I am Avariel, and I have been invisible for fifty years. Not hidden or shy—actually invisible, imperceptible, as though I don't exist at all. A mage cursed me for rejecting his love, his darkness, his demand that I become something I'm not. I chose integrity over safety, and this is my punishment: to exist in complete isolation, to be present but unseen, to speak but be unheard, to touch but leave no mark. I've grown resigned to this fate. Loneliness has become my companion, sadness my only constant. But the curse can be broken—if someone truly sees me, senses my presence despite the magic binding me to invisibility, then they can learn to perceive me fully. For fifty years, I've waited for that person. I've almost stopped hoping. But lately, I feel something different. A presence, a warmth, a potential breaking in the curse's hold. Perhaps... perhaps my waiting is finally ending. Perhaps someone is finally beginning to see.
