"Lesson Three, your own mind is my strength, creatures who sleep and hence dream are not in full control over their own mind, not entirely" the voice of Epiales stated. Looking around I saw the terrain was that of a shaded forest, it was a familiar place if a bit off and holding a premonition of menace.

  "Not all weakness of the mind are fears" the Daemon spoke simply.

  A heavy warm blanket fell upon my mind smothering it, and my armor and weapons melted away.

  "[Amnesia: Crisis of Personhood]"

  "[Blooded Fear: Inheritance]

  ...

  "Where am I?" I asked out loud. Looming trees out stretched before me flanking either side of me. Thin streaks of light dared to pierce the gloom of the forest.

  A gentle thrum of life echoed down from the tree tops. Bird calls, and the snapping of branches. The ground were I stood was barren with nothing but the stalwart pillars of trees surrounding me.

  "What's going on?" I asked no one, emptiness bounced around my mind. Questions and a lack of palpable answers made me unsteady. I didn't know what I didn't know.

  I heard sobbing from a aside me, turning I didn't see anything, but it fill me a certain amount of wrongness. Something told me that nothing good came of something crying in an empty forest. A stick broke off to the side of me. Whipping around to see I saw a shadow move. The back of my neck tingled, something insidious was afoot. My missing memories were no doubt connected, how did I know I had them? It was feeling like missing wires in my brain. I knew words and how to use them properly but lacked a deeper Insight into what they represented.

  I heard a scraping of wood, anticipation settled in my gut, I knew exactly what would happen If I turned around. So I moved forward, what ever was behind me could probably kill me easily. It was playing with me of that I was certain.

  So I didn't play, I moved forward turning a blind eye to the sounds and distractions that it levied around me. I was still terrified but I utilized something inherently me, a sense of freedom. There was always another choice no matter how unpalatable. Moving onto I looked for something to fight with a particularly nicely shaped stick or rock. Without memories, without knowledge, intuition was I had. There I Iaid eyes on it, or at least through my peripheral.

  A stick on with a knobbly end that looked good for smacking. However I couldn't just walk towards I needed subterfuge. Walking in a slowly forming zig zag pattern I began to take note not with my eyes but with my ears. I began mapping out its movements. When it went silent really it stopped when it 'teleported' It jumped and used branches to swing on all stuff to make it seem more unnatural than its true nature.

  With my distraction finished I quickly darted out and grasped the stick. Turning around with my back to the tree, my eyes looked around rapidly for the creature. There was a pause in the whispers of the woods, like it was holding its breath. Out of the corner of my eye it shifted and the creature shambled out built with a long wiry frame long arms and crouched legs the creature had a strange protruding snout and as it walked closer to me I struck outwards with the branch. The creature caught it with easy long dextrous finger ripped it from my hands. Throwing it aside.

  "Your tools will not help you here, you pompous ape" it spoke in a raspy uneven cadence. As I quickly moved back as the creature grew in closer. As it did so long branches protruded from its body long and sickly like they where withering.

  Seeing a small stone sitting peacefully in the dirt I kicked it at the creatures face. Then not waiting for it to chase after me I ran. My legs thundered against the barren ground, my heart beat out a steady rhythm as if it was trying to break out a of cage. A sound so terrible it sent shivers down to my bones broke throughout the forest. A primal fear swelled inside my body, each shadow held menace and so did every turn. I tried to think, where was I? What was that thing? Did it have any culinary based weakness, salt, garlic, freakin' tomatoes?

  As I trampled through the forest I felt some give just a little like a barrier through my mind, a false bottom in my brain. Slumping behind a tree I felt for it with my mind, come on, come on!

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  "Hello" a voice spoke out and long gnarly fingers wrapped around my neck and lifted upwards pulling me up above my feet. The creature was now at its full height legs no longer bent and it was tall.

  "I shall kill you here, you'd you hast dared forsaken your roots, you who left your caves and dwellings, belief that you dared no better then nature!" The Creature roared at me slamming me back into the tree.

  "Traded your ignorance and simplicity for what? Hmm... You had a simple lot in life an apex predator hunting down prey by having greater endurance. Now what you're to good for it, you filthy half—" I cut it off as the false bottom lifted and memories flooded in. I was in a forest surrounded by willing subjects. This creature some sort of incarnation of human primitivism. A tree speared through its gut and it was ripped apart simple and easy, and the forest fell away.

  "Good, good, I do apologize about the whole memory thing, but it would be an injustice to not test you on it after all." Epiales stated now across from me.

  "Still not fun" I grunted out as I shook off some of the lingering mental confusion.

  "Wasn't meant to be" he replied simply before an imaginary wind blew at Epiales and he disappated into the air.

  ...

  "Last Lesson, before the rustle and tussle my cousin" the haunting laugh echoed throughout, and as I saw two wall stretched on before me with a turn about twenty feet away.

  Oh, oh no, not in the random busywork bullshit was this! A frickin maze, the sadistic bastard. Moving towards I tried to remember what the rule was again. Was it follow the left right? Yeah thats what it was. Placing my hand against the wall of the maze I followed it, left, left, and surprise left again. No there was a very valid reason to hate mazes, except the ones at the pumpkin patch, those got a seasonal pass.

  As I moved through the maze eventually I felt like I was circling in around myself so I left a scratch mark on the walls before moving on. As I was moving I stopped. Wait a fuckin moment, this motherfucker seriously I stopped on a dime.

  "Oh you contemptuous prick" I said before the maze fell down one by one around revealing Epiales kickin' back on a Lazy-e-boy.

  "You got me, you really should have recognized it sooner" Epiales responded as he sat up his Eldritch appearance hunched forward.

  "So is your seminar concluded? Does it come with a online class?" I asked snarkly as me and him stood across from each other.

  "Nah, let's get over with it." Epiales said before we fell into it, a haze flew in front of me. It caused a feeling vertigo, before I felt a punch drove into my solar plexus. Recovering a drove my fist into his barky exterior. He struck back at my jaw a ringing in ears as I had fight the disorientation that occurred.

  Ah, man I can't even remember the last time I got into a brawl with fists, probably when my brothers still lived with us, heh. Pushing off my left foot I maneuvered my body around the fist into the side of his body right where the lower ribcage would be on a human. Pushing off from my right I made just enough distance to not get the lights cut off by the power company. Seeing an opportunity I dropped low, following a move I saw my friend had pulled off I grabbed the creature by knee and lifted off threw the Daemon.

  "Oof, that was not fun, alright well let me—" I proceeded to drop off with my elbow out.

  I felt a rush like a forgotten instinct, [Barbarian Tackle]. Smiling wickedly I began to strike at the face region. Hammering Epiales in the face until eventually he turned to smoke. Pushing off from my feet I rushed off to his new position.

  Epiales, rose up and a horde of creatures rose up from the ground. Smiling I rose up my hands and large pillars of earth rose up, and yet I didn't feel Mana being drained. The Earth pillars struck and destroyed the monsters as they became smoke.

  They reformed almost immediately closing the distance, forcing me to back up sending lashes of earth at them, without Mana limits though I wonder what I could pull off?

  Reaching forward I summoned great snapping snakes and dragons made of earth they crashed into the cloud of monsters, and a clown?

  I couldn't afford distractions as like a flick of a light a fist appeared and landed right on my face. Returning to fisticuffs I recovered, twisting my body I surged for and struck Epiales in the face sending him flying as I followed up with another stroke to the face, over and over again. He pulled back this time summoning a set of knives from nowhere.

  Wait a second!

  "Let me show you the legendary art of Gun-foo!" At the same time I pulled out a gun. Pulling the trigger Epiales snapped to side his side grazed by the bullet. Holding a good ole Kentucky Flintlock.

  "What the hell is that!" Epiales said in surprise for a moment.

  "The sound of Freedom" I replied to his question, the fight ensued with me pulling out an arsenal of various weapons. As much as I loved guns they where pretty impractical for fighting someone who could turn into smoke.

  "Pre-system tech is always interesting, and Humans have a knack for destruction.

  Dismissing the gun I pulled out a sword, I continued to battle between with my sword I attacked with deflecting the daggers until finally I manged to push off.

  I moved forward attacking with zeal attacking him. The battle worn down as Epiales began to flag and fall apart. Until the Eldritch looking Daemon fell apart.

  "Hey, Cousin good luck and enjoy yourself every now and then especially in your first thousand years." Epiales said before he fell apart completely collapsing.

  ...

  I awoke covered in a thin layer of cool sweat, looking I saw the Ogres clad in their new armor.

  I smiled, somehow I felt completely rested and ready to commit some war crimes of the magical variety.