Broken Glass - Taekook

47

The moment after I speak, our group splits into sections. Seokjin and Hoseok turn to grab their stuff and head for the forge, as Taehyung moves towards me. The glow in his eyes from earlier is still taking its time to fade, and in that moment he looks more beautiful than he ever has before, though I never thought that was possible. 

There's a new excitement in his eyes, an eagerness that comes from knowing that we have a plan, knowing that everything is slowly shifting into place. That we're going to figure out a way to make this work, even if that doesn't seem possible sometimes. As the fire slowly dies down, in Seokjin's absence, the light and warmth remains, an echo of itself as we quickly get our shit together for the day. 

It's odd, the way we suddenly seem more cheerful than before, now that we have an idea of what we can do, how we can try and achieve it. There's so much to fix, so much still to do, and there's so much I now have to learn. I don't even know if I really have been granted access to the golden river in the same way as my friends, or if there's something else going on here. I still half believe I'm going crazy. But I have to trust that something will come out of the chaos, something that makes sense. 

It has to make sense, even if that doesn't apply much to the way the golden river works, the way Eithyr works. The more time I spend here, the more I begin to wonder if there really is anything that can be predicted here, or if the kingdom just thrives on chaos and confusion at times. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I know. But given all of the different creatures who make this place their home, across the entire kingdom, there has to be some differences in values and ideas. How does that translate into the river? Does the consciousness of the magic energy itself have its own power and identity, or does it rely on the personalities that it interacts with? 

Slowly, we begin to leave to our various tasks. Tae and I head through the city with Namjoon and Jimin, to the Shimmerstone Library, a place that has become almost comfortingly familiar over the last month or so. Those same sandstone-coloured walls reach up, just as high as always, the translucent crystal at the peak still glittering in the light of the morning sun, shining down over the Yarolian Plains, over Mavathyr. 

Hoseok and Seokjin split off in the direction of the forge, already talking animatedly about how to bring their designs to life in the most effective way, how to best approach the task ahead of them. Yoongi heads directly for the river, waterskin in hand. I don't know his exact plan, but there's a determined look in his eyes that tells me that he knows what he's doing And that fills me with relief. 

As we enter the library, Hollyhock greets us in the Great Hall, as always. There, Taehyung and Jimin pause for a moment, a little starstruck at the sheer beauty and grandeur of the place, at the detail of the tapestries, at the figure that's moving towards us, a friendly smile on a pointed chin. 

"Greetings, young ones. I see you come searching for something?" Hollyhock begins, holding a hand out to us all. Namjoon glances over at the rest of us, and then nods slightly. 
"Yes. Hollyhock, may I ask you a question?" The ancient librarian simply smiles a little mysteriously. 
"You already have, young mage. But I will grant you another." 

Namjoon chuckles, a little to himself, and runs a hand through his hair, turning to face the tapestry that hangs over one of the walls: the cavern from my dream, complete with purple glow-worms and small blue waterfall, and darkened background. "We were wondering if you could tell us anything you might know about this tapestry. Does this place exist? Is it in Eithyr? And if so, where?" 

"That is several questions, young mage," Hollyhock states quietly, a flash of amusement in their eyes. "But I will deign to answer them all. After all, this is a place of knowledge." They look over at the tapestry in question for a moment, and then nod to themselves, walking closer towards it, and brushing their hands over the ancient threads. The image shimmers a little, as the fabric stirs. I almost reach out to stop them, convinced somehow that Hollyhock will also be drawn through the picture into that place.