Ritual

Chapter 3

I carried the book in the pocket of my coat. I tried studying it last night, but I only got to a few pages filled with the words of an unknown language before I closed it and decided to get some help from someone who knows magic. It was written in a language that consisted of shapes and symbols that were completely incomprehensible.

I headed to the savants' dome, a big, glass-like dome-shaped building in Krurian where Krurian's most intelligent people resides and spends their days learning from the multitude of books that surrounds the entire walls of the dome. I've been there before when I was a little child. The walls were covered in shelves and stacked with different books that ranged from medicine, science, astronomy, language, mathematics, and many more.

I headed outside, and I was surprised to see that everybody seemed very nice and polite to me. Every time I passed by, they bowed and curtseyed. Even when I was far from the door, the guards opened it for me immediately. I saw a group of royal councils, which were the advisors and the administrators of the crown that rules over Krurian, and when they saw me coming their way, they apologized and referred to me as "Your Majesty."

And that's when I realized that I was meant to be king, and that coronation day was waiting for me at any moment. I looked around me in the castle and saw that I'd been getting looks that I couldn't explain. Fear? Hope? Uncertainty? If only I could say I feel the same way.
I raised my head and straightened my back. The king of Krurian is not frail, timid, or downhearted. The king is someone like father, so I pictured him in my head and tried my best to imitate him. With my shoulders sent back, and my hands on my side which were previously crossed across my torso, I walked with my eyes up.

I passed down the castle steps, and through the small front garden, and soon I found myself in the streets. The cobblestone road was mostly empty and the public spaces were vacant except for a few people going around.

The fresh summer breeze blew among the trees and delivered the musky scent of Earth to my senses. I passed by the greenery slowly, taking my time since nobody was around. In the middle of the streets was a circular park with a large, white, triangular pavilion, surrounded by lush trees, plants, benches, and flowers, flocked by birds landing on them in groups. Then, I heard footsteps coming from behind me. I turned around and saw father's guards, the biggest and strongest of them all, clad in black armor in contrast to the usual silver ones, walking after me.

I opened my mouth and was about to tell them that I would be fine on my own, but I stopped myself. A king must always have a sword to watch his back because his life is paramount. I kept walking until the dome of the savants came into view. It was overwhelmingly and stunningly designed, even though it was a relatively old structure, one of Krurian's oldest.

When I reached the front doors, I looked back at the guards following me. "Stay here, at the doors. I would like to go inside alone." they settled themselves on either side of the door and remained there, and I continued inside.

The roof was opaque glass, and so faint sunlight came into the entire structure that gave the place a mellow grey and orange luminesce. The ceiling was very high, and an extraordinary chandelier hung from the middle of it, designed with large, lightly-glowing rings that intertwined with each other artistically. I remembered that among the many things the savants' studied, the fine arts were one of them.

I recalled the interior correctly. The walls were made of infinite shelves that were tightly packed with different books. Statuesque stair ladders were left in different areas of the dome, where the savants had left them after needing to fetch books from great heights.

The savants wore black robes, and in the middle of the big, open room was a collection of tables and seats where they would read and study. Many of them were already there, some were talking to each other, some were eating their breakfast, and some read by themselves.
I stepped forward, and one savant saw me, a young teenage boy with black hair and green eyes, and regarded me with a bow. "Your Majesty," he said eagerly, and his voice reached the ends of the dome, causing everyone to look my way. Soon, what felt like a thousand eyes were facing me, and I kept mine on the one savant that saw me first and came towards him.

"I need your help," I said.

"Yes, of course, Your Majesty," he said and put away the books he was carrying with him on a desk. "How may I be of service?"

I brought out the book from my pocket. "I need help understanding this. I'm not familiar with the language it was written with."

He took the book from my hands and examined it intently for a while. He opened the book and read a page, and he raised his eyebrows. "Ah! These are symbols of alchemy. It's mainly just steps for a ritual that..." he paused and looked at me. "Brings the dead back to life. It's a resurrection spell, Your Majesty."

I became deeply curious. "Well, what else does it say?" I asked.

"Well, that's quite the only part one couldn't read easily, Your Majesty. The rest are in our language," he said and showed it to me. There were illustrations and words I could finally understand. I beamed with happiness as I saw them.

I grabbed the book from him and put it back in my pocket. "Thank you, what is your name?"
"Trystan, Your Majesty," he replied. He kept his hands behind his back, and I could see how tense his shoulders and arms were.

"Are you new here?"

"Yes. I became a savant three months ago. My parents have abandoned me." he replied.
"Listen, Trystan. I need your help, for later, but I'm going to need to ask you to keep this a secret between us."

He looked unsure for a moment, nervous and scared. "Uh, yes, Your Majesty." was all he could say.

"Go to the castle tonight, I'll tell the guards so they would let you in, and enter the alchemy room, it's on the ground floor, enter the hall on the right and the last door should lead to a small sitting room with a bookshelf and a fireplace. Behind the bookshelf is a staircase that leads downstairs, to the alchemy room." I instructed him in a whisper, and he nodded his head. I know knew that mother wanted to be resurrected, and from now, that is what I will aim for.