“Well, no, actually. I haven’t changed my clothes yet. I haven’t gotten around to it because they are still clean and smell nice,” Hugo said, “I was thinking they might be enchanted or blessed or something.”

“You haven’t changed your clothes, not even to go to sleep?”

“No. I haven’t felt the need,” Hugo said, only now realizing how strange that was.

Mia turned and shared a meaningful look with Dean Artjom. She turned back to Hugo and cautiously said, “How about now, are you able to take off your shirt? You can put it back on right afterwards.”

“Um, yeah. I suppose I could do that,” Hugo said. He slowly stood up. “This is a bit awkward with you two staring at me like this.” He gave a little chuckle, but no one said anything. He slipped the shirt off and stared at it. A few moments passed and it didn’t dissolve. Hugo let go of a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He wasn’t a monster.

“What’s it feel like?” Mia said and pointed to his shirt.

Hugo handed over. Mia caressed it for a moment and then tossed it into the far corner of the room.

“What was that for?” Hugo said. Now it was going to be dirty. He stood up to go get it, but he was too late.

The shirt dissolved into motes of blue mana.

Mia smiled and said, “That answers that.”

Hugo looked down and touched his bare stomach, “I’m a monster now?”

“A fairly handsome one too. Could be worse,” Mia said.

Hugo felt a rush of emotions wash over him. Before he could truly identify how he felt about this, Dean Artjom interjected.

“Actually, I believe the proper term is Ersatz,” the dean said.

“Term? My name is a term?” Hugo said.

“Yes, I don’t remember exactly what it means but I believe it is an Acomarian word. It’s a term I heard from a friend of mine. She is a golem expert in Soweto. It’s the capital of Durban. She would know more about what you are now. You should visit her once we have this matter cleared up,” Dean Artjom said.

“You don’t know anything else besides the fact that it’s a term? How do you know it isn’t just an Acomarian word for monster?” Hugo said, “I think it’s fairly important to know what the gods named me. What if it is a term for someone who will only live for a month? Or a term for monsters that sleepwalk and kill in their sleep. I think we should look into this sooner rather than later.”

Dean Arjom chuckled, “I am sure I would remember if it was either of those possibilities. I will send her a letter. Now that I think about it, I will ask him if he knows anything about the forces intent on destroying Shimmer mountain. I will let you know when I get a response in a couple of weeks.”

Hugo wanted to complain about the wait but it was a reasonable time frame. If he remembered his geography lessons, the capital of Durban was fairly far away. It wouldn’t be reasonable for him to expect an answer any sooner than how long it would take a train to get there and back. Shimmer mountain was the only place with pulse notes.

“The next few weeks are going to be stressful. It’s strange not knowing what I am,” Hugo said.

“You are what you think and do. You are in my office to help save all the people on the wheel. That makes you a good human as far as I am concerned,” Dean Artjom said.

“Maybe. I don’t quite feel human anymore. The last few years have changed me,” Hugo said.

The dean nodded, “And this year has changed you even further. You obviously aren't happy about that.”

“Why would I be happy about being a freak? I don’t know who I am or what I am supposed to do. All I know is that I am not normal,” Hugo said unhappily.

“Who among us is?” Dean Artjom said, “No one is normal, and no one is born with a sense of purpose. We find our purpose as we live our lives. That is true of you as well.”

Hugo wanted to argue with him. He couldn’t do it. The man had a point. Instead, he said, “Could I get a tunic? You destroyed the only one I had.”

The dean sent his secretary to get him a school tunic. Once he was fully dressed they continued their meeting. Hugo handed over his list of important predictions. The dean agreed to support Lenna and her shimmer-proof armor plans. They discussed next steps and their next meeting. Hugo suggested they wait to reconvene until next month. He had other plans for the next three weeks. The dean promised to set up a meeting with only sentinels this time.

Hugo had planned on returning to Tallinn, but instead he got a inn room in Reval instead. He was too emotionally exhausted after the revelations today. He was a being of mana now. He shivered at the thought. The dean and Mia had treated him well. He wondered if others would if they found out. He didn’t want to be treated like a humanoid monster. It was rough, feeling like his life was out of control again. He fell asleep, not having come up with any solutions.

The next morning he woke up with two layers on top. His Acomarian shirt had regenerated during the night. He took off the school tunic and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked pretty good, even with the shirt instead of the standard tunic. The sight still worried him. He would never be able to change his style. Every morning he would wake up like this. If he wanted to dress up in something else, he would have to lose mana.

In a grumpy mood he went out to wander Reval.

He started with the neighborhood around his inn. It was mostly high end specialty shops. Despite what he had just learned, he bought himself a new set of clothes and arranged to have them tailored. In the next shop over he bought himself a pocket watch. The watch was expensive because it was mana powered, but Hugo could easily afford it these days.

As he continued to wander, he slowly headed downhill. The next stop was the city square, but today wasn’t a market day. The location reminded him of Sofia. He hoped that Rebane had sent the money to her like Hugo had asked.

Next stop was his favorite pastry shop. It had just opened, and the smells of freshly baked bread wafted over him. He used to come to this exact shop as a kid on special occasions. The good memories buoyed him up. He bought enough honey crispels and krullers to fill a large paper bag. He gave the shopkeep a gold and told him to keep the change. The nox tried to refuse the overpayment, but Hugo just walked out with his pastries.

He snacked and walked through the city, reminiscing about all the good times he had here. As he neared the narrows, he almost turned back. There weren’t a lot of good memories down that direction. Instead, he decided to go see his mother. Or rather, Rebane’s mother. There were a few things he wanted to say to her, and he might not get another chance.

“Hey there, rich boy. This here is a toll road. You gotta pay ten silver to pass,” a familiar man in a fox mask said.

Hugo sighed and solidified a knife directly in front of the thug’s left eye. He anchored it to the mask, so when the man jumped back, the mana knife followed him. Hugo ignored the flailing man and continued on his way. He didn’t bother to recycle the knife after he passed. The gang member would figure it out eventually.

A few minutes passed as Hugo stood in front of the apartment building. He considered walking away. This wasn’t his mother. This was Rebane’s mother. He didn’t have any responsibility to her anymore.

Eventually, he walked up to her apartment. This wasn’t for her, this was for him. He knocked on the door, knowing that she would be there. She hadn’t had a steady job in years. She answered the door with a scowl and said, “What do you want?”

“Hello Mrs. Rebane, my name is Ersatz. Your son, Hugo, asked me to check on you. He said you hadn’t responded to his letter,” Hugo said.

She backed up and looked at the letter on the counter. “My boy knows I like to talk face to face. If he wants to tell me something, he should come in person.”

“He can’t right now,” Hugo said, “The academy won’t allow him visits until the end of the month. That’s why he sent me to check on you.”

“Oh. Really? We didn’t ... he said...” Mrs. Rebane said. She stared out the window. She picked at the pile of clothing she was in the process of mending. She seemed to have forgotten him.

“I am glad you are doing well. I will let Hugo know. He still loves you, you know?” Hugo said, “Despite everything, despite how you treat him, he still loves you. He deserves a better mother than you have given him.”

She whipped up her head at that. She scowled and said, “You can’t talk to me like that in my own house. I think you should leave.”

Hugo nodded and stood up. He took out forty silver and placed it on the table in front of her. “Read his letters and send one back. Next time he visits, get him some fresh honey crispels. Apologize for thinking of yourself instead of your son. It will be tough, but you will be happier with yourself."

“Get out of here with your stupid sermonizing,” she said and shooed him out.

Hugo left right away. As he closed the door behind himself, he noticed she was looking at the letter on the counter instead of the pile of silver in front of her.

A weight lifted off his shoulders as he walked away. He had done what he could, it was up to the two of them from here on out. She wasn’t his mother, and he was living his own life now.

The first step in that new life was to further cement his finances. He already had a fortune, but he had a plan to make it much larger. He went back to his room and started fabricating. He was tempted to eat a mana stone to speed things up, but he knew how hard it was to earn more now. Instead, he spent the next three days fabricating everything he would need.

When he was done, he loaded everything into a travel trunk and hopped on a train west. The city of Ettel was as beautiful as he remembered it. Stone houses below, grove trees far above. Dappled light revealed a city at one with nature. He hoisted his trunk onto his back and headed up the stairs near the edge of the city walls. As he wound around the grove tree, he rehearsed his plan in his head. This should probably work. He thought up a backup plan just in case the current ruling party wasn’t receptive to his visit.

He nodded to the guard at the top of the stairs and continued on across the elevated pathways. He almost stumbled on the wooden slats as he realized something. He wasn’t afraid. Somehow, he had entirely lost his fear of heights. Not only was he confident that he wouldn’t fall, he wasn’t in the least bit apprehensive about how high he was.

It was a bit weird. For the first time ever, Hugo was able to enjoy the view from up here. The grove trees were beautiful, the soft wind had a sweet smell. It was idyllic. He sent a prayer of thanks to the Acomarians. They had cured him of his biggest fear. He wiped away a tear. Regardless of what other issues this body had, he was glad he was free of that phobia.

Distracted by the revelation, he was shocked when the royal guard leveled their spears at him. He instinctively threw up a barrier and took a step back. When the guards didn’t make another move, he recycled his barrier and said, “Hello. I am here to see Darius and Shirin of the Brambled Woods.”

One of the guards in the back looked at him disdainfully and said, “What business does a human have with the regent?”

“My business is my own. Please tell the regent that Hugo Ersatz of Shimmer Mountain would like a short audience. I know he will want to talk with me,” he said with a self important air.