Ashan 34, Arc 720
In Ashan, Victor, the younger brother of Lord Stefan Amielle of Lysoria, finally returned to Scalvoris where he had studied and worked as a researcher at the Institute of Metaphysics once upon a time. He needed a break before he finally decided what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He had always been happy on the island, despite the fact that dangerous things tended to happen there. He had spent countless breaks at the university, drinking something in one of the numerous cafes in the town square or exploring the wilderness in order to look for rare plants and creatures and study them. Most recently, he had spent a considerable amount of time in The Proving Ground. He had even gone there earlier that trial. This afternoon, his destination was the local library though. He was depleting his funds much faster than he had thought. Rose, the head librarian, was looking for someone who was willing to help her appraise the library’s newest acquisitions, and she promised to pay them …
Two arcs had passed since Victor had seen Rose, but he remembered their last meeting as if it had taken place the trial before. She was hard to forget. When he had first met her, he had barely been able to maintain his composure in her presence; nowadays, he was a little more disciplined though, and thus he smiled lightly as he approached the desk that she sat behind. “Good trial, Rose”, he spoke. “I’ve come to inquire about the job.”
“Which job do you mean?” the librarian asked, with a voice that reminded him of someone dragging their nails across a chalkboard. He flinched, but only for a trill or two, before he forced his face to assume a neutral and polite expression and met her gaze.
Her fashion sense, he decided, had not improved at all in the past two arcs; in fact, it was probably worse now. The middle-aged librarian was wearing a floral dress with huge puff sleeves and a long tulle underskirt that would have been more appropriate for a high society wedding or a cliché tea party, complete with a gigantic hat with a thick pink ribbon around it and high-heeled shoes. He wasn’t entirely sure if he found her appearance shocking or amusing, but either way, he couldn’t help but wonder why she dressed like that, but he realized that she would most likely take issue with him asking her about it.
For that reason, he decided that it would be best to act as if she were dressed normally.
“The rare books?” he asked, wondering if she was a little hard of hearing or forgetful. He didn’t come closer though. He was not sure what getting too much of that strong perfume that she had doused herself with into his nose would do to him. One of his mutations had given him a peculiar kind of synesthesia and made him smell and taste things that could normally only be felt – and sometimes the other way round. “You were looking for someone to appraise them. I’m quite a competent researcher”, he pointed out.
“If you need proof, you can ask people at the university. I used to work there”, he remarked. If he were in her place, he wouldn’t believe everything that people said; Rose smiled at him though and told him in that unpleasant voice of hers, “Come with me then, young man. I’ll show you where our new books are. What’s your name, by the way?”
“Victor, Victor Amielle”, the Transmuter introduced himself and followed her. He decided not to mention his noble status. His family didn’t have anything to do with the matter at hand, after all; besides, he didn’t have any interest in appearing to be too arrogant.
Rose led him to a table at the back of the library, past shelves that were filled with books on a multitude of different topic. There were a few stacks of books on the table that was made of dark wood. Most of them, Victor noticed, appeared to be comparatively old. He eyed them for a moment before he turned to face the librarian again.
“You don’t have to appraise a certain number of books”, Rose informed him. “But if you appraise more books, you'll get more money, of course”, she continued, smirking, before she pointed at a ledger that sat in the middle of the table. “You’ll record the details of each book in there, along with the appraisal value and your signature. In here are a list that will tell you how much certain books are usually worth – and a list of the books that need to be appraised”, she explained and handed him a folder before she left him to his own devices.
~~~
Some people would likely have considered reading books and appraising them to be dull; Victor on the other hand was in his element. He loved reading, about the sciences, about history, about foreign languages and the fauna and flora of Idalos; and the fact that he was getting paid for it almost seemed like a dream come true. Some books did turn out to be so interesting that he was tempted to take a closer look than was necessary at them. He didn’t though as he wanted to finish his work on time – or maybe earlier.
He progressed fairly quickly, until he reached for a book that was bound with heavy, crimson leather and had brass joints. It was quite heavy, so heavy that he nearly dropped it out of surprise, and its pages were slightly yellow, as if it were quite old. He checked the title, furrowing his brow fractionally as he did so. “The History of the Pirates of Scalvoris”, he read. According to the folder that Rose had given to him, it was in fact over two hundred arcs old. His curiosity was piqued. He didn’t open it immediately though, but put on a pair of protective gloves before he began to read the first chapter.
Something caught his attention almost immediately. The book was fascinating, more than just fascinating in fact, but there was something wrong with the language. It didn’t sound right. Furrowing his brow again, he abruptly rose from his chair and walked over to the history section of the library in order to take a look at a few books that had been written during the same time period. His suspicion was almost instantly confirmed. The language in the book was too modern which meant that it might be fake.
He didn’t inform Rose of his discovery immediately though. He wanted to be absolutely sure first. For that reason, he sat down again, closed the book and carefully placed a hand onto the cover before he took a deep breath in order to relax, to some extent, closed his eyes, tried to focus and began to channel. He let a bit of ether flow into the book, very slowly and carefully, just as much as was necessary. Contrary to popular belief, Transmutation didn’t only allow you to reshape the world around you; it also allowed you to identify, catalogue and inform.
His magic revealed something very interesting.
“I’ve taken a look at the first couple of books”, he told Rose sometime later, standing in front of her desk. “And filled out the ledger accordingly. I made quite a bit of progress to-trial. This book here though”, he continued and handed the somewhat perplexed woman the book that he had inspected. “Is not what it appears to be. It is not two-hundred arcs old. It was written no more than five arcs ago. The pages have most likely been treated with some sort of chemical in order to make them look old. Do you know where it is from? I would have a word with them if I were you”, he suggested.
Rose furrowed her brow and bent over the book for a moment in order to take a closer look at it before she looked up at him. “And how do you know that?” she wanted to know.
“Transmutation”, he replied curtly. There had been a time when he had been forced to keep his being a mage a secret; Scalvoris was rather open-minded in that regard though, so he saw no harm in telling her how exactly he had found out. Besides, he was proud of what he was again, after he had disliked magic for so long. “I used my magic on it”, he added.
The woman’s eyes widened before she nodded. “I got the book from a bookseller in Almund. I will have a word with him. A moment please”, she continued and opened the metal box that stood on her desk in order to remove a couple of shiny coins from it. When she walked over to him in order to hand them to him, a cloud of her perfume drifted over to him, which caused him to cough and made his eyes water. “Here’s the payment for your work today. You did a good job. Without you, I would never have realized that the book was a fake, so thank you. I look forward to seeing again soon. There are still books left”, she added, smiling.
In Ashan, Victor, the younger brother of Lord Stefan Amielle of Lysoria, finally returned to Scalvoris where he had studied and worked as a researcher at the Institute of Metaphysics once upon a time. He needed a break before he finally decided what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He had always been happy on the island, despite the fact that dangerous things tended to happen there. He had spent countless breaks at the university, drinking something in one of the numerous cafes in the town square or exploring the wilderness in order to look for rare plants and creatures and study them. Most recently, he had spent a considerable amount of time in The Proving Ground. He had even gone there earlier that trial. This afternoon, his destination was the local library though. He was depleting his funds much faster than he had thought. Rose, the head librarian, was looking for someone who was willing to help her appraise the library’s newest acquisitions, and she promised to pay them …
Two arcs had passed since Victor had seen Rose, but he remembered their last meeting as if it had taken place the trial before. She was hard to forget. When he had first met her, he had barely been able to maintain his composure in her presence; nowadays, he was a little more disciplined though, and thus he smiled lightly as he approached the desk that she sat behind. “Good trial, Rose”, he spoke. “I’ve come to inquire about the job.”
“Which job do you mean?” the librarian asked, with a voice that reminded him of someone dragging their nails across a chalkboard. He flinched, but only for a trill or two, before he forced his face to assume a neutral and polite expression and met her gaze.
Her fashion sense, he decided, had not improved at all in the past two arcs; in fact, it was probably worse now. The middle-aged librarian was wearing a floral dress with huge puff sleeves and a long tulle underskirt that would have been more appropriate for a high society wedding or a cliché tea party, complete with a gigantic hat with a thick pink ribbon around it and high-heeled shoes. He wasn’t entirely sure if he found her appearance shocking or amusing, but either way, he couldn’t help but wonder why she dressed like that, but he realized that she would most likely take issue with him asking her about it.
For that reason, he decided that it would be best to act as if she were dressed normally.
“The rare books?” he asked, wondering if she was a little hard of hearing or forgetful. He didn’t come closer though. He was not sure what getting too much of that strong perfume that she had doused herself with into his nose would do to him. One of his mutations had given him a peculiar kind of synesthesia and made him smell and taste things that could normally only be felt – and sometimes the other way round. “You were looking for someone to appraise them. I’m quite a competent researcher”, he pointed out.
“If you need proof, you can ask people at the university. I used to work there”, he remarked. If he were in her place, he wouldn’t believe everything that people said; Rose smiled at him though and told him in that unpleasant voice of hers, “Come with me then, young man. I’ll show you where our new books are. What’s your name, by the way?”
“Victor, Victor Amielle”, the Transmuter introduced himself and followed her. He decided not to mention his noble status. His family didn’t have anything to do with the matter at hand, after all; besides, he didn’t have any interest in appearing to be too arrogant.
Rose led him to a table at the back of the library, past shelves that were filled with books on a multitude of different topic. There were a few stacks of books on the table that was made of dark wood. Most of them, Victor noticed, appeared to be comparatively old. He eyed them for a moment before he turned to face the librarian again.
“You don’t have to appraise a certain number of books”, Rose informed him. “But if you appraise more books, you'll get more money, of course”, she continued, smirking, before she pointed at a ledger that sat in the middle of the table. “You’ll record the details of each book in there, along with the appraisal value and your signature. In here are a list that will tell you how much certain books are usually worth – and a list of the books that need to be appraised”, she explained and handed him a folder before she left him to his own devices.
~~~
Some people would likely have considered reading books and appraising them to be dull; Victor on the other hand was in his element. He loved reading, about the sciences, about history, about foreign languages and the fauna and flora of Idalos; and the fact that he was getting paid for it almost seemed like a dream come true. Some books did turn out to be so interesting that he was tempted to take a closer look than was necessary at them. He didn’t though as he wanted to finish his work on time – or maybe earlier.
He progressed fairly quickly, until he reached for a book that was bound with heavy, crimson leather and had brass joints. It was quite heavy, so heavy that he nearly dropped it out of surprise, and its pages were slightly yellow, as if it were quite old. He checked the title, furrowing his brow fractionally as he did so. “The History of the Pirates of Scalvoris”, he read. According to the folder that Rose had given to him, it was in fact over two hundred arcs old. His curiosity was piqued. He didn’t open it immediately though, but put on a pair of protective gloves before he began to read the first chapter.
Something caught his attention almost immediately. The book was fascinating, more than just fascinating in fact, but there was something wrong with the language. It didn’t sound right. Furrowing his brow again, he abruptly rose from his chair and walked over to the history section of the library in order to take a look at a few books that had been written during the same time period. His suspicion was almost instantly confirmed. The language in the book was too modern which meant that it might be fake.
He didn’t inform Rose of his discovery immediately though. He wanted to be absolutely sure first. For that reason, he sat down again, closed the book and carefully placed a hand onto the cover before he took a deep breath in order to relax, to some extent, closed his eyes, tried to focus and began to channel. He let a bit of ether flow into the book, very slowly and carefully, just as much as was necessary. Contrary to popular belief, Transmutation didn’t only allow you to reshape the world around you; it also allowed you to identify, catalogue and inform.
His magic revealed something very interesting.
“I’ve taken a look at the first couple of books”, he told Rose sometime later, standing in front of her desk. “And filled out the ledger accordingly. I made quite a bit of progress to-trial. This book here though”, he continued and handed the somewhat perplexed woman the book that he had inspected. “Is not what it appears to be. It is not two-hundred arcs old. It was written no more than five arcs ago. The pages have most likely been treated with some sort of chemical in order to make them look old. Do you know where it is from? I would have a word with them if I were you”, he suggested.
Rose furrowed her brow and bent over the book for a moment in order to take a closer look at it before she looked up at him. “And how do you know that?” she wanted to know.
“Transmutation”, he replied curtly. There had been a time when he had been forced to keep his being a mage a secret; Scalvoris was rather open-minded in that regard though, so he saw no harm in telling her how exactly he had found out. Besides, he was proud of what he was again, after he had disliked magic for so long. “I used my magic on it”, he added.
The woman’s eyes widened before she nodded. “I got the book from a bookseller in Almund. I will have a word with him. A moment please”, she continued and opened the metal box that stood on her desk in order to remove a couple of shiny coins from it. When she walked over to him in order to hand them to him, a cloud of her perfume drifted over to him, which caused him to cough and made his eyes water. “Here’s the payment for your work today. You did a good job. Without you, I would never have realized that the book was a fake, so thank you. I look forward to seeing again soon. There are still books left”, she added, smiling.
