Cylus 6, Arc 721
Scalvoris had had a special place in the Mortalborn’s heart since he had first set a foot on the island approximately an arc before, in order to hold a series of guest lectures at the local university. Even though Viden was and would always be his true home – he needed to be surrounded by ice and snow in order to truly thrive – he could not deny that there was something about it. At the same time, he could not help but wonder – and worry.
Over the course of the past couple of arcs, Scalvoris had suffered catastrophe after catastrophe. The docks had collapsed, leading to a great loss of lives. The volcano on Faldrass had erupted. Hundred had perished during the eruption and in the trials that had followed. And now it seemed as if the island was on the brink of an actual war. He did not know what it was that caused all bad those things to take place on the island, at least not yet, but he needed to do something, and not only because Scalvoris was a close ally.
What he had said to Xiur when he had knelt in front of him in Rharne, during the Mummer’s Ball, had been true. He wished to serve him like he should have served him all along and give people hope. The world of Idalos was too beautiful to ever give up on it, and the people of Scalvoris deserved more than to just endure catastrophe after catastrophe until there was nothing left. Scalvoris should be a peaceful place, an island filled with wonders.
He was not so arrogant as to assume that the Council had not already gathered considerable intelligence on their enemy. Kura Mareth, the Albarech, was a very intelligent woman and an experienced leader from what he knew, although he had serious doubts about Balthazar Black who had once admitted to wanting to become Militant.
The man seemed to be at least borderline insane.
He had access to the greatest library in Idalos though, including the arcane section that was closed off to the general public, due to his being a professor. There might be something, a puzzle piece, a bit of information that the Albarech and those that worked alongside her would be able to make use of, something that would help them when it came to dealing with Slag’s Deep and those that were in charge of it and take care of the threat. There might be something that might not be easily accessible to those in Scalvoris.
The Prime Atheneum housed approximately three quarter millions of books. The library in Scalvoris Town on the other hand was comparatively small, from what he knew, and only a couple of arcs old.
~~~
Before he began to actually look for books, the Mortalborn who was garbed in a bespoke suit of coal and silver (he had deposited his coat in the coatroom) stopped in front of the statues that stood at the end of the shelves.
He knelt down in front of a statue of Xiur, the Immortal he wished to serve for the rest of eternity, with his head bent respectfully, his eyes half-closed and his voice gentle, and prayed, for a flicker of hope, a guiding light, for the people of Scalvoris, a star in the sky that was shrouded in perpetual twilight in Cylus, before he sent a silent prayer to Daia who did not have a statue in the Prime Atheneum, but whose mark he bore as well and moved on in order to honor Ziell, Yvithia, Treid and Aeva.
Finally, he began his work, determined to spend the entire trial in the library, if need be – as well as his spare time in the trials that followed.
He had prayed to Xiur, for hope and for guidance, for a light in the darkness, to someone that he knew cared deeply and genuinely, but in his opinion, hope wasn't something that you just prayed for. Hope wasn’t something that you just waited for, something that just came your way, but something that you could and should actively work on.
One of his aims was to find something that might constitute a weakness. Slag’s Deep had declared itself a sovereign nation which was a sign that they were supremely confident, as far as he was concerned, but there had to be something, something more than just well-equipped guards and prisoners that had allied themselves with them (or that were just dead). He wanted to try and figure out what it was. He was not only looking for current information though, but for the source, the moment that it had begun. In order to understand the present and find a solution, it was often necessary to look into the past.
He was looking for maps, both current maps and historical maps so that he would be able to figure out what, if anything had changed over the course of time, and identify patterns and connections, historical accounts, intelligence reports, geographical information, myths and legends, international connections, anything and everything that held even a grain of promise, books on both Scalvoris and Egilrun and beyond that he would cross-reference. To only check a single book was foolish. In order to make sure that the information that you had was correct it was prudent to check several sources and compare them.
He did not condone war as it only caused pain and suffering, usually on both sides – he was his father’s son in that regard – but he realized that it was unfortunately unavoidable sometimes. And maybe, just maybe, there would be a way to reduce the bloodshed as much as possible.
He was just leafing through a book on the history of Scalvoris when one of the librarians approached him and asked him, having noticed how he was checking book upon a book, “Professor, is there something in particular that you are looking for?”
He gave her – the librarian was a human woman in her thirties – a quick overview of what he was looking for. He realized that it would take him forever to search the library alone, that she knew it even better than he did, and for that reason, he thanked her politely. When she finally brought him a stack of books that she thought might be helpful, he sat down at a desk to check them and those that he had found so far – before he went back to find new books to read – and take notes about his findings, provided that he found anything that looked interesting.
Scalvoris had had a special place in the Mortalborn’s heart since he had first set a foot on the island approximately an arc before, in order to hold a series of guest lectures at the local university. Even though Viden was and would always be his true home – he needed to be surrounded by ice and snow in order to truly thrive – he could not deny that there was something about it. At the same time, he could not help but wonder – and worry.
Over the course of the past couple of arcs, Scalvoris had suffered catastrophe after catastrophe. The docks had collapsed, leading to a great loss of lives. The volcano on Faldrass had erupted. Hundred had perished during the eruption and in the trials that had followed. And now it seemed as if the island was on the brink of an actual war. He did not know what it was that caused all bad those things to take place on the island, at least not yet, but he needed to do something, and not only because Scalvoris was a close ally.
What he had said to Xiur when he had knelt in front of him in Rharne, during the Mummer’s Ball, had been true. He wished to serve him like he should have served him all along and give people hope. The world of Idalos was too beautiful to ever give up on it, and the people of Scalvoris deserved more than to just endure catastrophe after catastrophe until there was nothing left. Scalvoris should be a peaceful place, an island filled with wonders.
He was not so arrogant as to assume that the Council had not already gathered considerable intelligence on their enemy. Kura Mareth, the Albarech, was a very intelligent woman and an experienced leader from what he knew, although he had serious doubts about Balthazar Black who had once admitted to wanting to become Militant.
The man seemed to be at least borderline insane.
He had access to the greatest library in Idalos though, including the arcane section that was closed off to the general public, due to his being a professor. There might be something, a puzzle piece, a bit of information that the Albarech and those that worked alongside her would be able to make use of, something that would help them when it came to dealing with Slag’s Deep and those that were in charge of it and take care of the threat. There might be something that might not be easily accessible to those in Scalvoris.
The Prime Atheneum housed approximately three quarter millions of books. The library in Scalvoris Town on the other hand was comparatively small, from what he knew, and only a couple of arcs old.
~~~
Before he began to actually look for books, the Mortalborn who was garbed in a bespoke suit of coal and silver (he had deposited his coat in the coatroom) stopped in front of the statues that stood at the end of the shelves.
He knelt down in front of a statue of Xiur, the Immortal he wished to serve for the rest of eternity, with his head bent respectfully, his eyes half-closed and his voice gentle, and prayed, for a flicker of hope, a guiding light, for the people of Scalvoris, a star in the sky that was shrouded in perpetual twilight in Cylus, before he sent a silent prayer to Daia who did not have a statue in the Prime Atheneum, but whose mark he bore as well and moved on in order to honor Ziell, Yvithia, Treid and Aeva.
Finally, he began his work, determined to spend the entire trial in the library, if need be – as well as his spare time in the trials that followed.
He had prayed to Xiur, for hope and for guidance, for a light in the darkness, to someone that he knew cared deeply and genuinely, but in his opinion, hope wasn't something that you just prayed for. Hope wasn’t something that you just waited for, something that just came your way, but something that you could and should actively work on.
One of his aims was to find something that might constitute a weakness. Slag’s Deep had declared itself a sovereign nation which was a sign that they were supremely confident, as far as he was concerned, but there had to be something, something more than just well-equipped guards and prisoners that had allied themselves with them (or that were just dead). He wanted to try and figure out what it was. He was not only looking for current information though, but for the source, the moment that it had begun. In order to understand the present and find a solution, it was often necessary to look into the past.
He was looking for maps, both current maps and historical maps so that he would be able to figure out what, if anything had changed over the course of time, and identify patterns and connections, historical accounts, intelligence reports, geographical information, myths and legends, international connections, anything and everything that held even a grain of promise, books on both Scalvoris and Egilrun and beyond that he would cross-reference. To only check a single book was foolish. In order to make sure that the information that you had was correct it was prudent to check several sources and compare them.
He did not condone war as it only caused pain and suffering, usually on both sides – he was his father’s son in that regard – but he realized that it was unfortunately unavoidable sometimes. And maybe, just maybe, there would be a way to reduce the bloodshed as much as possible.
He was just leafing through a book on the history of Scalvoris when one of the librarians approached him and asked him, having noticed how he was checking book upon a book, “Professor, is there something in particular that you are looking for?”
He gave her – the librarian was a human woman in her thirties – a quick overview of what he was looking for. He realized that it would take him forever to search the library alone, that she knew it even better than he did, and for that reason, he thanked her politely. When she finally brought him a stack of books that she thought might be helpful, he sat down at a desk to check them and those that he had found so far – before he went back to find new books to read – and take notes about his findings, provided that he found anything that looked interesting.
