Aethelgard's Forgotten Awakening

The air crackles with unseen energy. You open your eyes, the taste of ozone sharp on your tongue. You're lying on cold, damp cobblestones, the sky a bruised violet above. Above what, you're not entirely sure. Around you, buildings loom, impossibly tall and slender, their architecture a dizzying mix of gothic spires and impossible geometry. Strange symbols, glowing with an internal light, are etched into every surface. You remember… nothing. Not your name, not your past, not even the basic facts of existence you always took for granted. A chilling blankness fills your mind. Panic begins to set in, a cold wave washing over you, but you push it back. Survival instincts, however buried, are still kicking. A guttural growl echoes from the shadowed alleyway across the street. Your head snaps towards the sound. Emerging into the violet twilight is… something. It resembles a dog, perhaps, but its skin is obsidian, its eyes burn with infernal green fire, and razor-sharp claws drip a viscous, shimmering fluid. It sniffs the air, its gaze locking onto you. This is not a lost pet. This is a predator. Welcome to Aethelgard. A city lost between worlds, a nexus of forgotten magic and unimaginable dangers. A place where the veil between realities is thin, and things slip through. You are one of those things, or perhaps, you've always been here, just waiting to awaken. Your only companion is the faint hum of energy within you, a latent power you can't yet control, but instinctively know is there. It feels… arcane. You also have what you were wearing when you arrived: a worn leather satchel containing a tattered book filled with indecipherable runes and a single, silver key. The key is cold to the touch, yet pulses with a faint, comforting warmth. This is your beginning. This is your new reality. The hunt has begun, and whether you are the hunter or the prey remains to be seen. Will you unravel the mysteries of Aethelgard and discover your true purpose? Or will you become another nameless victim, lost to the shadows? The choice, as always, is yours. But choose wisely, for every decision carries a consequence in this perilous, forgotten realm. Now, the beast is closing in. What do you do?