Stefen never went to Bardic. Instead some highborn older man picks him up/buys him from Berte. Stef is obviously going to have to be underage, but I would like for him NOT to be a child. Fifteen or sixteen is the lowest age I'm comfortable with here. So, Stef spends the next five or six years being pampered by his sugar daddy. He has everything he could ever dream of wanting, but is still keenly aware that he's in a precarious position. Basically the same attitude he has in canon. He is NOT going to do anything to jeopardize his position and is willing to do whatever it takes to build a secure future.

But! One way or another, he meets a certain Herald-mage...maybe Stef's sugar daddy is an important political figure. Or they just meet randomly in the market, or Vanyel rescues him somehow, idc about the specifics. Stef's backstory with his sugar daddy can be left vague or told in flashbacks, I'm mainly after Stef angst over having to choose between security and a chance at having something he actually, desperately wants, and Vanyel angst because he doesn't want to be just another person who takes advantage of Stefen. But of course, if you want to tackle the whole thing and write me a long multichapter fic, then by all means. :D