Spending the youth as the weirdo of the village was very traumatic, you didn't had any real friends and people made fun of you for apparently no reason. One day you discovered you could set things on fire just by willing they catch fire. There seemed to be no difficulties whatsoever for that, as long as something was flammable you could set it on fire with a thought. A bunch of burnt buildings lately, people started to think that maybe the weird of the village who on occasion was sighted laughing near the sites of the burnings was responsible for it.

Before you could be caught in their witch hunt, you darted out of the village with just the clothes on your back and a will to gain a greater understanding of magic.

You run and run and run until you are exhausted. You find a river. Rivers mean there are people not too far away. Down the river, if you remember right, is the capital. They aren't too keen on witches there, as the tales you heard as a child serve you as admonition, but if you use your powers sparingly there may be a treasure trove of knowledge to be had in a great city.

Up the river there are mining towns and villages all the way up to the mountains. Now and then a river merchant can be found, going downstream with heavy ore, or challenging the current with not as heavy cargo like textiles.

Or you could avoid the main river altogether, if you recall correctly there is a swamp around here somewhere, where the animals go to lick salt and the only humans around are hunters, who tell horror stories about those places of death and decay.

> Go downstream towards the capital
> Go upstream to mining villages
> Venture into the swamp

By the way, are you male or female?