Days clouded by shadows - The short story

Chapter 2 - Vault of Knowledge

Before there was a realm called the Golden City, Theodore argued with Father, about the importance of higher education for the inhabitants of Dawn. However, the old elder considered the rebellious aspects any college, magic school or university could bring to Dawn, deciding against it to Theodore dissatisfaction.

Perhaps due to the fact that Theodore was continuously ignored by the elder he admired, assisted and counselled, his disagreement and frustration served as the catalyst for him to scout lands far from Dawn's reach to set up his little project.

Theodore spoke with those frustrated or ignored by Father's peculiar type of ruling over Dawn, most of them were Vikings, Barbarians, wizards, witches, merchants, the sporadic plumber with moustache wearing hats with their initials, engineers, love sisters, accountants, chemist, alchemist... well, it would have been easier to list those who Father had not irritated in the several eons of his government since the Primordials retired to the caves at the edge of the desert separating Dawn from the rest of the world. In any case, Theodore had no problem finding participants willing to migrate with him.

Once the city had settled and its residents built their homes, businesses and industries around the city's townhall, Theodore tasked the construction of the first university; primarily to move out of the streets the scholars who had been experimenting to understand the intricacies of casting spells, the transformation of people into animals, and the difficulties of reversing said transformations.

The campus got built right in the heart of the city, about twenty-five blocks or three kilometres away of the townhall, where most of the high-rise buildings sprinkled the city centre. It covered the equivalent of two blocks, but it contained pubs, food stalls, restaurants and a few other services, keeping the academics of several fields from wandering too far. It gave them solitude and independence to experiment and protection to the public in case one of them failed catastrophically.

The main building was mesmerising. It exterior displayed marvellously sculpted white granite and tinted glass windows, rising more than forty-two storeys, each floor had several rooms well equipped with comfortable benches and desks for its inhabitants to explore whichever topic they desired, or fall asleep on the presence of boring presenters. It was a luxurious residence, inviting them to refine their knowledge in style.

Around the main building, a set of smaller, equally attractive dorms provided a resting place from the noise of the act of learning. Scholars felt pampered in such an environment, though they thought the instruction was a little too high profile as their residence.

Theodore waited about a week before enquiring what would be the appropriate name for it. Most of them didn't care, but some answered with "very-well-seen" university given its high profile in the city. Theodore wasn't a stranger of sarcasm, but he liked the irony of confining academics, who are well known for their asocial characteristics in society, in the city's flashiest buildings. He wrote down some of the few comments, immediately commending the engraving of the keystone to be placed on the campus entrance.

The entrance was a beautiful stone arch, sculpted as if twigs wrapped around a tall gate, getting petrified for eternity in marvel. The arching twigs ended in the keystone with the university's crest, done by the best artisan in town. The crest showcased a shield with an open book in it, from its pages a powerful owl emerged with its wings wide open and its two talons pulling objects from the pages. One talon pulled an olive twig and a silver ribbon that read "Welcome to the Very-well-seen University", the other had a spiky club wrapped around its base with a golden ribbon with the words "Evanescente stultitia. Caesis ignorantiae usque ad mortem."

Theodore chuckled upon reading it. He knew the origin of the phrase. He had mentioned to his second in command not to tax the students, in fact, he wanted education to be completely free due to the principle that ignorance is dangerous when rampant in society, and he would anything to breed it out of the city's inhabitants.