The Golden Apprentice - Tales of Death and Victory. Vol I

Year of the Apprentice - Chapter III

I

Veren’s Palace.

After lunch prince Virnen called Danë to see his library. Accompanied by his bride, princess Alya, he showed the heir of the mirhan throne his extensive collection. From science and medical books to fiction and history, the crown prince of Soren has books of all contents and ages, and in many languages too. Thanks to his training, Danë is able to read almost all of them and he wastes no time in doing so. All his studies are for the benefit of his master, Nikola tends to write diaries in the languages of her world, books she wants to bring back home with her as soon as she finds a way back. All the knowledge she acquired during her many years in Ae’ria, she’ll take back to her people to teach them. 

“What my people can do for your world, Danë Mir’ales, is beyond your imagination”, she told him multiple times. “If I manage to find a path where I can come and go as I please, I could help both worlds with the knowledge I gained, I can solve many of our global problems”. And the prince dreams about that moment constantly, he wants to help her more than he ever wanted anything else. She has hope in her eyes when she speaks about her home, about what she could for them and for Ae’ria, Danë wants that hope to become a reality. 

“What do you think about my collection, brother?” Virnen asks, waking the younger prince from his daydreams. 

“It is fantastic, Vi, you have so many books from before the war,” Danë points at a bookshelf packed with old books. “Do you have interest in the formation of our continent and the five kingdoms?”

“I like to study about the world after the Cold Death since we don’t have many written recordings of how life was during and before it”, he explains and takes one of the books. It is a heavy hardcover book with yellow pages, some of them eaten by moths here and there. “This one here is around five hundred years old, it is from the end of the second dynasty of the Mir’ales house”, the sorien prince says. “You can see how old it is from the way they use their words, it is the common language of our continent but it’s an archaic version”.

Danë approaches to read it, five hundred years may seem like a short time period historically speaking, but considering the amount of wars and natural disasters that happened, so much changed in that time. “Dragons… Oh gods, is this what I think it is?!” His eyes grow wide and he looks at his brother-in-law with excitement. “A dragonology book? Where in Ae’man did you get this?!”

“I wish”, Virnen shook his head. “This is just an old mythology book, it tells the story of how Hœk imprisoned the god Morgun in his mountain, without the god of fire to keep the world warm, she brought the Cold Death upon Ae’ria”.

“There aren’t many dragonology books left in the continent,” princess Alya comments. “The emperor ordered them all burned to make sure no one would have access to information that could control or kill his dragon”.

“I bet if someone had those books, you’d know wouldn’t you?” Danë replies.

“Oh, yes, the work of my life is to research and keep track of the remaining mystical creatures in this world”, she sits on the top of the table and moves her feet back and forth like a child. “I would do anything to learn more about those dragons, as magic dies in our world… They are the closest things we have to our gods”.

That’s not the answer the prince was hoping to get, she still opened a breach for him to get more information without seeming suspicious. “Why such interest in them? They are locked by heavy magic, hibernating in the caverns of Morguna,” the apprentice remembers. “Besides, some say they are nothing like Lorak, that they are small like dogs”.

“Aren’t you curious? Don’t you have an interest in magic, prince Danë?” She arches an eyebrow.

“As you said, magic is dying, what use does it have?” He shrugs.