Ghosts and Fragments.

My mother was given to occasional fits of precognition, and after conceiving me she experienced a vision of two identical daughters.  Imagine her surprise when she gave birth to only a single child.  She decided that I had absorbed my twin and (perhaps as a sort of punishment?) gave me a name that self-reflected, backwards and forwards: Leialeelaiel.

I have scarcely seen her since I was eight years old. At that time my older brother Zarnafien and I were deemed old enough to look after ourselves while my parents focused on their research.  Zarnafien was my first teacher and mentor - perhaps even more so after he left to become a wizard-adventurer.

Zarnafien sent me various trinkets from his travels, things which, while they may have been of little monetary value, always seemed to be pieces hinting at a greater puzzle, teasing glimpses of the world outside Starcrest Commune.  I know in my heart that I am meant to uncover some of Norrath's mysteries, but I must be patient with myself.  Qeynos was not built - nor even destroyed - in a day.

For now, I content myself with roaming what remains of a lost center of magical study, learning what I can from ghosts both literal and metaphorical.  I know that Zarnafien would be pleased with my progress.

Though at times I doubted my ability to do so, I have officially graduated from my training at the Queen's Colony.  I collaborated with some intriguing individuals there - a diverse assortment with whom I have promised to keep in touch and hope to one day embark upon further adventures - but I found that immediately after our final test was complete, I required some solitary travel time to restore my inner balance.

Perhaps my favorite of the places in which I have recently wandered alone is the place known only as the Forest Ruins.  More precisely, it is the ruin of a mage complex from a lost age of early Qeynos - a place in which enchanters, magicians, and wizards once studied together in a single society known as the Order of Three.  It was, I imagine, not unlike the Concordium of modern-day Qeynos - an organization through whose ranks I hope to one day rise.

Now, however, it is a stately but hazardous remnant of a once-great edifice, haunted by the restless spirits of those who once studied there, as well as giant spiders and fascinating elemental guardians whose remains I have been examining.  These guardians are still very much active, but I vanquished several specimens with the help of my persona. 

A persona is an illusionist's trick which allows me to essentially split my will and consciousness into a sort of ghost or echo of myself.  She can cast the same spells as I can, and in a sense exists to exert my will from two different directions.  She also happens to look identical to me, and I find this so comforting that it almost gives credence to my mother's theory that I was meant to have a twin. 

Regardless, the persona is a pleasant traveling companion, as she does not interrupt my thoughts.  In a decision which will likely amuse no one but me, I have decided to call her Laiel, after the part of "Leialeelaiel" that I amputated to fit my name onto the tongues of foreigners. 

If I must remove a part of myself, I would at least keep it nearby.