A few days later, something I'd intended as an innocent question turned into a trip into the unknown.

It'd been an exhausting afternoon and the group was sitting around, doing nothing except taking a well-earned break. Phoebe and Kylen played euchre in the corner. Eyes had passed out, slumped face-down in a pillow. Weiland read a book about mercantile legislation. Boring.

The group exercise earlier in the day had been brutal. We'd lugged around short metal boats overhead and marched with them whilst in full combat attire. As I was much bigger than the next man, I got to carry a boat all by myself. My arms still hadn't recovered.

It worried my peers that they had us practicing for shallow water travel. It hinted towards combat in the Lakelands, which was where most of the skirmishes with Kanaaduh had been taking place. Anyone with a shred of intellect could figure out that's where we'd end up. There wasn't any way to deny it; the combat instructors at Lobsterhead thought we'd be going to war soon. That was a sobering thought.

I decided to ask the room about something that'd been on my mind for a while. It'd been bothering me more and more as I tried to recreate [Sonicpunch]. I'd been able to figure out how to do something close to a [Windpunch], which just used my ability [Windslash] to follow my fist with another version of my fist. It'd been woefully ineffective as another source of blunt damage.

"How does someone develop a new ability? Is it just replication, or is there more to it?"

Weiland clapped his book shut. "Not a clue. You'd be best served checking over at the library. All I can tell you is that abilities are uncommon and that some people have more than others. But you probably already know that."

Huh. I'd already known everything he said about abilities, but he had told me something new.

"Lobsterhead has a library?"

Weiland looked horrified over at me. Then a switch flipped in his mind, and that horror became replaced with righteous indignation. I recognized it as the face he put on before he started going on a tirade. Uh oh.

"Yes, Lobsterhead has a Library!" He fumed. "Which you'd know if you ever spent any time doing something that didn't involve a sword!"

"That's not wholly accurate, Weiland," Kylen chided from his spot on the floor. "Sometimes it's axes too."

"Put a sock in it," I told him. He'd be allowed to criticize my habits when he was able to beat me in a spar. Which, if I had my way, would be never. As far as I was concerned, Kylen could have his love for Zeus. That was as long as he respected my love for the arena.

"My poor study habits aside, do you think the library will have information about how to get new abilities? I'd rather not waste the trip if I can avoid it."

Weiland scoffed at me. "Yeah, because you've just got so much to do right now."

His sarcasm wounded me. Touche, Weiland. That was a good point. I wasn't doing anything else. My body ached unpleasantly, and that made it hard to want to move from my spot on the settee. Curse those who drive our need for self-improvement!

"Fine," I said as I stood up. "Can you at least guide me there? I think I'm liable to get lost trying to find it, considering how dissimilar it is from an arena."

About half an hour later, Weiland and I walked together through the streets. After a little convincing, he'd agreed to escort me to the library. I enjoyed the company. He thought he was doing the world a great service by bringing literacy to my simple mind.

In truth, my reasoning for wanting to go to the library was two-fold. Yes, I could spend a fair amount of time there researching abilities. I would at some point, I was sure. But, I could also spend time in search for answers to some of the questions that had hounded me for months:

Why did I have the System early? Why did I have an attribute no one else did, and where was my supplication? What the hell did [Inflame] do?

The first two questions were more for peace of mind than anything else. I'd gotten away without getting noticed for months at this point, and I didn't think that I was going to be caught anytime soon. I hadn't messed up, or done something stupid like blurting out 'I'm actually sixteen!' Plus, I was curious about what I could do with the Authority attribute. I knew that Supplication bound the User to Zeus, so without it would I just be walking around without any connection to the divine?

The third was more serious. [Inflame] was an ability that had sat struck-through on my [Status] for months. I'd only ever managed to use it the one time against the oversized turtle horror, and I thought my inability to do it again was more than a little frustrating. If I was going to risk life and limb soon fighting for New Rome, then I'd need every weapon I could get my hands on.

Weiland's voice sounded polished and proper. It was melodious and had no rough edges. Privately, I thought that it made him sound fake. He'd continued his rant about how I spent my time on our walk, although his tone had shifted from criticism to incredulity.

"I can't believe you didn't realize that Lobsterhead had a library! We might be a Legion stronghold, but there are still well over twenty thousand souls in the walls! Not everyone works for the military, and not everyone is illiterate! I regularly check out books.." Weiland paused for a second as a thought crossed his mind. "Did you think that I owned multiple volumes on imperial tax law?"

I scratched my head, "Kinda, yeah. It seemed like the correct conclusion at the time."

Weiland slammed his palm into his forehead, "Does everyone think that? That I just enjoyed owning and perusing a large amount of legalese?"

He was getting worked up about this. "I don't know. Probably."

By the time we arrived at the library, it looked like he was going to pull his hair out. I'd been planning on consoling him; telling him that no one had judged his reading of the tax code too harshly and that his reputation was still intact. Those plans fell apart as soon as I saw the building, forced out as the rest of my mind engaged and tried its hardest to understand what I was staring at.

The library looked nothing like I expected it to.

It looked more like a fortress than a house of knowledge: thick cast-iron bars lined each window, a dark stone foundation gave rise to manned walls and ramparts, and an oversized moat complete with a drawbridge and water had been dug around its perimeter. Ballistae sat atop each tower and aimed pointedly at the only entrance to the place. Men scurried up and down the walls, tending to the defenses. This was more secure than any building back home, guard fortifications included. And it was alive with energy.

"Is the library expecting a siege?" I asked in disbelief. "Is someone coming to steal all of the books from the collection?"

We walked side-by-side toward the drawbridge. I eyed a pair of heavily armed guards nervously as we walked past. I had nothing to hide, but they had swords. I did not. I knew that I was probably just as lethal with my fists as a blade, but I found there was a comfort to be had in carrying a weapon. I felt exposed without it.

"I should hope not. This is all rather docile, they aren't even running through drills. Do they not have Keepers wherever you're from?"

They must not have. The library in Lille was in the glam part of town, but from what I remembered of it was a fashionable glass and wood monstrosity. It was nothing like the militarized establishment I saw here.

"I don't think they did, Weiland. This is quite a shock to me. What's a Keeper?"

Weiland frowned and shook his head in disapproval.

"I swear, sometimes it's like you're from a backwater at the edge of the Empire. There's no reason you shouldn't know these things."

That's because I was from a backwater at the edge of the Empire, but I didn't tell Weiland that.

"The Keepers of Unspoken Truths are an order dedicated to preserving knowledge that would otherwise be lost. They're the custodians of the libraries, and they've been in operation since the Ascension of Fools. Their name might not sound like it, but, they're a well-regarded military power that rivals a small nation. In short, you don't want to be on the bad side of the librarians."

"I'll try not to spill water on a book," I said. "Since the Ascension of Fools? Really?"

Weiland nodded, his expression was serious.

"They came about because the start of the System caused a large portion of the world's knowledge to get lost. They were a secret order at first because the early gods didn't care much for history. But they've since carved footholds all over the continent. Not just in New Rome."

The Keepers of Unspoken Truths were the only continent organization I'd ever heard of. I wondered what their headquarters looked like. Did it keep up the pretense of being a library, or did it just commit fully to being a castle? Judging by their location in Lobsterhead, I was willing to wager on it being a castle.

"And Zeus is okay with that? Divided loyalties aren't his thing," I questioned.

It was true. Everyone knew the sky god demanded absolute devotion from his court and subjects. According to the Temple Authority, if you didn't give it he was justified in frying you with lightning. I thought that seemed an extreme overreaction. He'd be a jealous lover.

"That's the best part! The Keepers of Unspoken Truths are a neutral party! They deliberately exist outside of the politics of nations, and they don't care about the affiliations of their members! They just have to agree to come to the defense of the library!"

Weiland pulled a door open for me and we continued further into the library compound.

"I always wanted to be a Keeper when I was small," he said "They dedicate their lives to a cause that benefits everyone. I think that's the most admirable thing a person can do."

"Plus," he whispered, "There's nothing that looks more impressive to a child than a library."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

The interior of the library was closer to what I was expecting, only much larger.

A dozen rows of wooden bookshelves filled a grand hall. A stream of bright, blue-green light came in from the ceiling where a domed roof came to a point at a circular stained glass mural. Lining the walls were marble benches, many of them stacked high with piles of books next to reading patrons. The atmosphere of the place was happy, and the sound of distant laughter could be heard as we walked in. Weiland's obsession with this place made more sense now.

At its center was a desk, one made from the same marble as the benches, with the word 'REFERENCE' carved neatly into its face. A single person worked idly at it, scribbling with a quill. She wore a set of flowing teal robes that matched the color of the skylight. Accenting her outfit was various pieces of reflective silver jewelry, some of which looked quite expensive. She was also old. I had no basis by which to estimate her age, but judging by the frailty of her figure and the complete gray of her hair, she had to be at least seventy. And that was assuming the System hadn't added any years to her lifespan.

Weiland walked up to her desk and bowed low, "Keeper Addrick Oscarii."

She looked up from her scribblings at him over a pair of silver-rimmed spectacles.

"Greetings Weiland Adroze," she said. I realized that I'd never actually heard someone say Weiland's family name before. It meant nothing to me, but it was still good to know. "Who have you brought into the library today?"

"His name is Ghul.." Weiland's voice trailed off, searching for a last name. I shook my head. "Just Ghul, then."

It felt strange for Keeper Addrick to ask him for my name when I stood in front of her, but I didn't feel like it was a good idea to say that. She hadn't addressed me yet, and her gaze felt like she was trying to take the measure of me. It was sharp and scrutinizing and wouldn't have felt out of place in a Legion interrogation room.

"And you are willing to vouch for him if he is not yet a member?" Her voice croaked as she spoke to him. She was still writing, quill-in-hand, just not looking at what the ink produced.

Weiland nodded.

"Very well then. Sign here," Addrick offered him a quill and turned around the paper she'd been scrawling on and then pointed to an empty signatory line. It was a form permitting someone else to use the library on his behalf. It said that he'd willingly assume all of the consequences and the risk for letting me into the collection. Weiland gave me a look. His eyes said 'don't mess this up.'

He took the quill from her outstretched hand and signed on the dotted line. Hmmph, I thought, I'd need to do him a favor sometime soon.

"He is welcome to peruse the collection whilst you are present. He may not, under any circumstance, check out a book from this branch. You may not check out a book on his behalf. If I suspect you having done so.." She took a rattling breath, "it is grounds for immediate termination of your own membership."

None of the terms and conditions looked like they surprised him. His face was an impartial mask. He bowed to her again, and responded, "Thank you for the assistance, Keeper Addrick."

She hummed an acknowledgment and then returned to work. Weiland began to walk away from the desk, but I didn't join him. I had something that I wanted to ask her about. Earlier, Weiland had introduced her with the family name Oscarii. I hadn't been able to place it immediately, but it was a name that I'd heard before. I didn't think there'd be too many prominent families sharing the name.

"Excuse me.." I began. Weiland eyed me nervously.

Addrick didn't even bother to look up at me from the desk. She made a curt acknowledgment of me. "Yes? What is it?"

"Are you of any relation to Tobias Oscarii?" I asked.

Her quill slipped, causing awkward blotches of ink to spill across the sheet she was writing on and spoil the paper. She blinked rapidly, then took a look up at me. This time she met my eyes. The sternness in her gaze returned.

"Oh my! How clumsy of me," Addrick exclaimed. Her tone didn't match the steel hidden behind her eyes. She pursed her lips in feigned concentration, tapping one finger lightly against them. "Tobias Oscarii? Can't say that I've ever heard of him. A distant cousin, mayhaps?"

"Maybe," I agreed. I gave her my best false grin, and then thanked her for her time anyways.

I wasn't sure that I believed her but I had no reason or means to push the matter. Toby and I had been fast friends at Alewife, but he'd also been sent there as a disciplinary measure. It'd been two months since I last saw him, so it would've been nice to get an update. Even one that was secondhand from a relative.

I walked with Weiland over to where the rows of books began. They were organized by a method that I didn't know how to navigate, nor did I care to learn.

"What was that about?" He hissed under his breath. "I've never seen Keeper Addrick so frazzled! What'd you do? Ask her about her dead husband?"

I gave him a look. "She has a dead husband?"

"Well, I don't know. I was just guessing based on her uh, y'know.."

Only Weiland would be willing to bring up a hypothetical deceased spouse but refuse to comment on the age of a Lady. Sometimes the manners of polite society were a mystery to me. I shook my head at him.

"No, nothing like that. Tobias Oscarii is a friend of mine." I said. I hoped that Toby wouldn't take any issue with me claiming him in that way, as we'd never actually put a label on our acquaintanceship. "He's someone that I was stationed with, once."

"You're friends with a named member of the Oscarii Household?" Weiland gave me a side-eye as he spoke.

I shrugged. I'd let him think whatever he wanted to about my friendships. The way he said 'named' made me uncomfortable. It wasn't like having a surname gave you some sort of special significance. I hadn't taken a profession, so I didn't have a last name. Nor was my blood important enough to merit one. To me, a friend was a friend. Surname or not. Why did it matter whose family you were?

Weiland helped me search through the stacks of books. He was a deft hand at it. We came away with four titles that had some relevance to my search. They were, in order of thickness: On Documented Abilities of the Divine, The Genesis of Individual Power, Understanding the System, and On the Evolution of Abilities. Three of them were oversized books. The shortest, which also happened to be the most related to what I was looking for, was thankfully just an essay.

Unfortunately, said essay didn't tell me much that I'd be able to apply to learning [Sonicpunch]. Instead, On the Evolution of Abilities focused more on the theory behind an ability evolving:

"It is the opinion of this author that all abilities can be traced back to an origin amongst a core set of five: Empower, Energize, Inspire, Dash, and Petition. Furthermore, each of these basic five has a corresponding attribute that represents what the ability modifies: might has empower, arcana has energize, intellect has inspire, dexterity has dash, and supplication has petition. All of these foundational abilities are essential to walk the path of a well-rounded User.

If the 'original five' observation is correct, then this suggests that attributes and abilities are not as distinct as previously believed.."

It wasn't anything groundbreaking, but it was useful information to confirm what I'd already known. [Windslash] truly was an altered [Empower], and I suspected that [Inflame] was too. If every ability stemmed from the five attributes, then what did having authority instead of supplication mean for my progression? Would I one day have access to an entirely exclusive set of abilities? If that were the case, what would authority's corresponding ability even be?

The only thing that I could come up with was the System making me extremely good at bossing people around. Which was already an ability. It was called [Command], and I'd had it used on me before. As far as I knew, it had nothing to do with authority. So the mystery attribute remained a mystery.

Then, I turned to the three tomes.

About an hour passed with me pouring over the content of the books, and I made very little progress through them on my own. My eyes strained to make sense of what I skimmed. Meanwhile, Weiland was reading mercantile law again, but this time of the Principality of Kanaaduh. I thought it best not to question it.

"Weiland," I said, "do you think I could borrow your eyes for a moment?"

"Sure," Weiland agreed. He walked over to where I had my stack of books assembled and picked up the one on top. "Though it'd help if I had any knowledge of what it was I was searching for."

"Look for any mention of the abilities [Inflame] or [Sonicpunch]. I'd like to look into either of them as potential avenues for growth," I replied. It was a half-truth, I already had the former but I had no real understanding of what its function was. He didn't need to know that. If he could find out anything about it, then I was all the better for it.

"Woah," Weiland murmured. "You aren't setting your sights low, are you? Looking into developing multiple abilities at once? Wouldn't you be better focused on one?"

I shrugged again, "Just thought that I'd keep my options open. I can't find anything that says you can't develop multiple. I also can't find anything that describes the process of developing an ability. If I didn't know better, I'd tell you that humanity has no idea how the System works."

I also couldn't find anything that said you could develop multiple, but I declined to tell him that. Also, I was becoming increasingly convinced that humanity didn't have an idea how the System worked.

Weiland flipped through the many pages of On Documented Abilities of the Divine, and said, "That's because it takes most people years to get one. Not everyone arrives here with [Empower] in hand. Most people don't."

"Here we go," Weiland exclaimed. "Voila, one mention of [Inflame]. And it's under an interesting divine, too."

He turned the book around to face me. Again, Weiland's help was proven invaluable. I wasn't sure how long it would've taken me to find the page without him if I even did at all. It wasn't a description of the ability, but rather a brief profile on one of its most famous, and as far as I could tell only, User.

Titles:

The Third Prince - The Troll King

Name:

Unknown, although he prefers to be addressed by his court as 'Sire'

Age:

Unknown, although some accounts place him a century after AoF. If correct, over nine-hundred years old.

Location:

Principality of Kanaaduh, Throne at Algonquin

Description:

The Troll King is a 4-meter tall bipedal humanoid. He retains the muscle distribution typical to a human form, only grossly exaggerated to the point of being misshapen. His skin is dark gray in coloration and it's believed to be made of stone. All other information is inconsistent across personal accounts, save for the fact he wears a crown of iron.

Abilities:

The abilities of The Troll King are a matter of debate. It is difficult to tell what is an ability, and what is a consequence of the System twisting his shape beyond mortal limitations. As such, they will be divided into two distinct lists: verified and speculative.

Speculative:

He demonstrates the ability to heal around a blade lodged within his epidermis, which is unnaturally tough and gray. Perhaps [Regenerate]?

He can shake the ground as he walks, but it's believed that's due instead to his bulk rather than System aid. Perhaps [Quakestep]?

He can emit a battle cry loud enough to be heard for miles. Perhaps [Roar]?

Verified:

He is renowned for his use of the ability [Inflame], which allows him to release destruction onto his opponents at the expense of great personal exhaustion. It's considered his ace in the hole, and any attempt at engaging him in combat must focus on drawing the ability out. No other User has been recorded with [Inflame], which has made it a much sought-after ability by those attempting to curry his favor.

[One with Earth] is an ability of unknown origin that allows The Troll King to incorporate himself into various types of terrain and become a landscape feature. Observed instances have included any biome ranging from woodland to a desert. It is unclear if The Troll King still requires sustenance whilst in this state or if it's some type of suspended animation. Either way, repeated uses as an ambush tactic in battles across history have proven he retains some level of awareness.

[Worldshaper] enables the manipulation of Earth on a grand scale. With this, it would not be a stretch to say The Troll King can move mountains. It has never been used in combat. Instead, it has been used to shape the valleys that occupy most of the Kanaadian heartland.

There was a lot to unpack there. On one hand, I was glad that the ability had some degree of infamy behind it. That provided me a reasonable measure of assurance that I'd be able to make good use of it in combat later. But, I worried that because all the notoriety came from an ancient enemy of New Rome, there'd be no one to teach me to make full use of it.

The Troll King sounded grotesque. It troubled me. I couldn't help but worry that I'd end up like that one day, warped beyond recognition by the System. But that was a long way off. For now, I was still human. I am Ghul, I thought to myself. And I am never going to not be Ghul.

I turned to Weiland. "Does Zeus have a page like this? Or Faunus? Or any of our gods?"

"Not at any of the branches within the Empire. As Keepers are sworn to stay out of local politics, they refuse to distribute information about the capabilities of a place's ruler. Something about preventing unrest."

"But they'll give it out to an enemy land?"

Weiland shrugged. "I never said that it made sense."

Shortly thereafter, the library closed and the pair of us returned to Fletcher Hall. We were exhausted. Soon, night's embrace claimed me. That evening I dreamt of rock and stone, and for the first time a man that was larger than I. He loomed over me. Laughing.

I didn't sleep very well that night.