Lura Syllana
I spend the next several days reading and rereading the book, trying to puzzle out the notes, and doing a lot of chores required for my hours. I knocked out quite a few doing six hours a day. There are quite a few notes in here that tell me what I should focus on for passing the test. It is like the person who wrote the notes provided us with a cheat sheet. What he says about the journey in the notes seems to be personal, as if he lived through what was written in the book. It really makes me wonder how life was like back then, living in the presence of gods.
All four of us, Biremeril, Ralodan, Melyis and I, take the test at the same time and all pass without getting a question wrong. Unfortunately, we had to hand the books back.
Thankfully, level one is taught by a stray, Haemyish, and she is far more helpful than Olizara. Unfortunately, the book we are given is The Light of the World by Mathienne Naesalor instead of Terel. Sadly, Terel is said to be dead, so we can’t go to him for answers. He died a while after the Angel Akrasiel sacrificed himself. His death was a mystery in and of itself. He was one of the strongest in the Light, so he should’ve lived for a long time. In fact, most of the original disciples of Akrasiel are still alive, including the High Mother, Mathienne Naesalor, the author of the current book. I heard that Damaris is one of her closest disciples, along with Mother Vedana Oddheart and Mother Nostra Longswitch. The latter two were also among the original disciples of Akrasiel, along with Riluaneth Waeszeiros, Colvardonn, Anfather, and Amaranthae. All of them are of the ranks of Mother and Father. Strangely though, the High Father, Arbelladon Warmspear, and several other Mothers and Fathers, including Chaetris Rapidbirth and Fylson Greran, were not among the original disciples of Akrasiel and weren’t even with the church at the time of his presence.
The book was written by the High Mother and is quite interesting and teaches about the history of the church itself. Some of it overlaps with Terel’s book, but it also goes into detail of the time after Akrasiel and even Terel’s deaths. Detailing the creation of the Paladin order and how the ranks of the church were formed along with the election of each High Father, including Arbelladon, which is strife with controversy. It was between him and Anfather; however, it was rumored that he won over Anfather because of rumors that Anfather was in a relationship with an Accepted, although they were later proven to be untrue.
I was completely shocked to find that there are notes hidden deep within The High Mother’s book as well, and they must be by Terel also. They’re in the same handwriting as Terel’s and it’s a bit different from the High Mother’s. Shockingly, they question the church’s decision to outlaw attachments and relationships. Are these Terel’s notes? He wasn’t alive when this was publicized. What if it’s actually Mathienne’s notes? Maybe she also has secrets. Or maybe I’m thinking too much into it… I really need to get my hands on the rest of those books.
All three, Biremeril, Ralodan, and Melyis, also have the same notes. After class one day, all four of us decided to approach Haemyish about it.
“I’m not surprised you four can see the notes,” Haemyish says as she considers us. “Sister Damaris has an uncanny knack for recruiting people who seem to have whatever qualities or traits that Terel was searching for when he placed the charm on the books.”
“So, he did write the notes?” I ask, trading glances with the other three.
“I take it none of you have read the hidden books, then?” she asks. All four of us shake our heads no. “They’re in the hands of someone else.”
“Well then, we can’t talk any more of this until you have. None of it will make sense otherwise. So, I advise that until you can read the books you focus on passing the test. You already know what you need to focus on since you have the notes, but if you need help, you’re more than welcome to come to me.” she says.
We all nod and make our way out. “That’s exactly what Sister Damaris said…”
“You spoke to her about it?” Ralodan asks.
“Yes… It was a while ago.” I say with a nod. My eyes go wide. “Oh, I nearly forgot. She confirmed it was Terel who wrote the notes. At least in the first book, but I don’t see how he could’ve written them since the book was published after his death.”
“And you’re telling us this now!” Biremeril says with wide eyes, pulling at his curly, black hair.
“Yeah, I forgot with all that was going on,” I say.
“Well, we all assumed that anyway, it’s not like it’s anything new,” Ralodan says.
“We need to get our hands on those books,” I say.
“Why don’t we just talk to Charinva and get them from her, or at least one or two? How many are there, anyway?” Ralodan asks.
“Who is Charinva again?” Melyis asks.
“Another stray,” Ralodan says.
“I don’t know. She’s rather stubborn,” Biremeril says.
“We should go to my dorm first and grab Chalia. She is good at convincing people to do things,” I say.
“What if she won’t give them to us?” Biremeril asks.
“She will, or at least one or two books we can share amongst each other,” Ralodan says with that confident smile, and I believe he can convince her if not Chalia. That smile can convince anyone.
Biremeril reluctantly agrees and we head back to my dorm to find Chalia just getting back from her own class. “Hey… Didn’t realize we were having a party. I would’ve put on my nice brown robes.”
“We want to confront Charinva and convince her to hand over the books.” I spit out.
“Or at least one or two of them. We don’t need all of them just yet,” Ralodan says.
“Okay, let’s do it then, but I get first dibs since I’ve been waiting longer for them,” Chalia says.
We all agree, and Ralodan adds his own two cents. “We should probably just go in order of arrival, so Biremeril should get them next and then me, then Lura, and lastly Melyis.”
“That seems fair,” Biremeril says.
“I suppose,” I say with a sigh. That means I will have to wait for all three of them to finish the next book before I can even begin reading it. That might take forever, depending on how long it is. At least I’ll get them before Melyis, which is a petty thought.
We all follow Chalia to Charinva’s room down the hall. Chalia doesn’t even knock before barging in, and she’s fast enough to duck before a book comes flying out of nowhere and hits poor Biremeril right in the forehead. Thank the Light, it wasn’t me this time.
“Seriously!” Chalia snaps at Ochilysse. “You nearly broke Biremeril’s nose!”
She only shrugs. “Next time knock! You’re just lucky it wasn’t a knife.”
“You are insane,” Chalia says as she forces Biremeril’s hand away and looks at the bump growing on his forehead as tears water his cheeks. “Fortunately, it’s just a little bump. You should be fine. Maybe we can get Haemyish to heal it. She’s pretty skilled.”
“What do you all want?” Ochilysse asks.
“We came to speak with Charinva. It doesn’t concern you,” Chalia says, her annoyance showing.
“Go ahead,” the other girl says, never glancing up from her book.
“We want the books. You have to share. You’ve had them forever,” Chalia says.
“Maybe a simple please would work better, Chalia,” Ralodan says as he steps past. “What she meant to say is, may we please see the first book or two?”
Chalia rolls her eyes. Charinva puts a bookmark between the pages and snaps the book shut. Her face seems to contort in contempt. “You can have them all. I’m done with them. I don’t even want to look at them anymore. I still can’t believe what I read. It’s… I’m lost for words. It’s absurd. It’s blasphemy. It’s… It’s very likely true, which is… I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Is it really that bad?” I ask and my teeth bite into my lip.
She looks up at me with eyes that look strained and tired. Has she slept at all? “I can’t really tell you, but just take everything you know and throw it into the trash. What these books say change everything.”
She goes over to her chest and pulls out six very thick books. “The first one is just another copy of The Light’s Embrace. The second one is Terel’s Revelations. Then the following are secrets told to him by Akrasiel. Book one is Truths of the Cosmos. The second book is called Divine Secrets, part one. Book three is Divine Secrets part two and lastly, an Encyclopedia. You need to start with Terel’s Revelations before moving to the Truths of the Cosmos and so on. Read each book in order. It makes more sense that way. If you have any questions, don’t ask me. Ask someone else. Maybe Damaris or whoever. I would like to forget I read them.”
“How could they really be that bad?” I ask.
Charinva only shrugs. “Not bad, but what is written in them is hard to comprehend and even harder to accept. Tread carefully, if at all.”
The rest of us trade disparaging looks with each other. I finally speak up. “So, I guess Chalia will take them first, then… Ochilysse?”
We all look over at her. She rolls her eyes. “Fine, I’ll read them. I won’t be quick about it.”
Half of us roll our eyes. “I wonder who else still needs to read them,” Chalia asks.
“Let’s find out after we finish with them,” I say.
That earns a smile from Chalia. “I quite agree.”
“So, after Ochilysse gets them, then Biremeril, then Ralodan, then me, and then Melyis? Does that sound okay?” I ask.
Everyone nods. Ralodan speaks up. “So, I guess we should probably just focus on completing the levels as quickly as possible so we can put ourselves in an excellent position within the church to prepare for when we finally get the books.”
“That sounds like as good a plan as any,” I say. Biremeril, Melyis, and Ochilysse all nodding. “I’ll help Chalia move the books to our dorm, and then we can get to it. That and get those Light-forsaken chore hours done.”
The others all sigh, but agree.
“Don’t cheat and start reading the books before me, Lura!” Ochilysse says.
“Don’t worry. I have plenty to do until it’s my turn,” I say, then look over at Charinva. “Say, Charinva… Would it be possible to borrow some of your books on Arcane spells?”
“Sure, why not,” Charinva says, then nods over to towers of stacked books in the corner of the room. “Have a look and take what you like.”
“Can we also have at it?” Ralodan asks.
“Yes, I don’t mind, but I want them all back!” she says, as she grabs the book she was reading and returns to it. Everyone besides Chalia sifts through the stacks of books. I find a few on basic Arcane spells and figure I should start there.
We all help Chalia get the books back to our dorm. They’re quite heavy and thick. Then I go with Ralodan, Biremeril, and Melyis to study our current level. With Terel’s notes in the back of Mathienne’s book, we make quick work of studying.
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