Adventure of Entropy

Chapter Five - The Great Library

When Serra wakes up, she is startled to be in the middle of the flower garden. She looks around, but sees only flowers around her. She grudgingly gets up and walks through Spartan's room onto the deck.

"We're here!" Spartan points as Serra emerges, hair frowzy and face tired. Serra turns and, within a half-mile, is Aseri City, the capital and main port city of the nation of Aseri.

A quick background of Aseri, while Verilium is known for its peace and good harvest, Aseri is extremely well known for its scholars. The three Verdawn nations, Aseri, Verilium, and Illius, make up for each others gaps and complement each other, which, due to Verilium's good politics, has helped their three-way alliance prosper, as Illius is known for its magical warriors and enchantments.

Aseri's scholars required not only a steady supply of food but a place to harbor their studies. So, naturally, they created the Libraries. One was placed in each nation to help their scholarship, but the biggest and most powerful was in Aseri, which earned it the title of the Great Library.

The steady food supply was from their fishermen, who found plentiful amounts of sea life in the Verdawn Lake. As one can get lost in thought while fishing, many scholars also spend their pastimes fishing, as to allow for deep complex thinking.

The head of the Great Library is known as the Librarian. He spends approximately 68 percent of his time in his studies, 14 percent of his time doing 'pointless paperwork', 7 percent of his time fishing, and 7 percent of his time eating. That is according to the Librarian himself.

Of course, part of the 68 percent is 'social experimentation', which, of course, involves a lot of talking to his wife and children and playing with his grandchildren.

Serra and Spartan know this, Spartan because he and the Librarian are friends, and Serra because she is a scholar of the Library of Illius. Well, she was. Until she went on temporary leave for some 'fieldwork'.

Serra, wanting to look her best before entering the city, rushes down to find a new room, one perfectly outfitted with all of the beauty supplies an elven woman could ever need. Or, in her case, a demon girl. Nevertheless, she quickly rushes to bathe, braid her hair, don a dress, and rush out onto the deck just in time for Spartan to dock the sailboat at the port.

"Serra, you look ready for an adventure!" Spartan smiles, noticing her dress and braid. "That is, a scholar girl going on an adventure. Come on, then."

Serra nods, then follows Spartan through the twists and turns of the streets of Aseri. It wasn't hard for them at all to navigate their way to the Great Library, as it towered over all over all of the other buildings so dramatically it was impossible to miss it.

The customs of the elven kingdoms, for the sake of their citizens, have deemed it best for the citizens to speak one tongue and behave according to one set of rules. This way one would not accidentally offend another citizen of break a law.

So Serra and Spartan were capable of acting as they normally would and not disturbing any of the citizens of Aseri. And they were able to make their way to the Great Library without being shoved around, bullied or harassed by any passersby.

Spartan and Serra stand outside the Great Library, and Spartan pushes open the door. It creaks loudly, but Spartan ignores it and enters. Serra follows him solemnly.

The first sight that greets the eyes of Serra and Spartan are the stacks upon stacks upon stacks of books. It's a bookworm's heaven. Books about magic, books about history, books about alchemy, books with stories, books with myths, books about religion, books about other books, and any other kind of book imaginable. A copy was contained in this one building, no matter what book you wanted to find.

The second sight that greets their eyes is the circulation desk, and a grey-haired old man who is beckoning them to him. Spartan runs over and shakes the man's hand. "It's been a while, Eric!"

"Eric?" Serra asks, walking behind. "Show some respect, Spartan," Serra turns to the Librarian. "I'm very sorry, good sir. I'm sure he could show better manners given ti-"

The Librarian guffaws at this. "Excuse me, but I've known Spartan since he was just a boy! He can call me by my real name all he wants!"

"Thanks for that, Eric," Spartan nods. "Um, I was wondering if you could help us? Serra here is a-"

Spartan is cut off by the sound of horses whinnying outside. "Order Knights," the Librarian, or Eric, if you'd like, says. "Get back here," the Librarian motions to them, and they hop over the desk, where he hides them behind a shelf of books. Serra peeks through a gap between two books.

The door flies open just as the Librarian returns to his post. "Ah, Tomas! What brings you here?" The knight who was commanding those who nearly discovered Spartan and Serra at the coastline storms in with his brigade behind them.

"Reports of dark magic used back at the Verilium coast followed by an uncanny thaumaturgy circuit at Verdawn Lake can only lead to one place they would be headed, and where in Aseri would a traveler go?" Tomas knows the answer. "Here. Now have you seen anyone enter here lately?"

"Actually, I have!" the Librarian seems happy to assist the authorities. "They went out the back door. Seemed to be in a rush."

"Thank you for your assistance," Tomas nods and rushes, along with his compatriots, out the back door.

Spartan and Serra ease their way out from behind the bookshelf. "He didn't have black irises before," Serra frowns.

"What?" Spartan asks. He hadn't seen the encounter.

"What?" The Librarian asks. He hadn't been looking at Tomas' eyes.

"His irises were black," Serra starts, his hair was black, his skin was pale and he had this weird dark aura around him.

The Librarian stares off into the distance. Serra waves her hand in front of his face. Then he turns directly at Serra and places a tight grip on her shoulder.

"Eleven heroes, none the same," the Librarian utters in a hoarse, deep voice. "Will triumph over Chaos, in quest for fame," he continues, "led by the one who is the cause of it all, will together prevent the world's downfall..."

"ERIC!" Spartan steps forward and slaps the Librarian on the cheek. The Librarian walks backward at this into the desk and falls down onto the floor.

"My goodness," the Librarian mutters, "for a prophecy to slip out just like that..."

"What was that?" Serra asks.

The Librarian answers solemnly, "Your destiny. We haven't got much time. Come, come." The trio heads back behind the desk and into the Librarian's office."