Dan Golf's first story
"I don't know why I became a user of magic," began Dan Golf when asked how he wound up a wizard. "I actually wanted to be a monk. I enjoyed, and still enjoy, the solitude. But it turns out I'm a bit too flippant. An introvert with a big mouth. Anyway, I was asked to leave the order I was planning on entering. Didn't even get past the *probationary* probationary period. Took about two weeks. The last straw, as it were, was my asking the chief abbot why they didn't just call 'meditation' by it's true name, otherwise known as a 'nap'."
A ripple of light laughs went around the table at which Dan Golf sat. Dan Golf sighed dramatically, then smiled before continuing. "They made the right call. I liked the aesthetics, but didn't like the ascetics. That wasn't for me. It was depressing. Give up sensual pleasures? What's the point of living if you don't live?" Another ripple of laughs waved over the table. Dan pondered his beer mug, absentmindedly rotating it with his fingers.
"The problem is that I'm not certain being a wizard is the right life, either. I honestly have no, real idea what I'm doing. I'm not certain that harnessing powers not only greater than us, but powers that we can't even understand, is where I want to put my life's energy." The others at the table looked around at each other at that remark. "Think about it. We have no idea where this energy we call 'magic' comes from. Are we harnessing it properly? Are we always just one bad motion, one bad word, one bad thought away from creating horror and carnage the likes of which no world has ever seen? And are there some unknown consequences going on of which we have no idea?"
It was now quiet at the table. Dan Golf continued, "It's not the ethereal plane, it's not the astral plane, it's," he made a rolling motion with his hand, "something else entirely. But what?" Again, the others at the table looked at each other.
Finally, a young dwarf spoke up. "Perhaps its just an illusion," he said. "Perhaps its nothing more than the energy we know now, but in ways that we don't yet understand. Perhaps its similar to the warmth you feel from a fire. There's nothing there, nothing you can see, yet you *feel* it."
Dan Golf sat back in his chair, crossed his arms and pondered for a moment. "Perhaps. That's an excellent observation, Tanos." Tanos, still considered a young adult by dwarven standards, veritably beamed at the praise. "That is actually a most excellent observation, for the reason that, yes, while we harness fire, and, yes, while we use it to cook our food, warm our bodies, light our buildings, we're always one mistake away from a conflagration." Again, Tanos lit up, nodding eagerly at Dan Golf's statement.
"Then again, perhaps it's not energy as we know it. We know energy by what it *does*. All those things Tanos and I just mentioned. All this time, we've been *assuming* that 'magic', whatever 'it' is, is also energy. Maybe we're wrong. Maybe it isn't energy at all."
"But what else could it be?" This question came from Milborn, a middle-aged human who was a butcher by profession.
"I have not the faintest of clues, my dear Milborn," Dan Golf continued. "I can only point out what I do *not* know, which is much, while also pointing out what I *do* know, which is very little."
"But you're a fairly well-known, and well-off wizard," said Milborn. His face was a look of confusion mixed with concern. "How can you say you know very little?"
"Because, my dear Milborn, to say otherwise would be a fool's errand, a bit of extravagance that would buy me nothing and probably lead me into danger. I've found the best way to live is to be scared to death."
