Fall of Autumn, Week 4, Day 4
“It’s here, Lady Nora,” Juniper said, throwing her arm out in a fanciful display, “The library you seek lies behind these doors.”
It was almost comical, the seriousness with which the girl delivered those lines. And so I let out half a laugh for half a joke.
“Thank you.” I nodded, sobering my expression, “I appreciate it, Juniper.”
My heart sank as I waited, hoping for another response. But Juniper's self-satisfied nod and quick departure only confirmed what I already knew.
What were you letting yourself dream about, Nora? I chided myself, Did you want her to say, ‘No-no, you can call me June?’ She doesn’t see you as an equal. She sees you as a golden goose. A tool for her to use. Nothing more. Even though I deflated at my own words, I couldn’t help but move along. Not yet. There’s nothing that says you can’t change the way she sees you. Don’t be discouraged. [Otherworldly] brought you to her and Hans for a reason. You’ll figure out what it is. It just might take some work.
I released a breath and pulled open the oversized door to the library, its golden emblems matching the crown molding above and below the walls. It was a sun blooming from a book. Really on the nose, that one. The lines on the carved pages held unintelligible squiggles, but the engraving on the suns glowed a low orange, visible only when I approached the door and was close enough for the light to reflect off the metal accents on my clothes.
Crossing the threshold of the library, I found myself standing in a large circular room with a domed ceiling that went up all three stories of the manor and ended in a windowed roof. The morning light was gentle, and the library was silent. Almost. As soon as I entered the room, the sound of footsteps began rushing to me, but I was more focused on how I was looking down on the first floor from atop a mere six-step set of stairs. I could see the curved rows of books and their tops. When I looked back up, I saw sky bridges crossing the second and third floors of the library.
It was beautiful.
And it was full of books.
“My Lady,” came an out-of-breath voice, and when I turned, it was attached to a balding middle-aged man in a tight-fitting coat. “I see you’ve come to our humble library.”
I blinked.
Humble?
“It’s magnificent,” I couldn’t help but breathe out, “It’s exactly what I was hoping for.”
The man, who must be the librarian, looked pleased as punch at my comment.
I figured books weren’t so expensive. Sure, my spellbook had been behind glass —but the rest of the mundane books hadn’t been nearly so protected. And the bookseller in Juvel had taken me to a side room for the actual selling of a spellbook. The main floor had had many copies of many different books. Surely, there were Classes that made mass-producing books a simple matter.
That thought didn’t stop me from being amazed at the selection before me, though.
It was surely a show of extravagance that a manor of the borderlands, only visited by foreign dignitaries and nobles passing through, would have such a collection.
I wanted to dive into every nook and cranny, to learn everything I could, to absorb it all and be better for it.
But I came here with a purpose. Mana pearls.
I took a breath, remembering the way Sir Rellar had spoken to me. How he had told me not to absorb them —not like I had chosen to anyway.
In my bag were the two mana pearls from Twilight, as well as the slew of gems I’d found. It was an unsettling thought that they had remained when the Sentry's bodies vanished with the completed trial. Were they alive? Sentient but trapped? Monsters controlled by Twilight?
I swallowed thickly, pushing back both the final guidance Sir Rellar had given me and the thought of Twilight’s monsters. It wouldn’t do to let it consume me, not here. Not in public.
I simply pulled out Noir from my bag and sat him down next to me, watching as he steadied himself on his feet and toddled behind me as I approached the librarian by descending the stairs.
“I’m looking for information on mana pearls?” I asked hesitantly, “I’m confused on their purpose.”
The man’s eyes brightened, literally. They began to glow blue, and I could taste the chill in the air. As soon as it started, it ended, and the man’s gaze regained focus. He widened his grin, “Follow me, my Lady. I will pull a few sources and bring them back.”
He led me to the center of the library, where four tables of varying sizes waited. I settled into the smaller of the four, the one that had only two chairs, each a soft purple velvet. The librarian disappeared, and I picked up Noir and put him on the table, where he sat, still as the glass sculpture modeled after him.
I took the chance to pull out the two iridescent blue mana pearls I’d received from Twilight. It didn’t take long to identify which gems were the mana pearls and which were just gems. The mana pearls had a presence about them, a coolness. It felt like a lesser version of activating a Skill.
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It was like a winter breeze radiated from the mana pearls at my touch.
I rolled them around my hand before —[Inspect].
[Lesser Mana Pearl, Tier 1, Common]
[Lesser Mana Pearl that was left behind by a monster. The energy within can be used to fuel Spells, Rituals, Skills, or be absorbed directly by a User and used to progress further in their Class]
[Traits: Martial, Beast]
[Produced by a Sentry (Twilight Goblin) – Tier 1]
It was real, and true, and said basically the same thing as the last mana pearl —except that one had been lesser. And it had given me ‘potential in Skills relating to the traits Aberration and Morphic,’ whatever that means. Thus, it wasn’t a leap to assume that if I absorbed the mana pearls in the same way again, it would give me potential in Martial and Beast Skills.
Martial wouldn’t be bad.
A chill went up my spine.
It would mean meeting the Voice again. The Spirit. It told me to see it at Level 15. To call then.
And then came the memories of the pain.
I rolled the mana pearls to the center of the table, pulling my hand back.
“No, thank you,” I whispered.
I sat there, deep in thought, about mana pearls and the implication of a ‘Class Moderator’ for a [Young Lady of Darkness]. It had to be a spirit of darkness. I could feel it’s emotions through the element that had surrounded me. It was different than my animation —they claimed I created them from my own soul. But the Class Moderator didn’t feel anything like me. It had to be a true born spirit. A being only a studied mage would know how to interact with.
I wondered, when I got through the next chapter in Shadow: Your First Spellbook, if I would find out what that’s about. It would have to wait. The spellbook was stashed securely in my room, placed gently in a low drawer that one wouldn’t think to check. Not unless you were looking for something specific.
It was only another minute before the librarian returned, this time with a small cart behind him. It only had a half dozen books on it, but it trailed him without his guidance. The man paused before me.
“I have several books I think should help you —including the primer from the Swordsmanship Academy. You’ll receive one when you attend, but this is the version they published last year. It gives an introductory lesson on mana pearls.” He pulled a thin booklet off the cart and placed it in front of me, “The others are written solely on the topic of mana pearls by researchers from the magic tower. It’s mostly theory and common rituals, spells, and Skills they are used to empower.”
He laid out the following six books across the table. The titles grew in complexity, from the simplistic and clear Encyclopedia of Mana Pearl Traits to The Practical Application of a Mana Pearl, Lesser, based on the Theory of Elementality.
That last one was about a thousand pages thick and made me frown. Did the librarian expect a child to understand that? I appreciate the ability to read it, but surely a usual child wouldn’t be nearly as interested. Then again, Theo was known as a genius. Perhaps they expected the same of me.
Maybe that’s why they’ve given me so much grace since arriving.
I sighed and started with the small booklet from the Swordsmanship Academy. I was due to start there soon, so I may as well know the standard I could expect.
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I closed the booklet lightly, a complicated look on my face.
“That made so much sense,” I said under my breath.
It was concise, and clear, and meant for anyone to understand. Every word was meticulously chosen to reach even the most ignorant of audiences.
Like someone from another world.
I smiled down at the booklet and went to re-read it, just to make sure I understood the basics of mana pearls.
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Mana Pearls are the essence of the world and a monstrous organ. Some monsters, once they’ve absorbed enough mana through their mana pearl, no longer disperse upon death.
The designation between mana pearls are as such: Lesser Mana Pearl, Mana Pearl, and Greater Mana Pearl.
A monster with a lesser mana pearl will disperse upon death. A monster with a mana pearl or a greater mana pearl will not.
There are no Tier limits on lesser mana pearls, as there are no limits on the Tiers of essence-manifested monsters. Natural-born monsters will always have an established mana pearl and will never possess a lesser mana pearl.
It is best practice to always collect the mana pearl of their prey, as the aspect is not governed by the type of monster but by the monster’s Skills.
Mana Pearls are most commonly used by the Mage’s Tower as fuel for empowered Spells, Skills, and rituals. However, a key aspect of mana pearls is that they can be absorbed into a person’s soul to strengthen Skills and fuel Class experience.
If a lesser mana pearl is used, there is a small chance of a person’s Skill aptitude being increased by the aspects of the mana pearl. These aspects are often easily identified with a simple Tier 1 [Inspect].
If a mana pearl is used, there is a moderate chance of a person’s Skill aptitude being increased by the aspects of the mana pearl.
If a greater mana pearl is used, there is a high chance of a person’s Skill aptitude being increased by the aspects of the mana pearl.
There are many ways to absorb a mana pearl, but the only truly safe method is to meditate with the mana pearl and circulate the mana within the mana pearl into your mana veins. While Skills such as [Mana Sense], [Mana Manipulation], and [Meditate] are helpful, they are not required so long as the person absorbing the mana pearl has at least a 1 in their Magic stat.
See page 12 for the proper pose and method of circulation for a non-mage Class.
See page 16 for the proper pose and method of circulation for a mage Class.
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I traced my finger over the images of the pose for a mage class. It didn’t feel quite right. But it felt close.
The booklet was exactly what I’d needed –but I was still interested in the rest of the books the librarian had left with me. So, I closed up the booklet and looked at the late morning sky through the glass roof and decided I would be taking lunch in the library.