My Path Revealed 4 of 5: The Ioun Stone

Though from an outsider’s perspective today may have looked unremarkable, today was one of my most personally profound days since I left Anuren.
 
One of my companions is a woman named Lenore. Although understated in her personality next to some of my bawdier companions, her nature seems to hide a great power, like a slumbering volcano, and her wit is sharper than a stingray's tail.
 
Lenore has in her possession a powerful artefact she calls the “Ioun Stone”. This unassuming gem orbits her head like a tiny moon, bestowing her with a mysterious ambient power that makes her mind capable of great feats.
 
What had such an effect on me today, however, was not the Ioun Stone itself, but the way Lenore earned the right to hold it. A series of puzzles of fiendish difficulty were put to her by - and involving - the very library that claimed rightful ownership of the Ioun Stone.
 
Though often perplexed, Lenore persevered diligently through the puzzles, eventually triumphing just when all hope seemed lost.
 
I said little during this time, due only in part to my ignorance of the puzzles solution. The primary reason I held my tongue was that something about Lenore’s plight was stirring up all the quiet worries and doubts I’ve held of late.

When I walked behind Lenore, watching her prize orbit her like a celestial crown, I realised what I admired. It was that she had obtained this power through overcoming adversity. And not the type of adversity you might find in a nest of giant spiders - a much more personal one. One that forces you to make use of your own mind and talents to overcome.
 
I now know what I must do to be able to start on my new path.
 
I must overcome my fear of fire.