Dearest Mother and Father,

I’m aware you told me not to write until I was properly settled in, mom, but life has become somewhat complicated here in Romuen. Everything is fine - I don’t want to worry both of you. Some of the members of the Merchant’s Guild have simply not taken kindly to my pricing points.

They believe I’m attempting to undercut them all, which I suppose I am, but the intent is to give fairer prices, I swear. I truly do not wish to worry either of you, but a representative from the guild has paid me several visits. He threatens me regularly, but I have managed to keep him from harming me for the most part thus far - I will elaborate later.

His name is Maraz Ruvenan. He appeared to be muscle for the guild at first, but I believe there is something more to him. He’s well-spoken and clearly bored with his life, I have plans to keep him further distracted, and possible have him completely off my back.

Which brings me to my important news. I’ve Snapped. In one of my attempts to prevent Maraz from harming me, I created security enchantments to form a cage of air using a mix of Infusion and Primordial magic. I did not have the enchantment itself set up, so I mentally modified the runic layout and manually casted it.

This did not have the intended result. Maraz quite easily overpowered my spell, and as a result I Snapped. I’m Tier 3 now in mana quality. It’s become difficult to control my magic. It keeps leaking out when I try to cast spells, and it feels too strong for me to control normally even now that most of the leaks have healed. A starborn - my landlord, in fact - assures me I’ll make a full recovery.

The Snap turned out to be unfortunately effective. In another encounter with Maraz, I had a wand created to cast a Wind Tunnel spell - a spell that fires a channeled wind blast so I could blow him out of my shop. I ended up leaking too much mana into the wand, it overloaded the runes, and I sent Maraz out the window. I encountered no injuries a healing potion couldn’t recover, and I was able to patch him up as well. I feel immensely guilty for it, but he is not pressing charges.

The act of caring for Maraz appears to have lightened his view of me, which is why I indicate that I believe all is handled for now.

In good news: Frevan has visited to check in on me. He’s setting me up with a new contact. It looks like I’ll be stocking enchanted weapons quite soon! I’m very excited for this prospect.

I’ve also made some friends so far. A group of human adventurers called the Vanguard’s Grip has begun visiting my shop quite frequently. They have a member named Adamant. He’s funny, kind, caring, and immensely protective of me. He even allowed me to Union Cast with him so I could make potions during the worst of my Snap! I would not like to make any immediate assumptions on his account, but we may be involved.

The rest of the members of the Vanguard’s Grip are nice to me as well. Their leader, Telsa, seems to keep the team in order. She’s also cared for me on occasion in the fallout of some of the events with Maraz. They’re working hard to make sure I’m okay. I fixed an enchanted arrow for their member Deskan, so I believe she is warming up to me as well, despite her exceedingly prickly exterior.

I’ve also become friends with a perren messenger named Pina. She has a penchant for butchering common phrases. I’m unsure if it’s intentional or not, but I do not believe it is. It is, however, quite humorous at times. I have a contract set up with her. She will pick up my ingredients for me from the market, and I will teach her manual casting on my weekends.

In other news, the shop itself is doing well enough. My research on prices in Romuen proved to be either dated or incorrect - yes, dad, I know you warned me - so I barely made a profit off of some of my initial sales. However, I have adjusted my pricing and have been making enough sales that I do not believe I need to worry about making next month’s rent. The prices I set have been wonderful for attracting more customers than I may have otherwise as a new shop. Word has been getting around!

Once again, I assure you I’m quite alright, I just believed it best to inform you of my situation. Frevan is watching out for me, and my friends are all here for me too. I’m your son, so you know that I’ll come out of this on top.

I love and miss you both,

Theodius Lukien

Despite everything else Theo wrote about, he couldn’t find it in himself to tell his parents that he was homesick. Knowing his father, the man would be sprinting to Romuen the moment he read that to move into the city.

He had a feeling deep down that his parents might visit after this letter regardless, but he couldn’t bring himself to not inform them of the situation. It would be far too dishonest. He just hoped his reassurances would keep them from visiting too early.

Stretching, Theo yawned. It was time he had some proper rest. After his nightly rituals, he flopped into bed limply. He was asleep moments later, exhaustion pulling him into a deep slumber.

Theo’s eyes snapped open in the morning. This time, he was sure he’d woken up at a proper time. The sun was low in the sky, highlighting the clouds in hues of gold and saffron. On a roof the next street over, Theo spotted a stardust collector.

A small flurry of wind pulled stardust off the roof of the home into a tightly woven sack they held open. It glittered in the early morning sun before disappearing into the dark confines of the bag. The figure jumped from the roof they were on to the next, their descent slowing just slightly before they landed. How considerate. They slow their fall with… wind magic? That explains why the collectors have never woken me up.

Most of the sleepiness was gone from Theo’s eyes after watching the collector for a bit, so he stretched, his joints popping in response. The first tribulation of his day was getting out of bed. It was so delightfully warm.

His thoughts returned to Adam, giddy excitement tingling through him. His stomach cramped with nerves, however. Adam will be here sometime soon for breakfast, I should really get up. But it’s my weekend…

It took some heavy mental gymnastics, but he eventually threw the covers off of himself. It… wasn’t much colder. Right. It was almost summer.

He’d done a weekend shop day last week to make up for not having the shop open on his arrival day, but he was decisively not working today. This was a necessary break. The first act of today was to read over the letter to his parents. There was a high chance it had regrettable information in it that he’d written in the stupor of last night.

A quick scan proved he’d been appropriate with it. His parents may worry, but he hoped they’d let him sort things out himself. After enclosing the letter in an envelope, he rifled through his boxes. “I know I kept it here somewhere but I just can’t remember wh- aha! I truly should unpack everything. But, later.”

Sealing wax and stamp in hand, Theo heated it up with his alchemy table. The wax dripped onto the envelope and he stamped his seal into it. It wasn’t anything special, just an ornate-looking “T” stamp that his parents had gifted him years ago, but he adored it nonetheless.

A few runes later with his stylus, and his letter was properly protected against tampering. With the Merchant’s Guild bearing down on him, he didn’t want to take any chances of the letter conveniently going missing. Not that it would matter in the long run, but he’d ask Pina about any channels she knew of to make sure the letter left the city untouched.

Now that he was done with the letter, he decided to wait in his shop for Adam to arrive. Sitting down on the floor cross-legged, he began to meditate. His mana flowed through him, roaring to life. His roof slats were open now, allowing the morning sunlight to stream through onto him.

This was a trial of practice for him now. He pulled on his mana pool, coursing the mana through him with simply runic layouts in mind. Small bursts of wind shot around him and the air solidified in select areas.

That was what he hoped for, anyway. Instead, the wind knocked a bottle off his shelf, which he caught before it smashed against the floor. It was harder to tell, but a significantly larger chunk of air than intended solidified around him.

Next, he retrieved a pot of water and decided his workshop was a far safer area to practice than around all of his stock. His Infusion magic was his primary attunement, and thus exactly four times as strong as his Primordial magic. That made it considerably harder to control it with his improved strength post-Snap.

Theo tightened the mental reigns on his mana before casting Heat. The water immediately came to a boil. He couldn’t detect any more leaks in his mana pool now, which was a sensitivity he wasn’t even aware he had until after Viktor indicated their existence.

This was now simply a trial of will. He needed to overcome the strength of his mana and filter it down to workable levels. In the end, with the heightened density of his mana, he expected to be able to work for far longer without needing to stop and let the ambient mana flow into him in the sunlight.

Steady progress was made, at the very least, before a knock at his door broke his concentration. The pot in front of him exploded into a plume of steam as he accidentally let go of far too much mana.

Adam was at the door when he stepped into the shop. Opening the door, the man smiled at him. “Didn’t realize you were running a bathhouse now. What’s with the steam?”

Theo frowned at him, but broke into a grin moments later. “I was working on my magical control while I waited for you to come over for breakfast. I’m making some headway, for sure. I believe if I truly concentrate, I should be able to brew potions on my own… provided there isn’t a single distraction.”

It was Adam’s turn to frown. “Aw, but I liked helping you out.” He pulled Theo into his arms, resting his chin on Theo’s head. His stomach gurgled, the vibrations shocking Theo with their intensity.

“Goodness, Adam, you need to eat. Actually, when was the last time I ate?” Theo asked, glancing up in thought.

“Too long, I’m starving. You can practice magic later, I’m spoiling you for now,” Adam said, lifting Theo up and carrying him through the door to the kitchen.

“Adam!” Theo wriggled for a few seconds before being set down in a chair in his kitchen. He tried to pout, but the amusement on Adam’s face softened his expression. “...I’ll have two eggs, please. I’m starved.”

Adam chuckled, turning to the larger and taking out several eggs. Each went into the pan one after another. He whistled as the oils in the pan popped and snapped.

Theo stared at the man’s back, biting his lip. “So… Adam. What are- um. How is- What is this?”

The adventurer turned to face him, an eyebrow raised. “Breakfast?”

Facepalming, Theo sighed deeply. He swallowed, gathering his thoughts once more. “I mean… between us. I don’t want to assume anything or push too fast I just-”

“Was I too quick about things? I’m sorry I just- when you know, you know, y’know?” Adam asked, his face dropping.

“No, no! Not at all, Adam. I thought maybe I was pushing things too fast having you come over to make me breakfast. I just… don’t know where we are,” Theo said, his shoulders slumping.

Adam scratched the back of his head, eyes widening as he turned back to the pan and began vigorously flipping eggs. “I uh, I’m not sure either. How about we just… don’t worry about that? We can explore whatever this is and just… see where it goes? How does that sound?”

Theo smiled, nodding imperceptibly even though Adam wasn’t looking at him. “That sounds nice to me. I’d like that.”

“Breakfast is ready,” Adam said, placing a dish in front of Theo with a flourish.

The savory aroma tugged at Theo’s senses, his mouth watering. “This smells delicious.”

“Well, don’t wait on me, dig in.” Adam waved a hand, gesturing for Theo to begin.

Once Theo started, he couldn’t stop. He’d forgotten how much a healing potion would pull on one’s reserves of mass. The two of them chatted while they ate. Apparently, Telsa and Pina would be over soon. They had plans for Theo, which was an intimidating prospect.

Dabbing his mouth with his handkerchief, Theo stood up to wash his empty plate. “Thank you, Adam. You’ve outdone yourself.” He pecked him on the cheek, feeling his ears heat as he did.

Adam rubbed his cheek, grinning. “Happy to please.” His ears perked as a knock came from the door. He shoveled the remainder of his breakfast into his mouth. “A’hl geh iht,” he said with a mouth full of food.

Theo rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, chuckling. He grabbed Adam’s plate, taking them to the sink. Once he had an appropriate amount of water, he mentally gripped on his mana pool once more. He pointed a hand at the sink. “Spinwash.”

Water swirled as his mana poured into the spell. He was doing well at keeping control of it, the plate cleaning quickly under the effects of his magic. The door to his kitchen slammed open, startling him. The now-dirtied sink water exploded out, soaking him and the new arrival.

Pina blinked at him several times, frowning at her dirtied shirt. “Oops, sorry, Theo. Still working on the magic?”

“It’s… fine,” he said, sighing as he realized yet another vest was soiled. “I’m sure I can find my dad’s stain removal recipe to clean this up later.”

“Theo! Pina told me about you and Adam! That’s such great-” Telsa stopped mid sentence, taking in the fact that both Theo and Pina were soaked with water. “What happened here?”

“Theo was mid-spell and I surprised him. What were you doing anyway, Theo?” Pina asked, walking over to the sink.

“A cleaning Named Spell. It simply cycles water around and uses Infusion magic to solidify it in areas to scrub the object clean. But I uh, lost control when Pina burst through the door. If you don’t mind… I’m going to change and wash up,” Theo said, pulling the sopping wet vest away from his chest, the shirt beneath clinging to his skin.

“I think I’ll run home and do the same,” Pina said, turning towards the door.

“You’re gonna stay here and clean up, you mean, Pina,” Telsa chided, her glare freezing the floral girl in place.

Pina frowned. “But I-”

“No buts. Theo is still trying to get his magical control back in place and you interrupted him. Adam and I will help clean up while Theo gets the worst of it off himself,” Telsa said, crossing her arms. Adam shifted uncomfortably but a stare from her made him sigh and grab a rag from the cupboard.

Theo smiled apologetically at Adam before heading into his room. He poked his head out moments later. “Pina, would you like to borrow a change of clothes? You can change in my workshop. I think we’re probably close enough to the same size that these should fit.”

Pina’s eyes brightened. “I get to wear a Theo style? This is the best day ever, now.” She snatched the clothes from him, practically dancing into the workshop.

“I can clean your other clothes with mine, if you’d like. I believe I should be able to brew the solution quite quickly. We can leave our clothes in it while we go out with whatever plan you all have concocted for me today,” Theo called out to Pina, hearing a muffled reply from through the wall.

A quick change later and he was in a new set of vest, button up shirt, and work slacks. He… didn’t own much else except maybe a couple pairs of shorts.

With a small bit of Adam’s help in the brewing process, he was able to combine some ingredients he already had to formulate something close to his dad’s recipe for a stain removal potion.

Pina’s more functional runner’s clothes went into a tub with Theo’s. He placed his bloody clothes in a separate wooden tub. Using heavy focus, he cast Spinwash on both containers to jumpstart the cleaning process. A few hours of soaking would more than likely leave them cleaner than they’d been before they’d even put the clothes on today.

Pina was strutting around the room pointing her wand at random objects and adjusting her vest. “I do declare, you shalt not stop me from selling my wares for fair prices, Maraz!” A blast of wind rattled some ingredient bottles and Pina sheepishly put the wand away.

“Pina, please be careful around my ingredients. And that’s not what I sound like,” Theo muttered, a small seed of anxiety releasing as he watched one bottle settle into place once again rather than falling.

“Sorry, Theo. I just feel so fancy in this vest. And… you kinda sound like that,” Pina said, shrugging.

“She’s right, you know,” Telsa added.

Theo frowned at Adam who became distinctly interested in the ceiling at that moment. They all devolved into laughing moments later, Theo included.

“Alright, Theo. It’s time for you to have a fun, relaxing day for the first time since arriving here,” Telsa said, walking towards the door out of his workshop.

Theo nodded to her, before remembering what Frevan told him yesterday. “Okay, but first, I have a blacksmith to visit.”