The Liberian

Chapter 15

But the morning came and went, and Vhalla was no closer to deciding how she felt about anything. The pain had mostly subsided and with it her rage at the situation. She was still sore at a certain prince, but she no longer felt the need to hit things. Around lunch, Vhalla decided it was time to get out of the room she had occupied for days on end.

When she stood, the world stayed exactly where it should be. Other than a general dull ache, there was no pain. She tried a circle around the small space; when she didn’t retch, she considered it a success. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door that led out into the other room.

Vhalla was surprised to see that it was vacant. Larel, the minister, and—most thankfully—the prince were nowhere to be found. Remembering what Larel had told her about a library, Vhalla crept through the space toward the second door.

Vhalla observed the hall. To the left it sloped up; to the right, down. At frequent intervals hung the glass bulbs with flame inside, casting the path in a warm glow. She stared at the sculptures that lined the walls at random intervals.

It was artwork.

She closely inspected the carved stone. Apprentices and servants didn’t display artwork in their halls. Were there other noble members of the Court beyond the minister?

The reliefs told stories Vhalla had known since she was a child. Most of them were religious in reference, surrounding the Father. Vhalla saw a man grasping a dragon’s head, forcing it to eat its own tail, the creation of the moon. The Father protected his lover’s world from the chaos of the realms beyond.

Vhalla instinctively started upward, but when she remembered her last interaction with heights, she turned on point to head down instead. It was the same path she had walked with the minister weeks ago, but now she took the time to see this world. The doors were arched at the top with iron handles and upon each hung a silver plate. Some had names; others simply had symbols Vhalla did not recognize.

On occasion the hallway branched off into common areas, practice grounds, and so on. Some stood empty; some were occupied. The few times she passed someone they greeted her kindly and kept on their way. No one thought the girl in the white gown with bandages was strange.

A certain smell lingered on the air. It tickled her nose and beckoned her onward. She couldn’t place it at first, but as her step quickened and the scent became stronger, she realized what it was with a smile. It was the smell of dusty leather and parchment. She turned to see the central circular room that housed the Tower’s library.

The Tower was large and round, and by most standards this would be considered a sizeable library. But it was only the size of about two and a half wings of the Imperial Library. Nevertheless, it comforted her more than anything else had to date. A blonde-haired boy who looked no older than Vhalla worked placing some books back on the shelves; he glanced at her as she entered.

“Ah! Welcome!” he said with a grin, almost dropping the books in his hands to rush to meet her.

Vhalla didn’t know how social she felt, but she smiled politely and shook his hand. His robe was collarless, and his sleeves were longer than Larel’s, almost down to his elbows. He had wavy hair, silly in the way it was messily cut. That and his goofy grin seemed to ease the tensions in her shoulders.

“Hello,” she replied.

“You must be the recent Awoken.”

Vhalla nodded. If everyone had heard of her, no wonder the others she passed in the halls weren’t surprised by her condition.

“I’m sure you have lots of questions. If I can help you find anything, just let me know. Fritznangle is the name, but that’s a mouthful so most people call me Fritz. Don’t be shy, okay?” He grinned again. Realizing he was still shaking her hand, he stopped with a laugh.

“It’s nice to meet you, Fritz. I’m Vhalla.” She smiled; he was more energetic than the normal librarians she’d met before. “Are you the master of this library?”

“Master of the library? Oh, no. We don’t really have one. I guess the minister officiates over the library as the formal curator. Do we say curator for libraries? Anyways, I do look after it if that’s what you’re asking. No one else will, I don’t think.”

Vhalla couldn’t suppress a small giggle, it was the first time she laughed in a week, and it made her whole body feel lighter.

“I never knew there was a library in the Tower.” She assessed all the books.

“I guess you wouldn’t really. I mean, it’s private you see. Got some great stuff, originals. I’ve heard it would rival the Imperial Archives.” He said it like he was nothing. Vhalla was practically salivating.

“Hey, do you want to see? You’ll be a black robe soon, right?” He took her hand and led her further into the books. “You don’t have one on yet, but when you’re all healed up I’m sure they’ll initiate you and then this will be your home also.”

Vhalla stopped, and he turned as her arm refused to budge.

“I’m not a black robe.” She shook her head, looking at her feet. “I should go.”

“Wait,” he stopped her. “That’s, well—I mean. You’re here. And, well, do you want to see anyways?”

“If it’s all right?” she asked, turning back to face him. Even if it was a library for sorcerers, Vhalla would never refuse books.

“Yeah, come on.” He smiled again.

Once more taking her by the hand, he led her to a table that stood against a tall window in the back. Vhalla put her hands against the glass and looked outside, trying to figure out the library’s location in the palace. She knew the Tower of Sorcerers had its own entrance on the ground somewhere, but it merged with the palace as it ascended, making it difficult to discern its exact location as other housing and structures grew around it.

“So what are you?” he asked, picking some books off shelves. “A Firebearer? A Waterrunner? A Groundbreaker?”

“A Windwalker,” she said without turning. It was getting easier to say, and Vhalla didn’t think she was happy about that fact. But it also didn’t upset her as much as she expected.

“A—what?” He walked over to her. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you right. One more time please?”

“A Windwalker,” she repeated, glancing at him.

He put his hand against the window frame and took a long breath. “Are you sure? I know the awakening can scramble the brain a tad and, well, we don’t hear things right. You know how it is.” Fritz continued to stare at her in disbelief.

She looked at him, slightly annoyed he was ruining her moment of reuniting with books by being so daft. “My Affinity is air. I don’t know much, but everyone has told me that makes me a Windwalker.” She spoke very slowly and tried to accentuate each word.

“You’re serious,” he choked out. She nodded in frustration. “Oh by the Sun, you’re serious.” He snatched her hand again and shook it vigorously. “This is an honor. An honor! To meet you. I wondered why the minister was so tight-lipped about the newly woken. A Windwalker. A Windwalker here, in the capital, safe, in one piece. Not burnt up to little bits.”

“You’re hurting me.” Vhalla smiled through a grimace, rubbing her throbbing shoulder as he relinquished her hand apologetically. “What do you mean, not burnt up?”Well, given the history of Windwalkers...” Fritz trailed off, as if she understood what he was talking about. She didn’t, and he finally realized that fact. “Wait, you don’t know the history?”

“I’ve read some on the history of sorcerers,” Vhalla answered vaguely. He was giving her that same feeling that the prince had, guilt at ignoring a whole area of knowledge for years.

“Tell me what you know.” Fritz smiled and the resemblance to the prince was gone. “I’ll help fill in the rest.”

“Well,” Vhalla took a deep breath. “I know that Windwalkers are—were—from the East. I am Eastern. I know there hasn’t been one in a hundred-something years and that some people thought there wouldn’t be any more.”

“That’s the basics.” Fritz smiled. “But only just.”

He led her along with gentle hand tugs and slow steps through the books. His palm was cool, but not uncomfortable. Vhalla allowed herself a small smile. It was about time that she met a sorcerer with gentle and happy manner.

“Over here, this section is our histories.”

There were no rolling ladders, and Fritz was left scurrying for a nearby foot stool. At least the bookshelves were only half as high as the ones in the library. It took a ladder with twenty rungs for Vhalla to reach the tops of those. “Windwalkers... There hasn’t been much new material since—well, there haven’t been any Windwalkers in some time. Books are rare too; Mhashan didn’t want any left.”

“Mhashan? The old West?” Vhalla blinked, wondering what the Kingdom of Mhashan had to do with Windwalkers.

“I won’t explain it well.” Fritz shook his head doubtfully. “Here, read this.”

Vhalla looked at the title of the manuscript the messy-haired librarian placed reverently into her hands: The Windwalkers of the East. It was an old manuscript, and the library apprentice in her noted immediately that the book would need to be rebound soon. A quick flip and the inspection of a few middle pages proved that at least the ink was still legible.

“Thank you.” It was like a breath of fresh air. Something about holding a book again made her feel better.

“Don’t worry about it!” Fritz smiled a wide and toothy grin.

“Can I read here?” Vhalla had no interest in returning to the room she had been recovering in.

“This is a library.” He chuckled.

Fritz led her over to a window with a wide bench placed before it. It wasn’t quite a window seat, but it was close enough that Vhalla instantly relaxed into her new surroundings.

Flipping open the book, she diligently started reading at the first page. Vhalla did not count a book as read unless one’s eyes fell on the very first word of the first page and the very last word of the last.

Her brow furrowed, and her fingers trailed over the script. She tucked some flyaway hair behind her ear only to have it fall in her face again.

Something was amiss.

The writing was familiar. It was slightly less jagged, less spiky than what she knew. This was written by a steadier hand, likely a younger hand. But it was impossible. Vhalla blinked at the title page.

The Windwalkers of the East

A collection of accounts from The Burning Times

Composed by Mohned Topperen.

MOHNED TOPPEREN. THE name had to be a mistake. Perhaps, it was a very common name, and Vhalla did not know it. Why else would the Master of Tome’s name be in a book on magical history? Then again, the master could boast authorship of more than a hundred manuscripts. Why should he have a problem writing on magic?

Vhalla paused, suddenly feeling very small. This whole time she was fearful of sorcerers when the man who was her mentor, who had been like her father in the palace, had written about them long before she was even born. She leaned against the wall, her head swimming. What was wrong with her?

Mohned had raised her better. Her father had raised her better. Vhalla had lived in the South for so long that the Southern fear of magic had seeped into her. Yes, sorcerers were different. But the South had been different, and she hadn’t feared moving into the palace, she had been excited at the prospect of expanding her knowledge. Her world had grown and, as a child, she had accepted that better than as a young woman.

Why did growing up shrink her mind?

“Vhalla?” the library boy whispered softly, sitting next to her.

“Yes?” She blinked at him, worried her magic was acting up again; he was inexplicably blurry.

“Hey, you okay?” He placed a hand on her knee, and Vhalla stared at the foreign contact. It was strangely welcome. “You’re crying.”

“Sorry.” She shook her head, looking away, rubbing her eyes in frustration.

“Don’t apologize.” Fritz shook his head. “It must be a lot.” Vhalla nodded mutely. “Were you in the palace before this?”

“I was,” Vhalla answered, finding talking helped work out the lump in her throat. “I was a library apprentice. I’ve lived here since I was eleven. Almost seven years now...”