7263: Letter Home to Mom

Kaelday, 3rd of Eldrosan
 
Dear Mom,
 
You always said I’d have to get serious one day—that the jokes and pranks wouldn’t last forever. But I think I’ve finally figured out why they do. Orren is the leader, always looking out for everyone, trying to set the right example. Eva’s the scholar, always with her nose in a book, always digging for more. Vaelion? He’s the one we can trust to uncover what’s hidden. Bells is the peacemaker, smoothing things over when one of us goes too far. And me? I think I’m here to make them laugh.
 
Everyone’s so tense all the time, not just my friends. After the whole mess with the Ambassador turning traitor and bringing two students with him, people are looking over their shoulders. I can feel it in the halls. It’s heavy. And that’s why I think my pranks have to change. Less about getting someone who so deserves it. More about lightening hearts, taking the edge off, reminding everyone that it’s okay to breathe.
 
I even pranked myself. Don’t believe Eva—Merissa didn’t sneak croaking powder into my bone dust in alchemy class. I meant to sound like a frog all day. Really.
 
But the best prank so far? That one was a complete accident. I was given the assignment to summon an animal, so I decided to go for a hawk. I was in the quad with Eva giving me pointers. I performed the ritual, imagining a squirrel on the bench in front of me as bait for the hawk. Said all the words, opened my eyes—and there was a big, silver-grey squirrel staring right back at me.
 
So, I checked the ritual, fixed my focus, and tried again. This time, I really threw my will into it. When I finished, I heard gasps. My first thought was, ‘Wow, that must be some hawk.’
 
Except there was no hawk. The quad was full of squirrels. Everywhere. All staring at me.
 
What else could I do? I immediately launched into the most epic game of tag this school will see in a hundred years. The little kids joined in right away, shrieking and running around with the squirrels. Then the older kids joined. Even one of the professors. It ended in a full-scale acorn and holly berry fight. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise—squirrels have a good arm and deadly aim with an acorn.
 
Dinner that night was the lightest it’s been in weeks.
 
I thought for sure the Headmaster would give me a lecture about not taking my studies seriously. Instead, he said I might have found a partner in that first squirrel. So, he took me to the woods and walked me through a summoning and binding ritual.
 
That’s how I met Bethil.
 
He’s not really a squirrel—he’s a spirit who takes the form of one, sort of an embodiment of what it means to be a squirrel. I called to him, and he agreed to join me as my familiar. Bethil means ‘birch tree’ in Elven, and with that silver-grey fur, it fits him well.
 
So, don’t worry about me. I’m doing what I’m meant to do, and making sure my friends and the other students find a reason to laugh once in a while. It’s good for them, the school, and even the kingdom. Ha—never thought I’d say that.
 
Love, Caelith