==>

You’ve got something that works right now, and you don’t want to mess that up.

You don’t know how many of these imaginary things are actually necessary to keep you from flipping out, so your plan is pretty much just to keep them all going. And if it looks like things are coming apart, you’ll haphazardly layer more mental defenses on top of it and see what sticks.

For instance, now you’re not even in a castle anymore.

Okay, that one is probably a good idea.

While you’re at it you mark the GLASSES OF WATER to differentiate them from the actual glasses of water.

Well, you know you should stay quiet, but you don’t really want to pass up this opportunity. When Baeralorn is done describing his research on magical defenses, you ask him if he has any tips for a new mage who is just starting out.

He says that the best thing you can do is to apprentice yourself under a trained wizard. Up at the university, it’s even pretty common for apprentices to join the Archmage on his personal errands. Other than that, there are plenty of other mages who might be looking for an apprentice. Have you visited any of the nearby Mages Guild guildhalls – or are you planning to? He has connections at some of them, as well as knowing a few now-unaffiliated-mages who are frequently looking for new trainees.