The path to greatness, my father said, is a path that forks in many directions. Some of them may lead you astray, and some may lead you very far from it, but some paths may intersect later, and some of them may merge. I never really understood what he meant when he said these things to me, but the older I get, the more sure I am.

Oh, I'm sorry, I've gotten ahead of myself again. My name is Laele Havensworth. I'm an Alchemist, or, that's what I like to think of myself as. I suppose I am one, I'm capable of mixing potions and such, but to call myself an Alchemist fully befitting the title is a little presumptuous, I think. I wouldn't say that I'm especially skilled, nobody has ever heard of me, and I can't say if they ever will.

But things like fame and fortune don't mean much to me, and the adventures that I've had already have left me wholly satisfied with my life... or close to it, anyway. There will always be that one element missing, one piece of the puzzle that I'm not certain will ever fit. But above all else, I have happiness in my life, and that is what makes our existence as humans wholly worthwhile.

It's hard to say how the adventures all started, though I know they came right after I met him. It was my second day on the job, or was it the third? I had been so busy trying to get the business going that I might have lost track of time. I had completed my training, in any case, and was following in the footsteps of my father. He was a merchant, and may still be now, as I don't really know what ever happened to him. Most of my skills came from his teaching - My eye for a rare or unusual item, my ability to drive a hard bargain, or haggle an over-priced merchant down to something reasonable... Those were the gifts that my father bestowed upon me.

Of course, my father wasn't there very often, during my childhood. I was born and raised in Alberta, though my mother often told tales of how she had traveled with my father, before I came along. She never regretted giving birth to me, and she never made me feel anything other than treasured, but she did express to me the loneliness that she felt, after my father continued his adventuring without her by his side.

By the time I was ten years old, I was responsible for tending my family's shop. My father was forgiving of the times I let things go too cheaply, and he laughed at the times I couldn't determine what exactly the weapons he brought home were. At times I was lucky, and he would take me for day-long trips, teaching me how to hold a sword and use it properly. Father used an axe, and confided in me that his teachings of swordplay were not the best because of it, but I've never been especially skilled at wielding an axe - In fact, I can barely lift one at all.

But I've gotten myself off-track, again, haven't I? All right, then, let's start over once more. My name is Laele, and someday, I will be a great Alchemist.