Realm of Opportunity

13: Mage

^^ Grimoire's while being read ^^

--- Dorian ---

I hummed at the translation dictionary that I had gotten from the library, tracing the words on the covers of all my books.

They were all written in Elven Hieroglyphs, which meant I needed to be fluent in this language to study them.

The oddest one was the thinnest one from the stack of books that Riviera had given me. It simply read, according to my dictionary, 'Read Me'.

I sighed and flipped it open, wondering what could possibly be inside it.

It was filled with more Elven Hieroglyphs, grouped together oddly, like bullet points on another list, almost.

The symbols swam off the page immediately, and not in a Dyslexic way, they literally came off the page, burning themselves into my eyes.

I flinched, and looked back down at the book, to find that it now had directions, written in English.

'This Grimoire will have taught you the Elvish Language, both spoken and written. It will assist you in sorting your new Hoard of Magical Grimoire's. I salute you, by the way, for managing to twist the Chief Scribe's arm into giving you a reward such as you did. Well done.

Moving on: Don't read any of the grimoire's yet. You must think very carefully. Most people, besides Elves, can only master Three Spells. As someone turned into an Elf, I want to make sure you don't fall into that category; If you do, I want your Three Spells to be something that can actually help you in the Dungeon.

So: Find the Two Grimoire's labeled 'Medicos' and 'Aegis', then take one grimoire with an element that speaks to you, and set those aside for now. You can sort the rest onto your bookshelf, afterwards, if you like, it doesn't matter.'

I hummed and shrugged, following the instructions. I noticed that I had second copies of three of the Tomes, one fire spell, one Aegis Shield spell, and two Lightning Spells, even with the one I'd set aside.

My chuckle sounded throughout the empty room, and I put the copies aside for Johnny, then the third Lightning spell aside for sale, I guess.

The notes continued. 'Next, now that you know what you have, make sure your choice is final, and then read the Grimoire's one by one. Remember, Grimoire's are sentient, and will question what you want from them, then customize the spell accordingly; so before you read the Grimoire, be absolutely sure that you know what you want.'

I chuckled. "Good advice, I suppose, even out of context. Make sure you know what you want, huh? Hmph." I picked up the Aegis book, and breathed deeply to center myself, before opening it.

---

'Hmmm... where am I?'

"Welcome to your mind. Pretty dark, huh? Not much hope to shine lights around?" A deep voice chuckled.

"Hope is for the weak. It is, itself, a weakness." I growled.

"Oh?"

"Those who can think for themselves understand that Hoping something will happen doesn't actually make it happen. That's pure Naïveté, thinking that hope can actually, physically help you."

"True, if brusque. And so instead of hope, what should people rely on?"

"Themselves and Their family. That's all. That's all that's able to be trusted. Gods play games with our lives, friends betray us for better choices. Only Family and Self can be trusted."