For me, life has always been a fight. A struggle that only sheer determination, not luck, could get me through. No one handed me anything, save two instances (we will get into that later). Now, it is not to say I had a bad childhood, I love my parents. They loved me. We just, well, we were poor. More than poor. We had absolutely nothing.

     I knew I wanted to be a wizard at a young age. My very first memory is of a woman in glittering robes passing through our penniless town. She noticed me, barefooted and coated in grime. Then, whispering in my little ear, "There is a strong magic in you, young one," she slipped a green gem into my palm. As my eyes fell upon it, a small light flickered from within it. "See?"

     I kept that gem with me always, hoping to find my magic someday. But life was not easy, and time was a resource I could not afford. 18 years later, I hadn't harnessed any magical ability. The very day I had heard of an archmage with no apprentice, I knew it was finally time. With bittersweet goodbyes from my parents, I set off. He was some sort of hermit or something, but I didn't care. I was becoming a wizard. 

     It was a struggle to get him to open up (his front door amongst other things). For a while, I thought maybe he would reject teaching me. He tolerated the occasional lesson if I cleaned for him or ran his errands in town. Besides this, we hardly spoke.

     After a few weeks of sleeping in a nearby barn, the odor was... noticeable. One day, before my chores, he motioned for me to follow him into the house. We came upon a closed door, he raised his hand directing me to enter. It was a small room that looked as if it were for someone else. It was cleaned out, bed made. I looked at my teacher confused. He mumbled solemnly, "You can sleep here."

     I inspected my new room, something I never had before. Leaning on the wall was a mystical wooden staff. "It was mine once, won't need it anymore," he explained as I picked it up gingerly. With a shaky hand and glassy eyes, I revealed the emerald I had received from another kind wizard. It gravitated to the end of the staff and began to glow.

In the green light, I knew I had made it home.

Entered by: 0xabBD…0a06 and preserved on chain (see transaction)