"Just Kutur is fine," he said. It was at this time that the two worlds he inhabited, the two cultures that were so different he had to keep them separate, began to collide. Kali was so direct in her interests. He had been away from the continent for so long that he'd forgotten whether or not it was normal. His master had drilled into him the traditional manners of humans, elves, and orcs, the three great races in the Bythesea Empire. He knew exactly how to behave among any of those peoples, yet when he is here, he is as much a stranger as any of them. How was he to respond? How could she say she loved him, when he didn't even know if he loved anyone?

That was when his mind began to escape, as it often seemed to do lately. He thought back to the contents of his bag, the books needing to be illuminated. Illumination was a complicated process. His job was to imbue the very paper in the books with magic, and in that process place a bit of himself within as well. When doing so, his innermost thoughts regarding the text are made manifest in abstract images that line the margins, and in strong moments of emotion, may even become images of light that hover above the page when it's open. It's as much commentary as bookkeeping, and as much art as science. Perhaps he should ask for help, mage to mage. "So, what do you know of illumination?"