Friday, December 9, 1994

Fifth Floor, Stregobor's Temporary Office

00:07 AM

Percival Ebonwood's POV

Stregobor walked into the darkness, and walked out with two notebooks.

"The id is the impulsive part of our psyche that responds directly and immediately to basic urges, needs, and desires," Stregobor began, his voice low and intense. He held the notebooks just out of my reach, eyes glinting in the dim light. "The id engages in primary process thinking, which is primitive, illogical, irrational, and fantasy-oriented.. This form of process thinking has no comprehension of objective reality, and is selfish and wishful in nature. The id comprises the drive to achieve maximum pleasure. It lights every nerve with madness. To fight. To survive."

He held the books out in front of me. I reached out, but he took them away. My hand hovered in the air. Why was he doing this?

"I know the look of a doomed man," Stregobor said as he handed me the notebooks and took a gemstone out of his pocket. It glimmered faintly, a swirling vortex of colours trapped within its facets. "Every time I study this, I am amazed at the possibilities it holds. One moment, I have this train of thought, that if my theory is assumed to be corrected, which is most of the time, it could revolutionise branches of the Arcane. Yet, every single time I leave my station, I forget. The thoughts become dandelions in the field during a breezy summer day. The Arcane is dangerous and does not like to be toyed with. It will have its retribution. I presume this is the work of the Lovegood girl? I see hints of Pandora written over it. This is also under Fidelius, correct?"

I remained silent.

"Your silence is telling. Do they know that I know?" He asked as he put the gemstone back into his pocket.

"They'll understand."

"I hope they do," Stregobor said as he turned back to his work station. "Greatness demands the surrender of heart and history, for only in sacrifice do we forge the future."

Friday, December 9, 1994

The Library, Private Study Room 11b

13:11 PM

Isabel Fitzgerald's POV

"Can you stop nudging me?" I snapped as Jessica nudged me for the nth time. Luckily, we were in a private study room; otherwise, Madam Pince would've had me head. "I'm clearly doing something important, as I'm ignoring you."

"Is it as important as revising for a test in your most hated subject?" Jessica said as she tapped her finger on the Charms textbook.

"But I don't want to," I said. "And this is much more interesting."

"If we indulge you, will you put that down and actually revise?" Jessica said.

"If by 'we' you mean everybody, then okay," I said.

Jessica turned to the others in the room, and they either shrugged or nodded. Our study group was a little different from last time. Last time, all four houses studied together, but this time, with the addition of seven other schools, we looked a little different.

Slytherin now has a study group with Durmstrang and Ilvermorny. Queen Maeve's College shares the room with Gryffindor. Hufflepuff, surprisingly, got along well with the School of Spiritology and Demonology. Beauxbatons and the Mitford Foundation often studied together, while Mahoutokoro were often found in their lonesome. They rarely mingled with others outside of lessons. Our group was now home to the more academically inclined and the misfits. A total of fifteen.

Some of the people I recognised here were obviously my four best friends, Fleur Delacour, Sarah Agreste, and Florentina Abramovich. There were four boys that I didn't know the names of. One was from Queen Maeve's College, two from Ilvermorny, and one from the Mitford Foundation. There were three girls that I did not recognise. One from Queen Maeve's College and two from the Mitford Foundation. Sometimes the Hinata girl who is pen pals with Percy does visit, but is quickly taken away by her schoolmates.

Placing the research paper down, I flicked to the page with the schematics. I tapped my wand onto the page and then circled my wand around it before sharply flicking it upwards. Muttering the incantation, 'Proiectura Schematicus', the schematic began to glow, and within moments, a three-dimensional holographic projection of the object had risen from the paper.

"This is what the researchers call the Amethyst Codex. It was named after its crystalline structure, geometric design, and purple hue. If was found during an excavation of the Pyramid of Khufu," I said as I zoomed in to a particular detail. "If you see here, there is a runic language here that we have no records of. It does have some similarities to the Egyptian hieroglyphs, but they believe that this predates the Egyptians. They also theorised that the hieroglyphs are a subset of the runic language."

"That doesn't seem that interesting," said one of the Ilvermorny boys. "We often find a new dead language every couple of months."

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"The special bit comes when they try to activate it. They failed it repeatedly, but after a few hundred attempts, the codex turned blue, and a projection of a human came from it. They spoke, what we presume is the Runic language. They wore clothes that were uncommon for that time period and before," I said. "Then they tried decoding it. Using the Egyptian language, they managed to decode seven words: failed, message, truth, and, but, the and is."

"Again, nothing special," Jessica said.

"But it is. These words, by themselves, invoke a reaction from magic. They tried using these in rituals, ward schemes, and matrices, and they had a... sort of, synchronisation with magic that none of our runic language could achieve," I said. Now that did get the room's attention.

"What else?" Jessica asked.

"They then tried to find the origin of it. They used retracing, and a mineral breakdown to find that the technology used to create this had not been seen yet, and some of the technology needed has not been created yet, publicly," I said. "They also tried using divination, and all they got back were foreign star maps. Some of these do match up with the star maps muggles have discovered, but, we have no clue where they are."

"So what they're saying is that it could belong to a lost civilisation that predates the Egyptians, or could belong to a space-faring civilisation that came to Earth?"

I nodded. A few laughed.

"You know that we don't have the magic to go to space, and the muggles don't have the technology to survive space. The last time we went to space, our magic potency dwindled."

"But it was not non-existent. Maybe there could be a way," I said.

Fleur raised her hand, and asked a question. "By any chance, in its dormant state, is it an orb? An obsidian orb, in particular."

"I'm pretty sure that I did read something like that early on in the paper," I said as I flicked through the pages. "Yes, it says that it looks like an obsidian orb when it is left in an area devoid of magic, or not in use. How do you know that?"

"I do remember reading about a similar artefact that my mentor examined," Fleur said before going back to reading her book. The room fell silent. Fleur looked up to find the reason, and she saw everybody else staring at her. "What?"

"You just dropped a bombshell, and decided not to explain further," Jessica said.

"What would you like to know?" she asked.

"Everything that this paper doesn't tell us," I said.

"Where should I start? I know! In the year 1197, Nicholas Flamel was invited alongside some of the best researchers to help decode an artefact that he had found. They all signed contracts that made sure they could not reveal them to the public. He noticed that it predated the Egyptians, and also came to the conclusion that it was either from a lost civilisation or another civilisation. It was rumoured that Genghis was able to unlock it, and use it to help his conquest. I remember reading some accounts of a purple orb that Genghis Khan always carried around," Fleur said.

"I thought Flamel was born in the 1300's?" I asked.

"His earliest manuals were dated back to the mid-1100's, so I guess he was born earlier," Fleur said.

"What did he notice that these people didn't?" I asked.

"From what you've told me, he came to similar conclusions," Fleur replied.

"Do you know where Genghis Khan's codex is?" Jessica asked. "Flamel was alive during the fall of the Mongol Empire. Does he know where it ended up?

"It turns out that he forgot he met Genghis Khan. When I asked Flamel about him, all he remembered was that Genghis was an ambitious warlord and nothing else. He did not keep accurate whereabouts of the orb/codex," Fleur said. "But his wife did. She had two theories. The first one is that it is located in his burial chambers, which is nearly impossible to find. And the second one is even harder."

"Don't tell me, someone stole it," someone said sarcastically.

Fleur turned to the girl who said it, stared directly into her eyes, and nodded. "Technically yes, but no. Perenelle believed Genghis Khan wanted his son to have it when he succeeded the throne. However, due to his untimely death, he never got the chance. A few of the ministers knew of his attention, and Perenelle believed that one of them took it and gave it to the heir. The most likely candidate was Subutai. Subutai was one of Genghis Khan's most efficient generals, known for his strategic genius and numerous successful military campaigns. Subutai had several sons, some of whom followed in his footsteps as military leaders. His son, Uriyangkhadai, served under Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, and played a significant role in the Mongol invasions of China and Southeast Asia.

Subutai's sons, such as Uriyangkhadai, continued to serve prominent roles within the Mongol Empire, particularly in East Asia. Uriyangkhadai served under Kublai Khan and played significant roles in the Mongol campaigns in China and Southeast Asia. Given that Uriyangkhadai and his descendants would have had close ties to the Yuan Dynasty established by Kublai Khan in China, she said it was plausible that the orb remained in the family and within the boundaries of the Yuan-controlled regions. After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368, many Mongol families and their treasures either retreated to Mongolia or stayed in China, blending into the evolving political landscape under the Ming Dynasty."

"So where exactly did she believe it was located?" someone else asked.

"There are three possible locations. 1. Mongolia: If Subutai's descendants retained strong ties to Mongolia, especially after the decline of the Yuan Dynasty, the orb could have been kept within Mongolia. 2: China: Given Uriyangkhadai's significant role in the Yuan Dynasty, it is plausible that the orb remained in China through subsequent generations. 3: Russia and Central Asia: The Mongol Empire's influence extended into Russia and Central Asia. Descendants of Subutai might have moved or settled in these regions over the centuries."

"That's fascinating, Fleur," said Jessica, her eyes turning towards me. "But we should really get back to our Charms review. The test is in three days, after all."

The group reluctantly shifted their focus back to their textbooks and notes. Hours passed as we diligently reviewed spellwork. The library's candlelight began to wane, signalling the approach of evening.

As the study session slowed down and people were starting to get angsty, people packed their bags and prepared to leave the library. We decided to call it a day, and finish revising charms. Percy, carrying a stack of parchment and a two notebooks, started towards the exit.

"Percy, wait up," I called, hurrying to catch up with him. Percy turned with a tired expression on his face.

"What's up, Isabel?" he asked, adjusting his grip on his books.

Isabel glanced around to ensure they were out of earshot of the others before speaking. "Are you okay? Do you need someone to talk to?"

"No, I'm fine," he replied curtly.

"It's just that you would usually contribute to an academic related discussion, but you didn't today," I said.

"I just feel tired," he said as he avoided my eyes.

"You're holding those two notebooks tightly, and you've been staring at them throughout the whole session," I said as he tightened his grip on the notebooks. "I'm not going to ask what's got you so spooked, but we're here for you. Talk to us if you need."

He nodded as his grip loosened. "Thank you for asking," Percy muttered.

"I'm going to the kitchen to grab some food. Do you want anything?" I asked.

Percy shook his head. We both then walked away. "Izzy?!"

"Yeah," I said as I turned around.

"You know that I..." He said this, struggling to find his words. "You know I love a cinnamon swirl. Can you get me one?"