Destiny Clouded

         The years number a score and eleven since I was cast into the world. I have always known that there was a reason for my coming, but in that time I have caught only glimpses of its true nature.

         I came from a small town on the banks of a river, but soon my family was sent forth to a great city, capital of the lands around it. We dwelt there for many years, until the call to return to that small riverside town came once again. We remained there for three years before returning to the great city. In that time, my father became a teacher, a path I would ultimately follow.

         The years of my childhood were of little note. I was intelligent, often outstripping those who studied with me. That childhood, however, was cut short by illness.

         When I was not more than eleven years old, my mother became unwell. The best physics and apothecaries could do little for her. In time her condition ceased to deteriorate, but she never truly improved. For a full year and then half another, she was kept within a house of healing, and she went back and forth from our home to there, for the rest of her days, as few as they were. I was forced to grow up quickly during that time.

         I threw myself into my studies, and in time came to the most illustrious house of learning contained within my city. I studied the mysteries of first the body, and then the mind. I then left for some years, and returned again to find the secrets of passing on my knowledge to others.

         My own land was not kind to me. My knowledge and expertise were not valued, so after a time, I left my homeland. I traveled far across a great ocean and came to a foreign soil where my expertise was highly sought after. I travlled back to my home again after a year, but found no change. Now I am in that foreign land again. It has become a second home to me. In the time I have been here, I have joined a league of scholars and scribes where I have honed another craft. I value this place, and truly believe that if my destiny is to be found, it is here. And the best part is, I can commune with these sages from anywhere in the world. They have given me power and responsibility, and I strive to please them.

         But still, the call of Destiny sounds to my ears. I will remain with this legion of the literate, but I will also seek my way beyond the walls of their citadel of the mind.