The Lore of Sorcerer Jiang of the Belfry

I love you, the last words I heard mother say before I was left, all alone, in the wild.

She didn’t want to, but she had no choice and now at the mere age of 8, I was forced to fend for myself.

Soon things would begin to look up. Welcome to my Chronicles.

Chapter 1- The Marsh

The cold began to nip at my feet as I jumped awake. I knew what this meant; I must migrate south. 

I had spent many years in the Wild at this point, alone except for the occasional caravan passing through,

so I had gotten to know the area well. The south not so much, but I knew that for my own survival I must go.

With no belongings except the clothes on my back, I set out for Kelpie’s Bay, not knowing what I’d have to do

to get there. It all started as I drifted off of the Carnival Pass and into the Fey, itching for a change in scenery and

maybe even an adventure. Soon, though, my boots began to get stuck in the ground. It was mud, but it wouldn’t

budge. Every move I made only made me sink deeper, and that’s when I realized, quicksand.

I reached for the nearest tree and I attempted to heave myself out to no avail. The sand quickly rose past

my waist. This was it. I simply relaxed, waiting for the inevitable. Just as I did, my body began to rise from the

quicksand, slowly but surely. I was able to slide myself off and prop myself upon a nearby tree. I then noticed a sign, just across from the pool of quicksand I had fallen in. It read “, Welcome to Frog Master

Marsh: Population- few. Here be quicksand!” I chuckled to myself, How ironic, but I couldn’t get up. My eyelids

began to become heavy…

~

I jolted awake to see a man. “Woah there!” he said, “Calm down, I ain’t gonna hurt you.” I relaxed a little, 

though reasonably still on edge. “That mudworm got you pretty well.” “Mudworm?” I asked. “They live in the quicksand, they got a pretty ugly stinger,” the man replied, “the name’s Chaw by the way,

and I think you may owe me something.” “Well, Chaw, I don’t have any money to give you,” I replied. “That’s not quite what I want,” Chaw said, “I’ve got a task for you, and don’t you go running off, I got

connections, ya’ know.” “Okay,” I responded, cursing under my breath for getting myself into this situation, “What do you want?” “There’s this small temple just north of here, there’s a bunch of goons hanging out there, and they seem to be

trying to take over the marsh. I need you to take them out.” “Is there anything I need to know first,” I said, knowing that this would be easy. “Not that I know of,” Chaw said, “You best be on your way.” I nodded and stood up. My head pounded, but I tried my best to act unaffected and continued out the door of

Chaw’s shack. The temple turned out to be extremely close to the shack just like Chaw had implied. “This is going to be fun,”

he said to himself, and surged forward through the mud. As I neared the men, they jumped up. Some javelins came raining down from the top of the temple, but I kept

running, dodging them as I went. The goons began to run at me, armed with spears. As they began to raise their arms ready to strike, fire erupted from my hands. The men screamed as I pushed

past. The goons standing near the main gate fled, letting me enter the stone structure freely. There appeared to be three levels, all rigged with traps no doubt. The staircase was grand, leading to two sides

of the next floor. I took the right side, which led me into some sort of labyrinth. As I hesitantly walked forward, my

foot got caught on a wire. An axe swung down from the ceiling. I dropped. My head hit the stone floor, but I guess it’s

better than hitting an axe. Luckily though, this was to my favor. I pried the axe from the ceiling, it was surprisingly heavy, but I could make

due. I began to swing at the already fractured stone wall which quickly gave way. I did this until I came out on the other

side, revealing a grand chamber that connected to the third floor. Goons flooded in from both of the staircases beside me, all armed to the teeth. I would be lying if I said I didn’t fear

for my life, but I was prepared. I simply stood in the middle of the chamber as they charged at me from all angles. I got into

a right lunge, putting my hands at chest level. I was surrounded. I waved my hands in a circle around my body and a massive

wave of fire filled the room, bisecting every living thing it came in contact with. The carnage was too much to bear, so I ran up the stairs. What I saw next, I was not prepared for. A hulking, insanely

tall, muscular thing armed with a tree trunk. I froze in place. The thing didn’t seem to notice me, so I turned and sprinted.

A stone fell from beneath me as I did. It crashed loudly on the floor below. “Hey!” I ran for my life, but he was too fast, so I had to stand against him. I turned around, throwing a fireball at his chest.

It quickly dispersed against him. He was immune. Then things went black. “Hey!” I heard again, but this time it was a woman’s voice, “ pick on someone your own size!” I felt enormous stomps, multiple sets, followed by many other footsteps. The steps turned into rumbles and clinks as a

fight broke out in between an unknown amount of people. “Hey, it’s okay,” the woman said into my ear. I was able to pry my eyes open to see a woman with brown hair and brown

eyes, “I’ll get you stitched up.” I turned my head to see the fight. There was a thing like the other one, beating it in hand-to-hand

combat while normal men were prodding it with spears. “Keep your head up, okay,” the woman said, “you have a family?” “No,not anymore,” I said as she patched me up. “I’m sorry to hear that. We might have a pla-,” she was saying before she was cut off by the first thing falling and collapsing

the floor beneath it. “Alright,” she said as she picked me up. We rushed out, the floor caving behind the army.

~

Over the next few years I grew up in a proper family. The people who rescued me, the Kera’s, took me in. They gave me a name, 

food and a roof. I came to be known as Jiang. A few years after they adopted me, they gave me a frog for my birthday. I could have

never been happier. Unfortunately, my ‘adventures’ were not yet over. This one is a bit more upsetting.

Chapter II: A Reckoning

The Kera’s were good people, but they were rulers. They ruled over the Belfry for many years. They were generally viewed as 

benevolent, but being a ruler will put you on someone’s hit list. Then came the day. I awoke to smoke filling my room. I quickly got dressed and headed down the spiral staircase of the tower to see the bottom wooden

floors on fire. There were the bodies. My heart dropped. I had to find them, the people that did this. The only people to ever show

me real mercy. I fled through my bedroom window. I didn’t know where to go, but I left town. Night seemed to pass quickly as I searched for any one to blame. In the morning I went into a tavern, hoping not only to rest

but maybe to find something out. As I approached, the tavern worker seemed instantly on edge. “Could I get a room?” I asked. “I don’t give rooms to murderers!” he proclaimed, “in fact I’ll go inform the guards immediately!” “What do you mean?” I asked. “It’s not just a coincidence that they were killed by fire,” he said, “It’s obvious that their pyromancer, wildborne son is to blame.” I couldn’t take it anymore. I turned and ran out. “Guards!” the tavern man said, “he’s escaping.” Now I had to find who did this, not just for the Kera’s, but my future depended on it. I decided to venture to For Gnome Wold as

the Kera’s had close royal friends there. I figured they would understand my situation. As I journeyed through the mountains, with my frog(which I had named Joel), I came upon my highest highs and lowest lows. I knew

this time, unlike last time, no one would come to my rescue. If anything it would be the opposite. Though it was also oldly freeing. I didn’t

need to go on this crusade. I could’ve stopped at any point, but my will to do what’s right surpassed those urges and I was soon in the

foothills, nearing Fur Gnome Wold. The king was understanding. He knew a guilty man would never walk this far under such treacherous conditions, so he granted me

amnesty and a home in the castle. I had never felt so relieved. He even offered to help me find who did this. Now this, I would’ve never expected. I settled into bed in my new(maybe even permanent) room and set my bag just beside me. I expected to get some much-needed sleep,

but instead I heard something. “You must be hasty, the soldiers are already in the mountains.” This sure got my attention, but I didn’t want to make it obvious. I sat back on my bed, reviewing my options when a heard footsteps

approaching my room. The door handle turned and the door swung open. The man, expecting me to be asleep, ran in and brandished his

knife, but first he had to gloat. “You walked right into our trap, didn’t you,” he said. “It would seem that way,” I responded, attempting to dig my dagger from my bag. “Not so fast!” the man said, plunging his knife into my side. It burned, but there was no blood, so I attacked back,slicing the man in

the face. He fell to the marble floor. I sprung up, unwounded, grabbing my bag and unlatching the window, I jumped, not looking back.

Now I knew. I ran south and ended up where I was before- the Wild. The land I always knew as home before being brought into the Belfry.

To conclude my chronicles, I’ll tell you the aftermath. The Gnomes conquered the Belfry, securing sea access. I would later come into conflict with them again. I had begun to tame the wild,

but the Gnomes brought an end to that. Now I wander. As to why I survived: I later found a Goblet of Immortality in my bag. With it, came a note that read, Dear son, I know what will soon

happen to us and I cannot stop it. I love you, son. Though there is a secret I kept from you, I’m a chronomancer. I’d be lying if I said this didn’t upset me. Why could she not fix it? I know she had her reasons, but to think that she could still be

here today pains me. Even though I live in the wild, I’ll always be from the Belfry, and no one, not even the Gnomes, can take that from me.

Entered by: 0x9297…600f and preserved on chain (see transaction)