I chuckle. „Hey, I didn’t tell any jokes.“ protests Anjali. „It just came to my mind, that you cannot ask any probing questions about my past. I find that funny.“. „Well, then neither may you.“ she retorts. „I didn’t intend to. I’d probably lack the context to understand the answers. Nor do we know what is happening in the rest of the world. You are here. I am here. We have warm, soft beds. We now have food.“ I reply. „You are not as simple minded as you try to pretend now.“ There is a bit of sharpness in her voice. „I am not saying that I am simple minded. I am saying that we have entered a time that requires asking simple questions and to strive for simple answers. It would do nobody any good if I confessed a desire for a library or seeing a play in a theater meaning I neglected the necessities and we all died.“ I say to deflect her indirect criticism. I pause and stroke her back. „Do you fear men using simplicity as an excuse to commit to a plan for the future?“ I ask her. She rolls onto her back, draws a deep breath and answers „No, you are a sorcerer. You can, to a much greater extent than ordinary men, do as you will. You need no excuses. Even if what you will is acting as a wet nurse.“ she continues with a tone of incredulity in her voice. „The only thing you must avoid is indecision.“ she says with almost pleading in her voice. I trace her flank. She shivers a bit. I look at her and say „I have decided that the people that were bought to bring me here are mine to care for. I have decided on the slow and steady approach. Caution is not indecision. It has weaknesses, as every approach has.“ I cup a tender part of hers. „I appreciate you. Also in what you did to cover my weaknesses.“ She squeezes against me „That is nice to hear.“

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Zewrepa is leaning against her familar’s tree. „I am starting to understand generic music again.“ Melo jubilates, „I do understand that this does not help us now, but we’ll live beyond now. At least that is the plan.“ she continues. „Do you still believe that there is a secret room with magic equipment?“ Zewrepa asks. „Where do you think the mana for the wards, hot water, heating and light comes from?“ Melo answer in a slightly tired manner.

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I find myself alone in my, well Marental’s, bed, which is easily broad enough to hold two people, with a small wax tablet these people use for small notes. It just says my turn for preparing breakfast. Well, I like fish and egg for breakfast. A pisciphobe would have had a hard time. In fact the northern oceans are usually rich in fish and other marine life, even if the land is barren from the cold, so that even if this version of Europe gets too cold for agriculture, people may survive on the coast by fishing and trading. We might even feed chickens with the offal from processing fish. Something from my memories triggers.

My mind is flooded with the curves for the solubility of oxygen in water versus temperature. Concepts of free energy, enthalpy and entropy flood my mind. I even understand the role temperature plays in this. Even useless ancilliary information plays briefly in my head. I have no idea who Gibbs or Boltzmann were, though I get the picture that they are safely dead.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

My fist hits the bedding in frustration. This has got to either stop or run its course. This seriously violates my sense of self. Who am I? The man who is thinking about this now? Or the people I keep meeting in my head space, from whom these memories are presumably coming? Some of them are clearly not me. I am not Marental. I am no assassin. Though both are now to a small extent a part of me. That, however, is how I see things. Somebody killed Marental’s assistent and I have to assume that the same people did not share my view of me not being an assassin. Worse, they may do something to make their view prevail or to make their displeasure know if it does not. Anyway the assassin wanted me to do morning katas and it is time to check on Julia.

Apparently I have made a major breakthrough and a hungry child will suck on the porous rubber nipple I have created over a beaker of milk. I love magical engineering, but I need a way to make actual magical stuff.

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Anjali is taking a thorough shower before joining Branisava for breakfast. Some wizards react very badly to making any sort of claim on their person. She supposes that applies to men in general, but wizards have the power to do drastic things if they get angry.

On reflection it was not a night to compose an opera in celebration of, but also none that would require one to purchase one of those alchemical concoctions that mess with recent memories. At least she has given him more of a reason to not just leave. He currently does not want to, but he is a man with an unstable personality. Nothing else would matter if she froze to death marching through an alpine wilderness to escape a slow death by starvation

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Branislava understands that she does not understand. The wizard is making a genuine effort to not just keep Julia alive, but comfortable. The way he played with her, when he checked on her, speaks of genuine affection. Men in her experience are proud of their children, but they take no joy out of caring for an infant. Or at least none of them would ever admit enjoying that. Is this a case of a wizard just not needing to bother about anybody’s opinion?

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I am having a vision in the shower. At least I hope it is a vision. Ghosts are not an option I want to entertain. „Grandpa“ I address „the vision.“ It smiles and replies „I am no really here in the full sense of the word. You were always the troubled one. It has allowed forces usually not found in our world to act. Unfortunately this is the last time I can talk to you. It is more times than most get. You need to know that I arranged for somebody to spoil the deal between you and the dwellers in the void. You being here means that you took the offer. You need to understand what you picked and you must not meet your target by accident, lest you trigger a remnant of the agreement. One last thing, you need to accept some changes. You were broken. You need fixing and fixing means change. I hope you used your fascination with natural science to pick something good. Fare well, grandson.“

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Anjali is prepared for many courses of action but not that look on the wizard’s face. „I just saw a ghost.“ he announces.