Well, I decided to go with the "student of an old wizard" route. I'm not much of a writer, so this may not be the greatest prose ever, but here it is.
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I was born into a small community of pixies living far from the humans and other "civilized" races, as they like to consider themselves. I never really ventured far from my enclave, but one day, when I was out roaming around the forest, I came across one of my favorite caves. Something was different this time, however, and it seemed someone was moving in. I flew quietly up to the mouth of the cave and landed, peering in.
Inside was an old human male wearing long gray robes. I could tell, from the stories I'd heard over my lifetime, that he was some kind of a magic user... probably a wizard. He didn't act like I expected a human to; he moved almost gracefully, as if his every step had a purpose. This fascinated me, and I stayed for the rest of the day and watched him. He had very few possessions, but they all came from one tiny bag. I knew it had to be a magical bag, but I'd never seen one up till then, so it amazed me.
Early the next morning, I went back to the cave to see if the human had moved on, and he was still there. He was sitting on a stone outside the cave, reading one of the largest books I've ever seen. He continued reading for about an hour, and over the course of the day, I watched him use magic to turn what was just a plain cave before into a somewhat comfortable home. Granted, I still don't think I would like to live there, but he didn't seem to mind it much.
Over the next several months, it became a regular occurance for me to sit in the bushes and watch the old wizard as he went about his daily life. Occasionally, I would sneak right up behind him as he read through his book in the morning. I came to realize that he was reading a spellbook and seemed to be picking out spells for the day. This was a foreign concept to me, as all the magic users I knew simply *knew* their spells. They were born with an inherent power that fueled their spells. The idea that magic was something you could study was copmletely new.
One day, while I was trying to read over the wizard's shoulder, I slipped and fell to the ground near his feet. With a shout and a few quick words, the man jumped up and looked around quickly, his gaze finally resting on me. Knowing that there was no possible way he could be looking at me, I began to crawl away. Suddenly, he strode forward and picked me up by the leg. I had no idea how he could see me, but there was no way I could get free from his grip.
"So, you're the little one who has been watching me for so long," he said. My face must have shown how shocked I was, because he continued, "Yes. I can see you, and I've been aware of you for some time now. If I put you down, will you make yourself visible so we can talk? I promise that I mean you no harm. It has been so long since since I have gotten the chance to talk with someone." When I nodded, he lowered me to the ground, and we started talking.
That day was the first of many. I would visit Ardest (that was his name) at his cave, and we would spend hours talking. Eventually, he even began to teach me how to read some of the spells from his spellbook. None of them were very complicated, of course, because it was very hard for me to force myself to ignore the magic within me and trust my memory of the spell. We spent time walking (well, *he* walked... I flew) through the woods just sharing experiences. However, Ardest never shared many details about his life. He talked about his childhood, but never talked about how he became a wizard or why he now lived alone in the woods. He seemed uneasy about the subject, though, so I never pursued it.
One day, when I arrived at Ardest's cave, I immediately knew something was amiss. The few possessions he had were strewn about the cave, and Ardest was nowhere to be seen. I searched every possible place I could, and I couldn't find any trace of him. I also noticed that his spellbook was missing. Had someone from his past come and taken him with force? Was he called away on some important errand? I could find no definite signs of a struggle in his cave, though I wasn't exactly sure what to look for. I did manage to find the small spellbook Ardest had been helping me compile. Without knowing whether he would come back, I took my spellbook and went home. The next day, I came back, and the cave was exactly as I had left it.
It was at that point I knew I had to find him and figure out what happened. I packed my things, and with my close freind, Kessa, by my side, I set out to find my mentor. Since then, I've spent several years crossing the lands, and I have met a great many people. None could tell me where to find Ardest, and none that I could find had even heard of him. At this point, I'm not sure if I'll ever find Ardest. However, because I have changed so much from who I was before I started studying magic, I am unsure of the type of welcome I'd receive if I were to go home to my enclave.
Currently, I'm out traveling and trying to find my mentor. Occasionally, I am forced to take on other jobs to make ends meet, but I am confident that eventually, I will be able to find Ardest, and we can return to the forest, where I can continue my studies.
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Opinions are welcome. Let me know what you all think.
