What exactly was the Saiton Consortium? It was common knowledge that they oversaw the collection and storage of information all around the continent, and that the information was stored within the Great Library in the city of Saiton. Both the Tower of Magic of Yrmar and the Academium of the Rvuvick Empire—though each had deeper historical roots than the Consortium—sent in their findings to be stored in the city.
Who owned this vast collection of knowledge? Which country had so much power as to force its neighbors to give up their precious findings to its walls?
The answer was: nobody. There wasn’t a country that owned the city of Saiton, nor was the city located in any political boundary. The ‘country’ of Saiton was not a country. It would be better to call their government an anarchy, with only the city being populated and the rest of its lands empty of civilization.
There were still rules, of course. Very strict rules maintained within the city of knowledge. If you were banished, a curse mark would be put on you which would prohibit you from entering the city again.
How did they maintain their influence?
It was rather simple. Both the Academium and the Tower of Magic had people of authority within the city, who could gather and disperse information as they pleased. Information was not to be withheld from anyone, according to the city’s founder.
Saiton the Sage had been a very ambitious man. He dreamed of the place where everything could be learned, where the low classes would find hope through education. After all, it was he who came up with a cheap way of printing and distributing books.
To others, he was a madman. There was a reason why no one had claimed the land around the city before its founding.
A fierce dragon of old had ruled the region. Its wings caused storms to form, and its breath caused the land to turn into a pool of molten stone. Any form of civilization would be torn down and destroyed; the dragon did not take kindly to intruders.
And here, Saiton said, “This is perfect! Land claimed by no one, a land where three great countries share their borders with—this is where I will build my city.”
“You are out of your mind,” everyone had said. But taking his trusty staff and cloak, Saiton had marched into the region.
He had returned four days after with a smile on his face, saying, “The area is safe now.”
This had only been around three hundred years ago. Many elves still remembered the terror of the dragon, but Saiton’s existence had caused greater fear within many. All of the countries had been shocked, and no one had dared to object to the founding of the city.
No one still dared to breach into the region. After all, though the dragon had been subdued, its corpse couldn’t be seen anywhere. It had been the size of a small mountain, yet it had left no trace.
There was a possibility of it returning. No one but Saiton knew where it had gone.
Anyway, after a long period of creating treaties and signing forms, the city of Saiton and the Great Library had been completed. All information would be sent there; everything would be stored. At least the available ones.
One could say that only a part of Saiton’s ambition had been fulfilled. While the place was now a nucleus of intellect, the Library only opened its doors to the worthy, disabling free access to everyone.
That wasn’t to say people were forbidden. Anyone could enter the place as long as they had proven their trustworthiness.
But in the world of Exarria, where not everyone was spoon-fed common knowledge, Saiton was seen as a type of place where only the mages and scholars went.
Not a place for commoners. The founder would be sad if he knew of this.
〄 〄 〄
The area was quiet. Much too quiet. The only sound that reached Shaden’s ears was the clack-clack of the beasts’ hooves on the smooth stone path.
He had noticed the difference in the land’s atmosphere instantly when they had entered the Unclaimed Land. Or Rathiash’s Lair. Or the Plains of Death. There were many names for this particular region.
But the Unclaimed Land was what everyone called it. And true to its name, it felt as if not a single breath of life had taken ownership of the place. The only movement Shaden could perceive with his eyes was the constant dancing of the blades of grass set in motion by the continuous wind. The place was very windy.
It felt great on his face, and not too cold. But with all the clouds over them, blocking the sun, and the familiar forest of trees now replaced by lonely hills with low, brown and green grass, the place felt…a little too…too…despondent.
It probably wasn’t the right word to describe a landscape, but Shaden felt like desolate was lacking as a description. This place, with the little orange light that came through the clouds, and the modest but incessant wind blowing wherever it wanted to blow, was despondent.
Low in spirits, and the unending treeless landscape—simply hopeless. There wasn’t enough green.
Not that he wasn’t less excited. After being surprised so many times by fantastical cities, he was sure Saiton would more or less surprise him again.
But the place was too quiet. There weren’t any birds singing to greet them, no streams of water trickling nearby, no buzzing insects to distract their ears. Just the endless wind blowing, blowing, and blowing.
Shaden had heard about the founding of the city a little before coming here. Mostly from Eilae, some from the beastman locals located at the boundary of the Unclaimed Land. He could understand why the races were hesitant about claiming the land. Not only because of the dragon threat, but also because of how uneasy the atmosphere felt.
Endless hills and grass and wind. It was like he was stuck in limbo.
The cart continued to rattle along the ground. Because the roads were well-developed, their travel could be finished within a few hours from the nearest beastman city.
Shaden and Eilae had filled up the time through games Eilae had learned at her home, like a hand game similar to rock-paper-scissors or riddles that Eilae would give Shaden. It was enjoyable to an extent, but eventually, they grew bored and slept.
At least Eilae did, her head resting on Shaden’s shoulder. His circulation was helping him relieve his cramps on his body as the girl did not move at all.
It was a nice sensation, having a pretty girl leaning on your shoulder. A little heart-fluttering, if he admitted it. Though her skull felt hard on his muscles, there was a sort of delicacy to it.
Soon, his thoughts caused his eyelids to grow heavier, and the gentle smell of Eilae’s perfume lured him off to dreamland.
〄 〄 〄
“Wake up, you two.”
“……! I’m awake.”
Trained to react to any unusual sounds, Shaden’s eyes snapped open. He immediately circulated to blow off his grogginess from his little nap. His tutor was already off of the cart, her hands to her hips, staring at them.
Shaden felt something heavy on his shoulder. It was Eilae, who was still asleep.
Or not, as her eyes also slowly opened from his movement.
“…………”
Blankly, she looked around after getting up from his shoulder.
“Are we here?”
“Yes. Come, you two.”
Shaden stretched his arms out and yawned. After jumping off of the vehicle, he finally had the senses to look around himself.
They were already surrounded by buildings of various sizes. Unlike the wavy-styled architecture of the beastmen to the north, these buildings were…very symmetric. Circles on top of squares, many domes, all neat and ordered. The roads also looked very ordered and seemed to be plastered.
“Tah-dah. The Hotel Minor,” declared Lytha.
Shaden turned around and saw the building Lytha was directing towards. The structure stood at around ten stories tall, stretching across the street neatly until it reached the end. There was a vast number of windows that were studded on the walls, all symmetrically organized.
“It’s not minor at all,” Shaden rebutted.
“There is a reason why it’s called that,” Lytha said sadly. “It is also the reason why I don’t enjoy coming here often. This is the only place where travelers are allowed to stay, and it makes me sad.”
“You? Sad? You were never sad even when sleeping in the wild.”
“There, I didn’t feel like I was caged. Let’s go in.”
A receptionist in neat, fitting clothing looked up from his books as they walked in.
“Room for three?” he asked.
“Is there a large room we could use?”
The receptionist shook his head.
“Then, room for three.”
Lytha paid the fee, received the keys, and told the children to follow her. Eilae went first, then Shaden who was carrying their supplies bag.
On the third floor, she gave Shaden and Eilae each a key.
“You will have your own rooms in this city. Go in and see why.”
Shaden nodded and unlocked the door to his room, which was between Lytha and Eilae’s rooms. He pushed and looked inside.
The area of the room was the size of a large carpet. There was one bed, One desk in front of one window, one small wardrobe, and a chair. If Lytha were to stand sideways from wall to wall, she would have to cock her neck to fit.
“It’s tiny.”
“Yes, it is.”
Eilae had seen the inside of her room, left her bag inside, and had come back out. Her face was…
“It’s a small room.”
“Yes, it is,” agreed Shaden.
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The city of knowledge. What it really meant was, the city that only had knowledge. Anyone who came or was staying here was, frankly, only interested in learning, which meant—
“There are bookshelves. How thoughtful.”
“And desk lamps too.”
The facilities were very simple and suited for burying yourself in books. Or in simpler terms, very, very dull.
“The bathrooms are down the hall,” Lytha informed them. “Leave your things. We need a simple tour, don’t we?”
Shaden could understand his aunt’s feelings of suffocation as they walked down the stairs and out of the building. Everything felt the same. The colors were all the same, the rooms were all the same. There was no kitchen as the place was just used for housing.
It was also colorless outside as well. The buildings were all painted in the spectrum between white and grey, most of them being the same height.
It reminded Shaden of a modern city, minus all of the colorful lights and rushing cars. And noise. Even the city was quiet like the plains.
“They’re all the same, these buildings,” said his tutor. “All of them sell books, or the materials that make books, scrolls, magic scrolls, magic circles and mana ink, pens, etc., etc. I am sure you can imagine what they export and import.”
“Looks like a fun place,” said Shaden as his excitement grew. He had never learned how to create magic circles before.
Lytha almost rolled her eyes but walked along.
“There are restaurants, of course. People need to eat. Quite good.”
“I’m more interested in the books. Could we buy some soon?”
“Hah…of course.”
Eilae was silent, but her eyes were scanning intricately.
“Pretty cool, right?” nudged Shaden.
Eilae blinked twice before replying. “It certainly is impressive. A city that can thrive only on these resources is something very impressive.”
“What—I mean, I guess. I agree.”
Eilae was thinking economically again. It was a unique habit of hers when they visited various towns and cities.
“Where exactly are we headed to?” asked Shaden after a while of passing by stores and homes. One thing he noticed was that the city had no walls, and the streets were impossibly clean. The place felt increasingly like an asylum, but he tried to ignore it.
“Don’t be too depressed,” soothed Lytha, noticing his concern. “The insides of the stores are very beautiful. The place we are going to is even more so.”
“You mean—”
“Where else could I mean?”
Shaden shut his mouth. His question hadn’t been clearly answered, but what other attraction was there besides the Great Library?
He leaned towards Eilae.
“So. What kind of spells do you plan on learning?”
“I suppose something like poison detection or detoxification.”
“……anything else?”
“Maybe some simple barrier spells. There’s quite a lot.”
“Guess I’ll learn some as well.”
“You’re going to instruct me, so you will learn everything that I learn.”
“Oh right.”
While they continued to chat, something caught the corner of Shaden’s eye, and he looked up. In the distance, there was a pillar of white-blue light that shot into the sky. He had mistaken it for the sun, but it certainly wasn’t.
He also noticed that the sky was turning brighter like someone had illuminated the clouds with a white flare. Staring at the pillar made him feel weird. He knew he was seeing something extraordinary.
“What…is that?”
“That is where we are going.”
“That’s the Library?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“It’s complicated. Learn it yourself.”
She didn’t explain things if it was too bothersome or annoying. But he’d find out sooner or later. They would be staying here for quite a while, after all.
They soon emerged into an empty area free of buildings. He could see the Great Library and the pillar of light much more clearly now. There was a path that led to the structure, which they followed.
“It looks like a thick cylinder,” said Shaden, unable to hide his disappointment. Lytha chuckled, but it was true. From the distance, the Library looked like a thick, short tube that stuck out from the earth with a laser beam coming out from it. “It’s very big though. I can’t believe it’s all filled with books.”
“There’s also an underground section, which is even larger than the surface part.”
“…wow.”
He had to admit. It was a sight to behold.
……seriously, what was the pillar of light for?
His tutor stopped.
“We won’t be able to enter the library. We can go closer, or we can return and buy the spellbooks you two want,” she said.
Shaden and Eilae looked at each other.
“Don’t they have a tour around the place?” asked Shaden.
“There is, but it happens once a month. We’ll have to ask the locals.”
“Oh.”
Shaden looked at Eilae, who shook her head.
“It would be better to buy the books,” she stated.
Before they headed back, Shaden took one last look at the tremendous pillar of light. It mystified him, it inspired something in him. Something like that couldn’t possibly be for looks. Its infinite-feeling presence made him—
Whoops. He was lagging behind. He quickly walked after his companions.
The Great Library would have to wait.
〄 〄 〄
It was their first day, and they had plenty of time. He had been given three months. Three months to discover and rigorously devour all the knowledge he needed for Demund’s project. He would have to begin from the basics of the basics, looking into the most primitive of experiments to replicate back in the waking world.
But before all of that, he had to teach his dear friend some spells.
“Hope you aren’t that tired,” Shaden said.
“Not at all,” Eilae replied. “Let’s begin.”
First and foremost, a thick book labeled The Magic of Poison was laid out in front of Shaden. He quietly raised an eyebrow at the honest girl.
“To detoxify something, you must first know what it is,” she stated bluntly. “All antidotal spells require it.”
From the size of the book, Shaden felt like this was going to be very complicated. Swallowing quietly, he motioned to Eilae to begin.
She flipped to the first page.
“This was pricy, even for a spellbook,” she said. “It comes with a few samples of common poisons and the latest information on the existing poisons in the world.”
“I thought it was supposed to be the Magic of Poison. Not an encyclopedia of poison.”
“I’m just saying what the bookstore owner told me,” she said with a pout.
“……ehm. Let’s begin.”
They flipped to the table of contents and skipped through the useless information.
1. The Basis of Poison and Neutralization Incantations
2. Poisons
3. Antidotes
4. Special Poisons
5. Elixirs
These were what Eilae had been looking for. Her face lit up after looking at the first chapter’s name. She diligently flipped to the designated page and began to read through the text. Shaden did the same and followed along as she flipped through the pages.
She was very quick at reading.
“Did you understand?” she asked after reading through everything. It had taken over forty minutes for around thirty pages.
“Roughly, he said. Let’s look at the incantations again.”
“Of course.”
There were six incantations in total, the first being the shortest and simplest, to the last being the longest and most complex. It was much more mind-boggling than Shaden had thought. Longer sentences did not equate to effectiveness.
The first incantation, which was the shortest, would apply to everything. It required the least skill to learn but the most skill to master. Shaden thought of it as a condensed chant of the longer chants, which would explain its difficulty.
The second was similar to the first, except that it focused on a specific area. The incantation literally had “upon [said area]” in its sentence.
The third was also like the first, except that it was specific to the blood. Naturally, blood would be important in dealing with poison.
Apparently, the latter three sentences could cause accidental side effects if misused. Therefore, the fourth incantation was around three times as long as the third but would cover any mistakes in understanding the poison. A fail-safe mechanism at the cost of time and more mana. This had been around the time when Shaden realized that the book was meant for professional work.
The fifth incantation was even longer, around five times the length of the fourth. This was meant for extreme treatments when special poisons (which included mana) were involved. In this case, magic circles were preferred for prolonged treatment.
The final, sixth incantation was a full-body cleanse. It would not be able to cure any special poisons, but other mana-less impurities would be cleansed. But to use it, a great amount of mana would be required, as well as ample knowledge of the subject’s physiology. A magic circle was recommended.
Since this was a book on poisons, it didn’t go into details on how to learn the incantations. Like many other professional textbooks, the book assumed that the reader already had the required knowledge with them.
“We will try to learn the first four,” Eilae stated.
The samples were laid out on Eilae’s desk, around ten that she had brought with her and twenty that had come with the book. She reached for the first poison. It was a small pile of red leaves that had curved tips at like tiny claws at the upper end of the stem. The outer edges curved in slightly inwards, and black veins could be seen under the epidermis.
She held one leaf with her fingers. It was around twice the size of her fingernail.
“This is a Facci Bloom leaf. It tastes spicy but causes diarrhea and intense nausea after a few hours. Death often results from dehydration. It’s a mild poison for beginners.”
“And I need to consume this.”
She nodded. “And cast the spell on yourself. If it works, you teach it to me.”
“If it doesn’t?”
“Then you have a stomachache.”
Or death. Shaden put out his hand and received the leaf. It was exotic, unlike anything he had ever seen.
He plopped it into his mouth and swallowed. Eilae quickly flipped through the book to where the incantations were listed.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“It’s…spicy,” he admitted. “There’s this burning feeling in my stomach now.”
“Good. Now, cast the spell.”
To detoxify a simple poison, you had to break down its harmful components into unharmful ones. With that mindset, all poisons were roughly the same. But according to the book, it wasn’t. And Shaden would now find out why.
He imagined the leaf’s components breaking down into harmless ones, becoming nutrients.
“Cleanse and heal, become one with the body – Cure.”
It wasn’t specific to poisons. It could also be used for illnesses, which made it a broad spell. Simple to learn, difficult to master.
The magic formed on Shaden’s palm and returned to him through his chest in a light-green glow. The burning sensation began to fade away, and in seconds, he felt completely fine.
Eilae’s eyes had widened for just a second, but now, she was inspecting him carefully.
“Did it work?”
Shaden looked at himself and shrugged. “I feel fine now. The magic worked, so it works.”
“That’s…amazing,” she breathed. “You’re phenomenal.”
A new excitement flooded her face, and she happily picked a leaf for herself. She motioned to Shaden to come closer to her and grabbed his hand with hers.
“After I swallow, cast the magic on me. Don’t let go of my hand while you cast it. I need to feel the spell.”
“Got it.” Her hands were very soft.
Eilae dropped the leaf into her mouth and swallowed. After a few moments, she pulled Shaden’s hand onto her upper chest.
Fwoooomp, went Shaden’s heart. He was touching her body.
“Cast it,” she ordered. Putting aside his thoughts, he did as he was told. Instantly, the green light began to seep out of Shaden’s palm and trickled into Eilae’s chest. Her hand was holding his, examining the flow of mana and sensing the magic.
She let go of his hand, and he pulled it back.
“Did you get it?” Shaden asked.
“Mmmm…one more time.”
They repeated the process exactly with another leaf. Something clicked within Eilae’s mind, and in the third time, she chanted by herself.
“Compared to yours, my magic is weaker,” she noted. “I don’t understand how you achieved it instantly, but it’s working. I…learned a new spell.”
“That’s great!”
She repeated poisoning herself one more time and nodded in satisfaction.
“I’ll practice later.”
She reached to the desk and brought forth another weird-looking plant. It looked like a black, round mushroom with a bumpy surface.
“Do it with this now,” she instructed.
This was the essence of detoxification magic. Normally, one would require a skilled tutor in case something went wrong. The tutor, already having the experience of a great number of poisons, would transfer their spells to their pupils. Like this, the craft traveled down from teacher to student.
Nowadays, newly discovered substances would first be used on an animal instead of a human. Procedural magic was quite developed.
But in the old days, someone had to take the risk of dying to complete the curing spell.
Which was exactly what Shaden was doing. Risking himself to teach Eilae.
He eyed the samples on the desk. Some looked, very, very, nasty.
His throat swallowed some saliva unintentionally.
He could do this.
Probably.
Perhaps learning together could have been a romantic moment for Shaden and Eilae. Holding each other’s hand, Shaden’s hand on Eilae’s chest, watching each other—the elements were there.
But sadly, it never happened. Shaden was too focused on curing himself, and Eilae too focused on soaking in knowledge.
It was very procedural.
Too procedural.
〄 〄 〄
“We will have to buy more samples at this rate,” said Eilae, looking through her collection of poisons. They had only experimented with not-so-lethal ones that day, but there was no telling how serious the poisons would become.
With the stronger poisons, there was a chance of dying while casting the magic. There was a reason why antidotes dominated the poison market. Not many could detoxify strong poisons and those who could had few pupils that wanted to learn it.
It was logical. Why risk yourself to learn the magic if you could simply buy the antidote? There had been incidents where the student had died while uttering the last words of a spell. The venom had acted too quickly.
Many could cure simple poisons, but few who could cure lethal, quick ones.
“And you want to learn how to detoxify a lethal one.”
“I hope so.”
“There is a chance of me dying.”
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Shaden looked at the earnest girl and sighed.
“I’ll teach you whatever you want.”
“You have my admiration.”
He looked at his hand. Each time he cast the Cure spell on the weaker poisons, it felt different. Only slightly, but there was a distinction in the way the mana felt and how it moved. Since each poison had a distinct chemical structure, it was natural that the magic had to react differently.
It was exhilarating. Learning magic was exciting.
There was a knock on the door.
“Shaden, Eilae, let’s go to dinner,” said Lytha.
Shaden opened the door and saluted his tutor. After getting dressed, they followed Lytha out of the building.
They hadn’t told her about the poison experiments.
“Will you keep it a secret?” whispered Eilae into Shaden’s ear. “A secret…between you and me.”
Her blue eyes stared deeply into his.
“You’re worried that she will object,” he whispered back.
“…maybe.”
Shaden smiled. “She won’t.”
He recalled his days living in the wild.
“I’ll keep it a secret,” he told her. “She probably knows, though.”
“……that’s not the point…”
“Did you say something?”
“You’re probably right,” said Eilae. “Isn’t it thrilling? Sharing a secret.”
“I guess.”
Like that, their first day in Saiton concluded.