“Holy shit! Faros!”

The Schalass came running into the storage room, grazed the wall with his shoulder and fanned his arms with the grace of an elephant to avoid falling into a pile of wood.

“What?! What is it?”

“Look!” I yelled, presenting the box I had just enchanted. “I did it!”

“...What?”

“I did it! I created a permanent Aether link!”

“What’s a permanent Aether link?” he asked, frowning. Then he realized there was no emergency and his voice got a lot louder. “And why in the name of all the Gods did you yell like that?!”

“Oh… Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. But I’ve reached level 10 in Enchanter and I’m fairly certain I finally created a permanent Aether link, one I won’t have to refuel every few days.”

“Well done, Luc! This deserves a celebration! Let’s get the ipio! But first, can we please agree to save the ‘Holy shit Faros!’ for really dire situations?”

“Yeah, of course;” I said, walking towards him with my box under the arm. “Sorry, I just got excited you know.”

“As you should!” He accentuated his words by giving me a strong slap on the back. “Reaching level 10 is an accomplishment. It means you’re not completely hopeless any more.”

“Damn right!”

Obviously I had to bring my shiny new box to Inrak after that. There was a long queue in front of Sirmy’s stall so I limited myself to a distant wave. I would tell them later.

Inrak welcomed the news with the joy I had expected but was still happy to see. Her constant support meant the world to me. She was like the feathery mother I never had and definitely needed. I let her hang the box on a wall upstairs. It clashed with just about everything else in the room though, so it would probably be taken down soon. I appreciated her enthusiasm at least.

I got up early the next day. I could not wait to try out my new abilities and the new Skill I had gotten. Easy Enchanting. The name seemed rather self-explanatory but I would have to figure out exactly what it did.

I let myself in the workshop with the key Faros had given me. He had not arrived yet.

The first thing I did was to scour the piles of garbage in the storage room to find more boxes and potential containers I could use for my experiments. They were all too disparate though. It made any kind of comparison difficult. So, as soon as Faros arrived, I badgered him until he made me four simple boxes of similar sizes. Then I had to enchant them all.

My new Skill did exactly what it said. The mental effort of imbuing an item with a rune had lessened considerably. It did take me longer, but the trade-off was more than worth it. I encountered barely any difficulty for the first two boxes that I enchanted with my previous technique, only giving them the Magic Imprinting rune. For the other two, I used what I had discovered the day before, Manipulating the Aether while enchanting them at the same time, making the link permanent.

I had to take a break after all of that. Even with Easy Enchanting, it was tiring work. The kind that made you lie on the couch in front of the TV like a shapeless, lifeless blob. Since I had no couch and no TV, I went for a short walk around the harbour.

Flyssa found me an hour or so later, sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of my boxes, lost in deep reflection.

“Good morning Dad, Luc… Luc? Why are you covered in sawdust?”

“Hey Flyssa,” I said, looking up. “I’m measuring.”

“He’s got a new Skill,” added Faros.

“Really? That is good. What does it do?”

“Makes him think and swear a lot.”

I snorted. That was a somewhat accurate description of me this morning.

“I leveled up yesterday,” I said. “I can create a permanent link to the Aether now and I’ve been testing it with these.” I pointed to the four boxes. “But it’s not as good as I thought it would be… I can only manage a weaker link and the volume gained is about 10 percent. Almost 6 times lower than when I use the normal technique: enchanting first and linking after.”

Flyssa sat down next to me and took one of the boxes in her hands.

“You said the link was permanent. Is that an exaggeration?”

“Yes and no. I mean, it’s not actually permanent because no enchantment is, or at least none that I can make. But the Aether link will last as long as the Magic Imprinting rune works. It depends on how much use it gets. I’d say months at the very least.”

She put the box down again and stared at me.

“Luc,” she said with disbelief in her voice. “You realize how valuable that is?”

I shook my head. She was missing the point.

“A ten percent gain isn’t enough for our current business plan. We’re better off continuing with the sleeves and the sheets we ordered. And what else do you want to do? Sell enchanted handbags and backpacks as fast as I can make them? We could, obviously. From what I researched before, we could easily make a fifty percent margin even without a bulk price from a supplier. But what will that accomplish? I’ll exhaust myself enchanting a few of them in addition to fuelling the sheets every day. We’ll quickly flood the market since nobody bothers with such a small enchantment value and it’ll be even harder to hide. I know that’s basically a dream at this point, but at least now I have the excuse that nothing I do is actually difficult or requires any level. Mages just find it boring and demeaning. But creating a permanent Aether link is not that easy. Once that cat is out of the bag, I won’t be able to put it back in.”

“That’s a worst-case scenario!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. Her excitement surprised me. She was usually so calm and collected. “There is a risk, certainly, but not one we can’t prevent! We could work with one or multiple intermediaries, or only with carefully selected groups, like Messengers. It would diminish the risks of revealing your abilities while barely lowering the potential profits!”

I rose too, though with far less energy.

“I’m sorry, Flyssa, but I don’t think you get it. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this. Aether magic isn’t necessarily rare, though from what I understand it is one of the least popular school of magic. But every Aether Mage I’ve ever heard about is either studying or teaching at Winory or working for one of the powerful families in Sturron. The Duchess has two in her employ. I don’t know about her children. The Merchant Association have one. What do you think will happen when an unaffiliated Aether Mage pops up and starts to sell competitive products and services? Maybe I’ll get a few job offers here and there. Maybe they’ll just think it easier to get rid of the problem? We’re already about to take on the Dockworkers’ Guild. I’m actually counting on the Merchant Association and the Ducal family appreciating us undercutting the Guild’s power and providing an alternative. Let’s not make enemies out of them too. Please.”

Flyssa crossed her arms and looked at me. I could see her pondering what I had said. The air was tense in the workshop. We had been mostly in synch until now, each of us doing their work with the same goal in sight. But I was suddenly very aware that I did not know her that much. If she decided to sell me out to whomever could have use of me, that was it. My teleporting skills were almost non-existent as of yet. I could not escape.

Perhaps sensing that his intervention was needed, Faros spoke up.

“There’s also an Adventurer. Human. Used to be a friend of your mother’s, Flyssa. You met him once or twice though I doubt you remember. Junn he was called. I don’t know if he still hangs around in Sturron, but he had quite the interesting Class. He always wore a short sword and a bunch of knives on him with dark clothing. He looked like a damned assassin. Maybe that was his actual Class, now that I think about it. Anyway. He barely did any magic, but he could teleport at will in a wide area around himself. He used to scare everyone by appearing behind them and not saying a word until they noticed. He laughed about it, but it made you think, right? What if one day he didn’t want to laugh?”

“You never mentioned him,” I said.

“It’s been a while since I saw him. And I wasn’t the biggest fan, to be honest.”

“I don’t recall him at all. Why are you telling us now, Dad?”

“Because, daughter of mine, the one Aether mage I know about that was neither a University Mage nor working for a powerful group was basically the scariest fucker I’ve ever met. Maybe Luc’s fears aren’t completely unfounded.”

Flyssa looked a bit shocked at her father’s actual helpfulness. I was personally becoming used to his peculiar wisdom, but I could understand her surprise. Their relationship wasn’t in the best condition and she had been perhaps more familiar with his drunken snores in recent times.

“You’re right,” she replied to her father before turning to me. “My apologies, Luc. I only saw the opportunity and did not think of what it would mean for you.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m frustrated too. I can do all these amazing, magical things, but I always have to look over my shoulder. I keep switching between being annoyed that I’m not doing more to acquire money for my plans and being afraid of doing too much and attracting too much attention. It’s pissing me off. I have half a mind to go see the God again and ask Him what he thinks about all this.”

“Which God are you talking about?” she asked.

“Pamasteron. I met him twice, though briefly the second time. He was nice.”

“The God of the lost? That’s… an interesting choice. Wouldn’t the Goddess of magic be a more appropriate one for your situation?”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know Her. And I don’t really understand these laws They have. I know They can see us all the time if they wish to, but I’m afraid me going to see Her will break an obscure rule and other Mages will be able to ask Her about me or something.”

“I’m not sure, actually,” she said, frowning. “But why would other Mages ask Illirya about you?”

“Hmm… No reason. I’m a bit paranoid you know.” I faked a laugh that could not have been very convincing. I could not tell them that Aether magic was probably the least interesting about me in this world.

“About what you said for the permanent Aether links,” I said, quickly changing subjects. “I don’t want to publicize it too much, but we could perhaps sell them to very selective groups. People we would be certain we could trust.”

“You have someone in mind?”

“Maybe… I’ve been reading up on the Bouroks’ history. They have no reason to associate with anybody currently in power and working with us could be mutually beneficial. I even have a proposal for them when we meet. Oh, by the way, Tork sent a message yesterday evening. His kin has agreed to meet with us in four days. He’ll come by the bookshop to get us.”

“Already?” she exclaimed. “That was fast! It’s usually a hassle to get a meeting with them. You must have made a good impression. I have to prepare! And we should discuss our plan and rehearse. Tomorrow afternoon?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be here.”

“Excellent! Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Good day, Luc. Dad.”

We watched her leave with a spring in her steps. I raised my eyebrows in a silent question. Faros snorted.

“Bouroks are a secretive people. Access to their Crafters would be a big deal for her.”

Then he gave me a curios look.

“So… Pamasteron eh?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Nice guy. Who’s yours?”

“Depends on my mood. I like Mychial. He always humours me. Or Sparrow. Her priests brew a very good stout.”

“Well, that’s always a good criteria to choose your God,” I agreed.

My conversation with Flyssa stayed with me. Despite the confidence I had demonstrated while talking with her, I felt less than certain about my decisions. On my path back to Earth, I had one main constraint. I had to find the right balance between the need to stay under the radar and the unavoidable publicity that came with doing anything that would earn me enough money to acquire the resources I needed for my goals. Well that and actually mastering the Aether. I had thought often about how to best go about this. No answer had felt truly perfect. The one I had settled for was problematic in its own way. Ana had been proof of that. Even collaborating with the Bouroks felt risky and yet necessary. I couldn’t hide myself in a hole and wait for everything to blow over. I needed to buy more books, to learn more about the Aether. Maybe enrolling at Winory would be my best bet at some point, and how much would that cost? No, I could not hide. But I needed more information, that was clear.

The house of Pamasteron had not changed one bit since my last bit. The flowers were blooming despite spring still being weeks away and the gravel under my feet looked as if it had been carefully raked that morning. The sun was still up in the sky so the temple was mostly empty of its usual crowd of vagrants and wanderers.

Two Schalass and a Pterar sat at the table, talking and waiting for their turn. One of them was wearing a patchwork of clothes that had as many colours as holes in them while the other was draped in a cape that had likely seen far more winters than it should have. As the priest showed me to my seat, they introduced themselves and spontaneously brought me into their discussion. I did not mind the wait. The talk was nothing heavy or deep, but it was nice all the same. It slowly eased the tension in my shoulders. It felt like talking to people on a train that has accumulated hours of delay, when the frustration and restrained anger leaves its place to the camaraderie of people sharing their misfortune.

When came my turn, I sat down in front of the God’s hearth. The light soon appeared, shining bright and filling the room until I was standing in His study. The room was just as I remembered it and looked like like a therapist’s office with its carpet and the shelves of books against the walls. Pamasteron was sitting in his armchair, a gentle smile on his lips. He motioned me to the seat in front of Him.

“Welcome back, Luc. You have grown much since last you came.”

“Have I?” I asked with a shake of the head. “I’ve been here for about three months now and I’m only level 11.”

“I understand that it is hard for you to realize, but gaining a combined twenty-nine levels in such a short time is an achievement. You should be proud of yourself.”

“Thank you, Sir,” I said though his praise felt hollow to me. I was no closer to getting home. Still, He was a God. You have to be polite to Them. “I have a few questions that I would like to ask you if you please.”

“Go ahead,” he said with a gesture of his hand.

I took a breath. I had thought on the way about how I could ask this.

“I have been worried for some time about my safety,” I said. “First because, coming from another world, I hold knowledge that could interest many entities. And more recently because my Class can have fantastic value for some powerful parties here in Sturron. I have already been approached by someone linked to one of the Duchess’ children. I don’t expect you to do anything about this, I know the Gods have rules about interfering. This is just for context. What I want to ask is about what the Gods can reveal to their petitioners. I would like to ask Illirya a few questions about magic, but I’m afraid of what that would open. I have been dreading a visit from powerful Mages ever since I arrived here. To be honest, I’m a bit surprised it hasn’t happened yet. Do you know what I’ll expose myself to if I go and see her?”

He stared at me in silence for a moment. I was afraid I had offended Him, until he finally spoke:

“Here is what I can tell you. The Rules forbid Us from revealing any information to a person that could be detrimental to another. As you can imagine, there is a lot of leeway around this rule, otherwise We would do nothing at all. After all, a case could be made that even answering someone would lift their morale and give them an advantage over their adversaries. So this rule is subject to interpretation and is quite frequently a source of heated debate between Us. Your situation, however, is a bit different.”

“It… it is?”

“You come from another world. Any one of Us that could get their followers to benefit from that fact would gain a tremendous leverage. Therefore any information about you is strictly regulated, which, in concrete terms, means that we are right now being observed by a few of My peers and that should Illirya ever mention your origin to any of her followers, She would receive great backlash.”

I let out a deep breath that I didn’t know I had been keeping.

“So… no guarantee, but I should be fine on that front?”

“That is accurate indeed,” chuckled Pamasteron.

“Thank you! That’s a relief to hear.”

“Of course. Was there anything else you wished to ask?”

“Actually, yes,” I said. I had been hesitating, debating with myself if I really wanted to know. But I had to ask. “Did you discover any lead about how I arrived here and how I can go back?”

“I found nothing,” he stated bluntly, his brow creasing. “And if any of My peers have, They did not share it with Me. But that is something in and of itself. I am the God of the lost. If I cannot find something I am searching for, then it is either out of this world or an extremely well-kept secret.”

I was stunned. He seemed truly frustrated and that was more than worrying. How could I find a path to Earth if even a God had no idea?

“What does that mean?” I asked. “I’ve already been here for almost four months. My child has surely been born by now and I’ve missed it! What can I do? Will I ever see my family again?”

His eyes filled with compassion and He gave me a light and gentle smile. I could clearly see that He cared deeply. It did not lessen the pain I felt in my heart when I heard His answer.

“I do not know. I am sorry, Luc.”

I clenched my teeth, fought the pressure that was pushing on my lungs. I would not cry. I had expected this. If the Gods had no answer for me, then I would find my own.