The day Ian was born, his magic account was opened. Initial debt: 0.
His father, Mark, taught him, "If you can avoid using magic, don't use it. If you have to, use as little as possible."
His mother, Lina, said, "He shouldn't... learn magic when he grows up."
But in this world, you couldn't survive without magic. Learn it, and you went into debt.
At fifteen, Ian went to work firing pottery in a workshop. At thirty, he married. At forty, he sent his daughter to serve at the border. At fifty, his wife lost her mind. At sixty, he realized he might never have needed to spend his whole life paying off his debt.
The bluebells bloomed every year. He spent his whole life paying off a debt.
--This isn't a story about turning your life around. It's the story of how an ordinary person lived out a lifetime.
