To Kaecilius, Solomon was still young.
This had nothing to do with age, magical attainment, or even the bloody wars waged by the organizations Solomon had founded. It was simply because Solomon had never experienced the madness that a young man ought to go through. The hormones in his veins were as cold as ice. Though Solomon always followed the precepts, Kaecilius had long believed that young people should have a life of their own. Solomon never did hard drugs, never drank himself into oblivion, never hooked up with a stranger in a bar bathroom and woke up in someone else's bed, never smoked weed with hippies around a campfire, never dug hallucinogenic mushrooms out from under a couch cushion, never flew to Las Vegas for a shotgun wedding, and never went to a hospital to get a lump on his testicle checked—or had a prostate exam, for that matter.
Even without all that, he could've at least shown some interest in gadgets, music, or celebrities—but Solomon didn't seem to care about any of that either. He didn't do a single thing young people usually do—he was the kind of guy who would remind guests to use a coaster even during a casual visit. Take away the magic, the looks, and the combat skills, and Solomon was about as boring as a sun-dried towel that's been wrung out, flattened, and hardened to the point it could shatter bricks—with some annoying mold and crusty grime to boot. In some ways, Kaecilius's philosophy aligned perfectly with Tony Stark's: what young people needed was a party, not swords and guns, fire and blood, dusty tomes and mysterious magic.
Solomon had always known what Kaecilius thought; he'd been hearing it since he started school.
But that didn't change how he behaved. He was busy—too busy to waste time on drugs, alcohol, or wild parties. Time at home with the witch was his rare moment of relaxation. Besides, given his current situation, his level of mental strain didn't really warrant concern. If he ever needed chemical support, he could just brew alchemical solutions himself—and they worked better anyway. Addictive alchemical substances weren't uncommon among spellcasters. If not treated with proper respect and control, they could be abused far worse than any mundane narcotic, and plenty of mages had ended up ruined—or dead (some by suicide, others by assassination).
Solomon, who had achieved a fair amount in alchemy, had only ever created a small amount of such substances—and that was for the purpose of studying the glyphs on the Silver Key. The drugs helped him enter trance states without losing sanity, allowing him to delve into more dangerous levels of the mind and safely return in time. Maya Hansen and her medical team monitored his health meticulously. Now that he was the Lord of the Undying City, the Eternal Pact between Wakanda and Mars depended entirely on him. He couldn't afford any mistakes—not even in magical research, which now required far more safeguards and complexity than ever before.
He was probably the first spellcaster in magical history to have all his vital signs monitored in real time while conducting arcane research.
But Kaecilius knew Solomon's favorite shows were family sitcoms. Before he and the witch made their relationship official, most of his Netflix watch history was full of those. That's exactly why Kaecilius kept chatting him up from time to time. It wasn't like Kamar-Taj didn't have orphans, but being raised with no family and immediately inducted into magical training couldn't be great for one's mental health.
"Honestly, this isn't the kind of mysterious aura that makes girls scream." Their conversation quickly rocketed off topic. The older mage looked at the young man with satisfaction—after all, Solomon had finally grown into someone he could drink and chat with. That gave him a strong sense of accomplishment, especially given how old he was himself. Even though he knew it was unlikely, Kaecilius still fantasized about the day Solomon would bring his witch and their children to visit. Then he could tell those little rascals all about his "glorious youth" and boast about his brief rock star career.
Half of it would be exaggerated—but who cared? Kids couldn't tell the difference.
And by the time they were old enough to know what was real and what wasn't, he'd already be in the grave, resting beside his wife. Would they really blame an old man for the jokes he took with him to the grave?
Kaecilius was more than eager to show off his vinyl record collection. He knew everything there was to know about '90s rock bands. He talked about them so often that Solomon could already predict what he was going to say next. "I love Suede's 'Everything Will Flow' too. It's the peak of Britpop. But don't think that means you're dragging me to a bowling alley, Kaecilius. The entertainment options from your era were limited to bowling alleys. It's not like that anymore. There are only two bowling alleys in all of Oslo, and you're definitely not going to like Oslo Bar & Bowling—the décor's too postmodern, it doesn't even have a solid wood bar. What kind of name is that anyway? Sounds like a government-run senior center! Lucky Bowl Veitvet sounds better, but you'd never tolerate the current Starbucks crowd either. It's full of teenage girls and office workers pretending to be sophisticated, squeezing around tiny laminate tables, while the lanes sit empty."
"How the hell do you know about Oslo's bowling alleys? You've never even been there! Hey! No phones at the table!"
"There's this thing called Google Maps, old man!"
"You little brat, you ruined my weekend plans." Kaecilius cut off a slice of pork and shoved it into his mouth, then picked up his glass with greasy fingers and took a long swig. He sighed. "So according to you, where the hell am I supposed to go this weekend? I can't exactly go bear hunting with the All-Father. They're a protected species. If the government ever saw how many polar bear pelts he's got in that cabin, they'd faint. Don't give me that look—I can't stop him. The best I can do is wire money from Kamar-Taj's accounts to some wildlife charity."
"Don't waste your money. Norway still hunts whales every year—for 'scientific research.' As for your weekend? Maybe dye your hair and spend it with that blonde lady next door. As for shaving, I wouldn't bother—it suits you better this way. Christmas roast pork, huh? And here I thought you couldn't even make instant noodles." Solomon grinned. He clinked glasses with Kaecilius, then sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't spend Christmas with you. Really, I am."
"It's no big deal, kid. I'm not some middle school volunteer in need of weekend company to wipe my ass, worried I'll fall headfirst into the toilet and rot there until someone finds my bloated corpse. Daniel's the one who needs to worry—he's old enough his bony ass can't even stay steady on the Guardian's chair." The older mage's crude metaphors made the younger man laugh. "We all know what happened at Finbowinter Mountain, and you did well. Duty above all else, right? Listen, I was there when the Ancient One picked you up. I never imagined your life would turn out like this. You haven't even gotten to enjoy the things a young man should. If anyone should apologize, it's me, Mordo, and the Ancient One. We burdened you with responsibilities no youth should bear. We placed our hopes on you and made you do things no one your age should have to do. If I'd known all this ahead of time, I would've begged the Ancient One to let you be adopted by a normal family first."
"Duty above all else, Kaecilius." Solomon smiled and shook his head. "I understand my duty. I don't regret it."
"I'll support you. Always."
"Thanks, old man." The young mage nodded. "And by the way—the roast pork is amazing. So... when are you going to officially introduce me to that lady next door?"
[A special discount will be available from December 30th until Three Kings' Day.]
[Use 37B44 to get 33% off all levels until January 6th]
[Unlock +20 Advanced Chapters on Patre on. com /Mutter]
[For every 50 Power Stones, 1 Bonus Chapter will be released]
[Thank you for reading!]