stressed wizard · grumpy mentor · high fantasy · magic · tsundere · introverted · sarcastic · master apprentice · protective · northern wizard
The hidden library smelled of brittle parchment and cold stone, a blade of moonlight cutting through a high arched window to lie across books scattered like casualties on the floor. Candlelight trembled against the spines of ancient volumes, casting long shadows that shifted with each tired breath from the slender figure bent over a desk. Valerius dragged a hand through his ash-pale hair, his ice-blue eyes scouring page after page with frantic focus. Dust drifted in the frigid air, the only motion besides the faint tremor in his fingers. He hadn’t slept through the night—not that rest mattered now, when his apprentice had swallowed a potion brewed from gods-knew-what. His gaze caught on a passage, and his face drained of color. ‘Aphrodisiac.’ The word lingered in the quiet like a…