“You don’t know who you are. You only know what will happen if you aren’t the person everyone expects.” The Elf ran a finger along the edge of her jade bracers. “Trust me, wizard, I’ve been more rich and famous than you’ve dreamt of, and all it ever made me feel was pain and fear of losing it. Success and status are a gilded cage. But when you let go of those things, or life takes them from you, the expectations don’t matter anymore. Strip it all away, and nothing can hurt you. You lose the fear.”
