Tektonius's pater was Methuselah of Bonisagus, himself a filius of the renowned Caecilius. While Caecilius was a quite capable master, he did not pass those qualities onto his filius. Methuselah was an indifferent master at best, and a sadistic master at worst. He styled himself a master crafter of longevity potions, and indeed he was, but he presumed that such a capability was sufficient for him to be declared a puissant researcher. Whether it was due to arrogance, indifference or incompetence Methuselah failed to teach Tektonius several techniques to overcome his difficulty with casting spells, or even help in identifying the Arts the young Tektoninus excelled at. Methuselah basically gave up teaching him at all, and used him relentlessly in so called experiments on longevity rituals. Caecilius recovered from a long Twilight episode and noted his filius's poor attempts at teaching and stepped in and provided the necessary instruction that allowed Tektonius to discover his true Hermetic gifts. After that, Caecilius's relationship with Methuselah was never the same, and though Tektonius gauntleted as Methuselah's filius, everyone involved knew who deserved the honor of being called pater. Just before gauntlet, one of the projects Caecilius had Tektonius working on was a lab dedicated to the study of Terram. Caecilius had developed a keen interest in the Art upon being named a Quaesitor, and wished to be better grounded in the favored Art of his personal hero, Guernicus. It was a grand lab with a stunning monolith that Tektonius carved with his own arts. Upon gauntlet Caecilius said to the young magus, out of earshot of Methuselah, "You do my proud. The lab you have been building is not mine, though I said it would be. It is yours. I give it to you, along with this device. I urge you to go forth from Durenmar, something I did not do for Methuselah and pay the price for that even now. Find a place to make your own home, and should you find it before the Winter solstice, you will be able to transport the lab to your new home." Emotion overcame both of them and no further words could be exchanged. The next morning Tektonius set out on his return home to Oxford, or perhaps join Schola Pythagornis, one of whose magi discovered Tektonius while he was teaching at Oxford, and identified him as Gifted.
Unfortunately Schola wouldn't accept him, due to not possessing a Gentle Gift, but Tektonius was able to make a living doing some private tutoring here and there, and taking the occasional odd job for House Mercere.
Caecilius and Tektonius kept a frequent correspondence over the years, at least as often as Caecilius increasingly frequent Twilight episodes allowed. In one of the letters, just over a year ago, Caecilius informed his grandfilius that Methuselah and his self-styled 'Immortals' (shield grogs) had gone missing in the Black Forest while en route to a new home Methuselah had hoped to make at a covenant called Mons Electi in the Normandy Tribunal. Neither pater nor filius despaired the loss over-long.