We stop abruptly, just short of the entrance to the library.

"Wait what do you mean? Are you saying all adventurers from your world are heroes of the Federation? And you all know Commander Freya." I ask bewildered.

"Well... Yea... It was part of our mission. Taking us from island of dawn all the way to highwatch. Along the way we would visit almost the entirety of Arborea. It was all laid out for us, preordained, like destiny. Well I guess there are some of us that ignored the quests and just focused on getting stronger..." Estellda replied in the most matter of fact way possible.

I stare at her blank expression, watching for any signs or hints of her being dishonest. Nothing. "So what exactly happens on this mission on yours that apparently guarantees you hero hood?"

"That happened so long ago it's impossible for me to remember most of it." Estellda seemed annoyed, frustrated, "even if I do remember, it would take forever to tell you about all of it. I don't think it's something to worry about for now. Not until we break you free of your reset cycle."

The reset cycle yes. That is indeed the more pressing matter. Breaking free will give me much more time to uncover the truth but more importantly, I would be able to focus on other things. "You're right. But don't think I'll forget this. Once I'm free, you're gonna tell me everything" moving on, I step into the library.

The room before me isn't very big by any standards but its walls are covered entirely in books, a handful of elves move around in the room, librarians going about their daily business, cataloguing and giving aid to anyone in need. We approach one of them, the one closest to us, a tall slender female in a long flowy robe. She carries heavy tome in one hand, the ancient looking binding of leather bound parchment floats inches above her palm. She moves from volume to volume, touching the spines of each magical book on the wall. As her finger tips touch a book, the 4 rings she wore on her fingers would glow in a different arrangement of colors. A magic circle would then appear above the pages of the opened tome in her hand, scribing arcane text onto the pages.

She glances at us through her ruby rims and smiles, 'welcome to the library, just let me finish this row and I'll be right with you' she projects into our minds.

"Alright! Thank..." Estellda stops as the librarian gave us a death stare.

'This is a telepathy only zone. Please use your inside voice.' Satisfied to have silenced Estellda, the librarian turns back to her task, quickly scanning the rest of the magical books on the row.

The tome in her hand closes, then flies towards an empty slot in the top left corner of the wall she was facing. It slides smoothly and cleanly into the wall, melding with the rest of the books. Up close, what I thought was a white robe patterned with black lace was in fact translucent, the dark intricate markings on the elves' pale skin visible through the thin fabric.

The mark of the arcane is unmistakable but unlike the arcane scars on castanics brought about by a curse, her arcane scars are small and intricate, skillfully carved and obviously deliberate, the work of a master arcane tattooist. The scars extended up her hands around her shoulders, spiraling and swirling, then down the sides of her breasts to her hips before ending and around her thighs.

'Like what you're seeing?' she projects coyly as she smiles, noticing us staring. I look away blushing, Estellda leaned in closer, her face almost touching the elf. 'I intend to get more work done but they cut like a fembralisk and burn like a fangspawn. But you know that already, being castanic and all.'

'They're beautiful! Can you turn around for me?' Estellda cooed mentally, her eyes burning with passion. Estellda please! I elbowed her in the ribs. Do not offend another elf! 'Ow!' Estellda hunches over grabbing her side. 'Not cool Red...'

The elf chuckled, 'I'm Nayenne, how can I help you ladies today?' crossing her arms under her heavy chest, accentuating them. Estellda's eyes visibly widened, I can almost see her drooling.

'Red here's been out of the loop for a while, so she's looking for a refresher in history. We'd greatly appreciate it if you could point us in the direction of all the information you have available since the first expedition.' Estellda rattles on the way she usually does when excited. Nayenne looks at me, I give her a slight nod.

'Everything? You sure?' she questioned, a apprehensive look on her face. I nod again. 'Well then, just give me a moment while I bring you your request.'

Nayenne turns around, showing us her back, she turns her head slightly and gave Estellda a playful wink. She dances, extending her hands, waving them purposefully in the air, the edges of her arcane scars glow faintly as the rings on her fingers flash a myriad of colors. Around the library, the spines of selected books on the high shelves begin to glow as they slide off, converging in the middle of the room, spiralling in a slow circle. More books fly off the shelves into the array, all of them glowing faintly, a mesmerizing sight to behold. 'I'm guessing you want them arranged chronologically.' Nayenne's voice sounds out in my head. That would make sense. I was afraid of where to start seeing so many volumes fly off the shelves. Did that much really happen while I was asleep?

When the books finally stopped flying off the shelves, the swarm continues to spiral near the ceiling before settling onto a small table in the corner of the library, stacking one after another. The tower of books quickly grew and when it got too high, another tower of books sprouted beside the first. Nayenne turns to us as the last of the books settle onto the table. 'There you go love, have fun.'

We bow to her, expressing our gratitude as we move past her, heading deeper into the library. She blew Estellda a kiss as she passes, Estellda almost tripped over herself. As I pass, she grabs my hand, gently but firmly. I turn to see her eyeing the rings on her hand, a dark glow alternately pulsing between crimson and a deep purple. 'Those eyes, this raw arcane... How are you still alive? Whatever magic you're doing, you should stop before it's too late.' Her tone stern but the concern is genuine.

I smile as I place my hand on hers, giving it a gentle squeeze as I brush it off, 'Thank you. I hope it's not too late.'