It was an unusually cold night in the village. The soft breeze wafted the comforting, familiar smell of the tavern towards me. I could hear the hooting of the guardians of the night all round me high in their homes protected from the world below, oh how I would have given even my life to be in their place now. I took another, final look round; I could sense my father in the distance in the inn, my mother still doing her knitting next to the log fire, unaware of my plans. 'Should I leave them like this? Don't they need my help in future?' the questions tore at my mind.

It all began two months ago. It was ironic as is usually the case in any fairytale, that it happened to be a beautiful day. The bright noon sun beat down on my bare back as I was heaving the bucket of water across the field. Our village well had dried up in the recent drought and the few children that lived round there had been drafted up to the perilous job of water-bearer. We thought it would be great fun, hiking up the hills and playing in the streams and woods on the way to the river but it didn't go quite as we planned. I remember it now, we had all been splashing around in the river and my brother had just pushed me face down into the water. I can't quite remember why, when I saw something glitter among the rocks. The ring was golden and sparkled in the water, I couldn't resist touching it. As soon as my hand closed round it, the world went crazy, the trees and rivers were spinning around me and the experience was so nauseous I passed out.

In what must have been an eternity later, I woke up to find myself standing next to an ominous tree, it's branches spread above and below me as far as the eye could see, with what looked like small rooms carved in its side. That was where I first learned about magic and magical transportation from my kind elven tutors, who took me in as one of their own. I spent the next few weeks in that place, called Kisah or the tree city by outsiders. A beautiful and kind woman named Tristal guided and supported me through my time there, telling me about the wonders she had seen, from the amazing stone city to the lush and beautiful Quessian forests. Over that time that seemed almost like an eternity I yearned to see my brother and parents yet still wanted to learn as much as I could about the outside world. Eventually I worked up the courage to ask the village elder to give me a guide back to my home village. I was pretty surprised when all the elder gave me was a map, some supplies and a small figurine of an elf with a bow in his hand. "Anytime you want to visit us again, just use the figurine, you'll know what to do."

I journeyed back through the forests and plains to my home town and told my parents of my adventure, already knowing how they'd react: rebuke after rebuke. "You shouldn't hang around with those types Amuldor, you don't know what you're getting into," said my father smoking his pipe after just had a long day in the fields. My mother was the same, I tried to show them how it could help, the wonders of how they could make water just spurt out of the soil with two simple words. But they didn't listen, they were so stuck in their isolated way of life that they were scared of anything out of the ordinary. I spent the next few brooding in my room and restricted from leaving the house, my friends and brother kept me company but my thoughts kept drifting back to Kisah and the sights and experiences I knew I would never know if I stayed at home.

Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, and taking one last look at the home I had lived in for so long, I ran as fast I could into the woods before I could change my mind yet again. My legs suddenly buckled under me, and I heard something softly hitting the floor, fallen from my backpack. The next thing I knew, I was back in the tree city, with my destiny decided. To become a mage and honour the pledge I had made to my teacher during the time in Kisah, which was to join her house. "I'll always remember you.", I said to the picture of my old family sitting on the windowsill of the Elkhorn Inn, "And I'll be back one day."