Chapter 18:

Having finished with his business, Cort retraced his way back as he had no desire to continue his exploration of Phentar tonight. His footsteps were light for he felt relief at having finished all his chores. Now could be considered his down-time and he knew just how to spend it.

Standing before the familiar door of the library he paused. Taking a deep breath and covering his face with both of his hands he seemed to be preparing himself mentally.

Finally ready he reached for the door handle and twisted, yet to his surprise the door swung open on its own, and on the other side, a young woman of about 18 stood panting with her messy blonde hair sticking to her face after falling from the loose bun on her head. Her face was oval in shape and it came down to a fine point on her chin. But her most distinctive feature was her eyes. They were light green in color and they were so crystal clear, every bit of her emotions could be read. And while she could not be considered a beauty so great she could topple kingdoms; she was, without a shadow of a doubt, really pretty.

“H-hello Cort.” She spoke in broken English as she gave a warm smile.

“H-hello Lucy.” He replied in Phentar’s tongue with difficulty, before smiling as well. If Rine or the old man were to see this smile they would have stood with mouths agape. His usually stoic demeanor was nowhere to be seen, and in its stead, an amicable young man suddenly emerged.

“Have you been waiting for lon-” Cort’s teasing voice was cut off abruptly by a book that slammed into his face.

“This book is both easy to read and very important so we’ll start with this one tonight.” The young maiden said before turning around and making her way inside.

Cort followed.

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Rine futilely attempted to calm his beating heart. His fingers dug into the ground beneath him and he forcibly brought his laying body closer to the earth. He dared not breathe too loudly nor rapidly. All around him, the leaves of the bush he was hiding in obscured his figure yet that did not seem like it was enough and he lowered his body even closer to the ground as if hoping to be buried underneath it.

‘Please, Please, Please leave me alone.’ His childish pleas echoed in his head, he knew he should have been focusing on gathering Origin yet fear muddled his mind.

Suddenly his frantic eyes caught movement from a nearby plant. In an instant his body and mind froze, forgetting to even breathe.

A hooded figure appeared off onto the distance and Rine could feel his entire body tensing. Thankfully the figure seemed to not have noticed him as it turned around after scanning the area with hidden eyes. Rine let loose a breath filled with relief.

‘Finally, I’m finally free-’ But such thoughts did not last long as he was quickly picked up by rough hands. With enough force to snap a tree in half, he was thrown into the ground a distance away from the bush. As his body hit the floor he felt several bones break. But he did not care, for fear of what was to come drove his body off the ground. Stumbling to his feet he limped away as fast as he could, but alas it seemed like one of the bones he broke was that of his leg and he fell face-first back onto the dirt. Yet he still refused to quit and he laboriously crawled his limp body forward and away from the figure. However, with each painful claw forward, the figure would take two calm steps towards him until it arrived before the half-broken Rine. The boy still refused to give up and raised his hand for another step. But that was taken too as a foot crashed down upon it. Rine could hear his hand snap into many pieces and pain wracked his body causing it to shiver. His throat was so dry and clenched his scream could not even escape.

‘It’s over.’ He thought as resignation filled his being. The figure grabbed the boy by his hair and slammed him against a nearby wall. The pain was immense but the youth could not bring himself to care.

The hooded figure once more grabbed his hair and tilted his head upwards so as to stare, eye-to-eye, with the boy. Rine could feel the contempt radiating from the non-visible eyes and he knew what was to come. The figure peeled the hood back revealing a noble-looking face. William stared at the boy with a mixture of mockery and anger.

“What’s wrong, little one? Did you really think I would die to a near-death warrior and a fledgling magician? Who the fuck do you think I am? I could have had you dead on the ground in a second if I wanted to, but I had too much fun watching you squirm like the worm you are. In fact, were it not for the little bastard I would have experienced a lot of joy from tearing you apart piece by piece. Here, let me give you an example.” William grabbed Rine’s arm and raised it slightly before crushing it. The sound of twigs breaking rung out and the boy finally screamed.

“Speaking of your friend. Wanna meet him again?”

Rine’s eyes shot open as panic overtook him.

Like some eldritch abomination, the man’s face began to morph. The mass of flesh wriggled and mingled until finally, the familiar dead eyes of Cort appeared. The figure said nothing and it only stared at the boy with calm eyes.

But that seemed plenty enough as Rine immediately lowered his head in shame, his eyes averting even the slightest glimpse of the cold man’s face. He could feel the disappointment the figure was feeling; how deep and immeasurable it was. ‘Is this all?’ It seemed to ask ‘Is this all there is to you? A sniffling child afraid to even look me in the eyes? How disgraceful.’

Rine felt a wrinkled hand grasp the side of his face once more. This time it was the old man who appeared.

“I should have known from the beginning that picking you was a mistake.” The spirit sighed as he casually tossed the youth away akin to how one would throw away a used tissue.

‘Like garbage.’ Rine thought. ‘Once again…’ The thought of his parents flashed by his mind.

“No!” He yelled. “Not again!” He closed his eyes as the figures of Silva, Cinder, Rock, Luna, and Elma overlapped in his head. He began to gather Origin as he hastily spoke the words of his only attack.

“{Fireball}!” He roared as a ball of fire nearly as large as the one he sent after William plodded forth. However, the figure made no efforts of evading and merely took the blast head-on.

“Nice!” Rine shouted as vigor returned to him. He began to eagerly cast another spell but soon froze at the figure’s new appearance. The charred mass of flesh now had a more feminine appearance.

“No!” He stooped his casting. “No!”

Suddenly he was standing a few inches away from her. Her emotionless eyes glued onto his. But they weren’t truly empty as the barest hint of emotion was present. The figure raised her hand and made a motion to slap Rine.

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He was startled awake with a racing heart and drenched in sweat. Rine sat up as he began taking deep breaths. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not abate the rapid beating of his heart. He stood up and groggily made his way towards the nearby river.

The cool waters did the trick and he finally felt calm again.

Staring vacantly into the river’s shimmering surface his mind was blank.

“Can I ask you something?” He asked suddenly.

The old man started a bit as his eyes widened. “Oh, so you’ve noticed me. Sure go ahead.” The spirit appeared at the riverbank.

“Why me?”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you’re the one who said that being a magician was a thing of great nobility or whatever. The noblest thief. So why did you choose me? You don’t know anything about me so why bother?”

The old man considered what answer to give, he had always been adept at coaxing people towards a certain direction. However, this felt different. ‘Let’s try being honest for once.’

“You were lucky. I needed someone young and capable of basic magic. And you barely fit the bill.”

“I see…” Rine continued to stare at the river’s constant motion.

“I want to be stronger than I am now.”

“I know kid, look everyo-”

“No.” Rine interrupted decisively before turning around.

The old man stopped talking as he stared at the eyes before him.

Tears ran down his face but that took nothing away from the ferociousness of his gaze. His eyes were so sharp they looked like blades.

‘There they are again.’ The old man thought as he gazed at the familiar eyes. He sighed.

The old man sat next to the young man. And looked him in the eyes.

“I can give you the strength you desire, however a price must be paid.”

“Tell me.”

“You must listen to everything I say, don’t think just follow. It’s going to hurt and it’s going to take a while but we’ll get there. And when we do I will ask one thing of you.”

“Ok deal,” Rine said without hesitation.

“Well, then first thing’s first. About tomorrow.”

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What determined the results of a battle? Was it prowess, skill, or strategy? Perhaps it’s all of them combined, but Cort believed that a battle’s result depended mainly on information. And to acquire information, one needed a source or rather multiple sources. The old man was one such source. And this girl was another.

“And t-thus it is imp- important to remember that a Burning-Mane’s weakness is their posterior left foot where a… a… What is this word?”

“Birthmark.” Lucy enunciated slowly as she pointed at a mark on her upper arm.

“I see,” Cort said before he continued reading.

They sat close to one another on a single table illuminated by a small sunstone. The light was strong enough to read under but not garish enough to distract them.

Lucy was closely concentrating on a couple pieces of paper Cort had written prior.

On his first visit to Phentar, he chose the library as his first destination for the simple purpose of gathering information. It was when he picked up a book at random that he learned just how hopeless his situation was. Despite the similarities, English and Phentar’s tongue had distinct differences that made them separate beasts entirely. And it was during this troubled time that he found Lucy. Lucy kept the library open at night when her father went to bed. Being an inquisitive girl she immediately began to pester him about where he came from and his purpose. It did not help that he was the only customer at the library most of the time.

But seeing use in her, he decided to play along. At first, communication was difficult due to the language barrier but over time they began to understand.

And thus a deal was made. She’d help him learn Phentin otherwise known as Phentar’s tongue and he would help her learn English, a language spoken by no one.

In truth, Cort found the girl to be interesting. Her pale skin made it evident that she rarely went out during the day. And her job as a night-time librarian ensured her the role of a social recluse, especially so in a town where the library was as empty as a ghost town most of the time. Strangest of all was that this was her wish. She wanted to spend her time alone in the library with nothing for company save books. She would later tell him that it was her dream to memorize all the books this library had to offer. In simple terms, she was obsessed.

Knowledge of all kinds was her drug, and she indulged in it liberally. This coupled with her frankly frightening intellect made her a scary existence.

Speaking of intellect, Cort caught a glimpse of what she was capable of when she soaked up nearly everything he had told her concerning English during the three days they spent together. Basic words such as water, light, and food were learned faster than the blink of an eye. And even Cort with his “Special advantage” could barely keep up in learning Phentin.

The two youths sat close to one another with their heads glued to their books. Occasionally they would read out to one another, but most of the time comfortable silence reigned supreme.

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