An Introduction:

Aleister had always felt nature’s calling upon his soul. His memory was no longer clear, perhaps from his age (which he no longer kept track of), or maybe it was from years of failed experiments with foreign fungi, but his earliest memories were of being in nature. He often day dreamed of times he had spent with loved ones, exploring and admiring creation. He remembered traversing remote ranges in search of treasures that were only gifted to those with curious minds. Bathing in cool mountain streams, uncovering bones of creatures long-forgotten, extracting rare crystals from the belly of the earth, hiking peaks beyond where even trees could set their roots: he went where eagles dared. Life is simple there. Every living creature has a purpose which they eagerly carry out, and time is irrelevant. In that place, one can easily understand the Creator’s intentions, and that is where he hoped to spend the last of his last days.

Alas, life brought him to the city, which was… exciting, for a season, but a place he never hoped to be. It was a hectic place, surrounded by concrete and filth, it was there that he began to lose his innocence. Seeing suffering on daily basis callused his once overly-warm heart to the point where he was accustomed to walking by his kind sleeping on the street, begging for their existence. You see, he was from a community where wizards helped other wizards in their time of need. While seeing desperation on a daily basis became more common, it was never normal to him.

He used the distractions of the city to occupy his mind from the destruction that surrounded him. His experiments brought him to cities around the world, where he learned of new cultures and their ideas. He was able to feast upon the finest chanterelles and truffles, adorn himself in the rarest of clothes, and socialize among the most powerful wizards in the land. His mind expanded beyond the simplicities he knew in the forest. While the excitement of city life was enough to keep him temporarily entertained, the allure of material wealth quickly lost its luster. It seemed those around him were never satisfied on their quest to accumulate worldly possessions. What he felt to be the shortsighted mindset of most, ultimately left him feeling cold and alone. Quite simply, he did not fit in with most wizards, nor with the world they created. 

He found the red wizards to be too consumed with wealth and power. While he found the occasional political banter interesting, he saw that history often repeated itself, and so did their conversations. He spent his youth partying with the yellow hats, but that too ran its course. Wine flowed day and night, the music never ended, and leisure was the top priority. He quickly realized their way of life was not sustainable for his well-being, and produced nothing of value. They did not miss him when he moved on. After all, he was from the country. A place that was known for their green and brown hats. They could see the calluses on his hands, they knew he was not one of them. The green and brown did not fully accept him either, as he was clearly different than them too. He was constantly hatching schemes and questioning everything. Chaos was woven into his being. They thought he was intentionally trying to disrupt their way of life, but it was just who he was. In fact, their rejection of who he was, is what brought him to the city in the first place. He left his home in search for acceptance, which he hoped to find among the blue wizards: the academics. Their minds were truly special, but they were closed off to outsiders. If you did not attend an academy they deemed worthy, there was no chance of entering their circle. The blue hats knew what he was the moment he opened his mouth and his clumsy words escaped. He considered himself a misfit, a title he became more proud of as he aged. 

While his time in the city was mostly filled with disappointment, he knew there was value in every experience and interaction, he just had to find what it was. 

On what he assumed was a meaningless night, he sought entertainment to distract him from the displeasures of his life away from home. On that fateful night, he met a Grey Pilgrim. It was clear that he was also far from home. Together, they shared a good pipe. The pilgrim shared tales of his journeys. Wisdom poured from his mouth. While he does not remember everything (years of mushrooms), one specific sentence became embedded into his brain, “death is just another path, one that we all must take.” In that moment, he know that our journey does not stop when our corpses are placed into the ground. Life was bigger than he ever thought. He began to examine the state of humanity, and in that moment he vowed to be kinder to all who cross his path, with the intention of spreading love to those who have struggled to find it in this life. 

Living in displacement became a heavier burden by the day. The morally bankrupt were multiplying, and he was becoming a stranger in foreign land. He saw that those who looked for wealth and power were clearly dividing the population. The leaders plagued their population with  “death and hatred to mankind, poisoning their brainwashed minds.” Seeking an escape from what felt like eternal torture, he retreated to back to his safe space.

At last, he returned to his home, away from civilization. Being where he felt he always belonged felt comfortable, it felt easy, it felt right. His body was different though, he could no longer enjoy the land as he once did. He was old. He hurt in areas that he never knew existed. But time slowed and his body adjusted, he became more comfortable with his older form. Perhaps, he was too comfortable. His mind and body began to atrophy, he knew this was the first stage of death. He was not ready to become one with the mycelium and begin his journey in the next life. There was still too much to do in this realm, and he had not left his mark. He realized discomfort brought personal growth, and that he needed to continually challenge his ways to thinking and existing. The hardships he faced made him who he was. By choosing what was easy, he was choosing not to grow, he was choosing death. 

With age, came wisdom. In his twilight years, he was finally ready to use his wisdom to complete his purpose on this journey. He was ready to be the change he hoped to see in the world. It was time to fight back… with love. It was time to return to the filth, and be a light in the darkness.  

It is here that his story really begins…

Entered by: 0x9a2e…19df and preserved on chain (see transaction)