Early Childhood
Picky was always a curious and somewhat adventurous sort. He liked to go on long trips into the fields of Saoire's Dream, looking high and low for the shiniest rocks. He had a special fondness for shells and water rocks, in particular. His parents taught him everything he knows about sculpting and jewel crafting. Saoire was a somewhat distant presence in his life, as he wasn't directly raised by her, but he always felt the love of their Immortal creator throughout the Dream.
Idalos Exposure and Initiation to Magic
Upon the Cadouri's release upon Idalos, Picky was elated to find an entire world full of treasures and shiny things to collect. He immediately set out, fitting his Tiny Tuck with a barge that it could pull through streams, shallows, rivers and lakes. His parents reluctantly aided him in his preparations for treasure-seeking, finding him some camping equipment and essentials he'd need for the dangers of Idalos. A hunting slingshot was given to him, along with some non-lethal but very painful salt pellets to shoot at anything that tried to attack him. Thus prepared, he made his way into Idalos.
The journey went well at first. Picky found many interesting and shiny rocks to weave into beads, and carve into nice sculptures. For a time he was happy to create and craft his way across Scalvoris, using anything he could to improve upon his craft. However, he ran into a strange woman in his travels. A witch by the look of her. Now Picky being somewhat naive, took her invitation into her hut as what it appeared, a friendly invitation to tea. However, as she laid down the tea, and took his hands, he felt funny all of a sudden. A strange and excrutiating sound ran through his psyche, and he almost lost his senses. But after a break or so, he calmed down, and found that he could sense things differently. There was something inside of him, that told him what things were. He didn't quite understand it, or even attribute it to the strange woman who'd invited him to tea. So he stayed there and rested for a time.
However, he found his misfortunes had only begun. When he awoke, he shared breakfast with her. This was nice enough, until he got to speaking about what he was doing in Scalvoris and Idalos in general. When he mentioned that he was a prospector and treasure hunter of sorts, she smiled. It was not a kind smile, but Picky wasn't used to perceiving any kind of smile that wasn't kind, and so he surmised she was truly interested in what he did.
He even agreed to take her on one of his treasure hunting trips, into a cave he'd been surveying for minerals. She carried him in a sling, as her legs were longer and it'd be an easier trip. As they went along, he felt funny again, not unsimilar to how he'd felt in the first instance of his teatime with the witch. However, once he arrived, and entered, he felt the ground shake violently. The woman was cackling from behind him, and he felt entirely helpless. Yet as the rocks caved in on him, he covered his head so as not to become unconscious. The rocks, strangely enough, felt light as they fell upon his body. As he began crawling through the gaps, he felt the earth giving way to his passage. Finally, by the time night fell, he'd emerged from the cave and the rock fall. He made his way determinedly back to the witch, to demand an explanation. However, when he arrived, he found her tent gone. No trace of her anywhere. His barge was in the nearby river, and his Tiny Tuck was crawling along the bank.
Inside his storage chest, he found a note penned presumably by the witch. It bid him farewell for now, but she promised to explain and give him instruction in his new magics before long. But for now, she gave him a lead on a great payload lying within the ground in the Scalvoris Mountains. There were also some strange instructions included, on how to utilize the gift she'd 'given' him. Presumably she'd be watching, which put him ill-at-ease.
Scratching his head, he nevertheless carried on, and went about fixing the barge to Bob Hill, his tiny tuck, and began riding down the river, to find the next best prospect.
