A part of me had looked forward to classes resuming. I had believed it would help guide my training, but soon I realized my mistake.

There was no guidance or limitations during winter break on what I could study or when. If I found something interesting, the only things stopping me from pursuing that particular subject were time and patience.

Now, I had to bend to the demands of classes rather than my whims. I had to attend regular lessons, follow instructions, and remain on topic. Once, this might have been helpful, but now it felt stifling.

It took me only a few days to ask every master, save one, for personal tutoring. Master Laila, the forgemaster, had already agreed to continue our private training, and Master Barlow had scoffed at me but agreed to a single, solitary session. She claimed an interest in what kind of hare-brained style I was building, and I did not care to question her altruism.

My friends and acquaintances returned a day or two before classes but remained in their rooms and prepared rather than socialized. I did not see much of Sophia, though both Leon and Simon seemed happy enough to see me during classes.

Leon, in particular, had practically run up to embrace me with a laugh.

"You dueled someone?!" Leon had shouted, drawing the attention of several other apprentices, "How? Why?! You need to tell me everything."

While Leon, and to a lesser extent his father, were more surprised and curious than anything, Girem had sent along a strongly worded warning to not be as reckless in the future. I felt a not-insubstantial surge of guilt when I realized I would need to ignore my mentor and guardian's request.

About a week after classes began, I went to Simon's room one evening after dinner. After a few minutes of knocking, he answered the door, dressed in an older set of clothing covered in stains and patched tears with an apron around his front.

"Hey, Vayne. Um, is something wrong?" Simon asked, tilting his head to one side.

I smiled, "Does something need to be wrong for me to visit my friend?"

"Umm..." Simon trailed off, rubbing the side of his neck.

"Noted," I said, trying not to take the implication too hard, "May I come in?"

"Yeah, of course! Sorry, I just-" Simon stepped away from the door, and I entered. He practically ran to the other side of his room, closing and stacking books into the corner of a triple-length desk.

Simon's room was a midpoint between mine and Amelia's. He had more comfortable seats than my quarters but replaced the dining table with a combination enchanting workshop and alchemy laboratory. I could spot dozens of glass and metal instruments, only a handful of which I recognized, clustering his desks. At least three appeared in use, releasing strange sensations of mana into the air.

Multiple stains and marks covered the floor, and I pointed to a fist-sized burn near the alchemy desks.

"An accident, I hope?"

Simon rubbed the back of his neck, "Sort of. I had this idea for a portable fireball. Some alchemic reagents produce heat when combined, so I wanted to use a semi-permeable membrane and a flammable material. The idea is those reagents combine and ignite, and you throw the container so-"

Simon's words blended as he spoke, partially explaining his idea, partially covering possible applications and alterations, and partially justifying why he had performed his tests in his room. After several minutes and at least two attempts to politely change the topic, I cleared my throat.

"While I would love to hear more about dangerous, secret magical experiences- and believe me, we will talk about this later —I wanted your opinion on a few things. Do you have time?"

Simon coughed, "Right, sorry. I can get a little-uh, carried away. Yes, I've got time. What is it?"

I reached into one pocket and retrieved a notebook, opening it to the section on my enchantments before holding it out to Simon.

"These."

Simon took the notebook and started reading. He flipped through a few pages, half-wandering over to his workstations, and I followed, listening to my friend murmur as he read.

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"Standard binding and containment. You're using...why...oh, that's why. Must've gotten those from-wait, what? What about...I see, but that'll wear down too fast..."

This went on for several minutes before Simon looked up at me.

"...what do you want from me?" Simon asked. His voice sounded unsure, but his eyes had a focused, clear look that I had only seen when he discussed enchanting or alchemy.

"Your opinion on both."

"Vayne, I'm just an apprentice. Why not ask a master?"

I shrugged, "Because I trust your opinion."

That, and a master was less likely to give first-year apprentices personal feedback on a pet project.

Again, Simon rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he examined my notebook again, "Well...they need some work. I can see a few problems with both versions. Not that they're bad, but-"

"Simon," I interrupted, "I patched these together using rudimentary enchanting knowledge. Whatever you have to say, I will not be insulted. I am sure I have thought of worse myself, honestly."

Simon nodded, "Okay. They're bad, at least in practice. Both ideas are decent enough. Enchantments that take over the spellcasting process are common, but first, you have too few runes to make the effects work."

"Why does that matter?" I asked, "Could I not just practice this enchantment so that my existing runes directed the magic enough?"

"Maybe?" Simon shrugged, "Runes replace your mental control, so the more you have, the better. It narrows the effect, which makes it more efficient."

It also increased the cost, which was the opposite of what I hoped. More than that, if I could accomplish the same thing with one rune, why bother with two or three? It might be faster, but mastering this aspect of enchanting would improve my focus and control.

I set that aside and nodded, "What else?"

"Whatever materials you'd use need to be high-quality," Simon explained as he picked up a piece of paper and started writing, "I'd recommend magically reinforced and purified metal and wood treated to improve mana conductivity. You could get away with regular leather, but I'd still prefer something from a magical creature."

Simon finished writing and held the paper out to me, "I think those shops in Volaris should have at least some of the materials you need and for relatively cheap. You should buy some samples and do a few tests before using those enchantments."

"Ah...before?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest, "What do you mean before?"

"Well, it's generally safe practice to test your enchantments in low-risk settings before using them. If an enchantment breaks, it can release a bunch of mana and injure the mage."

Simon must have noticed my face because he paled, "Wait, you didn't use this already, did you?"

I cleared my throat, "Yes, I did. A few times. I call the first one Mana Edge, and-"

"Founders above, Vayne, you could've killed someone!"

"Well, that is the point, is it not? Last I checked, spears kill people." I replied, folding my arms across my chest

Simon blinked, "If this spear destabilized while in use, it could've taken off your arm."

"Hmm...good to know," I nodded once, "And, hypothetically, if I had a full-body shield on, how much risk would this enchantment pose to me if it broke?"

Simon's eyes widened again, and I held up one hand and smiled, "A joke, of course. Sorry."

It was not, of course, but Simon did not need to know that. If it came down to a life or death issue, I would use those enchantments and hope my Traveler's Shield kept me alive. Still, until I had Mana Edge perfected, I would try to avoid it unless necessary.

Simon and I spoke for another few minutes about enchantments before I finally broached the other, even more important topic.

"Now, I want your opinion about this as well," I said as I reached into my pocket and retrieved a small, corked glass vial of glowing green water.

"Opinion...on..." Simon trailed off as he closed the gap between us. He leaned in to examine the vial, then reached out and took it without another word. I followed him as he returned to his alchemy workstations and began to fiddle with several of them.

I did my best to follow along with Simon as he worked, but it took only about five minutes for me to lose track of what he was doing. Simon fell into a rhythm, taking small samples from the vial and placing them onto or inside of varial glass and metal instruments. I caught a few mumbled words as he worked, but most of what he said was lost beneath the clinking and hissing of an alchemy lab.

When five minutes became ten and then fifteen, I took the quiet invitation to get some work done. I sat in one of Simon's chairs and started rereading my notes on physical armor. If I was going to rely on my Traveler's Shield to protect me from unstable enchantments, I should finish improving it.

I had finished sketching a basic idea for the next stage of my improvements when Simon finished his work. He walked over to where I sat, holding up the half-empty vial with an expression that suggested almost physical pain.

"Where did you find this?" Simon asked as he held it out to me.

I smiled, "Around. You can keep the rest of that sample if you tell me what you found."

Simon relaxed, "It's a natural elixir. Highly concentrated Aether signature, though I found traces of other types of mana as well. Incredibly stable. I had to boil off most of the water before it started to degrade, and even then, it was a slow process."

Unfortunately, that was not new information, but he had also spent only an hour or so at it.

"Do you think you could discover more with more time?" I asked, "And if you did, could you replicate it? In a lab, I mean?"

"I...honestly, I'm not sure about either," Simon rubbed his neck, "I think yes to both, but that's just my guess. I'd need more samples and time to find out for sure."

I nodded a few times, "Okay. Then, I would like to propose a deal."

Simon blinked, "A...deal? What kind of deal?"

"I can provide more samples of that water," I gestured to the vial in his hands, "You can study them at your own pace. In exchange, you will provide me with a sum of gold and access to everything you learn about water, how it is made, its properties, and a possible way to replicate it if you discover as much."

"Whoa, Vayne, I'm not sure I can make that kind of deal," Simon held up both hands, "That's a huge ask. And I'm just an apprentice. Although..."

Simon trailed off, and I waited a few seconds before asking, "Although what?"

"Can you wait a little while for an answer?" Simon finally replied, "My family tends to invest in these sorts of things. I can talk with my father about it."

"How long would that take?"

Simon paused, "...a few months, probably. We're busy, and-"

"Take as much time as you need," I interrupted again, "Please."

While I would prefer an immediate yes, it was the best I had hoped for.

Simon and I spoke for another half-hour, with Simon reiterating everything he knew about the water and its properties. While he refused to speak for his family, he was happy to tell me what he had already discovered. Finally, I returned to my quarters that night with a bit less weight on my shoulders.

Ideally, Simon's family would accept my offer, and I could have a steady supply of Aether water synthesized in a controlled environment and some extra gold. Even if that failed, they might provide valuable insight into how Aether intersected with physical materials.

The more I experimented with my element, the more that sounded paramount. Aether and the physical world did not play well together, and discovering why that was the case might be the key to everything.

And maybe, once I figured out that, I would have the first real clue to whatever the hell blight had twisted that person in the Aether pool into a monster.