Have you ever read a book, fallen hopelessly in love with the world inside, and wished you could live there forever?
That was definitely the case for me with Legends & Lattes. I wanted to climb through the pages into the city of Thune and never come back out. I've seen a lot of people refer to this as a comfort read, and I'd have to wholeheartedly agree.
The story follows Viv, a battle-scarred orc who has grown weary of bounty hunting, raiding, and wondering which mission would be her last. She goes on one final run, taking down a Scalvert Queen and pocketing the Scalvert's Stone. Then, without a word of explanation to the rest of her crew, Viv is gone.
With the Scalvert's Stone in hand and a few lines from an ancient song in her heart, Viv isn't sure what exactly she's looking for—just that she'll know when she finds it.
"Well-nigh to Thaumic line, the Scalvert's Stone a-fire — draws the ring of fortune, aspect of heart's desire."
Leaving her old life behind, she lets the stone guide her into the city of Thune, where she purchases an old livery. Her plan is to turn it into a coffee shop, but first, it's gonna need a lot of work. Not to mention, the residents of Thune have never heard of coffee.
Viv hadn't either, until she encountered it in the city of Azimuth on one of her many missions. She immediately fell in love with the taste and smell, but also the feeling that came with it. From that point on, she knew she needed to hang up her trusty sword, Blackblood, and pursue something simpler. Something that made her feel whole.
"I think I'd been looking for a way out for years. Adventuring, fighting, hunting bounties—you're either bleeding yourself slow from a thousand wounds or waiting on one deathblow. But you get numb to the possibility of anything different. This was the first time something else made me feel a way I wanted to keep feeling."
With the help of a hob named Calamity, or more affectionately, Cal, Viv is able to convert the old livery building into a crude but cozy coffee shop.
Next, she hangs up an Assistant Wanted sign, and is greeted shortly afterwards by Tandri, a succubus who is willing to learn the trade.
After a bit of barista training for Tandri and some final touches on the building, they're ready to open for business. Things start out simple, just giving out free samples to the handful of locals that showed up. The next day, those locals are back, and they've brought friends; and so it goes, as Viv and Tandri start to gather a group of regular patrons each day.
Among those regulars is a rattkin named Thimble, who, Viv notices, is always covered in flour. She asks if he knows anything about baking, and before long, they've added his confectionary creations to the menu.
The shop grows in popularity each day, and we're introduced to more of its lovely patrons. There's Pendry, a quiet and self-conscious bard who slowly builds his confidence and grows a fanbase along the way, Durias, a gnome who always seems to be playing chess with an invisible opponent, and Amity, a dire-cat who is begrudginly adopted as the store mascot.
Viv has finally found where she belongs, and as her friendship with Tandri starts to grow into something more, she realizes that despite a lifetime of fighting, she finally has something worth fighting for.
“She was smiling, and for the first time, the building, the city, this place… felt like hers. A place she’d still be tomorrow, the week after, next season, next year… Home.”
This is a beautiful tale of growth, new beginnings, and leaving the past behind in search of a better future. As someone who burned out of my old career and is still in the process of forging a new path, Viv's story meant a lot to me. It's a great reminder that as stuck as we may feel sometimes, it's never too late to head in a new direction. We're not bound to our pasts, to stereotypes, or even to what we always told ourselves we should be.
Viv also comes to realize that maybe she misunderstood the song that guided her to Thune in the first place, and that the "ring of fortune" may not refer to money, but to the community she's found—a community that rallies around her when she needs it most.
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story, and I hope we can continue the discussion on Discord. We can discuss books, support each other in our day-to-day lives, and share ideas—like what books you'd like to see on the blog!