Legacy of the Remembered

18. Interrogation

The library in the castle was the first place Rime grew comfortable visiting when she first moved in. She would sit for hours perusing books—histories, mythologies, fiction, it all sparked joy within her. There were few books that she brought with her from Tsunizar, but she preferred reading the Ehverian ones to help expand her skills with Luxan.

There was a book she brought with her that could not be matched by any Ehverian text, however. It was her favorite book, one that explored the rich and mysterious history of magic. She started reading it when she was ten, and her intrigue only grew with every reread. In her young mind, the book told a mythical tale of an ancient species that began the spread of magic throughout the world. Other people often took the stories with suspicion over its truth. In the present age, no evidence remained that suggested the events were ever real. For many people, they were part of a religious creation story.

Back in Tsunizar, the main religion regarded nature and the mystic arts as prophetic and pure. This was not limited to organic material, but inorganic aspects of nature as well. Magic, especially elemental magic, intertwined with nature at its core. Rime's parents portrayed Tsunizar as the birthplace of magic, but that belief fell short as she learned more and more about the different interpretations on ancient history.

The mere knowledge of an ancient race of magical beings fascinated Rime, but she forgot much of her amazement as she grew older. Her home had been a large manor fitting of a noble family. Because isolation was common and respected in Tsunizar, she had grown up surrounded by trees and natural views. That history book served as a guide to her many childhood adventures through the neighboring woods.

Entering the library now, she felt a jolt of that childhood wonder. Her Tsunizarian history book remained just where she left it, tucked away by the other collections of stories written in Luxan. Not many here read Tsun, which she did not fault them for. Ehvera was located in the center of a fair amount of cultures, and learning every bordering language was improbable. Rime knew the Ahlveyr siblings were fluent in Morla and Luxan, and Bohjin and Eske knew enough Panjuunese to get by, but it was their cousins that managed Tsunizarian relations. While they may have borrowed Rime's books over the years, it was unlikely to have been checked out by too many people aside from herself.

The library felt empty, though it was too grand for her to make any accurate speculations. Shelves lined up in rows stretching in all directions, two stories dedicated to books. She found hers in a far corner. Sitting down on a lush sofa propped up against a window, Rime opened her history book and flipped through the pages. The rough paper brought back memories of sitting outside, surrounded by trees and silence. Her adventures would start with a new passage from the book, and then she would stuff it under the back staircase where it would be safe until she returned.

Other times, she would sit and be. She would close herself off from her present life and soak in the world around her. Nature hummed with magic, its presence eternal and ancient. Though she could feel it in the air, in the ground, she could not mingle with it. Her attempts at reaching out to magic, to waving the wind away like her sister would with such ease, all ended with disappointment. Rime had no affinity for magic. It happened, though seldom. Her status in life meant nothing to the world of magic.

Turning through the pages, Rime focused on finding the parts she sought. Her memory did not deceive her; drawings of pocket stones fused into the skin of mages greeted her. The artistic depictions of a time long since past proved nothing of the present, yet the mere presence of the idea confirmed for her that she was not a fool.

None of this had every been proven or recorded in history books. While oral tales and legends were passed down through generations, none of them could be replicated. However, the same story cropped up in various cultures. People with high magical affinity were able to harness pocket stones in a way unheard of to those around them. Instead of weaving magic naturally, these hypothetical mages were able to take the attributes of a pocket stone and apply that to them. They conducted magic previously housed within a stone.