Searching the library

Chu opened his tired eyes at the sound of a gong. He mumbled while turning and pulling tightly on the quilt as he snuggled. In the early dawn, this hard bunk bed within the stone dorm felt like heaven.

"Hey, you'd better not ready too late, or else you won't have any breakfast again. How can someone who gains the opportunity to enter the Tower, act like a sloth?"

"Davis, you nag like my mother back when I went to school. Let me sleep some more, the sun hasn't even come up man!"

The older teen called Davis shook his head in defeat. For the past couple of weeks, this roommate of his refused to conform to the standards of the academy.

Davis cleaned himself at the washbasin and slipped into his blue robes. Launching a kick on the occupied wooden bunk, he hastened out to accomplish his task for today.

"Damn that Davis. How can he still be so motivated about school? He reminds me of when I landed my first job out of college. I give it a month or two again and then I'll have to drag his butt out of bed."

Chu muttered while tucking in the covers. Unlike the rest of the occupants of this dorm who recently graduated from the Outer Circle, Chu did not conform to the packed daily schedule.

The apprentices who graduated from the Outer to the Inner Circle held the status as the cream of the crop. They no longer had to run errands and handle chores but instead, focus on gathering dark matter and gain enlightenment through lectures and self-research.

The ones who succeeded would journey to Frost City and the North Pass and fall in battle or rise as mages. The others who failed to grasp the opportunity in the Inner Circle would be relegated to the Outer Circle as defenders or managers.

Chu gathered this much information from his enthusiastic roommate. Heaving off the covers, he tumbled off the bed and soon had his muscles creaking while stretching. Patches of blue-black skin showed from under his loose sleepwear.

"Damn that Ming! He knows I am beginning to rust for lack of training but the bastard fights heavy-handed. I paid him back with interest yesterday though."

Chu flinched while massaging his ribs. Researching at the academy did not mean he could skimp on his training. Every other morning he ran and then sparred with Ming on the training fields. He learned from Ming that the girls kept their practice confined to the dorm rooms.

Chu poured some water from a jug and wiped his body. Donning a blue robe, he browsed through some parchments before stuffing them into a small bag. He exited the now vacant dorm and made his way along the cobbled walkway, across the lawn, following an aroma.

"Boy, do you really know where you are?"

A round, old man wearing a white apron questioned in resignation. For the past few weeks, this boy arrived late at the canteen. If not for the instructions from management, then the cooks would have booted him out.

"I am in the home of the grand tower mages. Becoming a tower mage is the dream of thousands living in the Empire. Hundreds of humans would shed their right arm for this opportunity. A Tower mage stands above everyone in the Empire. So, what's for breakfast?"

"Boy sometimes I wonder where they find some of you."

The man raised his hands in defeat and then heaped some stew and a few slices of bread onto a tin plate. With a clatter, it landed onto the polished wooden counter.

"The head cook says if you miss supper, then expect dried rations. Cooks also need sleep. Those late-night visits have to end. Heaven alone knows what you're doing in that library."

"Fine, fine, but I want a pouch of rations before I leave. You guys have a habit of not answering the knocks on the door."

Chu collected his plate and moved towards the empty hall while the cook wiped the counter from a force of habit.

The Tower had a few libraries scattered around the Outer and Inner Circle for Apprentices and even Mages to use. Books in the libraries tend to focus on the materials taught within the nearby towers. After eating, Chu flagged down an open carriage.

From his dorm, the single tower which occupied the Inner Circle and dwarfed the others in girth and height lay about two hours walking distance away. The workshops, enclosed fields, courtyards and hedges that impeded walking in a straight line added to the time.

Luckily, the Tower employed a few carriages manned by apprentices and scribes to ferry individuals to distant destinations. Chu disembarked at a corner of the stone castle that extended out from the foot of the tower.

Handing over his token for the routine inspection, he meandered along the now-familiar corridors and hallways to the large doors leading to the library. A musty smell greeted him as he entered, along with aisles of bookshelves filled to capacity.

Seekers of knowledge filled all the chairs and tables near the open windows making full use of the sunlight. A narrow spiral staircase extended into the depths to deeper floors of books and candlelight.

Chu descended past two floors and entered into the deepest basement. Here a large underground hall greeted him. Oil lamps hung from the walls or sat on the tables.

Passageways opened from the walls leading into small rooms stacked with scrolls and books. Written words older than a thousand years occupied the shelves and pigeon holes.

"Young inventor, I found the text you wanted. You'll find it on your table at the top of the stack."

"Thank you, Senior. Don't forget to exit from your meditation next month for discussions about the clock and its uses in alchemy."

Chu replied. The users of this hall all wore either scarlet or white robes. At first, they wondered if he had lost his marbles in entering this restricted hall but then Council Mage Tarot vouched for him.

On knowing his true identity, the older mages shed their hostility and welcomed him. Chu wasted no time in sharing a little modern knowledge which lightened the mood. The mages pursued their own research, not bothering to waste time in squabbles and minding the business of others.

Chu lit an oil lamp and then walked across to his usual table. He first browsed through the books and scrolls he gathered and then set to work. Removing his quill and ink along with blank parchments for notes, Chu began skimming the pages while scribbling intermittently.

For the past few weeks, he delved into stacks of books and scrolls searching for his goal. The library, however, indexed the books by age turning his searches to find something specific into seeking the needle in a haystack.

Chu wanted to find books or scrolls with similar writing like the ones found in the ruins. From there he would search for later text which made reference to the ancient writing. In essence, Chu needed this world's Rosetta stone.

"I see you're hard at it again today. I honestly don't know why you're fascinated with ancient magic. Most of the recent text contains breakthroughs after lengthy research."

"Ah, Chief Mage Slovac. I thought you entered into meditation?"

Chu rose and clasped his hands in respect. The bearded old man with white hair tied in a bun ruled over the Tower in Limerock and held the position as Chief of the Council Mages. He also held the position as Tye's master.

"It's hard to find ancient scrolls written about talismans. Sometimes it becomes hard to dig among the archives for information. I'm afraid the library is not as organized as it should be."

Chu nodded in agreement. When searching for books he did find discrepancies in the language. In the forest ruins, the strange writing was found in books. Here in the library, he recognized the common language when the older generations wrote it on animal hides and reeds.

This finding convinced Chu that the Tower assimilated knowledge from an advanced civilization. The written medium changed from parchment to reeds and hide and then back to books. This inference only served to pique his interest.

"Since you seem interested in talismans and ancient magic, I can introduce you to a specialist in the field. Before he left for Frost City, he held the position as the most avid book reader and researcher. He once spewed some talk about talismans that sounded like a fairytale."

***

The week rolled by swiftly. At the end of the month, the Tower allocated four days off for the new recruits. As planned, Chu decided to regroup at the villa during this free time.

Chu found Mr. Thomas accompanied by Dyna, waiting by the carriage. The girls and Ming chatted nearby with a few unfamiliar faces. He nodded and greeted these new friends before they waved goodbye and left.

"I see you guys fitted in well."

Chu remarked.

"The academy treated us well. No wonder the high-ranking nobles send their daughters here."

"We learned a lot of new things in the evenings and the chores have not been difficult. Amanda found herself swamped with suitors, Lucy and I had to act as bodyguards. Some of them even tried to hit on us."

Miki chimed. Apparently, she had a ball of a time during the last few weeks which surprised Chu since she shied away from all manner of schooling.

"We did encounter a problem though. Sakura demonstrated her writing skills which impressed the old apprentice in charge of our class. She graduated to the top floor classroom to aid the senior scribes in composing books with talismans."

"Oh, but that's great news. Well done Sakura."

Chu replied to the statements from Lucy. He didn't see how that ranked as bad news. Lucy continued to clear the air.

"Sakura was placed alone in a separate class from us at the beginning. When she showed off her skills, some of the other girls acted quite mean to her. They spilled ink on her desk and tore the work she left overnight."

"It was nothing to be worried about. Just a bunch of children playing around. I didn't bother telling Lucy more about it because it was not serious. Besides, I'm in a class filled with mostly old men now."

Sakura chuckled drily.

Chu spluttered and thumped his chest. He glanced outside at the redhead chewing on a long stick of jerky while sitting next to Mr. Thomas. Chu wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He had no problems if any of the other girls faced a school bully. Chu would actually be happy if the bully chose any one of these girls.

Amanda would win out in the end since she made friends easily. Lucy and Miki carried an aura which made even grown men wary. Sue was just too kindhearted.

Sakura... Sakura, however, was someone even Ming would steer clear off. This quiet girl probably seemed like a prime candidate for bullying, except for the fact that she could take care of herself.

Sakura had a high threshold of tolerance, and would not retaliate unless in self-defense, but she literally also controlled a red-headed devil.

And she would join them at the academy this month.