14.

Half running and half hobbling, Lynn dashed out through the hallways he had mapped out days earlier. He almost crashed to the ground more than once as his wooden leg refused to be as responsive to his commands as his flesh one but, each time, he managed to catch himself on the wall and continue on. He burst out onto the back courtyard, rounded the corner, only to have his heart jump into his throat. Under the gazebo all of the remaining applicants stood in a line in front of Tiara, who also had another six individuals behind her. Lynn ran as fast as his leg would let him.

Everyone turned to him as he crossed the bridge. He recognized Constell and his brother as two of the six individuals behind Tiara. Constell gave him a great smile and wave while his brother maintained the usual scowl scrawled across his face. Lynn took his place standing at the end of the line next to Vivian who smiled at him. He could feel perspiration on his brow and he silently prayed to some god somewhere that by some miracle he didn’t reek of body odor.

“I see Lord Jet has decided to join us after all. Curious, I never took him for the type for tardiness. I’m disappointed.” Tiara spoke while giving him a chilling glare. “As I was saying, you are the remaining candidates. Each of you will be assigned a tutor to assist you in your studies. Their only responsibilities will be to nudge you in the correct direction so I emphasize that you do not cling to them. Each of you has proven yourself worthy and capable of pursuing knowledge. I expect none of you will disappoint.”

Lynn held his breath. This moment had been sought after for the last four years. Four years of pain to accomplish this achievement. Tiara began pairing off those behind and in front of her. When she called off Quinton Silver’s name he gave Lynn a look of utter loathing as he stepped forward and met with a tired looking girl. It seemed to take time that stretched on before Vivian was escorted away alongside Contell’s brother. Finally, Tiara looked him up and down.

“Lord Lynn Jet. You have been assigned Constell Salt as your tutor. If you have any questions direct them towards him. Now, I recommend leaving to better acquaint yourselves with one another.”

Constell grinned and jerked his head to the side in the direction of the bridge. He started off that way and Lynn followed. They crossed the yard until Constell stopped and plopped himself down on the green grass.

“Nice work making it Lynn. Like I said, most of us had our doubts. Way to prove us wrong. And thanks for looking out for Nyx for me. I made a mini-fortune. I’ll say, poisoning seems like a bit of overkill but hey, whatever gets the job done, eh? Did ya arrange for Kaylin Garnet’s disappearance as well?”

“I didn’t poison anyone. And I didn’t have anything to do with Kaylin Garnet disappearing. I actually had just previously arranged an appointment with her and Fitz Jasper to discuss how to best counter Ivan Quartz. Directly before he spontaneously dropped dead.”

Constell lay back, staring up at the blue sky, with his hands knitted together behind his head. “Sure, sure. But hey, I’m glad I pulled your name out of the hat for tutoring. I have no doubt life will be exciting around ya.”

“They divvied us up via lottery? That seems….a less than effective method.”

Constell laughed. “Well, I think the original idea was to counter corruption through even odds of anyone receiving anyone but doesn’t seem to be working. For example, it’s not a coincidence my brother is teaching Vivian Topaz. My dear mother seems intent on setting him up with the most eligible bachelorette. Especially since she is young and doesn’t seem to have ties to anyone else other than Lord Ivory who’s currently across the ocean. And, by her logic, both my brother and Vivian Topaz are outsiders so it’s essentially a free tie-in to a powerful new house in Neo Regnum. It’s sad that a beauty like Vivian Topaz is being wasted on my brother.” Constell gave a deep sigh.

Lynn considered this. “Who’s your mother that she has this amount of influence? And what’s the reasoning in partnering me with you?”

“Didn’t you know? My mother’s the dear Lady Tiara who so graciously addressed your tardiness so tactfully just a minute ago.” Constell closed his eyes and seemed to absorb the setting sunlight through his tanned arms, legs, and face. “And I have no idea her logic behind why I got ya. Don’t question a good thing, am I right?”

“No. We should question everything. Questions are how we find answers. Answers are how we better understand the world around us and better survive it.”

Constell opened an eye. “Ya’ll get along splendidly here. Personally, I’m for savoring life rather than surviving it. But hey, I suppose I’m your tutor so ya’re welcome to ask any questions and I’ll give ya all those dearly sought after answers I have in my head.”

Lynn’s heart stopped. He was right. Answers lay right in front of him basking in the sun. Lynn had to organize his thoughts for a minute. Finally, he opened his mouth. “How do I become a Mystic?”

“Straight into it? Alright. No one else is around, right? Top secret stuff, ya know. I’m not supposed to discuss Mystics in front of anyone not accepted into the upper floors of the library.”

“No one else is around.” Grass and pruned plants waved in the warm breeze but the courtyard seemed devoid of any sentient life.

“Well then, let’s start at the absolute basics of the Mystic Arts. Somewhere down our genealogy lies another Mystic and the trait lies dormant in most nobles but can be brought out in some through a bit of coaxing. Now the exceptions to this are Naturals like your girlfriend, Vivian Topaz.”

“It’s a platonic relationship,” Lynn interjected.

“Hm, sure, sure. Anyway, all Naturals are still confided to citizens of Neo Regnum as far as we’ve found. Each of us normal folk are descended from a Natural and we have varying levels of control over our powers but we will never be quite as powerful or potent as our Natural ancestor.

“All of us latent Mystics are given an element or sub-element which seems to be, as far as anyone knows, completely random. For example-I am a Sand Mystic which is a sub-element that falls under Earth but my brother is an Air Mystic. Those elements are complete opposites even though we’re brothers. However, it’s not quite as random for Naturals. Naturals are normal men and women who have died and come back. It’s not something light, most come back severely traumatized from their deaths but still, somehow they live again. And every time, without fail, that they die, it’s a death by the element they develop as a Mystic when they come back. For centuries people thought they must be gods or demons. Even the fabled Silvis himself was chased away by his hometown priest after coming back to life from a charred corpse, but now they’re even more of an anomaly then they were three hundred years ago so supposedly it’s easier to keep it quiet.”

Lynn listened dutifully. He silently worked on memorizing Constell’s works so he would be able to write them down later.

“Enough of me jabbering, I’ll show ya something.” Constell sat up and pulled a pouch out from his belt. He poured out the contents into his right hand and displayed a pile of sand built up on his palm to Lynn. Constell let it fall through his fingers but instead of drizzling onto the grass, it curled in small streams around the back of his hand and back into his palm where it had begun, like rings of sand made for his hand. The cycle went on for a bit as Lynn watched intensely then it began to slither up his arm, the streams of sand appearing as small faceless snakes. The sand gathered in his opposite hand and formed into a sphere the size of an apple. Constell dropped the ball of sand back into the pouch, slipping it back onto his belt.

“H-how?” Lynn gaped.

“It’s easiest to start by forming the element itself. Don’t tell any of the ladies, but I’m still new to this, that honestly wasn’t very good. A true master could have formed a castle of sand on the ground with a wave of the hand, breaking down the dirt in the ground into sand in an instant. I still rely on physical sand to do even tiny tricks. But hey, I bet ya won’t be any better than I am with only a year’s training. The way most of us begin is by finding a source of our element and willing it to manipulate in some tiny kind of way.”

Lynn considered. “Where can I find ice? Do the kitchens have any I can take?”

“Well, yes…but I doubt it would be enough just yet. When I first began studying my tutor sent me to the beach and for several days I had to sit in the sand and study it. I had to learn what it felt like, what it tasted like, how it smelled, how it sounded when trickling. He put me in a place where I became surrounded by sand and nothing else. Such a boring week, but, by the end of it, I could move the sand using Mystic abilities. The power of Mystic Arts all really comes down to three things-the amount you’re naturally born with being the most important. It’s latent at birth if you have the potential to be a Mystic but not everyone comes out of the womb with equal abilities, some are simply born stronger than others. The next thing that measures your powers is how long you spend practicing them. Using them drains you like nothing else. Remember that little trick I showed ya? Well, now I feel like I just spent the last hour trying to swim laps around the island. I’m starved. But using them more frequently builds the stamina of your Mystic abilities up so ya can do more. The third thing that affects your abilities is willpower and adrenaline. Ever heard the story of how a scrawny lady picked up an oak tree when it fell on her baby? Wonders of adrenaline there. Pretty straightforward. It’s really just like any sort of physical performance. Some people are born incredible, others need to train, and still others are simply willing to push themselves to the absolute limit for strength.”

“Okay. That’s all logical.” Lynn said and paused for a minute as he took in Constell’s words. “Is there a place like that here? A place covered in ice?”

“Not at the library, no. But, because I’m such a wonderful and benevolent tutor, I’ve been looking into it since I drew your name and I found out there is a mountain which has a lake at its peak that remains frozen every season of the year. My recommendation would be to travel to the top of it and stay there for a few days.” Constell hesitated before continuing. “But…I don’t know if ya can make it with only one leg. It’s a monster of a climb.”

Lynn smiled. “Just point the way. I have no doubt I’ll summit it. I’ve climbed up a few mountains one legged before. You get used to it after a while.”

Constell didn’t look convinced. “If ya think so. I’ll get ya the map. Meanwhile, do you have any other questions for me right now?”

Lynn had half a million questions still on his tongue. “What do you know about Mortium?”

“Unfortunately for ya. Not a lot.” Constell lay back into the grass and closed his eyes. “My brother mentioned them a few times after getting back. Other countries built a massive wall built to keep those people out. I know they live in a desert. There are definitely books in the library on them but I never saw a reason to look at ‘em. Why do you want to know about ‘em? In fact, how do ya even know of their existence in the first place? Neo Regnum citizens shouldn’t even know anyone across the ocean exists, let alone know the country’s name.”

“It’s personal.” Lynn said. He licked his lips and found they were cracked and bloody. “I can just go upstairs and get a book with the information?”

“Yeah, a librarian should be wandering around able to point ya in the right direction. Now, if ya’re done with me, I’m going to go collect my winnings. I knew Nyx Opal would be a solid choice.”

Constell stood up and walked with Lynn to the building.

“Oh! One last thing.” Constell dug around in his silken gentlemen’s jacket pocket and produced a small silver key in his hand. “I’m supposed to tell ya that losing this key will result in embalmment while still living.”

Lynn took a step back, his wooden leg making him wobble. “Embalmment? You mean removal of organs to preserve bodies?”

“Yeah.” Constell nodded. “This is a key that gives access to every library in the building, upper floors included. This is literally the key to all the knowledge in the world. The punishment is steep for carelessness. I heard that there is a room in the dungeons of this place with the only four people to lose the key still sleep, embalmed to perfection.” A solemn pause ensued. Then Constell laughed. “I’m just messing with ya. But seriously, this key is really important, losing it will get ya into heaps of trouble. Keep it safe.” With that, he dropped the key into Lynn’s palm, winked, and left him.

Lynn sighed and shook his head. He made his way to the stairs, passed two Silvian guards, and hiked up them to find a solid wooden door. Inserting his new key, he twisted and pushed it open revealing a hallway of immense magnitude.

Bookshelves lined the walls all the way to the ceiling. Passages opened up from the small gaps within the bookshelves that led to rooms stacked high with even more books. Lynn had browsed the libraries on the lower floor and been impressed, but this…Lynn now realized what it meant when people spoke of the largest library in the world. He squeezed into a dozen different rooms as he wandered the halls and found them each filled to the brim with manuscripts, scrolls, etchings, and books. The bookshelves were tall enough that scribes used twenty foot ladders to climb to the top. Several of said scribes could be spotted carrying piles of manuscripts and scrolls to and from study nooks.

Lynn realized he was salivating and had to laugh. A laugh of undulated ecstasy and joy. The whole scene caused his heart to race as he examined the bindings of thousands upon thousands of scripts written of hundreds of years. And he now had access to every one of them.

The books he had spent years scouring Neo Regnum for, took mere minutes to find here. Finally, he began his studies in earnest.