I am making this first passage from the harbor dock of Aesry, and I am thinking it will be my last such entry here upon this paradise for some time to come. There are no moons tonight and a gaethzen firefly sits here beside me: the only source of light but for Damaris' stars. There is something to be said for the prospect of sailing upon a clear night: beautiful.

The Halasa Selhin is already twenty-five roisaen late, and I am not surprised nor worried. I do not wish to leave this island, but duty...and the gods...call. I am to take up the mantel of the Questing Knight. And this first step is the beginning of the task. Who am I, but a simple and all-too-silly soldier, to deny the visions of the gods have given me?

There is movement out on the water, a seal or dolphin perhaps, but no ship. How many days the trip to Crossings and from there to Therenborough? I wonder if starting this adventure here upon the island, to procrastinate my leaving just that much longer, would be acceptable. Most likely not. The vision was quite clear.

I pray that I'll succeed and return here as the gods did design. I pray that I will find the answers I seek, the absolution I need, and the healing promised by Peri'el's sweet tones. One of every monstrous creature in Elanthia must I face and either vanquish or myself be vanquished. Each and every one known. I may perish time and again in pursuit of this task, but it is the attempt at facing them squarely that must be made.

Only what I have upon my back, what few coins are in my coffers, and those favors already in my possession are what I can take along. What coins I gain I will donate, what knowledge I gain I will pass on to others through these journal entries.

For companionship, Damaria will be my healer by Damaris' own vision...and of this I am heart thankful. I sense there will be fellow questers out there. Companions who will join upon the trek. Their faces, of this moment, are clouded. But it is merely a matter of time.