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Once they were back in the Athenaeum, Chronos shooed them away to read their books. Bobby was writing words with the aether pen all over the library, singing them aloud while Chronos instructed him. After a few minutes the little boy’s yodeling got too much for Rich, and he retreated to a quiet nook in one of the upper rooms.
Thick white candles lit the small alcove like a cathedral, and he dropped into a pile of cushions with a contented sigh. He was fiercely protective of his book for some reason. Something told him that it was vitally important, and he craved the information inside like a starving man.
Besides, it’s a work of art! God knows how much it’d be worth...
Dragonlore was a thick book, beautifully illustrated with embossed metallic dragons. There were picture of dragon anatomy; their skeletons, muscluature details, cardiovascular system, the construction of their scales, and even their fire-breathing mechanisms. The beautifully drawn details were inscribed with precise measures, as well as health care and breeding habits. Rich was pretty sure that every type of dragon was documented within the pages. He longed to scan ahead and enjoy the pictures, but so far he’d only managed to read a little of the history.
It was an intriguing tale, beginning in an ancient land called Cymru.
“There were two major ports in Cymru, where the Cymruvians traded almost exclusively with the Isle of Eire and the Gauls. One port serviced the northern half of Cymru, called Port Penrhyn, and the other the southern half, called Port Swainey.
The clans of Cymru were divided into several territories, with the country ranging from vast coastal stretches and fertile plains and swamps, to highland tundra and the mountain ranges. The clans were generally peaceful traders, working together to supply their fellow countrymen with the necessities to survive.
The coastal villages supplied fish, lobster, oysters, whale fat, salt, glass, and ground bone for medicines.
The inland villages on the plains raised cattle and sheep, trading the meat and hides for other goods.
The fertile valleys allowed farming clans to cultivate the land, growing wheat, barley, vegetables, and fruits. They also raised hogs, and their salted pork was in high demand.
The highland tundra clans lived on the lower slopes of the Cambrian Mountains, where they hunted deer and foxes. They were tough people, but traded fairly of their venison, hides, bone powders, timber, and furs. Rare medicinal plants also grew in the tundra.
One clan lived in the swamp area, cultivating flax to make rope and linen cloth. They also domesticated the swamp birds, and traded eggs and meat for other necessities.
The mountain clans were the miners, living in the mountain caves and excavating rich veins of copper, coal, and gold.
One day the miners stumbled upon a cavern deep inside the mountains, where a collection of large scaled eggs had lain for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Nobody knew where they came from, and it caused a good deal of confusion for the clans. It wasn’t long before the Cymruvian cave dwellers had hatched the eggs by their fires, and were taming the feisty baby dragons.
At the time, the Cymruvians were in the middle of a war against the Britons. They were struggling to hold back the invaders, who were close to charging over the Cambrian mountains and taking control of the country from the west.
The Cymruvians learnt how to train their dragons to fight, and used them as mounts in battle. They drove the Britons from the mountains, and evicted the Vikings that had infiltrated Port Swainey.
Such a colorful history, Rich mused. I must be a part of this. I feel it in my bones! I feel like I know these people… I wonder where I will come in?
The book described the different behaviors and training methods for each species of dragon in rich detail. Rich absently stroked the silver embossing as he studied, oblivious to the world around him.
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Daphne was hunting through the shelves in the lower library, looking for any books to do with physics and light energy. Her pale brow was furrowed in frustration, her lower lip held between her teeth as she sighed, running her hand over what seemed like the thousandth book.
Will I ever figure it out? What if there’s nothing about it?
The aether swirled around her, and she paused after a moment, eyeing the blue mist thoughtfully.
“Aether? Are there any… books on light energy? And physics?”
She felt a bit silly talking to an empty room, but her daft question wasn't in vain. To her surprise and delight, the blue tendrils slipped away and began plucking several books from the top shelves, high out of her reach.
Phew. I’d never have even thought to look up there.
“Thankyou so much,” she said gratefully, as the pile of books were placed gently in her arms.
They look so old and dusty!
She glimpsed the faded gold title on the bindings, and her heart sped up.
Physicorum lux flexibus, and Homo sapiens ex hujusmodi navitas?
She bit her lip, frowning until she flipped open the first page.
The aether must translate as I read, she marveled. Thank the gods! Because I’ve certainly never learnt Latin.
She sat down in a cosy nook and began poring through the texts, her eyes bright in anticipation.
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Dennis was happily ensconced in the basement room, honing his telekinesis skills. The rune of light was zipping between the globes as if it were in a slalom competition, and Dennis caught the flying object with a firm grip as it whipped back toward him. He dropped a silly kiss on the rune, just as Chronos descended the steps.
“Uh…” Dennis glanced at the rune and decided against hiding it behind his back. “Hi.”
“Hello, my young wizard. Congratulations on your first rune.”
“Um, thanks!” He laughed nervously, hoping he wasn’t in trouble. “What’s up?”
“I have the feeling that you have finished reading your book and are getting a bit bored,” Chronos continued.
“Yeah, you could say that. I mean, I tried to make other runes, but they didn’t come alive like this one,” he sighed, looking down at the glowing object in his hand. “And I did them perfectly!” he added quickly, looking up as Chronos approached him.
“So it seems,” Chronos agreed, eyeing the towering piles of parchment, marked with painstakingly inked runes. “Shall we begin your training, then?”
“Sure! How can I make this one come alive—“ he pointed to the rune of fire he’d copied with no success “— and not burn the place down?”
“A good first step would be to leave the Athenaeum, and go to the Academy of Magia.”
“What? Where’s that? I’m keen!” The curly haired boy hurriedly grabbed his book and the pile of parchment runes, absently moving to push the glasses he no longer wore higher on his nose. “Let’s go!”
“We travel by portal. Follow me.”
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Hours later, Daphne collected the neat pile of notes she’d made in a parchment notebook and stood up, stretching her legs.
“Daphne? Is that you?”
Lissa approached, holding Bobby’s hand and smiling. Daphne noted her aura had turned a peaceful pink, and she looked quite pretty.
“I was just going to come see if you wanted to go back for some dinner. I’m starving!”
“Sure, that sounds good,” Daphne smiled back, falling in step with the taller girl. “Hey, do you know where Chronos is?”
“No, I haven’t seen him since our lesson. Bobby’s been with me since he finished his writing lesson, so Chronos must be somewhere else.”
“He was going to see Dennis,” Bobby piped up, swinging Lissa’s hand energetically.
“Ah. Well, I’m sure he’ll be back soon. What have you got there?” Lissa glanced curiously at the notebook in her hand.
“Oh, not much. Just a few notes,” Daphne evaded shyly. “How are you liking your book?”
“Oh, yeah. I like it,” Lissa said, rolling her eyes a little. “It’s just, I don’t know… A bit tedious to read pages and pages of names and dates. The records are cool, though. It’s amazing how people used to live.”
“That does sound—“
“I’m hungry!” Bobby interrupted. “Let’s hurry!”
The girls laughed and hurried after him, running up the stairs and catching him just before he leapt onto the portal disk.
“Wait for us, Bobby! It’s not safe if you go by yourself.”
“I already have,” he said, bored. “I ended up in this dark place with lots of birds. But I just thought about the Palladium and I got home fine.”
“BOBBY!” Lissa screeched. “You can’t do that again! You might not come back, and we wouldn’t ever know where to find you!”
“Chronos would just turn back time,” the boy argued. “I’d be fine.”
The girls exchanged exasperated looks. The little boy was too smart for his own good.
“No, Bobby, just no.”
He gave them a cheeky look and hopped onto the portal, disappearing in a split second.
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Matthaios had finally found the key to enjoying his book. He’d been struggling through pages of dry recitations of ancient battles and names of long-dead warriors, when he’d gotten an idea, inspired by their earlier history lesson. It involved using the maps to go to the battle sites, and watching as a spectator as the wars raged on. He’d managed to get the hang of using the Sight, and arrived at the scene at just the right time. Admittedly, he’d had to give it a few tries - once, he’d arrived during the ice age and had almost been run over by a wooly mammoth - but here he was, in the perfect place at the perfect time. He actually understood the tactical decisions and diagrams, now that he could see them in real time
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He smiled, satisfied with his effort, as he watched a screaming Roman calvary charging down the slope. A small group of ragged Gauls were gathered at the bottom, standing stoicly as the fearsome bringers of their imminent deaths hurtled toward them, chunks of mud flying under slashing hooves.
At the last minute, as the Romans reached the bottom of the hill in a glittering cluster flying manes and polished armour, their horses stopped dead and the Romans went flying from their saddles , dropping straight through the ground. Matthaios watched in amazement as rank after rank of Romans tried to pull their horses to a stop. All their efforts to slow down the momentum they’d gained from descending the steep hill were in vain, as soldier after soldier toppled out of sight. Their heavy armor was their downfall.
Literally.
Matthaios sprinted over for a closer look - ignoring the strange sensation of having people running through him - and grinned at the ingenuity of the plan.
There was a deep trench - perhaps three meters deep - dug into the ground and shored up with tree trunks. It had been covered with a camouflaged carpet of sods of grass and held up by thin branches. The horses hadn’t been fooled.
He was thankful there were no spikes in this trench. He’d read about that gruesome variety. Apparently the Gauls were planning to hold the Romans for ransom, and he laughed a little as he watched the triumphant Gauls taunting the furious soldiers. Several Gauls collected the freshly riderless horses, leading them by their bridles. There were at least fifteen of the magnificent beasts, all heaving with exertion as they followed their new masters.
He eyed the remnant of the Roman calvary at the top of the hill, and could identify their decurian pacing furiously back and forth, gesturing wildly in frustration. Matthaios was biting back a laugh when a steady rumbling beat sounded behind him. He turned around quickly and caught his breath.
A magnificent black horse was galloping toward the scene, a heavyset man riding it with masculine ease. The horse had no saddle or bridle, and the man was directing the stallion with only the simplest of ropes around its neck.
This is the leader of the Gauls, Matthaios realized, a lump rising in his throat as the horse thundered to a stop only meters away. It was tall - higher that Matthaios's head at its shoulder - and sweating, tossing its head in excitement, dark eyes wide, and elegant head held with pride.
Good gods…
The stallion's eyes were like liquid fire, and he swallowed hard.
There is nothing I wouldn't give for a horse like that…
The Gaul dismounted in one was movement, and stalked toward the trench, sneering as he observed the trapped soldiers. Matthaios could only guess what he was thinking, but he turned around and clapped his clansmen on the shoulders, muttering his praise. They had immense respect for him, Matthaios could see.
He clenched his jaw in determination.
That will be me.
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Matthaios lifted his finger from the map and opened his eyes.
My god… That was incredible!
He hurried to sit down at the huge desk in middle of the room, pushing aside the maps that were strewn across it. A small sheaf of parchment lay beside him and he took a page, dipping a quill pen into an inkwell, thoughtfully.
He mapped out the skirmish, absently doodling a black horse’s head once he was finished.
The amazing thing was… nobody died in that skirmish. Maybe Chronos is right. If I use my brains and be smart about it…
He chewed his lip.
Yes. Tactics are definitely on the agenda…
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GLOSSARY: (Ancient Dialects)
Cymru: Wales
Isle of Eire: Ireland
GLOSSARY: (Latin)
Physicorum lux flexibus: “Physics of Light Manipulation”
Homo sapiens ex hujusmodi navitas: “Magical Energy of Humans”
decurion: Roman leader of a troop of cavalry (14-30 men on horses)
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