Damien approached the librarian with Cal in tow. Her nerves relaxed visibly as the veins in her forehead disappeared. She was strict in her role to enforce the rules, but that allowed everyone to enjoy the same commodities on equal footing. She was a green-haired elf who wore rectangular reading glasses. She was equipped with multiple gemstones in the form of necklaces, bracelets, and rings, which gave her an air of shamanistic lunacy. She looked down on the two kids before her and maintained a neutral stance.
“Cal Azurith, I do hope you have learned your lesson last time you were here, along with your sister, whom I do not see here today. What may I help you with today?”
“Miss Cloverleaf, I am a changed person now! We wanted to know where we could find information about cases where someone gains strength rapidly. Where should we look?”
Before she answered his question she dropped a short chain with a blue gem at the end. It was attached to her finger and she hovered it over Cal’s head. She let it swing for a few moments as she assessed her results.
“You know Cal, the Lapis Verum Stone reveals the truth in you. Since you are still a child you have time to truly change. Anywho, an incident with an influx of strength. Let me think.”
She tilted her head slightly with her hand scratching the side of her chin. After a few seconds of talking to herself she sorted out all of the information in her head.
“There are 88,921 books involving an influx of strength. 61,253 have to do with Dao comprehension. 27,501 are because a magical item is used to gain strength. The last 167 books are obscure passages or counted as myths. It is compiled under miscellaneous the last time I checked. Do you need more information?”
Damien’s jaw dropped when he heard how accurate the information was. He couldn’t believe someone could memorize an entire library’s catalog. Miss Cloverleaf scrutinized his reaction as she pinched a hair that was out of place and put it back.
“Don’t be surprised, it is the minimum requirement for a librarian to know every piece of literature here. That way we can help our students find what they need. Was there anywhere in particular I can point you to?”
Damien closed his mouth and gulped in his amazement.
‘I also need to ask about cultivation techniques, but it looks like we have our hands full with just this topic.’
“Yes Miss Cloverleaf, can you help us find where to find those 165 books?”
“You mean 167, and yes I can, child.”
She took out a piece of paper and rapidly wrote down a list of locations. Her hand was moving at an incredible speed and by the time she was finished, it was presented like an official document. Once it was handed over, they bowed and waved back to her as they delved into the depths of the library. She gave them a quick wave back, when she noticed one of her gemstones on her ring broke into pieces. She quickly took it off and inspected it closely with a loupe she carried with her. The gemstone crumbled completely, making her pout slightly.
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“My Sunstone ring. I didn’t think its lifetime had expired already. Uh, and they're hard to locate as well. That’s just your luck isn’t it, Kyra? I’ll have to use half a year’s wage, but I don’t feel complete without it.”
Kyra lamented the fact she lost a precious gemstone, but she had a job to perform and a line of students waiting for her guidance. She looked over to Damian and Cal walking away once more with a sour face.
“Couldn’t be. The energy from a Sunstone is too pure and chaotic for anyone to absorb it. Only a being that’s on footing with a Phoenix or a Golden Crow can harness the energy for their gain. Anything else and it would be a toxin, compromising their core along with their meridians. Let’s get back to work Kyra!”
The students lined up waited patiently for her. It was a common occurrence to see her talking to herself while pacing back and forth. No one had an issue with waiting, but more so they did not have the courage to complain. Kyra was their lifeline inside the library and if she got upset, it would be over for them. She would refuse their request, leaving them hopeless. They can only pray to be able to find the book they need in their lifetime. Once the line began to move, the tension disappeared from their bodies. The line soon disappeared with her computer-like results. By the end she had already forgotten about the encounter she had with Damien and Cal.
Deep inside the library halls, Damien and Cal were on the hunt for the books listed on their paper. A couple of hours had passed by with no luck. Even with a guide, the sheer size of the library made it so they barely progressed. Cal was on the verge of losing his mind. Not only was his body deteriorating, his mind was overwhelmed with knowledge. He would help Damien read through some books and it was enough to fry his circuits.
“Damien, which number are we on again? I don’t know if I can keep going.”
“We are on book 42. We still have time! You never know it could be the next one.”
“You said that for the last 10 books! If it’s not in the next 5 I’m going to rest at the tables.”
Damien was exasperated at his attitude, but he could never understand how it feels to be so physically weak. They continued on their search and reached aisle J4, where their next book led them. They stepped onto the lift and reached the fourth level of the bookshelf. Damien quickly went to work and browsed through the books, until he found just the one he needed. It was a rather dilapidated book with shades of red on the cover. The fading showed the passage of time it had endured to arrive here. Damien reached out with a good feeling, that this was it. He lightly plucked it out of its home and dusted it off with a blow. The title of the book will gilded in gold reading, “The Red Bird’s Glorious Downfall”
Damien opened the book and turned to the first page. It was in the style of a children’s book with drawings and colorization. It began its story with a tiny red bird who was lost from home. She was lost from home and had no recollection on how to return. She wandered the dangerous surroundings she was stuck in, fleeing at any odd sound she heard. Eventually she decided to hide in the base of a tree to wait for her mother to find her. After days of watching colossal and fierce beasts pass by, she had lost hope. The little red bird was starved and had no energy to find food. With her last dying breath she walked in delusion and fainted.
The red bird awoke in the den of a stranger. A Cave Roc took her in and integrated the red bird with her hatchlings. She was first brought in to be fed to her kids but she saw an unique tenacity in her spirit and took a liking to her. The Cave Roc nursed her back to life, adding a new member to her family.
The red bird was in bliss having a family that cared for her and multiple siblings that she could have fun with. As the baby Cave Rocs matured, the red bird stayed the same. Her siblings grew to gargantuan size, just like their mother. She was treated the same nonetheless, the adorable sibling who they would all protect. They all graduated to a higher grade of meat that was more energy dense. This would provide them with the nutrients to match their insane growth. Everyone got a piece of their share from their mother’s spoils.
The days passed by with more energy dense foods being served to them. One day the red bird grew in size, surprising the rest. Believing it was just a late little growth spurt they did not pay it any mind. But the days passed with the same occurrence. Her feathers grew deeper in color and her size never stopped growing. Their surprise grew to shock and then finally to horror. The little red bird they once knew as their sibling, was no other than a majestic Phoenix of legends. From that point on it spiraled downhill quickly. She accidentally killed some of her siblings while playing with them. She did not know how to control her strength. Their mother lost control in agony and attacked the phoenix. By the end she had massacred her adoptive family who tried to bring her down. She flew away in despair, shrieking deep into the heavens. The forest shook with terror, leaving every living thing frozen in horror.
Not being able to handle the pain of killing her own family she lost control of herself. She burnt the entire forest to nothing more but a blanket of ash. Her anger led her to terrorize everything in her sight. It wasn’t long before the kingdoms were notified and sent out a task force to defeat the phoenix. In the end, the little red bird of days past was slain and put to rest. Her body was frozen and confined away, so that she may never be reborn.