As we stepped into the library, the sheer scale of the place struck me. Shelves of blackened wood stretched from floor to ceiling, packed tightly with books of varying ages and conditions. The air carried a rather distinct mix of old parchment and a faint, sulfuric tang. Along with the slight undertone of aged flowers.
Astrid's eyes were wide and mouth slightly agape as she took in the surroundings. Her gaze darted from shelf to shelf, her awe palpable but silent, as required by the decorum on Earth.
"It's huge…" she mumbled to herself and then tightly closed her eyes. "…yikes, please don't make a 'that's what she said' joke."
You can't be serious.
"I will not." I retorted before turning my head back to the object of awe.
Thinking deeply over it, this library isn't an architectural marvel, since we have libraries far grander than this. However, perhaps it was because we expected little of a mediaeval aged civilisation, anything they do comes out as astonishing.
The books inside the shelves were meticulously organised and shelved, the leather of the covers cleaned down to the last speck of dust.
The lower shelves seemed to hold the more practical volumes. They were labelled using a piece of leather. The text over them felt like a hot object had been used to brand the name into it.
One of them was titled Sequence 1-3: Skills; bound in dark leather with silvered edges and their spines had faintly discernible runes engraved on them. Above these, tomes on 'Magic Hypothesis,' 'Magic Theory' and 'Ancient Spellcraft' were arranged.
They were adorned with a protective spell that formed a small dome around them. Right beside the leather nameplates of the books, there was a small button. Although it can be anything, I assume it's the button used to dispel the protective dome from books.
To our left, the entire section was devoted to 'practical spellcasting' and 'potion-making/medicine'.
I am assuming spellcasting is being related to those who have kinetic abilities, or in short, elementals. Fire, water, earth and wind. It would align with the fact that these have been left in an open setting, since it is a common phenomenon and not a secret technique.
This would make sense since spellcasting dedicated manuals were thick, some having their pages yellowed with age and some brand new. They were interspersed with slim volumes on specific enchantments and rare concoctions as well.
"This is big enough to get lost…hey Arthur!" Astrid called out for me as she took a step closer. "Imagine Madam Irma Pince pops out of somewhere, hehe~" She giggled before looking up at me with a rather superior look. "That was a--"
"Harry Potter, I know. I have read them."
Before I was looked down on for not reading a seemingly 'iconic' book, I defended myself.
"You…read it? Bruh."
"Did you not read it?"
"I mean, people do…nerds…"
I heard that!
"Not that I am calling you that or anything….ehehe…" she let out an awkward chortle.
Nevermind. I think I can never fit in with people.
As we walked a bit further, a small canopy of small rounded dishes hung from the vaulted, glass-paned ceiling for about half the distance between the top and the floor, each one carrying an aromatic candle.
Separating this area from the Skills and Medicine section was a trapezium door. The door was not attached to any hinges. It was just there, standing.
I moved towards the side which was populated with more books. The right side of this section housed histories and genealogies, chronicling the lineage of 'Cromwells' and other 'demon lords' and the rise and fall of 'dominions', some with pages that appeared to have been written in blood.
The metallic tang was strong. If I had to assume, it was perhaps written with the blood of Cromwell's enemies who had faced defeat at their hands.
Making a mental note to read the geography books as my first priority, I decided to tour it first. Who knows I might find an even more interesting piece to read.
In the centre rows, the theme had shifted to magical creatures and their lore. Illustrated bestiaries sat next to scrolls of parchment detailing encounters with common and then all the way up to Sequence 2 beasts.
Most of these texts were bound in scales or fur. Most likely from the monster or creature that was featured in the text to give a tangible idea of what was being talked about.
As we moved deeper into the library, the glow of candles began to stretch our shadows.
I couldn't help but notice the fine details—titles written in runic script; others locked with intricate metal clasps. Certain volumes emitted a faint hum or glow. There was a whole section dedicated to 'Artificing' and 'Essence Arms' as well.
And while essence arms were an intriguing subject, I already had an inkling about it. However, I ticked it off as my second priority to read after the geography books.
Suddenly the faint hum of Arcanum made the hair on my body stand on edge.
Astrid felt it as well as she nudged me, pointing to an alcove where a rather thin tome was sitting open on a pedestal. Its pages were emitting a soft light. It glowed brighter and fainter; in uneven intervals.
I took a step forward and the words – that were indecipherable – suddenly turned blood red. At the same time, the yellow-white pages turned black and I felt my arcanum oddly resonating with it.
"A-Arthur…I don't think a book should be doing that…"
"Right…" I could only agree as despite the 'resonance' that I felt with the book, the actual situation was much more…dire. I was feeling a hand against my primary node. Like a sword that had entered painlessly into my chest and stopped right before poking my heart.
I had no idea what this was about. Uncertainty about something, or in this case, complete lack of information was a recipe for disaster. "Let's turn around." I spoke.
I was pretty confident I had said it.
As I turned around, a pair of grey eyes slithered right past me and crashed into my chest. My senses flared and then dimmed as I felt my upper body fall down, severed entirely from the rest of me. But the sensation of pain or something close was absent.
My eyes blinked once while laying down in a pool of my own blood.
"A-Arthur… I don't think a book should be doing that…"
Astrid nudged from my side. This time, instead of continuing to look at the book, I turned around.
"Astrid?"
The pale darkness from the book consumed the light first, and then Astrid as she slowly turned her head towards me. Behind the few silvery strands were a pair of grey eyes.
"Uninvited."
Underneath the usually cheerful baritone was a cacophony of indistinguishable sounds, muffling out her words.
Flames – dark and pungent, overwhelming. Air thick with tar. Burning…so much.
My body felt on fire…I was on fire. Yet all I felt in that split second was a freezing numbness.
"A-Arthur… I don't think a book should be doing that…"
I was standing beside her again. This time, instead of focusing on one of them, I did so with myself.
The world, a blur.
I had forced my head down, but then I was looking straight.
"Vermin."
A bright blur amidst the heart of darkness—or a dark blur among the light in her once-blue, now-grey eyes.
Something filled my mouth. Smooth and creamy. But raw. Slightly gelatinous. Like a bloody, unseasoned version of scrambled eggs.
Streams of blood.
They went down my lips. Not because I was bleeding, no, it was the gelatinous object in my mouth.
A pair of grey eyes. A noisy, clamorous backdrop for the echoes of ten thousand splintered memories of a mind…a foreign mind pushed beyond the edge of capability. Of sanity.
"Abomination."
I turned around, Astrid's pale grey eyes staring at me, face contorted into disgust.
"Desecrator."
"Fiend."
Cold breath. Cold, foul breath against my nape. Teeth…sharp…digging deep into my skin.
"Arthur? ARHUR!"
Something blurred from beside me as I caught it. Swinging it to the side, I pinned the blurring projectile to the wall that encapsulated the book.
"H-Hey…what are you doing…" Astrid's words drawled, her bright blue eyes unblinking as she stared at me.
"Uhh-" An involuntary sound left my lips before I let go of her arm.
What was all that?
I tried recollecting it. But each aspect of what I had seen seemed to fade into oblivion. Like a child running after a butterfly and desperately trying to catch it. To catch it and bring it back to…
…wait. When have I experienced this?
Each thought branched into the next, and then again, leaving nothing but a crippling sensation of getting overwhelmed.
"This is the third time you've pinned me! Are you OK? IS THIS SOME KINK AWAKENING?!" Astrid's voice progressively became louder and louder as she wrapped her arms around herself. "What are you planning to do to me if I don't stop you, huh!?"
"I, uh-" I paused. My senses were extremely rattled. Not finding any other words, I did what was bound to succeed. "Yeah, sorry. It just happened."
Perhaps it was the lack of enthusiasm or any other emotion, the air around her changed palpably. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, let's leave." I spoke and then turned around before starting to leave.
Backtracking our way and arriving at the section that had contained the geography books, I stood in front of the giant collection. For now, I pushed the memory of what had happened to the back of my head, despite it making my hair stand on edge every other second.
My fingers trailed along the vast array of books, undulating up and down.
"I want ice-cream, UGH!" Astrid suddenly smacked her fist into the table. "Ow…" She exclaimed right after.
"I am sure they make some." I replied, looking for an appropriate book.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
Only after that she mentioned the problem did it click with me. "Right. You can't speak Abrahamic."
"Yes! Also, I think they will kill me if I personally ordered something."
My back was wet with cold sweat, however; the temporary sensation of dread was slowly bleeding out.
"Yeah, most likely." I replied and then turned over my shoulder. "How ice cream isn't a good idea for you to consume, given your conditi—ehm, I will write it for you on a piece of paper and you can relay it to Jayden. I am sure he will do something about it."
"You…"
Oopsies. I think I messed up.
"…you"
I was too engrossed into finding an appropriate book and organising my scattered thoughts!
"…how long have you known…?"
"Uh, I may or may not have paid a bit too close of an attention-"
She bolted out of the door, squealing and hiding her face in her palms.
Well, well, that takes care of her. I am sure she won't leave her room for a day. It becomes quite easy to make a person do anything you want when the person in question is an overthinker. Leaves just the perfect window open for an appropriate seed to tangle their thoughts.
Not really understanding which one out of the giant collection should be better, I first searched for the new editions. While the year was not written on them, I could still make out which were new from a few things; the decolourisation of pages, smell of the white pages in different books, wear and tear on leather covers and placement in the shelves.
After compiling all the 'new editions' according to me, I picked up the fattest one. Usually fat things aren't ideal, however; in terms of books, it was a safe bet. My line of thought behind this was simple. I was expecting it to cover everything I had in mind. However, that bar of expectation was low. I was fully prepared to gain nothing from these books.
Because the library had an open access with no real restriction on who could breeze in and out of it. It was more than likely that books with more despotic information have already been cleared out on Jayden's orders.
Pulling the caquetoire lookalike – that was an armchair with a wide seat and high back, designed for comfort during long periods of reading or conversation, commonly used in Europe during the French renaissance – I sat on it. The little cushioning done at the actual seat was barely comfortable to sit and read for a slightly extended period of time.
On the table in front of me was a small feathered cup-like structure. It had two quill-pens. The cup – despite seemingly made of feathers – was heavy as it held the few sheets of paper underneath it in place. Beside the quill-pen container were three pots of inks.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Turning it towards myself by directing the spine of the book towards my left, however; I had forgotten that unlike English or Norwegian, Abrahamic was written from right to left; much like Arabic, Urdu and other related languages.
Since the outer leather was subjected to wear-and-tear attributed to passage of time, it was hard to tell at first glance. Regardless, once I had placed it symmetrically in front of myself was when I flipped the cover. As I did, a faint aroma with a slight fruity undertone wafted off from it.
This smell of sweetness is usually the result of lignin – a compound in paper – breaking down over time.
The first page was blank with only a serpentine-draconic logo on the second page. It resembled closely to a basilisk. Four clawed fingers were holding the insignia from the bottom most part. Kind of reminded me of Albert's nails, or claws.
Nevermind Albert. After flipping another 3 blank pages, I finally arrived at a huge text describing the title of the book.
『Helheim's Archive: Mapping Eden』
Below the title, right in the middle of the page was – once again – the basilisk logo and the long-nailed hand holding it.
In the bottom right corner of the page was the name of the author written. However, it was written using advanced calligraphy, so I had to pick up a piece of paper and a quill pen from the container and jot down the words that were easily comprehensible.
After about 2 to 3 minutes of just comprehending the advanced, or rather devolved formal dialect of Abrahamic, I was able to piece up the name of the author.
『Lyra Darkbane』
Going purely by the etymology, you could say it was a demon's name. However, speculation is only ideal when you don't base any further thoughts on them. Not like the name of the author matters too much to me, but species other than humans live long lives. It might be possible the author is still alive, out there.
Alright, Lyra, let's see what you have to say!
The next page was a meticulously detailed table of contents. It had three columns; 1 thick and 2 ribbon thin. Over 310 topics – main and subtopics – were listed in the larger section; accompanied by page numbers and associated eras in the two smaller columns.
Some of the settings in these records predated the current era of Eden. Knowing what era Eden is currently in is quite hard. Since, the time lapse in between our worlds is quite huge, but that doesn't exactly add up. Even if we were to factor in the fact that we had to build everything up from scratch.
One thing I could think from the top of my head is that the difference in time passage started to synchronise ever since Eden's arcanum started to bleed into Earth. That should make sense in this current era which is not millions of years more primitive than ours.
Putting into Earth's Gregorian calendar, it would mean that Eden is just entering the renaissance era, and into the extreme ends of the mediaeval era.
Shaking my head to get rid of the thoughts, I looked down once again and flipped the page.
The contents were organised methodically, beginning with the fundamental principles of geography. It covered everything from the shape and size of the Eden to the celestial bodies that influence their world and protect it.
It was basically a guide on how to read a map that would be provided in the actual content. Like making the reader able to identify the visual description of various terrains, from mountains to valleys, rivers, lakes, and seas; each annotated with small brief notes on their locations.
From the icons, I spotted a few roads as well. Not many, but there were still quite a few.
When the introductory stuff finally ended, a final 'author's note' came into view.
『I am sure all of this introductory formality so far has been the same as every other edition of my book. However, please bear with it since there are many people who will be reading this for the first time. Without further ado, let's delve into the finalised version of this book – for now. Hehe~』
『And before we start, I would like to share one thing I have learned in my countless journey across the vast expanse – barren and populated alike – of not only Helheim but Eldoria as well is that…』
『Culture is like smog. To live within it, you must breathe some of it in and, inevitably, be contaminated. With that, I shall take my leave~ Happy navigating~』
That was…inspirational. Somehow. But what did she mean by 'getting contaminated' after mentioning culture?
It could be that she had exposure to morals or way of living that may have clashed with her own. Well…nevermind that. I couldn't care less about what some cartographer thinks or experiences. Time to read this book and update my knowledge!
…
…
…
I hope what I said doesn't come back to bite me though.
***************************
Flip!
Another page bit the dust.
After the shortest three hours of my life, I finally looked up and breathed out a heavy sigh. The hair resting as shaggy bangs over my face were blown away as I stared at the ceiling, somewhat proud of myself as a feeling of contentment washed over me.
At least I was not as clueless as to where I was anymore. There are still gaps and ambiguities, but this much would suffice for my survival, in case of a mishap. Or a misfortune, which I seem to be attracting quite a lot these days.
Clasping my hands together, I stretched them over my head as I yawned.
This much was clear, however, just to remind myself; Lawold was situated in the Central Dominion which was one of the 'Three Hells' in Helheim – the Kingdom in which we currently are.
Eden has around 4 established, main kingdoms with around 100 or so more that are not counted as any kingdom but rather a series of independent countries. However, almost all of them are controlled or regulated by or via the 4 main kingdoms of Eden.
Kind of like how Gurnsey is with a self-governing British Crown dependency. There are other examples as well like Greenland with the Kingdom of Denmark, Puerto Rico with the United States and Hong Kong which is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China.
The four main kingdoms are what most of modern human fables are based around. And just like I had pictured it, the four kingdoms are divided into two factions. The first two – seemingly evil ones – are called Helheim – the one we are currently in – and Eldoria.
The relationship between Helheim and Eldoria is like that of Scotland with the UK. In this case, Eldoria being the UK equivalent and Helheim being the Scotland equivalent.
Helheim is a constituent country of Eldoria but is recognised as a separate kingdom. It has its own court and government that manages many domestic issues, while the Eldorian royal family handles defences, foreign policy, and broader economic policies.
Since this edition was about Helheim, Eldoria was not mentioned afterwards.
Helheim has three main dominions with multiple villages on the outskirts which are excluded from the law and taxes implemented inside the dominions. This is done to nurture the growth of farmers and to improve their standard of living.
The three main dominions of Helheim are also referred to as 'The Three Hells' and are named; Central Dominion, Imperial Commonwealth and the Zogrates Confederation.
And despite the Central Dominion's name, it is not located in the centre of Helheim. It is named Central Dominion because it is the closest to the actual centre of the Kingdom. The place where the lord and the ruler – Lord Brimstone or Lucifer – of the entire kingdom resided.
Gehenna. The federal capital of Helheim. The place that housed the grandest of the structures the architecture has ever seen.
Lucifer's Pandemonium.
If I had to say so myself, it was quite a cool name. And while I can tell what led to its name, I am surprised humans have retained this knowledge via poems for so long.
The term originates from John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost," where Pandemonium is depicted as the capital of Hell and the palace of Lucifer and his fellow 'fallen angels'. Pandemonium is described as a grand and elaborate structure, symbolising the seat of Lucifer's power and governance over Hell.
Who knew his castle would actually be named Pandemonium!
And while it's not a dominion, Gehenna is said to be a city that scales to the combined area covered by both Imperial Commonwealth and Zogrates Confederation.
Gehenna also receives around 60% of the tax money from all three dominions; making it the richest and most thriving area in the entirety of Helheim. Who would have assumed that!?
Gehenna is also said to have a red moon. Quoting the guidebook, it said:
『There is no tangible or theoretical proof about more than 1 moons existing, however, according to sages, arcanists and multiple other enchanters and alchemists this can be attributed to the whims and mood shifts of the Gods that preside over Helheim, signalling how they might not be happy with the current state of their patron lands ~ Section 267: Page 8,099』
You'll always see morons like this author. Swallowing belief patterns whole so they don't have to think for themselves. And while I can't really blame them due to their infancy in the 'scientific field' the weird colourisation of the moon can be caused simply by the presence of a specific gas right above the stratosphere.
These gases can interact with scattering a specific light out of the colour spectrum when the waves reach them – like how red moon can be caused by the excessive presence of methane in the upper atmosphere, leading to increased scattering of blue light and leaving more red light to pass through and be observed.
Same could be the case with a blue moon which can be caused by the excessive presence of ozone in the upper atmosphere, leading to increased absorption of red light, which allows more blue light to dominate the light that reaches the observer.
This is one of the many possibilities that can happen. Not because of the mood shift of some fickle God. Since if Gods were really unhappy with a civilisation, it would've been drowned to death or exterminated via means like meteors, raining flames and stones and much more.
Putting that aside, this much has become clear by now, but Cromwells are the current ruling family of Central Dominion.
The ruling families of the other two states are; Alderidge of Imperial Commonwealth and Lancaster of Zogrates Confederation. The arcane arts – or anything remotely close to it was not disclosed, at all. Apparently these two have the most stable night and day rotations in Helheim, with Central Dominion – especially Lawold – having the worst.
The Imperial Commonwealth, as the name suggests, is the trade hub for Helheim where most of the trade with Eldoria and some of the dominions belonging to the "Sylvan Brotherhood" are managed.
While Zogrates Confederation has long been the guardians of a vast collection of civilisation's records – both ancient knowledge and magical texts. A lot of forgeries are also located here. Most of the people – predominantly demons – from Zogrates Confederation are scholars and alchemists.
Whereas the Central Dominion is the military hub of Helheim. Almost all arcanum users – which constitute around 98% of the population – are trained in Central Dominion. Apart from the military theme, Central Dominion is also the execution ground.
Criminals, convicts etc are brought to multiple cities or outskirts of Central Dominion's lands from Gehenna, Zogrates and Commonwealth; and are subjected to trial and punishments in the courts and execution grounds of Central Dominion.
『The reason behind why the esteemed Lord Cromwell decide to continue to stay in Lawold – The City of Lost Moon is still shrouded in ambiguity and multiple conspiracy theories, shared with each other after 15 barrels of fermented beverages ~ Section 101: Page 3,226 』
In short, no one knows about why Jayden stays in this weird city that has never seen the light of the day.
Staying on the topic of execution grounds, one of the biggest execution grounds of Central Dominion is something I was all too familiar with.
The Keep of Ruin, located in the Thal'kresh desert.
And while it is said to be an execution ground, there was no record of Wujins being stored there. I am guessing it was a very official matter.
However, one thing to notice deeply that made the desert stand out from most things was that it magically connected with a small part of 'Alfheimer', the lesser of the two Kingdoms in 'Sylvan Brotherhood.'
Just like how Eldoria was superior to Helheim, in the Sylvan brotherhood there were two major kingdoms namely Alfheim and Asgardia. And the latter was the mediator of the former.
The mountain range where me and Michael, and then later on Astrid, had landed was called Azdharr's Peaks. And behind this peak, where I had seen multiple lush green trees, was the vast forest of…
Silverglade!
The forest that old elf I had encountered spoke up.
He said; 'This isn't Silverglade.'
However, the question still remains…what were they doing in an inhabitable place like that?
There was only one conclusion I could reach at from the top of my head, and that was that the old man, Frosti, Thelasa and Elara were on a reconnaissance mission.
I am sure when Jayden was trying to imprison so many Wujins, and that close to Alfheim, word would have gotten out and they would've been sent as spies or gather intel. This would also align with how they were battle-ready.
One of them also talked about how dwarves came up to mountains. So, they were already aware that dwarves and demons and trolls are working together. However, since Silverglade's terrain was somewhat similar to Ulriken in Bergen, they mistook us for intruding into their territory.
A long sigh escaped my lips.
I can't figure out much until we go back. But it would seem like the 'cracks' that allow people to go from one world to another are very random in a specific area.
Eric would be given charge of torturing the two girls to gain intel. He is good at what he does. But I hope all of this doesn't get to him…hmm, nevermind.
Getting a little sentimental over cutting a limb or two isn't so bad. More pressing matter is that since Aksel is here, the other syndicates may try to remove Eric from the way and steal our accolades. Not that I care about it, however; this way mom's existence or rather, the extent of her powers would be revealed to everyone.
Until now she has been advertised as a very frail woman who can't leave the confines of her house. And since Aksel loves her very much, he refused to take in another woman who would be strong enough to birth more children.
If she is revealed, things will – in extension – get messy for us. Very messy.
Power is regulated amongst all the syndicates and whenever one crosses a certain threshold, the others band together to pull them down. Needless to say, there's a limit to the 'pulling down' before the one being pulled out declares an all out war.
Mom is powerful enough to shift the current power dynamics between the Syndicates.
I do not wish to get into this scuffle.
However, it could still be covered up, in case mom decided to interfere herself. That would be the personal forces or assassins of every syndicate. This personal task force is composed of arcanum wielding individuals or in some cases, families, that have served as royal servants to the syndicates for aeons now.
Well, I will cross that bridge when I get to it. There's always the option to desert the family…I think…
Back to my recollection of geography, Central Dominion has further, three…dukedoms – for the lack of better words. The three dukedoms being the ones the three demons at the banquet were in charge of.
Ravenmoor under Malkaroths, Thornwood under Texarions and Valemount under Vorliths.
There were a lot more details but just remembering the outline of what I had read is fine as it is.
Totally forgetting I was in Lawold, I looked outside and almost assumed it was nighttime, however, the dull grey shade of the sky made me realise I was wrong. I woke up at 7 AM. If I were to factor in my bathtime, making Astrid's hair, having lunch, dying multiple times to a book inside my mind (it doesn't feel good, at all) and the three-hour study of the 10,000 pages book; it would be around 11:30 am or 12 pm by now.
I still had a lot of time on my hands. Looking over my shoulder, I caught sight of the "Essence Arms" book.
Well, I guess time to read some more.
***********
Another hour went by in the blink of an eye.
This time it didn't take much time to read since it was a book with lesser content. Comparatively, at least.
『Essence arms are 'soul-bound' weapons, made from a rare metal and enchanted by a God's divinity. It interacts with the soul itself and shapes itself according to the user, hence carrying significant symbolism about a person's inner self. True self. Zogrates Confederation's gargantuan forgeries have produced numerous high quality Essence Arms for multiple centuries. Even Lord Brimstone's Essence Arm— damaged in the war against the abomination Adam—was made in Zogrates Confederation ~ Section 12: Page 108』
I wonder, if I ever got an essence arm, what would it be?
A sword, maybe? I hope it's something efficient.
I can already see Michael getting a giant, ineffective hammer weighing an imperial ton1.
As I was musing over the idea, I heard a voice.
"Like what you're reading so far?"
Without turning back, I closed the book and slumped into my seat. "It's been productive, your majesty."
Jayden scoffed as he walked over and then went to the other side of the table, facing me. "Formalities are not required, Arthur, it makes me uncomfortable."
"If you say so."
His lips quirked up. "You're quick to come to a conclusion."
"No use arguing over something so insignificant." I shrugged as a matter-of-factly. My eyes flicked towards his arm and I almost fell down my seat. He was holding the book that had 'killed' me so many times…or at least instilled the sensation of it. "Do you need something from me?"
"Oh, right, I do!" He suddenly clasped his hands by putting the book down.
"Talking to you makes me forget the actual agenda, haha!" He let out a pretentious laugh.
"Err…right…" I awkwardly shifted into my seat. As he rummaged through his pockets, the ornament on his left horn jingled. It would be wrong to say I was not curious about the book. I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified as well.
However, curiosity is such a bitch sometimes.
"What is this book about?" I asked, casually.
"Oh this?" He pointed at it with his nose. "This was a book shelved into the grand library of the Malakars."
After a while of silence, I broke it. "The family ruling over the Central Dominion before you?"
"Yes, exactly- by the Hades I swear I put it in this pocket-" He complained as he continued to talk and rummage between his pockets.
"A thousand or so years ago, yes, they were defeated by my father's hands. When they rebelled from another place, I was the one who defeated them, since my father had passed away by then. At that time, this was their most protected possession with a series upon series of barrier arcane arts used on it. However…"
He tapped the book with his index finger. "…it's a dead tome. The words written on it are gibberish and undecipherable. The last 3 generations of Malakars were not gifted in their own arcane arts because of some mess-up in their blood contract."
He continued to explain as he took out an envelope from the pocket on the inside of his coat. "This is common knowledge, so don't think I am doing you a favour. My favours are pretty extravagant!" As if asking for approval, he paused.
"Okay…" My words drawled as my mind was halved into thinking about the book and then at the possibility of the contents inside the envelope.
"Well, that wasn't what I expected. Anyways." He placed the envelope on the table and pushed it towards me before picking up the book.
"Can I have it?"
"Pardon?" He stopped in his tracks.
"Can I have the tome?" I repeated, this time a bit loud.
"A dead book? You want a dead tome?"
"Yes. I like collecting useless things and keeping them alongside me."
He bit down his smirk. "Sounds too impractical to be you."
"You don't know anything about me." I shook my head once slightly; subtle, mock amusement.
"Hah! Alright, have it." He pushed the tome towards me. However, this time the colour of the pages and the words did not alter.
Was it related to Astrid…?
"Thank you." I picked the tome with a trembling hand and then waved with it at Jayden. He waved back but stopped.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot, as your father complained as well, but these so-called 'wall clocks' are not present here. Wait until tomorrow and I will arrange a pocket-watch for the three of you. Speaking of, where is Michael?"
"Perhaps still enjoying the 'delicacy' you sent him last night."
"Did you enjoy it?"
"I do not indulge myself in such frivolities." I replied and then instantly followed up. "And it's not because I have a mate."
"Alright, alright. I will not talk about it anymore." He gave a boyish chuckle before opening the door. Just as he was about to leave, he opened the door once again.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot again!" His head peeked through the slight opening of the door, making the ornament jingle once again. "Do not break anything after reading the letter, HAHAHA! I will personally kill you!"
Saying that he happily jogged away.
How ominous! Telling a 15-year-old that you will kill him! Cruel world we live in!
Disregarding that, I broke the seal on the envelope before pulling a piece of paper out of it. There were only three lines over them, however, it was enough to make me almost explode.
The envelope burned as a bolt of lightning shot out of me, involuntarily. Before it could crash into the 'Magic Theory' shelf, I dispelled it.
Hahh…. Give me a break for once.
***
Imperial Ton = 1,016.05 kilos.
A/n I wonder what happened.