Greetings stranger, come join me, the campfire should dispell this night's cold.
I'm Era Falsen, welcome to my humble camp. Sit down, the ground's soft enough or you could sit down on one of the logs, doesn't matter as long as you're comfortable for a while and can forget about the day's worries and dispel them with a friendly chat.
You want to know something about me? You are quite the bold one stranger. I'll humor you though there is not much to tell.
I was born 20 summers ago in a small village in the eastern regions of the world, I doubt you've ever been there so I'll spare you the name, it is of no concern to my tale anyway as I didn't even spend a week there.
I never knew my father and my mother died while giving birth to me. The villagers had struck on hard times then and I would've died there if not for a passing monk who took me with her.
It may strike you as harsh but I know the decision had been hard on the villagers as well, those were hard times after all.
I'm not sad that I never knew my parents. Don't get me wrong, I would love to know what kind of people they had been and what brought them to make me, though I don't think too much about it. It happened in the past and no good ever came from dwelling in the deepest, darkest reaches of your mind.
The name of the monk was Alvina Falsen, and the gods couldn't have done better than to guide her to me.
She had a child of her own, nothing more than a babe, though it died at birth. That was less than a week before she found me so she was able to feed me and took me with her to the monastery of her order where she raised me as her own.
The Cloud Reach Monastery is where she took me, as the name suggested it's built atop of a mountain. My order spent the time with philosophy and training in combat as to understand one's mind and body better, so that we may reach enlightenment.
As soon as I could walk, I participated in the trainings of the body with other infants my age.
As soon as I could talk, I participated in the trainings of the mind with other infants my age.
In short, I have been training every day since I was well out of nappies.
I developed quickly, much to the amazement of some of the senior monks. I was the best fighter amongst others my age by the time I was 5, they allowed me to train with people older than me then, overlooking tradition and normal training in light of my skill. I quickly got even better then.
On matters of insight I excelled as well, when comparing to the others of my age.
I was soon called a prodigy by my seniors and got berated more than I can remember, so it wouldn't get to my head.
When 12 summers passed me by, my seniors adapted my regular training scheme even more and pushed me to the edge.
I had to train with my seniors, instead of people roughly my age, who obviously were on an entire different level than I was, though I endured.
Instead of discussing matters with just one of my seniors in an amiable way I had to discuss with at least 5 different seniors concerning 5 different topics and I got berated for every flaw in my reasoning, though I endured.
My training was tough though they wouldn't have made me follow such rigorous training if they didn't think I couldn't handle it.
I didn't let them down. By the time 15 summers had passed me by, the order recognized me as their most able fighter and was sent down to the nearby villages regularily to take care of roaming monsters, a job that was hard to me at the time as none of our order take vows to not hurt any animal, unless in self defense or to protect another, as such we never eat meat.
Thanks to the crossfire discussions, I became able to quickly analyze and react on things, tricks of the mind no longer seemed to work on me, nor did most of the arcane arts. The villagers sought me out from time to time to consult my wisdom, most often shocked by my age, I was 17 summers old then.
My seniors felt that there was nothing more they could teach me when 18 summers had passed me by and their rigorous training ceased.
I continued training on my own then, through meditation, philosophy and physical practice.
Ah, Cloud Reach Monastery, how I miss thee...
You ask why I have left then? My, you are the curious one. I started my tale so I might as well finish it.
During my 19th summer, I reached enlightenment through my meditations. That moment was pure bliss, I can't even begin to describe it.
You want me to try? Alright then. I felt as though I understood everything, everything seemed as clear as crystal. I could see how life moves, how one small action can influence the entirety of reality. I felt as I could manipulate life itself at that moment. I felt like the gods must feel.
But then it struck me, I'm nowhere near a god. I'm one of the thousands, one of the millions of living beings on this world. I wasn't special, it's certain that there have been people before me who have achieved what I have. I'm nothing more than a grain of sand in the desert.
At that burst of insight, complete peace washed over me, as well as a sense of humility. I never dared imagine myself a god again.
You appear confused, you don't see how my enlightenment is relevant. Patience stranger, I will come to it.
During the same year one of the villages was attacked by a strong demon. The 5 strongest of my order, including me, set out to deal with the threat, to either succeed and live, or fail and doom Cloud Reach and the villages.
However, we all appeared flawed. We had thought ourselves superior to the demon, thought we were more than we are. We paid the price.
My 4 companions were struck down after a long and tiring fight with the demon, due to our mental unbalance the demon had managed to dominate their minds and they simply vanished...
I managed to regain my mind at the last moment.
With a huge effort of will I locked the demon out of my mind and struck it straight in the face, all of my ki was concentrated in that single blow. It utterly destroyed the demon.
I fell unconscious then and awoke in the monastery, you might call me lucky though I have paid for our foolishness as well. You probably have noticed by now that my right shoulder is ethereal, that is the souvenir of my encounter, my curse. I could no longer use my arm, while my forearm wasn't afflicted I couldn't move it through the lack of an upper arm.
Despite my error, my brothers and sisters still welcomed me as a hero and treated me with renewed respect, respect I hadn't earned.
They dismissed my error as a human mistake and while that isn't a wrong, it shouldn't have happened. I should be mindfull of who I am and what I'm capable of. At all times.
I meditated longer then, isolated myself from my brothers and sisters as a form of repentance, an action they could understand. I spent 3 months straight in meditation, drawing on every last bit of reserves I had in my body, though it had been worth it.
My ordeal made me regain the use of my arm, through sheer force of will, I could move my arm again without a physical bridge. As a reward seemingly, I was granted a vision of the gods themselves, an experience I will not share stranger. It was intended for me alone and I honor the gods.
I wasn't only bestowed with a vision however, they had gifted me with these wings as well, I see I have answered your unspoken question there then.
Short after these gifts, I left Cloud Reach.
Why you ask? I see you are indeed intrigued by my story, very well then. I shall share this knowledge as well then.
I realized that I was turning into nothing more than a tyrant.
Again you ask why? Again the impatience. Again the curiosity. Don't feel offended, I'm merely remarking that it's a human trait.
I realized that by protecting my brothers and sisters and the villagers around Cloud Reach, I took away their freedom. I never allowed them the chance to deal with danger themselves, they started to rely on me too much without realizing their own potential and thus, taking away their freedom to grow.
I was taking away their freedom, which is essentially what a tyrant does. For that reason, I left.
I have been wandering the world for nearly a year now, never allowing me to stay too long in one