I know exactly what I’m going to make for Ozana: a table that represents the duality of Gilead’s vast refinement and simultaneous disconnect from its roots. Capturing my first impressions of a city in glass seems to be a theme for me. Back in Grand Ile, I created lampstands that reminded me of the fusion of the wildness of the surroundings and the orderly and impressive built environment.

Gilead, by contrast, is as much a monument to humanity as it is a city. Brimming with potential and energy, it’s also heavily regulated and packed with towering edifices. The city is a truly urban environment with little in the way of greenery or gardens other than the ostentatious grounds in the research district. Even so, that’s more of a show of wealth and power than a true nod to nature.

Who doesn’t like a few shrubs or flowers to brighten up heavy stone, gleaming metal, and glittering glass? As the mental image of the table I have in mind solidifies, I hum softly to myself and I let my imagination run wild. Each leg of the table will be the trunk of an ancient tree. Their canopies will intertwine to form the top of the table, which I’ll encase in smooth, transparent glass. Maybe I’ll build a little ecosystem visible inside, complete with colorful tree frogs, furry creatures, and a bird’s nest with speckled eggs.

Oh! Perhaps I can use [Glass Animation] to gift the birds movement? If the table’s user feeds a drop of mana into the tableau, the mother bird could take flight. With enough energy provided, maybe the eggs could hatch. Instead of just perching on the nest, she will dart down into the shadows below the trees to find a worm to feed her new little brood.

Instinctively, I reach for my Domain to hold the glass in place, prepared to impress my will on the shape of the glass. I’ll create an entire forest of delicate trees and a flock of flying birds to inhabit the forest!

Yet something holds me back.

The thought of the Menders scurrying around with terrified expressions, unsure of how to help Lionel just because their healing magic failed, grips me in its thrall. What if they knew how to help and heal with mundane means? Perhaps Lionel wouldn’t be in such dire straits.

The memory of using traditional glassblowing techniques with Lady Evershed, when I no longer had access to my Skills, filters through the haze of inspiration. I’ll make as much of this piece by hand as I can.

Committed to my course of action now, I roll the blowpipe back and forth on the marver, blowing into the end to keep the glass inflating. I groan, wishing I had a mouthpiece and hose. I don’t like sharing pipes with other glassworkers.

Once the ball of glass is large enough, I tip the blow pipe down toward the floor, letting the globe stretch and elongate. The shape changes as I spin. Gravity transforms the ball into a cylindrical tube that will become the trunk of one of the trees. I’ll need four major pillars. This will be the first, which means that I have to get the template right. Even if I fall back on my Skills to speed up the process—Lionel doesn’t have time for me to hand-craft a masterpiece over many hours, let alone days—the first one should be done right.

Satisfied at last with the general size and shape of the glass, I move it to the top of the workbench marver for more detailed work. I pick up a small pair of jacks, closer to tweezers than the standard tongs, and use them to work a few pinches of glass free. They’ll become branches and boughs on the trunk.

I lean forward, focusing on my work, and a lock of hair slips free from my worn-out blue headband. The hair falls into my face, covering up my eyes. I scrunch up my nose and blow away the offending hair with a puff of air, but it falls back a moment later.

Glancing around, I wonder if Avelina keeps any scissors nearby for her lampwork. I’m desperate enough that I’m willing to risk the uneven appearance of cutting my own hair. I don’t have all day to search for the scissors, but I’m not going to get much done if I keep stopping to clear my unruly hair out of my eyes.

Then a crazy idea hits me. Why not think like a [Mage]? Even though I just lectured myself about the value of hard work and doing things in a way that anyone can learn, it’s hard to deny that I’m pressed for time. I should train myself to use magic when needed, not to rely on it like a crutch. It’s so incredibly useful, though.

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Ha! How far you’ve come.

I chuckle sheepishly. My current attitude toward magic is a far cry from my early days, back when I was horrified that I’d catch the mana plague. Those were simpler times. I’ll never go back, though; I’ve seen too much, sacrificed too much, to ever be content as an [Assistant Glass Worker] anymore.

But as a [Glass Mage]?

I marshal my Domain, cataloging every single hair on my head with nothing more than a thought. Astonished at how easily I sense the world around me, I set down the glass and close my eyes, breathing deeply and savoring the moment.

Sharpness turns the air around me into a whirlwind of razors. I bring the concept to bear against my hair, guiding the energy as close to my scalp as I dare without drawing blood. All of my hair falls away, shaved off in a single pulse of will.

Unwilling to lose my beard, which reminds me of my father, I nonetheless trim the edges and shape it so that I look more dignified and less like a wild man who just dragged himself out of the wilderness a few days ago.

Although, come to think of it, that’s exactly what I am. After all our time clearing the Old Keep, pathfinding our way across the Barrens, and witnessing miracles under the inland sea, I must have resembled a shaggy-headed beast more than a man. It’s a wonder that Shiphrah and Rashad agreed to help me at all, given how unkempt I looked.

“Glass is growing cold,” I mutter to myself, annoyed that I’ve lost focus. I’m getting rusty from so much time away from the studio. What would Ember say if she saw me now? Powerful new Class or no, she’d probably tear into me for getting distracted. Without my [Greater Heat Manipulation], [Vitrification], and [Arcane Domain], I’d be wasting glass.

Yet it’s trivial to pull a new batch of glass from the crucible, levitating it over with nothing more than my Domain and an advanced understanding of runes. I activate [A Master’s Touch: Thirty Seconds of Greatness] along with [Artisanal Acuity], and fashion the entire interconnected forest before the Skills expire.

Glass trees take shape. Intricately-detailed flowers so small that a dozen could fit on my fingertip bloom underneath the trees, out of sight to all but the most observant of people. Maybe a young child will crawl underneath the table and see the miniscule garden.

That brings a smile to my face as I continue to work on the table, creating a thriving ecosystem. Bushes and branches of various glass colors come together, jewel-like and elegant. The trees’ canopies grow together, twisting and twining to form the support structures for the top of the table.

While my Skills aren’t in their best condition, since I excised a few key runes to build the support structure for Melina’s temporal ability [In the Blink of an Eye], they still work together in concert more smoothly than ever before. The [Mage] half of my [Glass Mage] identity supports the glass work, pushing me to greater and greater heights.

Soon the vibrant trees and menagerie of creatures are complete. I encase the top of the table in glass, leaving the scene frozen in time.

Just like Lionel.

I swallow hard, my satisfied smile fading away the imagine of my friend wasting away. I have to hurry. I can’t stay here in the hot shop forever, playing with glass while he dies.

The fire of determination blazes in my chest. I work more quickly, finishing up the fine details of the score of animals, calling on [Glass Animation] to lend them a semblance of life. As a finishing touch, I plead with the energy of the world to accept a vision of curiosity and endless creativity.

The mana surges forward, practically vibrating with eagerness as it dances to my tune. I imbue the entire intricate table with innovation, one of my newest higher-order concepts thanks to the tea I got from Ozana. Whoever works at this table will enjoy a rush of clear thoughts and sudden epiphanies.

I pull on a rope in the corner of the room that rings a bell in the upper offices. Ozana will be here soon to collect the piece and move it to the kiln. In the meantime, I’m annealing it with an application of my [Greater Heat Manipulation]. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when I tell her what the table is capable of doing for her.

I’m absolutely certain that she’ll want the table for herself. It’s the finest thing I’ve ever made, and the flying birds pantomiming feeding their young once “awakened” by a donation of mana is a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. No matter how much it will cost her to give me the miracle potion in exchange for the table, I know she’ll cave. I’ve never seen a table half so fine in all my life, unless Coco counts as a table.

The most exciting thing to me, though, is that I still haven’t peaked. This masterwork is only the beginning. Brighter days are ahead. I have an entire lifetime of creativity in front of me, and I can’t wait to create the glorious future of my dreams.