The Lore of Chaos Mage Giuseppe of El Dorado

Giuseppe lived in a land forgotten. What once was a thriving society built on a mountainside that towers at the far reaches of the Sands, is now a small withered shanty town with a few hopeful miners still wishing to strike big. A town that was brimming so full with golden ore it was simply called El Dorado. When first discovered, the hillsides were so abundant in gold that it attracted nomads, knights, and even high wizards from as far as the Alchemists Archipelago. But word caught on too quickly and soon enough the gold started to deplete. Along with the Sands growing each year and the desert encompassing more and more of the foothills. El Dorado eventually became a faint memory; Too far off the map to even think twice about.

Giuseppe didn't mind though. He was born in El Dorado and the farthest he’s traveled has only been to Zaros Oasis. As far as he was concerned, it beat the empty desert. His parents migrated to El Dorado while his mother was still pregnant. Hoping to create a better life for their future family. They made it to the City with only years to spare before the gold would be gone for good. Giuseppe remembers a fair childhood but each year getting harder than the last. Each year having less gold to sell. Now there just wasn't any gold left to mine. His parents can’t even afford the provisions to make it back through the Sands. They keep digging though, still hopeful.

Even though he didn’t mind living in El Dorado, it broke his heart to see his parents struggle each year. In his teens Giuseppe would help his parents in the mines. But going into his twenties he could no longer see the point in working so hard for no reward. Despite his better judgment, Giuseppe started to turn tricks. While his parents would go out to the mines, he would head into the town centre and on a corner, next to one of the few buildings that weren’t boarded up. He would perform !magic. Nothing like the kind when wizards used to live in El Dorado, but enough to still impress the locals that have only heard stories from beyond the Sands. Giuseppe knew he wasn’t a wizard but was smart enough to make it seem that way. He made masterful illusions and performed incredible sleight of hand tricks. He would wager bets and pickpocket his audience while they were left astonished after a performance. To make sure he would never be recognized or caught, he always wore a mask. It was a mask passed down from his mothers side. An heirloom he never understood. It was carved to look like the face of a skull. As a kid it used to scare him, but at least now it adds to the illusion he figured.

One day, after a simple grift, Giussepe was heading home. He had just used his winnings to pick up food for his family and was fairly on edge. He couldn't shake off the feeling someone was following him. Pretty worried that someone he duped was catching on to him, he decided to keep his mask on to protect his identity. He also took an alternate route home because he was afraid he would bring harm to his parents for his own misdoing. Right when he felt that no one could possibly still be following him he stumbled onto a scrawny stray white cat. It seemed to have come out of nowhere.. “Have you been the one following me this whole time?” he said to the cat. It just looked back at him with a beady red stare. Giussepe noticed the ribs of the cat and decided to give her a little food. He soon regretted the decision because now he really couldn’t shake the cat off. The last thing he needed was another mouth to feed. “Well let's head home before it gets too dark.. Then we can decide what to do with you tomorrow.” he said.

On their way home, right as Giussepe started to feel relaxed again, he heard an “Excuse me” that sent a chill down his spine. He turned around to see a strange woman in a red wizard cap and an actual solar staff. Giusseppe looked at her in stunned silence.. “A real wizard, “ he thought. And before he could say a word, as if reading his mind, she said “I am an Enchanter, I come from the Reach.” Without even thinking Giusseppe responds “If you've come for gold you’re about 10 years too late.” The enchanter just looked at him puzzled. She looked down at the cat “Is this your cat?” she asked. Giussepe then looked down at the cat and the cat stared back with the same beady red stare as before. “I guess..” He responded. “Well that settles it then. You ARE a wizard!” She exclaimed. Giusseppe immediately was taken aback. Did she watch his performance today? How could he convince an actual wizard his tricks were real? What does the cat have to do with this? “Listen I think-” he says as he breaks eye contact with the cat to only realize no one is there anymore. Now starting to feel really on edge, he and the cat rushed home.

Immediately upon arriving home Giuseppe is bombarded by his mother “Where have you been? And why are you wearing that mask? You know it's been passed down for generations, you better be careful!” Giuseppe had forgotten he was even wearing it. “Where did this cat come from-Oh that doesn’t matter right now, you won't believe what your father struck today” his mom continued. “Gold?” he responded, being the only word he could get in. There's no way it could be gold, he thought.. Before his mom could finish talking his dad stepped into the room with a chunk of ore so big it needed two hands to carry. The small family might finally be able to move out of El Dorado and out of the ever growing desert. That night they celebrated. And Giuseppe forgot all about his weird walk home.

Giuseppe woke up in a cold sweat that night. Something was wrong, the cat was scratching at the door. He got up to let the cat out and as soon as he opened the door he was met with a cold breeze and a putrid smell. Immediately he worried for his parents, he thought about the lengths people would go to steal that ore from them. He rushed to his parents room with his cat in tow right behind him. Upon entering their room he saw an empty bed, at the foot of their bed was the same wizard from earlier, holding the gold ore in her hands. “WHERE ARE MY PARENTS?!” He shouted at her. But she just continued to look at the ore. “Is this some sick joke because I'm not actually a wizard? What are you doing here!?” He fretted. Giuseppe was hoping this was some bad dream. He noticed in his mom's old vanity he was still wearing the mask. Was this a dream? He never put it back on after getting out of bed. The enchanter finally responded, “I’ve told you, you are a wizard.” Giuseppe stared back blankly at her. “What?? Do you want me to admit it? That it’s all a show? That I'm a swindler performing cheap tricks!?” he responded angrily. “Just please, give me back my parents.. We were gonna move out of this place…” She looked back down at the ore. “I wish I could tell you where they were,” she said. “But there are powers at work here beyond even my understanding.” Giuseppe grew even more frustrated. “THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE?!” he cried. The enchanter looked up from the ore and looked him dead in the eyes. “For you.” She responded by lifting up the ore in between them. Giuseppe noticed it was glowing now. “..what?” was all he could get out. He was tired, scared, weary, and without thought or hesitation he was holding the ore with her. Before them the gold grew brighter and brighter, eventually turning bright orange then glowing white. The gold was actually smelting between their hands. Too bright to look directly at but felt almost cool to the touch. He looked back up and she was still looking him in his eyes. “All I can tell you, is you ARE a wizard, and not just any wizard. You are a CHAOS MAGE no less. When Giuseppe looked back down he was the only one holding the gold now. It had taken the shape of a perfect cut star. The world grew darker around him and he became dizzy. The last thing in his vision was the golden star left behind from his parents. As everything faded out he heard the Enchanter whisper “We will meet again Chaos Mage… in the Quantum Shadow..”

Entered by: 0x1a90…Dc87 and preserved on chain (see transaction)