Pressing a stone button that presented itself, a panel of light presented itself before him, with a runic language written on it. I couldn't help but wonder what other sorts of technological advancements they'd made since the Great Partition, though I knew no amount of time here could ever reveal them all.
"So, what is it you truly came here to learn about?" he turned to face us with a bright smile. After exchanging a few knowing looks, we all agreed on what we had to ask for. "Ah, Your Highness," he chirped when she stepped up. "We'd like to learn about the Great Partition and other known sources of mana. Given our encounter yesterday, I think it would be wise to learn as much about it as we can," she said, matching his bright smile.
It nearly faded when Balgrim's eyes met hers, but she managed to maintain her composure.
"Oooh, a warrior princess and a scholar, are we? Very well, then," Calduran replied, stroking his beard in amusement. He turned to face the panel once more and spoke in a language no one immediately recognized.
Well, no one except Kalia, anyway.
This is the language of the Wardens, she said in utter astonishment. What? But that should be impossible for him to know, Mom sent with genuine surprise. I'm sure of it. I recall hearing a similar language when my people were slaughtered, Kalia replied with a hint of sadness in her tone.
What's really going on here, then? I wondered, observing the two elder dwarves. Balgrim's eyes widened in surprise, as if not even he was privy to the fact that it was a language from otherworldly beings. What his honest thoughts were, however, I couldn't tell, but Athar's expression reminded me of what had happened the day prior.
As the archive responded to his commands, a number of the titanic bookshelves moved aside, making way for those that came from the far end of the room. "That's a time saver if I've ever seen one," Ed muttered beside me, his eyes widening just as much as mine.
A large bookshelf halted just before us, with books and scrolls that seemed to have not been touched since they were first placed there. Thankfully, the mana barrier surrounding the bookshelf helped to preserve them, but I could tell at a glance that these books were going to change my view of everything I, and the others knew forever.
My palms began to sweat as Calduran spoke a spell to undo the barrier, then another to bring out the shelves dedicated to the topics we wanted. "Here you are. Please, take your time in reading them. I will answer any questions regarding what you find that I can," he said, spreading his arms out beside him as the shelves moved to his left and right, spawning legs out from underneath them like tables.
"Thank you, Great Calduran. I hope we can find the answers we're looking for here," Mom said with a gracious gesture. "Of course, Siraye," he said, returning the greeting. "I'd suggest you start with this one and move along them carefully, as they're all laid out in chronological order. Just make sure to put them back where you found them," he continued, gesturing to a large, black book at the end of the table shelf nearest to us.
"Ready to find out the answers to all those questions you used to have?" Ed asked me with a wry grin. "You have no idea," I chuckled, feeling my pulse beginning to race as we all started to move toward the books.
I picked up the first one and gingerly opened it, unsure of how secure its bindings were, only to find that I couldn't quite read the language. "Ah, right. I'd forgotten about that. Perhaps this will help," Calduran said after noticing my confusion.
A panel of the same light appeared along the page, and extracted the information on it, translating it into Common or whichever language it seemed to know we were most comfortable with. Balgrim's eyes widened when he glanced at Kalia and Devyr's book, written in strange, runic symbols, but he said nothing.
Probably because she'd kill him without a second thought, Ysevel chuckled, but I did my best to avoid letting him know we'd seen his surprise.
Hours passed as I read through the first book that told the same tale Taegin had reminded me of all those years ago, when I'd accidentally scorched my blanket with a failed Pyrus spell. However, my eyes widened when I noticed something hadn't lined up exactly.
"Ed, look at this," I said, leaning over to him while the others pored over their own books. "What is it?" he asked, leaning sideways to inspect where my finger was pointing. "Wait, so they didn't just come here to give us the artifacts to give us the power to protect ourselves from monsters?" he asked, to which I nodded my head.
"It seems their giving the artifacts had some hidden agenda behind it, but it doesn't clearly state what. Here, let's see about this one," I said, putting the book back in its place as I grabbed another one and began reading. "This one says that a certain Nexis Pelantyr placed a curse on the king, but he was banished before he could complete his full goal. Something about carrying his essence far beyond a single life," Edryd said, turning to look at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, we already knew that. I'm that same king's descendant, after all," Athar said matter-of-factly, but anyone who didn't know that was severely taken aback. "What? How else did you think I ended up splitting my mind with this dumbass?" Athar's alternate voice asked, stunning the others yet again.
"You've got to tell me the story behind that someday," Ed muttered under his breath. "When this is all over, I'll tell you whatever you want to know," I chuckled.
Continuing in my book that was merely a retelling of what came after the Wardens had left, I found that there were a few names I couldn't place anywhere in my knowledge, though I still wasn't sure if they were the names of spells or beings that we'd simply lost the knowledge of. I committed them to memory and moved on to the next book.
"The Great Partition," I heard Ysevel say, almost to herself, prompting everyone to look at her. Be careful how you word what you read. If there's something you already know, try to act surprised, I reminded her. "What's that supposed to be?" Ed asked. "It's one of the things we came here to look for," Mom replied, giving Ysevel a nod to begin reading.
"It says here that beings known as Wardens sought to wield a power reserved only for the most powerful of beings: Dragons," she said with genuine surprise as everyone looked at her in awe. "I knew it! I fucking knew they were real!" Ed said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me excitedly. "H-Hold on, Ed! I don't want to tip over," I chuckled, freeing myself from his grasp before she continued.
"It says here that the Blasphemers, as they're called here, wanted to wield a sort of culmination of all powers, though the Dragons couldn't allow that, since it would destroy the balance between the realms. As their greed steadily increased, it spawned another strain of power known as Tyrant mana; one designed to disrupt all other sources except one they couldn't control," she said, but I already knew the answer to that.
Wraith mana, I thought silently, giving her a nod to continue.
"It goes on to state there are six primary powers: Ethereal, Vexing, Leech, Rivet, Shifting, and Wraith. Each of these has its own realm, and while most of them were deemed good, the Blasphemers sought to use them to take control of the citadels that housed them in this realm," she continued, lifting her eyes momentarily to see the expressions of the others.
Judging by their expressions, Calduran and Balgrim seemed to know this already, but I couldn't help but wonder to what extent.
"How did these Dragons respond to that sort of rebellion? Were these Blasphemers successful in any way?" Ed asked, putting a pair of fingers to his temples and rubbing them gently. "To an extent, yes, but it says here the Dragons played a role in thwarting their plans," she said, skipping through a few pages. "What about their enemies?" Meliss asked cautiously.