Oden: “Welcome to the Frost Archive.”

Sorn marveled at the interior of the building. A seamless combination of ice and stone gave an elegant and olden atmosphere. The long shelves, filled with parchment and stone slabs would take a lifetime to consume. The stained windows filtered the light that came in, making the area dim and eerie.

Oden: “Sima Qian! It’s me, Oden!”

An older man with a squarish head jumped down from the upper floor, causing Sorn to flinch slightly. The man immediately grabbed Sorn’s face looking at him closely, before staring at Oden, his eyes wide.

Qian: “I don’t quite believe what my two eyes are seeing.”

Oden: Better believe it, kid is right before your eyes”

Sorn: “Um so, hi?”

Qian: “Yes, yes, greetings indeed. Forgive my indecency, how improper. So improper. So what brings the two of you here today.”

Oden smiled, but turned to Sorn for his reply.

Oden: “Tell me Sorn. Now that you’re in this position, what is your intention, what do you plan to do?”

Sorn gave this a moment of thought. He could lie and act like he had no deeper intentions. To be completely accurate, he hadn’t given his intentions much thought but upon giving it thought there was a clear instinctual answer in his head. He could also purely make something up, something that Oden would want to hear. Perhaps a desire to take down the Spear Subclan as a true Marauder.

Why am I treating him like an idiot?

Sorn couldn’t quite describe why, but he had a gut feeling he could trust Oden from the little time that they had spent together. Perhaps that was the point, but he couldn’t help but remember that feeling of relief of seeing him stand between him and Varian at the Council meeting. He owed his life to this man, in this unknown land, if he wasn’t going to trust him, who else?

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Sorn: “I’m going to help Crystal save her brother.”

Oden nodded with a smile. It was the answer he already knew.

Oden: “And I’m assuming you know that his sacrifice is a lie crafted by the Council?”

Sorn: “How do you-”

Qian, who has been observing quietly thus far, found this a good place to chime in.

Qian: “It’s obvious to anyone who has looked at our history. The Spear Elders suppress this information, but the reason for the creation of this fortress was due to an ambush by an outside clan. After killing all of them, the Emperor of the time began the creation of the Fortress while pioneering the Seraph Mandate. No records of sacrifice are mentioned before this ever. It was propaganda from our very roots. Anyone who has spoken about it in the past centuries has mysteriously disappeared. I am the only one of our Librarian Subclan to be alive, because I am good at staying silent and sharing my information with those I can trust with the same silence. The fact you are hearing any of this right now is a clear indication of my trust in this boy, Oden.”

Sorn: “So why keep such a lie that spreads no purpose? What happens to those that are sacrificed?”

Oden: “There’s a pattern with the records, though the consistency of some information is incomplete, but the two of us have gathered some information of relevance. A member of the Spear Subclan always takes the throne for a short amount of time years before the sacrifice, while the Emperor disappears. Once the next generation ends, a person with no correlation to the previous Emperor takes the throne, claiming the previous Emperor has disappeared. We haven’t seen the current Emperor for the past five years, so we concluded the same was going to happen again. You Sorn, for some reason, caused this pattern to break.”

Sorn didn’t know whether to feel important by this information or not. It only further emphasized the daunting question. Who was he, and why was he here?

Oden: “The true purpose of the tournament, that will be held in the Royal Palace. Thanks Qian, I appreciate it.”

The librarian offered a small bow.

Qian: “Of course. And Oden. Best of luck.”

Oden nodded seriously before walking out of the library with Sorn and looking at the sky.

Oden: “Well, would you look at that.”

Above the Royal Palace, a group of soldiers surrounded the air, forming a large wall of ice above it in a cylinder shape.

Sorn: “What are they doing?”

Oden: They are making the borders so the Council members can begin preparing the tournament. I’d explain but it’s getting late and I’m tired.”

Sorn nodded and they began walking back. He couldn’t help but feel like Oden was hiding something. Were his intentions truly as noble as he made them about to be? He certainly didn’t give the impression of a hero.

Oden: “By the way, how did Crystal deduce the sacrifice being a lie.”

Despite trusting him, he didn’t feel it right to share another’s secret.

Sorn: “Sorry. I can’t say, but you’re free to ask her.”

Oden nodded.

Oden: “Very well. Let us head back then.”

They began to make their way back, and Sorn looked up at the setting sun. It was so much lighter outside than the dim library, and looking at the purple glow upon the blankets of snow, he had perhaps an even smaller idea regarding who he was compared to his initial meeting with Crystal. That reminded him, he had to check on her tomorrow, if anything else, just to say hi. He wondered what the Academy would be like, and how the other students would treat him. He certainly didn’t have high expectations after seeing Toren. With a silent groan, he reminded himself that he would have to see him again. He had more to worry about than he thought.

End.