Elyon woke each morning to the sounds of washing up, as punctual as an alarm clock. With a wry smile, he rose, erased the magic circle on the floor, and burned the rope, suicide note, and ritual papers to ash. It was his first official day in this new world.
First things first: dressing up. Elyon opened the wardrobe by the wall, which held a sharply-tailored black three-piece suit: a blazer, vest, and trousers with a high-waisted design and shoulder padding. The material was a coarse blend of wool and linen.
Next to the suit hung brown and black cotton coats and pants, and atop the wardrobe sat a black silk top hat, two black bowler hats, and a light grey felt hat.
The middle shelf neatly displayed several ivory and white shirts, the left side made of a linen blend, the right of cotton.
A few woolen garments lay folded at the bottom, likely winter attire.
Were it not for the twin moons hanging in the night sky and his memories of this planet only containing four continents, Elyon might have mistaken his surroundings for Western Europe two centuries prior.
Unsure of the current time, Elyon remembered owning a watch. He found a golden pocket watch in the left drawer of his desk, its case adorned with rose motifs, and upon opening, a filigreed face revealed the escapement and gears beneath.
The watch seemed to be gold-plated brass, complete with a silver chain—the most valuable item in the room, perhaps.
Beneath the watch lay a tan leather wallet. Opening it, he found a small stack of gray and dark green banknotes neatly arranged among several copper coins the size of bottle caps and steel coins as large as broad beans.
He examined the money. Brugean currency was denominated from high to low in golden pounds, silver shillings, copper pennies, and iron farthings, all in decimal conversion.
Unlike a certain European nation with its convoluted twenty and twelve-base systems, this simple metric system would delight any with a penchant for order.
Gold pounds and shillings had their corresponding paper currency. Lucan held a five-pound note, its dark green ink intricately secured against forgery.
It bore the portrait of Alfred the Great, the only emperor in Brugean history, over a thousand years old, with his distinctive goat beard and sunken eyes.
The mere thought that the paper represented five gold coins suddenly made the image of Alfred much more endearing. Both front and back featured the numeral 5, and the lower right corner held the note's serial number.
The reverse differed by issuing bank, each representing a region of the Brugean Kingdom. The emblem for the Caelon region was a shield with two unicorns upright and crossed, under which sat three purple thistles.
There were also three slightly smaller green notes of one pound each, featuring George I, the "Saint King" of Bruge.
Gold pounds were large denominations, but shillings and pennies were more commonly used. Shilling notes were smaller, and their ink shifted from green gradient to matte lead black.
Silver coins were embossed with Edward III, the monarch who brought political reform centuries ago.
Copper pennies bore the somewhat balding and hook-nosed current King Charles II. Iron farthings, uniquely, eschewed monarchs, featuring only regional emblems.
Counting his entire wallet contents, Elyon's net worth totalled eight pounds, six shillings, four pennies, and nine farthings. In a steam-powered era where food was the significant expense, this sum was enough for a poor student to last quite some time.
In Aegsburg, the salary for an adult male laborer was about 1.2 pounds per week for 8 days of work, while a day's wage for a washerwoman or seamstress was as low as one shilling.
Back in his small hometown near the capital, Thane could negotiate a day laborer's wage down to about eight pennies during the busy harvest season. If one only considered food costs, a penny's purchasing power was comparable to about five dollars on Earth.
Without scholarships or student loans, the 100 pounds annual tuition for a national university was enough to crush most poor people's dreams of furthering their education.
Even the church's free short-term general education rarely saw students over twelve—it wasn't the place for what would be deemed illegal child labor on Earth. At twelve, one could be apprenticed to a craftsman.
"Grumble, grumble," his stomach protested. Though he had replenished some sleep, physical hunger demanded a carb-heavy breakfast.
Dressed in an ivory shirt and black breeches, Elyon took a shilling from his wallet and slipped it into his pocket.
He grabbed the bronze key hanging on the door, secured it behind him, and descended to the ground floor, where the communal washroom was. As he was about to freshen up, the door creaked open and out came a towering figure.
"Yo, good morning, brother! You look a bit out of sorts. Join me for a drink tonight. Trust me, a fiery whiskey and an even spicier lady will cure anything, hahaha!"
The booming voice belonged to a strapping young man with golden waves for hair and deep blue eyes. Lucan had to look up to see him clearly, as if facing a standing grizzly rather than a person.
Thane Boggs, a half-blood of the Livonian Kingdom to the east of Bruge, with a navy officer father.
Thane stood nearly two meters tall, inheriting his father's giant genes, and his father's connections landed him in the Caelon Military Academy—one of Elyon's three roommates. These details flowed into Lucan's mind as if by instinct.
"Good morning, my brother, just didn't sleep well. Might be the hard pillow. Another time for drinks; I'm caught up with graduation prep," Lucan waved off.
Thane was a straightforward man with a born passion for alcohol, always eager to trawl the city's pubs with his roommates for an all-night binge, often returning home with his companions slung over his broad shoulders.
The washroom was modest, akin to the cramped facilities of 21st-century Earth's metropolises—a wooden toilet, two iron taps, and a small cabinet with four compartments.
After a brisk freshening up, Elyon set out to find something to eat.
Stepping out into the early summer morning, the sun kissed his cheeks with warmth, not harshness. The South Cross street where the apartment stood was lined with neat two and three-story buildings, tidy and dotted with iron coal gas lamps every ten yards, a rental hotspot for nearby college students.
At the street corner, there was the Elma's, a diner run by a couple from the Lucis Kingdom across the channel from Bruge—known as a gourmet nation. Mr. Elma's rotund belly matched the stereotype of a fine chef, and his generous chin disappeared into his smile, leaving only a sliver for eyes.
Ding! The doorbell jingled as Lucan pushed into the diner. "Welcome! What'll it be? Ah, young Elyon! The usual toast and fried egg with tea?"
Mrs. Elma's fiery red hair and ever-present exuberance were a perfect match to the diner's warmth.
Starving enough to eat a cow, Elyon glanced at the menu. Student-friendly prices meant he could afford a hearty meal and still have change from his shilling.
"A baked potato, toast, and porridge, please. And Mrs. Elma, you look as radiant as the day is long, as youthful as the freshers at our school," Elyon complimented the proprietress while ordering.
Her hearty laugh rang out as she took his shilling, returning seven pennies in change. "Thank you, dear! And don't forget us when you make it big. Your visits lighten up my husband, you know—just don't get him drunk next time. It's hard work, hauling a drunk upstairs!"
She bustled off to the kitchen to place his order with Mr. Elma.
Elyon settled near the window, pondering how to obtain supernatural powers while waiting for his meal.
Where else but a library could one find comprehensive and accessible information? He decided to visit the library after breakfast.
Today being the eighth day of the week, institutions like the university and post office were closed. The diner wasn't busy, and within minutes Mrs. Elma was serving up his order on a wooden tray.
The potatoes, their skins crisped to a golden brown, exuded a tempting aroma. He cut one open, biting eagerly into its soft, sweet flesh.
The toast crunched satisfyingly as he devoured his breakfast. Now full, Elyon planned to retrieve his student ID from home and head to the library.