So, I think this story is maybe going to end up at least a bit shorter than Hardly Human. We'll see. I spent a while writing out a synopsis of each chapter so I had an idea what I was going to do in the middle. The way I usually write is to have an idea for events, then make up the middle and exact dialogue as I go. Yeah, I plan out the big events and imagine those and Then write the rest. I'm weird like that.
I also posted another story for Valentines Day, "It Must be Fate" so you can go check it out. It's devoted to my crush, and the actual story is centered around playing Mineplex Survival Games. Yeah.
Have a good day/night!
-Laurel
After we set out from Budder City, it took us all of a week to get to the Kingdom of Rikilyn. Other than meeting the moa, nothing of importance had happened. Just a week of continuous travel.
The same day we were going to get to Rikilyn, though, I started to hear something. No one else did, so I kept it quiet, because I was pretty sure I knew was it was.
Especially considering the fact of whose voices I was hearing.
Mother, Notch, Herobrine, the Wither, and the Eldar Guardian.
I had somehow become mentally linked to the legends' sort of chatroom, an extra, empty dimensional space they used to connect their consciousness and speak with each other.
And they were arguing. About us.
I stayed silent about it, although Enderlox could sense my nervousness.
Although both Notch and Herobrine were all for somehow capturing us and forcing us to give up the secrets they believed we had, they hated each other and fought to keep the other from doing what they wanted.
Stuck in their stalemate as they were, it was understandable how very little had happened to us recently at their hands.
Mother was doing her best to protect us, the Wither was siding with Herobrine, and the Eldar Guardian was staying neutral.
I made up my mind to never get on the bad side of the Eldar Guardian, if he was taking this position on the issue rather than jump on the bandwagon.
I ignored the voices, or at least pretended to, and then we finally came within sight of the walls of Rikilyn.
The vast wall surrounding the religious city was well-maintained, crafted of stone brick. Sentries were posted every fifty blocks along the top of the wall.
To avoid being seen, we activated our disguises.
Ty and I hid beneath thick robes of pure black cloth, every single one of our features were hidden, not even our faces could be seen.
Mist, Shade, and Hector changed into hooded robes of a beige fabric, which were more open, but still hid Mist and Shade's ears and tails.
Shade announced us to the city guards at the gate as wandering priests. At one point while making or way through the city, someone asked what kinds of priests we were.
Shade explained to that person that Ty and I were highly devoted and under vows of silence, and could neither talk nor show our faces to anyone. He explain himself and Mist as charitable students of myself and Ty, and Hector being their adopted younger brother they were teaching as well.
I'd made him memorize this story while walking, and if he was ever looking for something to say, I could telepathically tell him.
The reason I'd chosen to pass off him and Mist as our students were for a couple of reasons. First off, we were all underage, but needed someone to seem like an adult, and my brother and I were taller than the others. Secondly, students were often less suspicious than adults, and "adults" were less suspicious with younger people like students.
They let us through easily. From what I could tell, the townspeople hated strangers, but were perfectly accepting of new-coming priests.
Using our story of being highly-devoted priests, Shade managed to procure rooms at a nice local inn for us, as well as convince someone to let us have undisclosed access to the library in solitude.
This story seemed to be quite believable.
Meeting in one of our two rooms at the inn, we discussed what to do next.
"Okay, so I think that when we get to the library in the morning, as per our agreement, we should split up to look for information. Ty, you and I are on our own, speaking to no one. Mist, Shade, one of you will take Hector" I started off, being our sort of unofficial leader.
"I'll take him!" Mist instantly offered.
"No, I'll take him. Can't have you acting like a child and blowing our cover" Shade told his sister.
"Aww..." She whined, but didn't complain more than that.
Hector looked to the cat hybrid and asked, "Shade, do I hafta sit there while you check out books?"
"No, you can read one of those books Krystal bought for you. I saw you brought them" Shade answered.
"Okay"
"Now, what are we going to be looking for, exactly?" Ty asked, shifting in his smothering robes.
At least he didn't have wings that begged to be freed. I had cut slits in the fabric that couldn't be seen because of the folds. My wings were stretched out behind me, and I kept folding and unfolding them, to get some kind of exercise. It might be a few days before I could fly again.
"Anything that looks like it could help. And keep an eye out for any information about the Aether, or Herobrine" I suggested.
"This is gonna be a long day..." Mist said.
(Time skip)
The morning after, we made our way to the library. The owners acknowledged us and spoke with Shade for a short while, then let us have free rein of the library.
The only reason we'd been allowed that was because it was supposed to be a sacrilegious act to disturb the studies of one who had taken a vow of silence. Their students, in this case, Mist and Shade, would fetch things for them.
They just locked up the library, and gave us a key to get out whenever we wanted to.
It was a large library, a total of four stories and the basement. We split up to cover the most ground.
I expected the top floor would contain the newest tomes, so decided not to send someone up there. Ty got third floor, Mist took second floor, and Shade and Hector chose the main floor.
I chose the basement, because odds were it had the oldest of the books on religion.
I went through countless books, skimming them to try to find the knowledge we needed. I must have covered nearly forty blocks of bookshelves before I finally found something.
But it wasn't quite a book.
I had slid my hand into an empty space to get a good grip on a book that was falling apart and needed particular care, when my hand found an uneven surface.
It was a switch, a button just like what we'd found in Doxyn's library back in Budder City. I pressed it cautiously, though sure it wouldn't be anything I couldn't handle.
Just the same as before, a passage opened, and led into the dark. I followed it on my own, since I didn't know if anything useful would be down here. The piston door had closed behind me as well, so no one could follow me.
As before, the path led a long way down, to a small room. The room was pretty much the same as before as well.
Old, musty smells of paper, the slight charred scent of a long-ago extinguished torch. Walls of old books, and best of all, another enchanting table.
I flipped through a few of the books, finding some interesting things. Most interesting were two particular books I found.
The first was priority, it was about the Aether. It spoke of legends of Aetherian mobs, and what the dimension was like, exactly. It also mentioned a different way to get to the Aether, a portal made of glowstone and water.
The second was more about the immediate thing before me, the table. This one was about enchanting and the different kinds of enchantments. It even spoke of the methods used.
I glanced down at the obsidian blade hanging from my belt. Was is possible that I had enough control over my magic to enchant it...?
Only one way to find out.
I pulled out my sword and lay it on top of the enchantment table, horizontal to the floating book.
Beside the table, on the floor, was a tool crafted of diamond. I picked it up. The book called it a chisel, used for one of the most important parts of enchanting.
Following the rules of the book, I picked which enchantments I wanted, and found their corresponding runes.
It took a long while, but I carved the runes into my shining black blade, polishing it afterwards and making sure it was exactly as sharp as before.
Then, the next part.
In the floating book on top of the enchanting table, I found the words corresponding to the runes, and chanted them aloud.
My sword floated above the book, and I didn't dare to stop and look in surprise, I just continued with the magical words.
After I finished and as my blade fell back onto the table, I noticed it had gained a slight violet glow, more violet than the color the book had explained as "pinkish-purple" I assumed it was just because my magic might be more Ender in origin.
I had successfully enchanted my sword to be extremely sharp, as well as given it a burning effect that made the sword grow hot when it was used in battle.
I was satisfied.
Exiting the tiny room and tunnel, I carried out the book about the Aether upstairs, to where I collected each member of my hybrid family on each floor. We met up all on the top floor, where I explained what I had found and showed off my sword. However, I felt exhausted, and assumed that my magic was somewhat depleted.
"I'm impressed" Ty admitted, "I didn't expect you to figure the magic out to do that so quickly"
"I didn't either" I said, sheathing my sword, "Actually, I was very surprised there was another passage. Doxyn's and this library must have been made by the same people"
"It would make sense. They're from about the same time period, I think" Shade added his thoughts.
I nodded, "Exactly. But what is most important is this" I held up the Aether book, "I read every bit of this. Every single fact known about Aetherian mobs is written here, there's even notes in the margins where whoever knows about the passage had added his own thoughts and observations. Someone around here must had access to an Aether portal"
"Yeah, but I highly doubt they'd be willing to let us use it"
"Exactly. We may have to either make our own or use the method the moa told us, with the golden clouds and all"
"Either way, we have our first leads. I don't think we'll find much more, if that was hidden and locked away. Let's get out of here" Ty said, pulling his hood over his face.
(Time skip)
Outside, we found our way back to the inn, where Ty and I took our meals in our larger sleeping room, where the boys slept. Mist and I had our own, more private room where we slept.
We continued discussing what had happened, and I took even more care to conceal the glow that surrounded my blade.
"Wow, these mobs look so weird" Hector commented, paging through the book.
Though it was old, the book was well-taken care of, and wasn't falling apart like so many others.
"They're mobs from another dimension, Hector. They look different because that's the way they've adapted to their environment, just like Netherian mobs" I explained.
"I think they look cool. You saw this one, right, Krystal?" He was pointing to a picture of a moa.
"A blue one like that, yes"
"Anyways..." Ty said, "What's the plan now, Krystal? We have most of the information we need, we just need to see if it works"
I thought for a moment, "Well, you're right. We need to test out what we know. But we also may need to stay in Rikilyn for a few days... To look for the Aether portal and to not seem suspicious"
"Right. If we leave right away, they might think we're running away and we've stolen something. But if we stay a few days, and pray at all the churches, maybe bless a few people, they'll think we're doing exactly what our story describes, as traveling scholarly priests"
"Let the 'fun' commence" I stated sarcastically.