I made some decisions. I wanted to become a sword fighter and a mage. Magic is still easy to use for me – the rest is training. Without claws and fairy-magic, I have to use mortal weapons. And I want to learn to shoot with a bow – those things were the main reason behind my capture. I hoped that humans would live long enough to learn the mysteries of magic.

Am I even a human being? I had discussed this with the group, and they were pretty sure that I am a human. They heard stories about fairies becoming humans – mostly dark and cruel ones. They laughed at my startled face expression, and told me that those stories are mostly fantastic and unreal. Today we know that many have a true core – or had.

“How long do humans live?” I asked my fellows. “About a half century, statistical. If you stay healthy, you can simply overcome that. Some mages even managed to reach the age of 100 years,” Bob said. “What does that mean, ‘stay healthy’?” I replied. Bob groaned loudly. Kamurea shaked her head in disbelief. Vi patted me on the back and said, “You have to stay with us. If you get lost, you will not survive. That’s a first step to stay healthy.” She smiled cheering, and gave me a hug. I must have looked totally confused and tearful. In fact, I felt very vulnerable at that evening. Darkness had been setting in, and the forest around us was awful silent. Even the merchants sat together quietly. Just their campfire was cracking, echoing through the trees.