Chapter 6 – The Grand Library

The walkway led to a grand hallway. Light from tall windows depicting scenes of celestial battles cast sprays of colored light against the fluted pillars and relief-sculpted walls. Statues of famous mages stared down from ornate plinths, spaced between the pillars.

“The Hall of Statues,” Iselyn breathed out at the sight. “It’s more impressive in person than I expected…”

Ria had to agree.

Luventi was surely one of the statues, but she didn’t see his name before they reached the large receiving hall that formed the building’s main entrance and provided access into the library proper.

They followed a small group of other first-years through a tall archway and descended a short set of stairs into a grand hall at least as tall as the main hall at the Hall of Registration and Advancement and with similar domes for light. A maze of multi-level bookcases and walkways obstructed the view in every direction past the open receiving area with counters manned by students and academy staff.

“Don’t gawk in the walkway,” an annoyed voice prompted from behind, and Ria and her new friend quickly moved out of the second-year’s way so they could resume their gawking.

“Ria!” called a voice she recognized, and a boy dressed in a brown robe mantled with familiar harvest motifs pushed his way through the other gawking first-years.

“Were you able to join your Order, Arthur?” Ria asked Master Rigure’s mousy-haired grandson. The boy’s mushroom-shaped haircut always made her want to chuckle, but he was a hard-working kid and had become a reliable friend over the last several weeks.

“Yup. Keira’s plan let me beat the rush.” He gave her a thumbs-up. “You?”

“All set! I was even able to get into an advanced class thanks to Master Marlow’s recommendation,” Ria smugly bragged. “So, we’re just waiting on Keira then?”

“Yeah,” Arthur confirmed and motioned them out of the way of a burly fourth-year, who looked like he might’ve been a blacksmith’s apprentice rather than a mage, before asking, “So… who’s your new friend?”

Iselyn’s hood was up and pulled low to hide her face. The girl didn’t look comfortable being around so many other students, flinching as a boisterous group passed by into the library that was quickly filling with new first-year students likely hoping to find books for their classes.

Ria took hold of Iselyn’s hand with the branding and gave a reassuring squeeze. “Her name’s Iselyn. She’s also a regional sponsorship student.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Arthur,” her fellow Vorshan Estate resident said and leaned forward a bit to try to catch a glimpse of Iselyn’s face.

Iselyn mumbled a return greeting, and Ria couldn’t help adding with a big grin, “Be careful, Arthur. Her face is so beautiful that if you see it, you’ll fall for her for sure.”

With her other hand occupied tucking the novel against her chest, Iselyn freed her restrained hand from Ria’s grasp and pulled at her hood, trying to hide her face more as she shot Ria a brief glare.

“Hey, why don’t we get started? Ranger, can keep watch for Keira,” Ria suggested.

“Woof,” Ranger volunteered with a nod, glad to be of service. “War-woof.”

“Ugh. He says that Arthur has to make sure I don’t get into any more duels if he stays behind though…” Ria lamely relayed.

“More?” Arthur’s eyebrows went up.

Ria laughed nervously. “A-anyway, where do we go next?”

Arthur looked around at the length of the queues for each of the inundated library workers then pointed to a sign with an arrow indicating direction. “There are lists of recommended books for each class listed over that way, and a lot of the students are having their affinities and attunements tested over that way…”

As interesting as it would be to get her attunements quantified, getting books for their classes was the obvious priority. “Let’s do the books first. You okay with that, Iselyn?”

The girl’s hood bobbed, and she moved closer to Arthur who took the hint and led the way through the milling throng.

Their trio joined the steady stream of other students with the same idea and, after winding between some long bookcases tall enough to give the impression of narrow hallways, found themselves in another open area with tables stacked with books. Large signs indicated that the groupings of tables were organized by the sought certifications, and when the flow of students took Ria close enough to a nearby row of tables, she saw smaller signs with short lists arranged by class.

At the far end of the room, Ria caught the glint of coin being exchanged with students and staff sitting at an empty table. Stoles with a book and bookshelf theme seemed to designate the students working as library staff.

Arthur had apparently asked around while he was waiting and readily explained when she asked about it. “There’s a Library Guild, and some of the students join and work at the library to earn extra coin, others join for fun or because they like to read… I guess?”

That… didn’t seem like such a bad idea, especially if it gave access to hidden parts of the library or other benefits. “So, what’s the deal with handing over coins at the table over there?”

“That’s probably where we buy our books,” Arthur replied matter-of-factly. Ria’s confusion must have shown, and he continued, “You need to get a library card and wait in line back at the front to borrow books. We can purchase the books set out for classes and not have to wait in line. The library will buy the books back for a reduced price when we no longer need them.”

Ah! It was a money-making scam! Show the students the lines when they first arrive then offer no lines for buying the books! There was no way nobles would tolerate waiting in lines! Ria would bet a silver mark that the buy-back price was ridiculously low too.

Iselyn’s shoulders sagged at Arthur’s words, and Ria remembered the girl’s earlier complaint about her sponsor being cheap with her accommodations. Maybe it was the same for books?

“I can lend you some coin,” Ria offered.

“No, it’s fine.” Iselyn’s hood swayed side to side as she shook her head. “I’ll wait in line if I don’t have enough. Hopefully, it won’t take long.”

That sounded like wishful thinking...

“Oh, this is the Healing section, the book for our anatomy class should be here,” Ria noted, and scanned down the list on the sign. “Anatomy and Battlefield Triage... Instructor Harnsworth. Oh! Two books recommended. A Comprehensive Survey of Monsters and Useful Materials, by Harnsworth, Instructor, Grand Academy of Magical Studies...”

Ria rolled her eyes at what she just read. Of course, the instructor would recommend his own book.

“A Medical Guide to Human, Elven, and Demi-human Anatomy,” Iselyn read the title of the second book.

“Over here,” Arthur volunteered, and with the size of the tomes he was standing in front of, Ria hoped he just wanted them to see something.

Unfortunately, he was indeed trying to be helpful.

Judging from the way Iselyn froze upon confirming the titles, the girl hadn’t made plans for getting the books back to her room. Or how to inspect the books while carrying a book already in hand...

“I can store our books for us, if you want?” Ria offered and motioned toward the novel.

Iselyn seemed like she would refuse, but reluctantly handed over her book, and Ria sent her mind and energy into the magic pouch, mentally adding the novel into the pouch’s inventory and activating the magic to store it. She was getting much better at using the pouch’s magic with the activation taking only a few seconds now compared to the minutes of concentration when she first completed the puzzles and learned what the different ‘rooms’ inside the pouch’s imaginary space were used for.

“Thanks. I’m used to having my maid with me when I shop,” Iselyn admitted.

Ria had suspected as much.

“So, you two are taking a healer’s class on anatomy?” Arthur asked with a raised eyebrow as he paged through the thick leatherbound treatise on monsters.

“Yep.”

Glancing over the stacks, the varying conditions of the books became apparent. Iselyn opened one in nice condition that was on top of a stack and, after noting a price written, slapped it shut and started piling the tomes onto the other stack until she arrived at one that looked to be in worse condition than the others. After checking the price again, she hefted the book and started paging through it. The book was painstakingly illustrated with inked diagrams and monster portraits in vivid colors.

“Are you sure you want that one, Iselyn?” Arthur asked dubiously. “Are those bloody fingerprints?”

Sure enough, a previous owner had turned a page without cleaning his hands.

“Guess we’ll need gloves for class...,” Ria suggested.

“Guess so,” Iselyn agreed and closed the book, handing it over for Ria to store.

Arthur glanced from her to Iselyn and back, looking confused. “Why would you need gloves for an anatomy class?”

“You don’t know...?” Ria started to ask, but Ranger had found Keira. “Keira’s here. Ranger’s going to bring her to us.”

“That's good,” Arthur acknowledged with visible relief. “If something happened to her while we were split up, we’d both be in trouble later.”

Arthur’s assertion was true enough, but Keira was stubborn at times and this morning was one of those times, so there wasn’t much they could do about it. Miela not being able to attend to Keira on academy grounds was certainly an inconvenience.

Ria checked the price of one of the pristine copies of Instructor Harnsworth’s book. Expensive! But... it was beautifully bound and illustrated. After paging through to make sure the illustrations were well done by the copyist, she made her decision and stored the book. A sad and tattered version of A Medical Guide to Human, Elven, and Demi-human Anatomy soon followed it as Iselyn again made her choice.

Picking up a slightly worn copy for herself, Ria opened the book only to quickly shut it, her cheeks turning red. Having opened such a thing in public was embarrassing enough without Arthur devolving into snickers nearby. Not daring to look again, she quickly stored the book.

“You’re too funny, Ria,” Arthur chortled. “It’s just a drawing.”

Even Iselyn was smirking at her a bit.

Fortunately, Ranger’s proud bark announced the arrival of Keira, saving her from further embarrassment.

“Good job, Ranger,” Ria told her familiar and gave him a vigorous behind-the-ears rubbing for his reward.

“Welcome back, Young-, er, Keira,” Arthur greeted, correcting himself from addressing Keira with her title. “How’d it go?”

“Fine, except I chose a line with a friendly-looking clerk,” Keira reported and huffed with exasperation. “She kept talking with every student! Asking them about their trip and if they were excited to be attending the country’s best academy… You’d think she would get bored, but no! Every single student! Argh!”

Ria couldn’t keep a grin off her face and felt much better about her own choice for the information counter.

“What are you grinning about?” Keira asked suspiciously.

“Nothing,” Ria tried to deny but it only made her grin bigger.

“Now I’m worried. There’s no way it’s nothing,” Keira grumbled, then her eyes drifted toward the sign above the table, and her face lit up. “Did you sign up for a healing class? I want to see your class list! We might have a shared class after all!”

Ria said a quick prayer as they both made their class lists appear and eagerly held them side-by-side. Sadly, the only shared class was the anatomy class with Harnsworth. For Keira to choose an instructor focused more on monster anatomy was surprising.

“I’m glad we’ll have a class together, but why Harnsworth’s class?” Ria asked.

Keira looked away and fidgeted with her robe. “I thought... maybe if I worked up to it with the monsters first then... and I wouldn’t have to spend as much time... cutting up... you know.”

Ah... so that was it.

“Anyway, forget about that! How’d you end up in an advanced class?!” Keira demanded.

Ria stuck her tongue out and winked. "My Order came to find me and helped out with a few things, but mostly it was because of Master Marlow’s letter.”

“No fair!” Keira objected and complained, “I had to walk all the way to Shining Sun Hall and sit through an interview even with my mom’s letter!”

“Heh, heh.” Ria made a smug face. “I got scouted for the Grand Games.”

“Your duel!” Keira realized.

“Yep.”

“Um... maybe we shouldn’t block access to the books?” Arthur interjected.

Behind Keira, another first-year girl was waiting patiently for Keira to move.

“Keira, grab your books,” Ria prodded. “There’s someone I want to introduce you to.”

They quickly caught up with Iselyn who was selecting another decrepit book in questionable condition. The introductions went reasonably well. Keira was sensitive enough not to ask about the brand on Iselyn’s hand even if she did give Ria a questioning look. Ria took the opportunity to tell Keira about the encounter with Amilee and wondered if Keira might be able to visit with her friend now that they were together in the capital. Keira indicated that she would make inquiries with her aunt about the matter.

Collecting their books went quickly with four sets of eyes, and with the exception of Ria’s Basic Spellcraft book, all the books for their classes were found without problem. Ria was glad to find out in the process that not only did she share the Enchanting class on materials with Arthur, but that Harnsworth’s book was also one of the recommended books for that class, saving her some money.

Ria eventually asked about books for her advanced classes while they were each paying for their books and found out that those were made available in a different area, which prompted the party to split up so Iselyn could take care of getting her library card and borrow the books she didn’t want to buy.

Keira volunteered to go with Iselyn to help carry her books. She had a few that she wanted to borrow instead of buy as well.

“Want to have our affinities and attunements tested?” Arthur suggested as Ria selected and paid for her remaining texts from a smaller and quieter section of the library. She and Arthur were the only first-years there.

“Sure,” Ria readily agreed. Keira and Iselyn were likely going to be a while... a long while.

After getting directions again, she and Arther wound their way between bookcases until arriving at a set of circular stairs leading down into the basement.

“This place is like a maze,” Arthur muttered.

It really was. Whoever designed it clearly hadn’t intended for students to be able to browse sections in neat orderly rows at all!

At the bottom of the circular stairway, they were greeted with a stone room eerily lit by glowstones. Other first-years were lined up in front of three doors at the far end. Each of the doors featured designs depicting the elements and other known affinities. Since all the doors were the same, Ria and Arther each chose a different line.

Before long, a library-stole wearing student and a first-year came out. The stole wearing third-year motioned for the next student to enter and closed the door behind her, leaving the rest of the line to wait their turn.

While she was waiting, Ria took out A Generalist’s Survey of Elemental Magic by her fellow Order member and instructor, Master Elementalist Genwald. There was something odd she wanted to check. Opening the book to the page for the standardized light spell, Ria again studied the spell design on the page. Whatever it was, it didn’t look anything like the light spell from the book in the Adventurers Guild library. There were ‘light’ glyphs in the design, but...

She tilted her head. Was that enchanted ink? A scroll?

The more she looked, the more Ria was sure that the page was a template scroll that would activate when energy was applied.

A snicker came from behind her.

When she looked back, a boy who had joined the line after her was smirking. “You look like you’ve never seen a spell book before.”

Though annoyed at the boy’s tone, she was more confused by what the boy had said. Weren’t all books about magic spell books? “What do you mean?”

He laughed. “No one studies the page.”

Now she was really confused. How else would you use a book...? Wait. Modern spells weren’t flat. With a sudden bit of inspiration, she sent a small amount of energy into the enchantment and an illusion formed above the page, an illusion that detailed a much more familiar spell structure. The spell design was arranged differently than she was used to but was clearly a light spell.

“Thanks,” she told the boy. “I’m Ria, by the way.”

“Jax,” the boy offered. “How’d you get to be a regional sponsorship student and not know that? There’s no way you don’t know your affinity either. You even have a familiar.”

Ria glanced down at Ranger, who really was the only familiar in the room, and shrugged. “I grew up in Revant, and this is all still really new to me. I don’t have an affinity. That’s why I joined a generalist Order.”

“Bullshit,” Jax scoffed. “It’s none of my business if you don’t want to tell me, but there’s no need to lie about it. No one gets a regional sponsorship without some kind of special bloodline.”

Not knowing what to say, Ria turned back to studying the light spell. Memorizing it didn’t take long since she already knew the glyphs and structures, and she moved onto the next page.

She mulled over the boy’s comment. From what Keira had told her, the Vorshan family had a bloodline without an affinity until Keira’s mother married into the family. The Vorshan bloodline’s benefit was that it provided improved energy reserves and control.

Ria wondered if, even without an affinity, by that standard, would her high energy reserves and control be considered a bloodline? Ria had assumed that she was just a normal girl before finding the grimoire. But after witnessing Jess’ struggle and learning that was normal for the vast majority of the Adventurers Guild members, could she really consider herself a ‘normal’ village girl. Did her family always have such an ability with magic and just not know? What about her brothers? Her mom? Her dad?

She was lost in thought about the possibility to the extent that Ranger’s mental alert when her turn came didn’t come in time to avoid a rude “Get on with it.” from Jax.

“Hi, I’m Atresia. Everyone just calls me Ezzie. I’ll be assisting your affinity and attunement testing,” the third-year greeted amiably while leading Ria inside the room and closing the door after them just like with the others before her.

When the door closed, Ria felt an odd stillness and... a separation from the energy outside. The windowless room was warded in a way to isolate it from outside energies—even without using Sensing Sphere, she was sure of it. Rather than a single device, several devices were arranged around the small room.

“Just so you know, I’m doing a survey of student affinity and attunements. Your name can be kept private, but I’d like to use the data gathered for my study, if that would be okay?” the older girl asked as she led Ria to a device with two smaller crystals in the front corners and a large crystal ball embedded in a vertical backplate with an etched ring indicating the primary and secondary elements plus spirit, divine, illusion, nature and others.

“Sure. I don’t mind.” Ria didn’t have any reason to object, and the girl belonging to the same order as Master Marlow, the Order of Celestial Knowledge, meant there was no reason to expect any ill-intent or to doubt her words.

“Great. Thanks!” An open book with methodically written entries appeared in her hands followed by a quill once she had the book situated against her chest so she could write. “Go ahead and place your hands on the two crystals in the front then apply a bit of energy. There should be a resonance. Don’t remove your hands until I say so, okay?”

Ria gave an acknowledging “okay” and did as instructed.

The machine readily received her energy and shortly she felt ripples spread back into her body from where she was touching the crystals. As the rippling bounced around inside her and returned to the crystals colors began to form in the large crystal ball—first a large golden blob near the center that extended toward shadow, earth, and fire then smaller glows in elemental colors near each of the elements that she had learned energy transformations for.

Her excitement turned to worry as she noted part of the golden glow also reaching toward the symbol for spirit. But before she could consider the ramifications of possibly having a spirit affinity, the blob of golden glow seemed to rapidly tarnish before her eyes, turning into a terrifying black that yawned back at her like an infinite emptiness.