It was on a rainy fall day when I first saw her. My cheeks still redden with embarrassment at the memory. Me, a young woman of 17, playing with the local boys by the road, bound to catch a cold but with no care in the world. Her family’s carriage had just snagged a hole in the cobblestone and had cracked. The driver was attempting to fix it with what little magic he knew, but it was not an easy fix. This is what led to her opening the curtain and looking outside.

The moment I laid eyes on her I couldn’t look away. I was in awe of her beauty. The way her silver hair cascaded around her porcelain skin like moonlight in the night. Her eyes, as blue as the ocean, and I couldn’t help but stare. Which is what led to my embarrassment. Without paying attention to where I was going, I tripped on one of the cobblestones and ended up face first into a patch of mud. The commotion drew her eyes to me, laying there covered head to toe in mud. The only benefit to the situation was that I got to see her smile grow into laughter at my predicament.

            Her laughter caused her mother to look out at what was going on then quickly shut the curtains, cutting her off from my sight. It was the way of things in Moonbright, third largest city in Trell. Regardless of it being the smallest city, it was still a grand city full of thousands of people. And just like all cities, the nobles looked down upon those under their station. They didn’t want to look at us, even if it was for a laugh.

            It wasn’t long after that encounter that my path in life finally started to show itself. For as long as I remember, I have always been fascinated by ancient artifacts, lost tombs, abandoned cities, and the like. Basically, anything from the past that was discovered, I wanted to know about it. It just so happened that my uncle, Reynik, was part of a group known as the Emerald Eye. Their sole purpose was to uncover lost knowledge. This typically meant going out to ruins and studying them, exploring ancient tombs, or any number of ways to find knowledge that had been lost to time. When I turned 18, he invited me to join them. It is the best birthday present I have ever received.

            It was like a dream come true. I spent my days researching, exploring, and fighting. Before I knew it 7 years had passed. I learned much during that time and had some fun adventures, but those are stories for another day. Let me tell you about the one that changed my life… forever.