time and again.

At least that is what we were told by the high council of Airilad, because no Airiladian was allowed to cross the border to Mesirgitt. Not that anyone ever dared to try that. The fear of the curses and the murderous population was far too great.

But I was different from the other Airiladians. I was curious and adventurous. I wanted to know what it was like on the other side, what people were like and what was going on there. I didn't shy away from uprisings, war, curses and dark mages, because I myself was very well trained in combat and magic. That's why I had volunteered for the Memory Hunter Guild right after finishing school. My father already belonged to the guild and his father before him. As an only child, my father had been preparing me to join the Memory Hunters all my life. Therefore, I was well trained. The guild did not hesitate for long to accept me. My father had taken the highest rank in the guild and was proud and happy to have his daughter at his side, who of course passed the entrance examination without any problems.

The guild's task was to track down intruders from Mesirgitt, capture their memories and sell them to the council. Of course, this task was not without danger. Many Mesirgitts protected their memories at all costs and did not hesitate to kill members of the guild. Many Memory Hunters had already lost their lives because of their task. But it was for a higher cause.

Memories have been the main means of communication and trade in Airilad since the introduction of thought stones.

We could capture and even recreate memories of our counterpart with the help of the magic stones. This allowed us to communicate feelings and thoughts without being misunderstood. At some point, people started to use memories as a currency and business model.

But not every memory was equally valuable. More exciting and unusual memories were more valuable than everyday ones. That's why the guild was so popular among Airiladians. Through it, one had the opportunity to acquire new, exciting and very unusual memories. The most valuable were the memories of the Mesirgritts. Unfortunately, hardly anyone ever got to see the memories of them and those who had, had died. It was said that the memories were as cursed as the people and the land they came from. Only the council was able to recreate the memories because they were a match for the dark magic.

Today was my first day. I went on patrol with my father and his men. We were roaming through the forests of Fahir when suddenly a strange figure caught my eye among the close-knit trees. It was a young man, maybe my age. He wore thin leather clothes his upper body was uncovered but coated with fine red lines.

"Father a Mesirgitt! Over there among the trees."

He fled, but a little later I caught him.

"Please don't kill me.", he pleaded.

"Dead you're no use to me. I don't want your life. I want your memories.", my father said.

"No, please don't!"

But it was too late. My father's stone had already absorbed his memories. Now it was time to get rid of him. With one quick movement, it was done. The dead body of the young man lay motionless in front of me.

"Well done, daughter."

He gave me the stone to keep it for the council.

When I got home, I thought feverishly about taking a look at the memories. Why not? who would notice? I activated the stone. What I saw was shocking. I saw peaceful people. Beautiful green oases. Happy people living their regular lives. Grieving wives and children weeping over the dead bodies of their husbands and fathers. Men killed by the guild. 

It was all a lie. Nothing we knew about the Mesirgitts was true. My father entered.

"It's all a lie. Everything we supposedly know about the Mesirgitts. It's all a lie. Why?", I cried.

"You shouldn't have done this.", my father said emotionless.

He grabbed me and dragged me to the council.

"Fay Le Blank of Ragewater. You are a great disappointment. We had so much trust in you" the elder said.

"Why do you lie to our people."

"To protect them. The Mesirgitts are murderous barbarians. If we didn't kill them, they would kill us."

„But why? That's not what I saw."

"Why do you think they come to our land in the first place."

"I don't know. Maybe... " It hit me like a bolt of lightning.

„Maybe to get something back what belongs to them. The stones. You stole them."

"Smart girl. Unfortunately to smart to secure our freedom." 

"Kill her!"