Under the blue rooftops of the city, Rigel, we can find Novus, walking towards the upper district of the city, carrying his belongings.

The morning sun hits him, peeking over the mountains surrounding the city, but thankfully the cold season, Bruma, is ending, so the cold isn’t as bad as it could be in the city.

Only scarce patches of muddy snow are the evidence of the last snowfall of Bruma, The cobblestone streets, with little to no traffic so early in the morning, even had some signs of the festival celebration three days ago.

This year it was particularly vibrant and joyous, almost as if they attempted to lift the malignant fog left over from the last year, something not known to Novus.

Novus sighed, looking at the road ahead, which got increasingly angled against him and kept walking.

-Novus!- A friendly voice called him. The young arcanist looked around, trying to find out who was talking to him.

-Wha- Novus started to talk but was interrupted by a jolly voice.

-Up here ya Nanus.- A stout man dropped down from a rooftop with surprising agility, grabbing the edge of the tiled roof, letting go, and touching down, amusingly he slipped on muddy snow and fell on his ass after such graceful descent.

-By the ancient Magus, is it too hard to use the stairs Robio?- Novus asked as he extended his hand to the jolly fellow.

-That wouldn’t be fun, wouldn’t it?- Robio replied as he grabbed the offered hand to stand up. If Novus wasn’t loaded with all the extra weight of his belongings he might have ended up falling on his face, as his friend was quite voluminous.

-You should really reconsider how you get down the roofs and also consider going down a couple of Lapid.- (Unit of Imperial Weight Measurement, around 3.5 kg)

Robio chuckled. -And ya should consider gettin’ some Lapid yerself, yer Mother ain’t feeding ya enough?-

Robio Tirol was one of Novus’ oldest friends, as both have known each other since childhood. They’ve lived in the same neighborhood and their fathers had a business relationship.

They were part of a group of children, some might say they were a gang, but they were mostly mischievous, rather than criminal.

Most of them, like Robio and Novus, went their separate ways, becoming apprentices for different trades, or working in their family business.

The first part was true for Robio and Novus, but both of them ended up going for their own unique paths. Robio started his own roofing business, while Novus, as we already know, was talented enough, and had the proper financial backing, to join the Royal Academy of Arcane Sciences.

Robio looked at Novus for a moment, realizing what he was carrying. -No… It’s today, ain’t it?- A hint of sadness flashed across Robio’s eternally jolly face, but he soon shook off that feeling, knowing that Novus had enough to deal with, hiding his own sadness about seeing his best friend leave and also something else.

-Sorry, I should’ve remembered it, I’ve been swamped with work.-

Novus nodded. -I understand, I didn’t even see my father when I left home.-

Now it was Robio’s time to nod. -Well, he is really busy, like me...- He made a pause before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, showing it to Novus.

The paper had a scribbled list of addresses and names. -Since the Royal Edict allowin’ the installation of that Scripti thing everyone is talking about, was announced, everyone wants to get modifications done to their roofs to allow connection to the… what was the word… calbes?-

Novus chuckled. -It’s cables.-

Robio nodded. -Yeah that one, yer old man must be goin’ insane with all the demand for Cibus, not that I understand what the hell they’re goin’ to do with it.-

-You’re right.- Novus agreed. He knew that Robio was right, since the announcement of the legalization of Scripti, people were going insane hoping to get enough Cibus to power their houses.

-Ya goin’ uphill?- Robio asked, to which Novus nodded. -Do ya want some company until ya get to the Chain?- 

Novus smiled. -Didn’t you say you were swamped with work?-

Robio gave Novus a friendly, yet heavy, pat on the back. -Don’t ya worry yer tiny smart head ‘bout it!- Novus almost fell on his face just from the push, but Robio managed to grab him by the shoulder.

-And if ya stay for too long in the swamp yer feet will rot, so I’m takin’ a break to say goodbye to a friend o’ mine.-

-Thank you Robio.- The young arcanist smiled.

His friend shared a smile. -Don’t mention it... - He looked around as if he was checking for anybody close-by. -Really don’t, ‘cause my old man will lose his mind if he finds out I’m slackin’ on the job, he pays for part of my gear.-

Novus shook his head with a half-smile. -You never change, don’t you Robio?- The jolly roofer picked up Novus’ large case, the one he was dragging behind him, and placed it over his shoulder. -Never will.-

The duo kept walking uphill, engaging in some small talk, commenting about their families, trying to avoid the big topic.

Robio, who avoided some questions about the city and their friends, turned into a topic he knew would keep Novus engaged.

-I told ya I’m doing the whole Scripti thing on the roofs, but I don’t know for the life of me, by the beards of the Ancient Magus, what the heck Scripti even is.- Novus stopped walking and glared at his friends. -What?- Robio asked. -I don’t know.-

The young arcanist took a deep breath, sighing heavily while placing his palm over his face, shaking his whole head in disappointment. -You’re actually asking me this?-

Robio nodded. -Yeah.-

Novus repeated. -For real, you’re actually asking me this?-

The jolly roofer rolled his eyes.- Yes, I’m askin’ ya.- There was a moment of silence as Novus, clearly frustrated, was in a disbelief-fueled state of shock.

-So are ya goin’ to tell me?- Robio inquired, without losing his smile. -I think last time ya told me I was either drunk, not payin’ attention, or both.-

Novus shook his head. -I’ll explain while we walk.-

Robio smiled. -Fine by me mate!-  The two friends kept walking towards the upper district as the streets gradually got more and more transit.

-So, you understand Cibus is important for the Arcane Sciences, right?- Novus inquired, hoping he wouldn’t need to explain everything for the seventh, or maybe the eighth time to his friend.

-Yeah, like that piece ya have on yer stick.- Robio pointed at the polished Cibus Crystal atop Novus’ staff.

-Yes, exactly, Arcanists such as myself need three things to use Spell Formulas, we need to possess Vis, we need to understand the formula we will use, and finally, we need a fragment of polished Cibus inscribed with symbols and calculations so we can access complex formulas.- The jolly roofer blinked a couple of times, as his brain gradually tried to comprehend what Novus was saying.

-So… Ok, so it's like maths?- Most lowborn didn’t get any kind of formal education, but Novus, Robio, and some of their friends being born into the blossoming middle class of the Kingdom, composed by merchants and specialists, did have a tutor hired by their parents to teach them, at first on their own but later as a single class.

-More or less like maths, but more advanced and using the world around us and the Vis inside us to create results impossible through regular means.-

Robio nodded. -I think I get that, but what does it have to do with those… ehh… cables?-