At what precise moment did my life start?

It is the question that has been hammering my brain for a long time. Your first guess would be to say that it started when I was born when I took my first breath of fresh ArBrae Forest air. I would not blame you for thinking that. I believed that that was where my life started for a long time.

But I was wrong.

My life is like a tree in autumn. All the leaves are different colours, and different shapes and sizes, but they are all on the same tree. I have a lot of memories - more than your average human or elf, but they are all mine.

This story is about different forests full of trees.

The second thing that I would like to emphasise is that life can be compared to the construction of a building. You are a single brick in a wall of others. Our lives and actions are based on so many lives that have come before us - the bricks forming the foundation and everything after it. Everything in your life and I mean absolutely everything, has been made possible through the deeds and beliefs of others. For some things, many have died. For others, none have died.

We stand on the shoulders of those before us, just as they stood on the shoulders of those before them. We are forming a wall, or if you want to be more poetic, a grand building of architectural magnificence. What made it possible for us to be here, to practice our beliefs, was others that devoted their lives to their causes, and sometimes died for them.

Many historical events have led up to this. Many deeds, choices, and so many involved parties have totalled to this.

This is not all there is. This is the past, present, and future entwined and cemented together.

And this is the story of my life.

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