Path of Dragons

Book 6: Chapter 72: The Library

“This is eerie,” Elijah remarked, craning his neck this way and that as he beheld the state of the campus. He’d spent most of a decade of his life in college – getting a doctorate took a lot of time – so the academy felt extremely familiar. And yet, it was also alien in the most obvious of ways.

For one, the structure of the buildings was unfamiliar, with things like doors and windows in all the wrong places. In some ways, the style was reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House, with prominent edifices that looked a little huge fins. However, the differences – like an attention to symmetry – were prevalent enough to make it look like something entirely new and different.

Which it was, given that it was an alien world with its own history and influences. However, Elijah couldn’t help but focus on the similarities, which were numerous enough to make him wonder if there was some sort of architectural throughline stretching throughout the multiverse.

Or maybe there were only so many ways to design a building, and some parallels were inevitable.

Still, for Elijah, who’d spent so much time exploring the ruins of Ka’arath, it was a revelation. Suddenly, the half-fallen buildings that had been mostly reclaimed by nature made sense in a way that they never had before. It was just another reminder of what had been lost with the world’s excisement from the World Tree.

They had been a flourishing world, and now? Only a single continent remained, and even that had become a shadow of its former glory.

Adding to that sense of loss was the emptiness on display. Unlike the ruins Elijah had visited, the Academy Arcana was entirely intact and untouched by time. It looked almost new, which made its abandonment feel all the more impactful. At any moment, Elijah expected to see groups of academics – in his imagination, they looked like ka’alaki version of college students – to round a corner.

But was that how it had been? It struck Elijah that he knew very little of the planet’s culture. What’s more, he felt certain that even if he’d had some evidence as to who the natives really were, he’d only get a tiny picture. After all, Ka’arath was a large planet, and with only a single continent having been preserved, it was almost impossible that he could learn even a small portion about who they truly were.

With that standing firmly in the front of his mind, Elijah’s mood was melancholic as they trekked across the sprawling campus. They had a plan to deal with any future attacks by sentry golems, but those plans were proven unnecessary by the ambulatory armor suits’ continued absence.

Elijah wasn’t so naïve as to believe they’d deactivated them all. No – the challenge was one of the largest they’d encountered, and he knew there were assuredly more sentry golems – or worse – waiting in the wings. So, he and the others maintained caution as they crossed the campus.

Eventually, they reached a large building that looked extremely important. Until that moment, they’d only given the other buildings a series of brief inspections. After finding nothing in the first few, they’d reasoned that the campus was as empty of loot as it was of inhabitants.

But this new building was unique in a couple of major ways.

First was its size. While it wasn’t much taller than the surrounding structures – maybe seventy-five feet tall at its peak – it sprawled across an area covering hundreds of yards in every direction. To Elijah, it was like if someone had shoved a handful of superstores together – at least in terms of size, if not design.

The façade was also entirely made of crystal which had been etched with a multitude of fanciful whorls that glowed with ethera.

“It’s enchanted,” Dat said.

“Which part?” asked Sadie.

“The whole thing, bro.”

That prompted a question from Elijah. “What do the enchantments do?”

Dat shrugged. “I don’t know. Hex of Scrying doesn’t tell me, and the ghosts have been silent since I came into this city,” he said.

That was a bit ominous, but if Elijah really thought about it, it made some sense. The entire campus was obviously magical in nature, so the idea that it was restrictive on skills like Hex of Scrying wasn’t terribly surprising. Still, it didn’t fill Elijah with confidence. Then again, nothing they’d encountered since entering the challenge had left him feeling comfortable.

“Do we go inside?” Ron asked.

It was a good question, but one without an easy answer. They needed as much information as they could get, which was why they’d explored most of the buildings along the way. However, the uniqueness of the building before them practically screamed that it was both important and assuredly well-defended. It wasn’t out of the question that they might find themselves facing off against more sentry golems, though without the easy defense of leaving the challenge to lean against.

If they were attacked again, they would have no choice but to fight – either for victory or escape. And while Elijah felt confident that they could win such a battle, he wasn’t so hubristic as to believe a win was assured.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

In the end, though, they’d come to the challenge for a reason, and none of them expected to conquer it without a fight. That established, they decided to explore the building. However, they wouldn’t do so without making significant preparations beforehand. With that in mind, they helped Kurik set up another line of traps, this one even more expansive than the last.

“Where’d you get all those crystals?” Sadie asked.

“The Citadel of Innovation is a pretty popular hunting ground. Mostly, people grab those power crystals thinking they’re useful, but without the right skills, they’re mostly junk. So, I’ve been buying them for basically nothing. I think most of the sellers think I’m kind of crazy,” Elijah admitted. “Not so crazy that they won’t take my ethereum, mind you. But still a little off. No idea where they got that notion.”

“I’m sure,” Sadie said with a slight grin.

“You’ve been doing that more lately. Smiling I mean. That’s good.”

She frowned. “If you tell me to smile more –”

“Not what I meant, and you know it,” Elijah interrupted. “But you trying to pick a fight kind of feels like old times.”

“I didn’t –”

“It’s fine. Old habits and all that. I’m just saying that you seem a lot happier now. I know how much it was weighing on you, and I’m glad that you seem to have had some of that lifted from your shoulders.”

She clearly wanted to defend herself, but at that moment, Dat said, “I think everything’s ready.”

Seeing that there was no further reason to delay their plan, they made their way across the street and down the steps that led to the entrance. Everyone remained on pins and needles as they approached. Then, just as they reached the door – which was circular – a surge of ethera swept through the area.

Everyone reacted instantly, with Sadie and Dat drawing their weapons while Elijah shifted into his guardian form. At the same time, Ron channeled a new spell that sent an ongoing stream of vitality to everyone in a five-yard circle around him.

As it turned out, the reaction was unnecessary, because the wave of ethera only caused the door to open. The crystal surface split apart into seven equal slices that rotated and retracted at the same time, laying bare the interior of the building.

Dat let out a nervous giggle.

Ron sighed in relief.

Sadie said, “Good job being ready. Keep that up.”

Then, she led them inside. Elijah was the last to enter, and when he caught sight of the building’s contents, he couldn’t help but gasp. Hundreds of shelves stretched from one end of the building to another. Stacked a dozen high, they were arrayed with prisms that reflected rainbow light throughout the space.

With a sound like glass scraping together, the door slid shut behind Elijah. He barely noticed it.

“No sentry golems,” Dat remarked.

“So far,” Kurik added. “We ain’t two steps inside yet.”

“Keep your heads on a swivel,” Elijah cautioned.

“That’s a weird saying, bro.”

“Not now, Dat,” Sadie chided.

No one really needed to be reminded to remain cautious. The interior of the building was so unfamiliar that none of them could forget that they were on an entirely alien world. The crystals notwithstanding, the shelves themselves were made of some sort of silvery metal beset by pearlescent shimmers that highlighted the intricate engravings covering every surface.

“Welcome to the Library Arcanum,” came a disembodied voice. “Please state your area of study so that I may direct your efforts.”

“What in all the hells…”

Elijah and the others whirled around, but they couldn’t find the speaker. So, Sadie asked, “Who are you?”

“I am the proprietor of the Library Arcanum. I regret that I do not have the ethera necessary to meet your needs individually. Unfortunately, my reserves are quite low.”

“Are all of these prisms guides? Like what we can get from the World Tree?”

“I detect that you do not mean that question as an insult. The answer is twofold. In the most basic sense, yes. Our guides serve much the same function as those you might find in the World Tree’s Knowledge Base. However, the collection of guides you see before you has been curated by deific Librarians for generations. They guarantee that our students are only exposed to the highest quality information, paying special attention to the accuracy of the content.”

Elijah narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying that the information in the World Tree’s guides might not be accurate?”

“Of course not. Anyone with the right skill may contribute to the Knowledge Base, but the World Tree only ensures accuracy at the most basic level. You will find no outright lies within the Knowledge Base, but there are many levels between lies and truth,” said the disembodied voice.

Elijah’s eyes widened in realization. What the proprietor had said made perfect sense, but he’d never considered the possibility that the guides available in the Knowledge Base were incomplete or lacking in quality. And that wasn’t even considering that he’d witnessed it himself with the insufficient information he’d been provided on his class, archetype, and cultivation.

Perhaps that was one of the ways higher level Librarians set themselves apart. Not only could they find specific information, but it was possible that they could determine quality as well. It didn’t take a genius to determine that they’d stumbled upon a treasure trove.

“I need to know about classes, skills, spells, cultivation, and –”

“Certainly. Please display your identification crystal, and I will direct you to the proper section.”

“Uh…why, bro?” asked Dat.

“Attending the Academy Arcana is a prestigious privilege only afforded to a select few,” the voice intoned. “As is the wealth of information in this library.”

“And if we are not students?” asked Elijah.

“Then you can not access restricted information. However, the following sections are still available for your perusal. Science, Technology, Agriculture, History –”

“Screw this,” Elijah said, striding forward. He had no intention of allowing a disembodied voice to dictate his actions. It would take a while to find the appropriate information, but he and the others had enough time on their hands.

“Hostility detected,” the voice said. At that moment, Elijah felt every ounce of ethera sucked out of his channels and core. He dropped to the ground, barely conscious. “Please be advised that any intentions of rule-breaking will be swiftly curtailed. You will be released only when you intend to leave.”

“What?” Elijah groaned.

“Bro.”

“Dammit, Elijah,” Sadie muttered. “None of the rest of us intend to break the rules.”

“That has been detected. Please reveal the subjects you wish to study, and you will be directed to the appropriate information.”

“What about Elijah?”

“As stated, he will be released upon your departure. Please reveal the subjects you wish to study, or you will be assumed to be loitering.”

Sadie sighed. “Fine. We need to know about the First Mage, the nature of the academy’s defenses, and any other information pertinent to the challenge.” Then, she glanced at Elijah, who could barely maintain consciousness as he lay on the ground in an extremely uncomfortable position. “Sorry. We can’t afford to pass this up.”

“S’okay,” he mumbled, incapable of even moving his jaw. “S’fine. Don’ worry ‘bou me.”