As of now, my adopted daughter’s current attitude can be described as troublesome, even alarming. She always was a quiet and reserved girl; a child any parents would consider a blessing of gods. And yet, as her father, I felt a rift between us, some kind of boundary I cannot pierce despite my numerous attempts.

I may not have been of her kin, but I am still a parent, and any parent would be saddened if his beloved child were to be as depressed as this little flower of mine. I look at her mature eyes and wonder about the world inside her tiny head. It must be quite sad no to have something everyone takes for granted, memories of old.

I cannot but muse over how alienated she might be in this cold land where no other elves live. And yet, I sometimes find her smiling to herself during our lessons of arcane arts. She excels at magic as no one else I have ever seen before. Truly, a gem without a peer.

My little Marie.

Ah, how rude of me: perhaps, introductions are in order. I am a scholar and a man of medicine, but may refer to me as Merlin Klausel. I work as a healer in a nameless village on the west, while also researching local fauna, but this is only a hobby of mine. I was born into a peasant family, but I was adopted by an old and childless noble as means to be accepted into a magician’s academy in capital.

I would never forget all the kindness it took to accept another man’s child as your own, and cherish him as if I was his flesh and blood. Ah, but don’t presume that I adopted Marie as some twisted form of atonement: she is an apple of my eye. When I first saw her, she was so small and lonely, but now my little flower blossomed into a splendid maiden.

If only I could eradicate all pests that bother her…

Ahem, the problem is that she refuses to call me father, referring to me only by my name or title. It pains me so much that she still treats me as if I am a stranger to her. I hope that someday she will accept me as a replacement for the family she cannot remember. I wonder if she feels that by accepting me, she betrays her real parents. 

It's not the time to be sad, however. It’s a great day; a day when Marie will finally graduate from my apprenticeship. Oh, how wonderful! She is only fifteen, not even an adult, but her accomplishments put even me to shame. Now, if only she would have stopped using such disgraceful and inelegant tactics…

Ah, here she is. I stand before her and adjust my glasses. It’s time for graduation ceremony to begin. We are surrounded by rows and rows of burning candles – it was such a hassle to place and fire them all by myself – and I say the words every mage hears once in his life.

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A journey into the endless. Thee, who pursue the secrets inside, shall be the one above.

A travel into the nothingness. Thee, who follows questions, shall be the one under.

A destination unreachable. Thee shall be the one of center, unmovable and free.

I declare thee a master over the nature.

I declare thee a fellow mage.

Finally, the ceremony ends without my butchering the words. I give her my present, a box. She looks at it curiously before opening to see what it hides inside. It is a hat, made of salamander’s hide. My, it costed quite a sum, and I even had to order it from capital, but I couldn’t afford less for her most important day in the world.

I see the girl before me clutch the hat in her hands before starting to softly cry. 

“Finally…”

I hear her murmur.

“… I am finally worthy of being your child, father”

Oh, this foolish girl…

You were always worthy…

… Since the day I met you, little flower