My first adventure in Vana'diel began on Halloween. I was lost in a town far too large for me to find anything, and I was completely overwhelmed by everything that I saw. I saw ghosts wandering around town, and I didn't know that they were just people in costumes. People were apparently getting items from them, too. I didn't know what to do, though. I can't even remember what happened, really, but eventually I found myself outside and I met another Black Mage that was dressed in the same clothes as me. We teamed up and explored the town and surrounding areas together. We laughed, we fought, we died, we got stronger, you know? The hours passed by like nothing, but eventually, we had to say goodbye. I was excited that my first day in Vana'diel was an adventurous one like that. I made sure to say goodbye to my new friend.

I never saw him again, though. I didn't know where to begin looking for him, and I couldn't remember anything about him. Was it wrong of me to forget someone that easily?

I met up with some other people that had started at the same time from a community I had previously went to, and I went with them instead. We didn't level together, but instead we explored and fought our way through perils. Those people, luckily, I remember. As time went on, I ruthlessly pushed forward to learn new magic spells and become stronger so that I could see what Vana'diel really had to offer. As I pushed forward, the language barrier began to become stronger and stronger, and eventually there weren't many North Americans my level at all. I had rushed myself so fast that I was still wearing the same robes, barely had any subjob ability, and only wanted EXP. That never really changed. I had no linkshell, and not many friends that were anywhere near as strong as I was. I decided to leave Vana'diel.

But then, one day, someone told me that they needed me. This was many months later after I had left Vana'diel, and I wondered what the point was. Who would need a selfish Black Mage? I wasn't very strong and all I had to show for the level I had attained was the fact that I was that level long ago, and that was all. Reluctantly, he convinced me that I needed to go back, so I did -- he wanted me to join their party. I never met any of those people that he wanted to join at that moment, but rather, met each one of them in time and dealt with them as I had to.

Due to some miscommunications, or maybe something beyond my grasp, I never was able to join their party. I was angry. He pulled me back here, but what was the reason if he was just going to leave me? He was a Dark Knight. I never really liked that class. I would always be in Jeuno and wait for someone to help me or some mission to arise that needed people, so that I could go, but everytime I checked, he was always out there leveling. I couldn't stand that he was only there just for EXP, but, at the same time, I had to commend his progress. When I left Vana'diel, he was just a Warrior with no subjob. When I looked around Jeuno, I saw a lot of familiar names and some of them were stronger than me. It was a little embarrassing, and I felt very out of place. Eventually, I went out to Garlaige Citadel and fought beetles with a random party who was nice enough to let me join, and it started and ended there. I met someone who remembered me and he offered me a linkpearl to his linkshell. They were very helpful and they motivated and helped me to change robes and eventually I became just as trendy as the other mages!

When I think about it again, I wasn't doing anything that different than he was, but I loathed the idea that he had a party that would meet everyday at the same times to do the same things, like work. I wanted to prove to him that you didn't need to do it that way, so I worked to become as powerful as I could once again. Weeks passed, and then months, and eventually, I surpassed him and his party broke up. No longer would I look to see his name and see him in an area, or anything like that, and it wasn't that long before I stopped seeing his name at all. What was I fighting for now? I never wanted the robes, the rings, or anything special for adventuring, but I kept going. I loved the magic of Vana'diel and I wanted to see how good I could get. It paid off, eventually. I made friends, but because we are all adventurers there, it's easy to forget some, and it's easy for them to forget you.

But there are special people you meet that you will never forget. Although I never had a set party, I always traveled with a bard friend that used to be in my other friend's set party. You could say that I took him away from them, but in another way, who wants to have a job in Vana'diel - to do everything at a fast pace, to have the best everything, to do it all at the same time, everyday, as much as you can? That's how it was back then, and I'm glad I never lost myself in that. I can't say that I've had tons of friends, or that I went on great adventures - though there were fun times and dangerous missions. The single most important thing is that certain someone you meet that is always there for you, that can offer you advice, and that help you along. If it wasn't for that bard, the road to anything would have been much longer and difficult, but we were always there, and we prevailed. I made sure that I would not make another mistake, and I kept contact with him always. When he changed his linkshell, I also changed mine. When we lost our linkshells, we did not replace them.

In the end, there will be those who lose themselves in the quest for greatness, and then there will be those who don't know what they're there for. Vana'diel has a spirit of adventure, yes, and I may have lost that somewhere along the line, but I'll never forget the spirit of companionship that the bard and I had. That is the most important thing.

The story of Vana'diel is a rich and wonderful one, but sometimes you can't always drop everything to see it; in that case, then, when you finally get what you want, go see the world when you can with someone - a friend, or maybe alone - and you'll learn something important about the game that you can't get no matter how many levels you gain.