“Yes, Aeternitas. Well, Oliver, you are most definitely correct in your intuition. A school with a motto like that is a great school indeed,” Dr. Giovanni continued, “since almost no academy matches its thousand-year clout throughout all of our Republics.”

“Speaking of which,” she commented with a sharp expression of curiosity, “what precisely made you think of that motto? Are you sure it wasn’t some sort of homework?”

Elwin nearly seized up at the inquisition.

“No, ma’am. I’ve simply been thinking about it ever since I heard it somewhere.”

“I see.”

“But no matter about that – I’m very grateful for your help. Though the way seems so far...” he trailed off.

“You’re always welcome,” she said. This boy, Oliver, seemed genuine enough. “Oliver, do you know how to apply?”

“Truth be told, not really. But I want to find out.”

“You’d better hurry! Half a year isn’t enough a time to prepare for the Aeternitas entrance exams!”

“Wait, ‘exams?’ Is there more than one?”

“There are two rounds of it,” said Dr. Varus, strolling into the Bibliothecarius’s chamber. “Grand Bibliothecarius, may I?”

“Why, if it isn’t Dr. Varus! Of course, you may,” she replied with gentle authority.

“I appreciate your permission,” thanked Dr. Varus, turning to Elwin. “The first round of the exams can be taken here, since it is offered in every republic. But if you pass the first round, you will have to travel to the great capital, Cita de Lumière, in order to take the second,” he explained. “I hope you can forgive me for having gleaned some of your inquiries.”

“Not at all, sir.”

“A pleasant surprise, Dr. Varus. You graphed us yesterday that you were not feeling well,” commented Dr. Giovanni.

Dr. Varus brushed away the concern. “Ah, I’ve recovered, ma’am. One gets awfully bored amongst his collection of artifacts if there’s no one to tell anyone about it!”

“Well, you are welcome to join us,” said Dr. Giovanni. “Oliver here marched up to me to ask about Aeternitas, and I daresay he’s quite the courageous boy.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Oliver,” said Dr. Varus, shaking Elwin’s hand. “I am Dr. Cassius Varus, the Chief Archaeologist of the Grand Library of Ascension.”

The Chief Archaeologist! Elwin thought. He must have known his father well in the years past. But he shouldn’t reveal any such information now, he thought. He’d better skip straight to the question of Aeternitas more than anything; he shouldn’t hint at his identity in any way. But what if Dr. Varus could help him?

“Nice to meet you too, sir. Could you let me know as to what I should do to prepare for the Aeternitas entrance exams?”

Dr. Varus continued, “Of course, all about it, since I know people there as well.”

“But!” he interjected, raising his finger, “We ought to do it over afternoon tea.”

Were people offering tea this common higher up the ladders? Elwin surmised it was likely, so he agreed without protest.

“Set your things down on the table here,” continued Dr. Varus, as he walked a few steps from the Grand Bibliothecarius’s desk and away onto the balcony, pulling out blocks of tea from his handkerchief. “Let’s have some tea in plein-air.”

“Ah, ah, ah. Not that,” the Grand Bibliothecarius motioned. “Dr. Varus, why don’t you try this instead?”

She placed tea leaves laden in silk cloth into Oliver’s palm. “Empyrean Harmony, harvested from the Imperial gardens in the Empire of Jin. Take it as courtesy of the Grand Library.”

“Wow, thank you!”

Cracks began to form in the old, hostile world he knew.

***

The aroma of the black tea was powerful and the cream wafers had a nice crunch to them which Elwin had never experienced before. So this is proper tea! Little did he know that each cup he drank was worth more than a hundred denaros.

Within a few minutes Elwin had found himself comfortable in the company of Dr. Varus, the Chief Archaeologist. He was a kind, burly man, slightly ruddy in the nose, but with exceptional grace and politeness of attitude. Despite that, Elwin didn’t feel like he could fully trust Dr. Varus yet. There was something about him that seemed – appeared – very slightly off, but he couldn’t tell what it was. Elwin dismissed those thoughts, thinking it was probably because he wasn’t very well acquainted with how people of Dr. Varus’s social stature entertained and interacted with people.

“Please take the afternoon tea as compliments of the Grand Library. Almost no one your age is courageous to come up here to ask a question directly to the Grand Bibliothecarius. Well, except a few, well-connected boys and girls.”

Dr. Varus continued, “You’ve got gut in you. To bring a relatively trivial question to Dr. Giovanni! Evaluating you on this aspect, Oliver, I figure you’d do very well in the Aeternitas Entrance Exams.”

“Thank you, Dr. Varus. Is there something specific I should know about them?” asked Elwin.

“Yes. As I’ve mentioned, there are two rounds to the entrance exams. The first portion is a written one, intended to test your knowledge and problem-solving ability for all the things you should’ve learnt at school so far. Numeracy, literacy, experimental philosophy, a working knowledge of the Arts, and such.”

“I see. What about the second portion?”

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“The second portion tests your aptitude with your Maht. We call this portion the Maht exam. It determines how well and creatively you can apply your Element of choice to solve problems.”

“Many do well in the first portion, but perform rather awfully in the second because it’s very difficult. This is what gets most people rejected,” continued Dr. Varus. “Although, it should be easier for people who’ve been working with the Elements already outside of school. What do you do for a living?”

“I work at the –” Elwin stopped himself. He almost said he waited tables at The Marlin. He continued.

“I work as a newspaper boy in the early mornings. I use Ayu to get stuff where they need to be, and help the people at the printing press maintain the machines and change ink.”

“Ayu! How curious!” replied Dr. Varus, slapping his knee. “Well, it seems your mother and father taught you well. I’ve seldom seen youth nowadays refer to the Arts by their ancient names,” he praised. “I do not know which specific problem they’re going to pose for the Maht exam this year, but last year, it was on how effectively you could sort a container’s worth of fruit seeds by weight in two minutes. Do you know how many seeds are in a container’s worth of stuff?”

Hmm, Elwin pondered.

“How big would this container be?”

“About a yard high and half a yard across. Cylindrical, of course.”

“If I could hazard a guess, perhaps in the range of tens of thousands?”

“If those seeds were sizable enough. In reality, the admissions committee and professors placed hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized seeds. Strawberries, winter-melon, orange, loquat, lychee, all that.”

“The Founders forbid! How did those who managed to get accepted into Aeternitas go around sorting them?” asked Elwin.

“Through a variety of ways. One particularly clever student by the name of Maximus filled the container with water and then rapidly swirled it around to act as a centrifuge, so that the heavier seeds would get sorted near the bottom and outer rim, and lighter seeds in the top and center. He was one of less than ten who managed to fully sort all the seeds in less than two minutes!”

“That’s incredible!” exclaimed Elwin.

“An incredible synthesis of the Arts and experimental philosophy indeed. So when you take the entrance examinations, think creatively and admirably on the fly like no one’s done before.”

“Thank you Dr. Varus!”

“The thanks is mine, Oliver. I’m grateful you could entertain an old man like myself. Almost no one talks to me these days.”

Elwin felt sad for Dr. Varus. He was such a well-learned man and a kind one at that.

“Well, I should be off!” said Dr. Varus, stacking the plates and tea-cups neatly with air as he stood up.

“Thank you, I hope to see you again,” said Elwin, as he exited the balcony and back into the Grand Bibliothecarius’s desk-chamber.

“Going so soon?” asked Dr. Giovanni.

“I wish I could stay for longer, but I have to prepare for the entrance examinations!”

“Well said. Thank you for visiting, Oliver!” Dr. Meredith Giovanni waved him goodbye. Oliver seemed like a good and charming student.

“Wait, ma’am, before I go – where could I find a section on the FOUNDERS?”

“The FOUNDERS? Their origins and history?”

“Yes. I want to find out about how they created the Arts. To prepare for the exams.”

“Are you looking to borrow or browse?”

“Um,” Elwin stopped, thinking for a moment. What if he borrowed the books, and someone saw him do it? Surely, they would become suspicious about his mission. He resolved to read as much as he could and return before the night fell.

“I’m looking to browse.”

“North-west wing, three floors down, open stack section, aisles 27-point-1 through 35. Do keep in mind that the area is Tenebriton-bound, so you won’t be able to use the Arts. It’s for the books.”

“Thank you, Dr. Giovanni!”

As Elwin tried leaving, he caught eye of a boy his age with ash-blond hair and familiar features sitting by the table, his attention buried in a book.

It was none other than Lucian.

What in the world was he doing here?

Elwin, trying his best to not draw his attention, hurried without noise downstairs.

So, you’re trying to get to Aeternitas.

Lucian monologued in his thoughts.

Cool, cool. But you won’t, because I will get there instead.

An additional challenger at the entrance exams was not good for Lucian’s prospects. He’d need to do everything to get admitted, and Elwin was sure to dilute the attention on Lucian, since they lived in the same republic. Even though Elwin’s blessing with his Maht was next to terrible, he still did own a capable brain. Worse yet, the last face he wanted to see at Aeternitas was Elwin’s.

It would be judicious to nip Elwin’s attempt in the bud.

When Elwin was sure to have left, Lucian put the book aside and stood up.

“Dr. Giovanni and Dr. Varus,” said Lucian, “I have to tell you something important.”

“Oh! Lucian. It’s pleasant to see you here. Go ahead. What is the matter?” asked Dr. Giovanni.

“I’m sorry to have overheard the conversation earlier. I couldn’t help it. But that clever boy – Oliver – has been lying to you. His name isn’t Oliver.”

“What do you mean, Lucian?” asked Dr. Giovanni, furrowing her brow in concern.

Lucian had started as a janitor-boy in the Grand Library three-and-a-half years ago to support whatever was left of his family, a fact that no one else at school knew. Despite the unappreciated nature of his line of work, he went above and beyond what was required of him, helping the many Bibliothecarii on the lower levels with their errands, and once, even stopping a thievery. The news of the diligent janitor-boy eventually reached the ears of the Grand Bibliothecarius, and impressed with both his dedication to work and potential with his Maht, she personally promoted him to work on the upper floors, allowing him to read and study in her chamber when he had finished for the day. Lucian was a firm ally, and in many ways, a confidante of the Grand Bibliothecarius.

“I apologize for eavesdropping. But that boy you just met – his name’s Elwin Eramir, not Oliver Clarke.”

Both of them were taken aback. “How do you know, Lucian?”

“I go to the same school as he does. I really feel bad saying this, but he’s a known cheater among my classmates, so we stay away from him.” He enunciated his lie as naturally as he would have said grass is green.

“Wait, but Eramir is...” remarked Dr. Giovanni, trailing off.

“Carl Eramir? Do you know if he is his son, Lucian?” asked. Dr. Varus.

“Yes, Dr. Varus. He is.” Lucian continued, “But instead of working hard like his father, he often gets into fights at school. He hurt me once, too.”

Lucian knew just how to tailor his statements to make Elwin seem unsavory to the two influential figures. Hopefully, they would let the admissions council know not to pass him in the first round of the examinations.

“Was anything from you lost?” asked Lucian.

“Hmm? – Wait, my fountain pen!” exclaimed Dr. Giovanni, searching her desk. It was gone.

Of course, Lucian had silently nabbed her fountain pen while in his chair by pulling the water in the ink-holder, but there was no way she noticed, engrossed in a flurry of administerial tasks when Elwin was enjoying tea with Dr. Varus.

“No, Oliver – I mean Elwin – he couldn’t have... he seemed like such a well-mannered boy!” She looked to the Archaeologist. Dr. Varus had been a longstanding friend of Carl Eramir in his youth and accompanied him for his first and second expedition to the Empire of Jin.

“That’s Elwin’s modus operandi, Dr. Giovanni,” explained Lucian. “He behaves innocently so other people let down their guard. Then he has his way with them. I’d hoped to bring your attention earlier.” Lucian pronounced all his words with such cold clarity and confidence that the two doctors were somehow convinced of his words. But deep down, those words had no right to feel like they had any honesty.

“Should I run downstairs and let the guards know?”

“That won’t be necessary,” said Dr. Varus. “If he’s so despicable as to steal from the Grand Library, then let him. It won’t do the world any good to bring him to a pitiable idea of justice. I have much to think about, however.”

“You may go now, Lucian. Thank you for informing us,” said Dr. Giovanni.

Lucian offered his gratitude and words of thanks, and proceeded to exit the Grand Bibliothecarius’s chamber, engrossing himself in his book again, completely relaxed. While he despised acting with politeness, and believed that all the ‘ma’ams’ and ‘sirs’ was utterly pointless in the face of absolute power that he eventually wanted to wield, he was far from foolish. He was always ready to do whatever it took to win, and this time the challenger was Elwin out of all people. His sorry face ought not to be seen.

As he went out, he casually threw Dr. Giovanni’s prized fountain pen into the garbage bin.

But little did Lucian know, Dr. Varus knew everything.

In fact, the real Dr. Varus had passed away long ago.