The World's Start

Jack

Since the third mission had ended in a tie as well --- Jack had to admit to himself it probably couldn't be helped, ever since the duo had decided to team up, Mister Tenney had given them another task, one he could be sure they were going to do on their own.

Jack and Heath had to write an essay about the Shreeva Stone. Jack thought it likely that Heath was probably relying on Norma's and Ken's insights as well, but he couldn't ask Leo. Not just because Leo was never much help, but also because of the stupid Deal that prevented the man from recalling anything particular he'd ever heard or seen about the Stone.

Jack grunted. He was generally trying not to think of Deals --- he was sure this essay, and the whole research as well, could have progressed much better and faster if Heath hadn't given up their memories. On the other hand, as Deals went, it was one of the most harmless Jack had ever heard. He believed he probably couldn't have come up with a better one himself, and that was exactly the reason why he generally tried to steer clear of the Elvors. Obviously, nobody ever listened to him about them.

Jack looked at his paper. He wasn't making any progress. He'd already stated what the Professor and the Prince had told the spies about the stone, but he wasn't a fool. He knew that it was too little, and that any essay without any further research or personal insights wasn't worthy of the name.

"I suppose you could go to the library," Anastasia suggested, not entirely unkindly. It was still too early in the day for her moodswings, and Jack liked her better this way, but it was risky to seek her out so openly.

Jack decided there was nothing wrong with the suggestion, though the right books had probably already been ransacked by Heath.

Luckily, he found a lot of tomes that mentioned the Stones. There wasn't anything more specific, though. The Sheevra Stone appeared only in a handful of statements, all of which were very clear that the artifact shouldn't be approached. Given what happened to those who did it without clear permission, it was easy to see why. Jack bit his lower lip. He could bet most people had tried to take it without the proper procedure, and had disappeared. If they hadn't, there certainly should have been more information about it.

If old tomes were of a little use, the most recent ones did not mention the Stone at all. Anything written and published roughly during or after the war contained a lot of Everende's mysteries --- Elvors, the red sun, the Deals, the World's Start, Caladium, and so on. With so many topics to cover, the authors seemed to have forgotten about the Stone.

Jack was struck by something that was half-inspiration, half-poetic licence for an homework that was going nowhere either way. Could it be possible that the Stone's powers of elimination, if in the right hands, could make some people, like researchers and authors forget about the Stone's existence? He wasn't very sure the theory was strong --- not that he knew much theory to begin with, but he was prepared to write the damned thing down and back it up with an alternative. Those people could also have forgotten out of a Deal gone wrong.

If he had to be fair about it, he didn't really think nobody had forgotten anything. He was fairly certain that whatever was happening to the newer books was censorship, instead.

But his theory could make sense. Wasn't Leo the proof? He'd asked the Elvors for the Stone, and they'd almost wiped his memory clean. Not to mention, Heath and Jack had been robbed of their memories of the overheard conversation, too.

Jack thought that he could have gotten back at Heath --- he could write in his essay those very examples. They both could be blamed on the Laoch, after all.

But he didn't. He hated the way Mister Tenney mistreated Heath, and he had decided he would not irritate him further on the subject, lest he punished the other student because of it.