0-17: Iadlish childhood
The child of a Songluan shaman and an Iadlish hunter, Ponzi was born the second-eldest child into a long-forgotten Iadlish clan, only having a dingy spider silk farm left to their name. From a young age, Ponzi's singing talent was evident and it shoved them into the role of caretaker along with their farm chores, able to soothe a wailing baby to sleep with a lullaby. While they disliked the role of caregiver, it was worth the attention it garnered from their family. Sticking out in a family of 8 was hard enough.

Ponzi's parents loved to dote on their children, but they were also fiercely overprotective and put great emphasis on family being the only people they could trust. Even when the silk farm often struggled through rough patches, they were too skeptical and proud to seek help, so the family lived in poverty. While still weary of the dangers of Iadlish creatures and people, like any small-town kid Ponzi wanted to escape all of the spiders and meet some people instead, not to mention the burden they were imposing on their large, impoverished family. 

18-32: Song-Lu mentorship
An opportunity presented itself in a letter from their Songluan aunt, a troubadour singer-for-hire, requesting a delivery of silk. Originally, Ponzi's mother was supposed to be the one making the trip, but in a moment of headstrong selfishness Ponzi stole her airship ticket packed the shipment and the rest of their belongings, and was well on their way to Song-Lu. The elf's lackluster communication skills and inexperience extended the trip a day or two, but they ultimately made it to Song-Lu in one piece. Though surprised to see them, their aunt pitiably agreed to Ponzi's begging for a mentorship and place to stay.

In exchange for singing/harmonic healing lessons, Ponzi would act as housekeeper and occasionally provide backup vocals in their aunt's shows. While grateful for the lessons, their favorite part of their new life quickly became the glamorous side of performing- the fans, the presents, the parties- all things they had never seen before, and it was irresistible. Living vicariously through their aunt, Ponzi's lessons started to take a backseat until disappearing entirely. Roughly 15 years in, Kazumi packed up and moved to Reluir in hopes of marrying a rich businessman.

33-51: Singing and con artistry
The next few years or so were also spent in Song-Lu, holding odd jobs as Ponzi sought out whatever singing gigs they could snatch up. While they actually made decent money from gigs, they blew it all on meaningless luxuries, a habit they still carry. 

Though slow to trust, Ponzi still managed to obtain people skills by pure necessity- whether it be netting a job, a date, or a free meal. Towards the end, lack of funds pushed them to temporarily postpone their singing career and turn to selling counterfeit goods, such as fake jewels and overpriced water bottles. Seeing a comrade get prosecuted for fraud was the nail on the coffin for Ponzi, however, and they finally moved back home to Iadlain soon after.

52-120: Traveling merchant
The young dark elf returned to their roots and became a silk merchant, taking business trips to other Koben cities as often as they could since foreigners were much easier to exploit and make a profit on. For a time, their preferred method of transportation was the Jewel of Mareus, a pirate ship Ponzi had weaseled their way onto.  In a way, selling silk was a performance in its own right, an outlet for their passion for song, and Ponzi found it a tolerable profession so long as it wasn't a lifelong one.

Despite being back home, their small-town family values did not return. The little spare time they had was spent finding whatever parties could be found in sleepy Iadlain, raiding antique shops for pretty trinkets to blow their paycheck on, and hitting up taverns that would take them as a singer.