There's a good number of ways to go about alternatives. Liadans has brought up one very interesting method for sure. Self study, self revelation, "new age prodigy", retired teacher, anything really works. Even if its a guarded secret, a secret is no longer a secret if someone knows about it.
How you go about it will always be subject to criticism, negative, positive, it really doesn't matter, the most important thing is that it's your character, your back story, and you can do what you want, how you want, and why you want so long as you're not actively seeking to ruin someone else's fun. Your own storyline in a FANTASY game can only really affect those who choose to be affected by it, positively or negatively. Edward Cullen could have sprouted from Jesus Christs Forehead and farted out your existence into Eorzea if you want, I may choose to interpret this as your character being absolutely ridiculous in my opinion, but I'm not about to tell you that you're doing Roleplay incorrectly.
How you go about it will always be subject to criticism, negative, positive, it really doesn't matter, the most important thing is that it's your character, your back story, and you can do what you want, how you want, and why you want so long as you're not actively seeking to ruin someone else's fun. Your own storyline in a FANTASY game can only really affect those who choose to be affected by it, positively or negatively. Edward Cullen could have sprouted from Jesus Christs Forehead and farted out your existence into Eorzea if you want, I may choose to interpret this as your character being absolutely ridiculous in my opinion, but I'm not about to tell you that you're doing Roleplay incorrectly.
