I´m a nameless person. At the foster home, they called me “John”. They found me at the door of such home when I was the size of a peanut. Thenne, I was adopted by a woman whose eyes shone like diamonds and whose long grey hair stood her long age. That woman was the famous Ariadnne Calois.
Until my eighteenth birthday, she trained me every day so I could becometh a powerful sorcerer one day. I tirelessly practiced spells, rituals, and summoning until my eyes shut and my foot would not stand. My life dream was to become a powerful sorcerer like my mentor.
While I was trying the invisibility spell for the 100th time (I lost count of how many times I tried it), Ariadnne approached me and told me it was all for that day.

‘But I need to perform well this spell. If I want to becometh…’ Ariadnne put her hand in my mouth and one of her hands on my shoulder.
‘And you will becometh one, but I have to tellen something.’ She fixed her dazzling eyes on me. It was inevitable to stare at her with such pearls.
‘What?’ I asked her. Curiosity started to arouse in me.
‘If you want to becometh the most powerful sorcerer in Secretland, you must knowen your real nama. The nama you were given at birth.’ She explained to me. My name? Why did I need to discover my name to achieve such a wonderful feat?
‘Why? I’m fine with ‘John’. I know it’s a boring name, but I don’t care.’ I answered her.
‘You’ll knowen at your due tyme. You’ll embark on a journey through this vast land to reach the One Who Possesss All Knowledge.’ A trip? The farthest place I had been was the town of Lake Hope which was a few hours away from the tower.
‘Get ready for this trip. It will be very important to thou.’ I ran to my bedroom and started to pack outfits, wands, potions, food, drinks, and stuff I needed just in case. I heard a knock at the door and opened it. My mentor entered and raised her eyebrows when she saw I had almost completed the preparations.
‘I see that you haven high expectations with this trip. You will set with the first ray of the Sun.’ She went away, and I continued making the last preparations.
Before sunrise, I was standing at the tower’s door with my mare Janeleine. I felt like I was carrying rocks. Maybe I should have left some things out. My mentor hugged me and handed me an old, rusty, huge book carved in light brown leather.
‘BUT THIS…. THIS… IS YOUR BOOK? YOUR GRIMOIRE!!!’ I shouted and embraced her. She gave me a big smile. She kept her denture intact despite her years.
‘Now it is your time to prove that you are a great sorcerer and to put into practice all of your learning.’ She told me. I mounted Janeleine and looked at her once more.
‘I’ll return as the best sorcerer in this whole land.’ I promised her and began my journey.


© Jero Gandini