As Lunahera led them to the library, she could not help but glance at Klyran. His whole presence felt imposing to her and knowing that he was a Ryan explained it. There was great power lurking within him, she could tell. While she wanted to comment something on it, the Queen left this task to the Kenman, since they were planning to head to the mountains soon and would most likely meet with him there. She didn't know how to explain it either. It felt as if Klyran had great strength and potential, yet was missing the key to it.
"It would be an excellent opportunity for you to learn anything that you wish about this world. The Silver City is known for its riches and that includes the great collection of books and scrolls" the Queen said, as she led her two companions toward said room.
"I am not sure if I like the idea of books at the moment", the Ryan mumbled quietly, "As you know, I had no knowledge of the human language upon my arrival and while Aldryn taught me common tongue, I still have yet to learn your letters."
"Oh my", Lunahera said and turned around, "That is not good. Such a noble looking man like yourself with such a vast knowledge to not know how to read and write the common language", as she said those words a frown took over her face, which Klyran thought didn't suit her at all.
"Good thing that it is easy then" her face then relaxed and a smile tugged her lips, "Compared to learning the language so well in such a short time, I bet our letters will be nothing for your memory."
Just when the Queen finished speaking, the three of them arrived at a set of double doors.
"The librarian is mean so you have to be quiet and treat the books with care", little Cyan whispered to the Ryan before following Lunahera inside.
"My Queen what a pleasure it is to have you here as always", an old voice rasped just as they entered the room.
"And who might this be?" a figure then emerged from behind some bookshelves, narrowing his eyes upon seeing Cyan.
"This is Klyran, our guest", she said and then turned to face him, "Klyran that is Thomas, he takes care of all the books and tomes. He makes sure that they are not spoiled as they age" she introduced the two.
"It is a pleasure to meet you", the Ryan said with a nod of his head, "It is quite admirable. You have such a big responsibility and so many books to look after. I am sure it is quite a burden upon you, yet this place looks amazing and well kept" he said, as his eyes glanced around, taking in all the shelves, as well as the stairs leading downward to a locked door.
The praise made the old librarian take an instant liking to the new guest, quickly offering to show him around. The Queen then urged him to take up the offer, just to have enough time to set up the table for their studies. She then gently guided Cyan with her, leaving the two men behind.
The old man quickly offered to show Klyran around, who accepted, wishing to see more of the grand room. As the two walked among the shelves. The librarian was telling him how he took care of all the books. He explained what delicate work he did whenever a cover was damaged and he needed to change it. How careful he had to work whenever a page was ripped or worn out from age and he had to recopy it by mimicking the writing. He told the Ryan about how environment can affect them. How the light can cause the colour to fade and degrades the paper.
While most people found such information to be rather boring, Klyran took great interest in hearing the man speak. He found it fascinating, as they didn't have such things back in his own world. After expressing his awe, the old librarian felt pride in his work and continued to speak about how heat and humidity can also damage the books.
"I like you" he said in his raspy voice, "You do not seem like someone who would mistreat my treasures" he then gave a small chuckle.
Treasure, it was another foreign concept that Klyran got to learn in the human world. A deep attachment to something inanimate. There was no such thing in his own world, where there was nothing much that one can get attached to. Of course there was love, a feeling they had toward their other half or family. Yet Klyran quickly came to realize that spare for his own blood ties, there was nothing worth in his own world to draw him back there. Others of his kin would simply laugh at the mere thought of having an object dear to them.
There was only one treasure that the Ryan himself had, the sword. It was dear to him, as he made it with his bare hands and used it more than once to survive in the wild there. Perhaps, Klyran could not help but think, he was more human than he was a Ryan.
Looking at the old man, who Lunahera mentioned was in his 70s, he could not help but feel misplaced in both worlds. For all it's worth, he felt every bit of a human, yet he didn't belong, due to his long life. And while his age tied him to his kin, he felt foreign there as well, for not being born with a Harth.
"Makes me feel like someday I might take you to the other room. Show you the older scrolls, the oldest ones in the South" Thomas continued, bragging about the rich collection that the Silver City had.
All Klyran could do was smile at him, despite the thoughts raging in his mind.
"There you are" a gentle feminine voice stopped the two men.
They both turned around to see Lunahera moving toward them with a grace that only a true Queen could muster.
She apologized to the old librarian for having to take away his new friend and tugged Klyran by the arm to follow her. The old man only nodded his head and said that he would be around if they needed him. The two of them then went to a table where Cyan was sitting and scribing on a piece of paper. As they sat, Lunahera started her lesson.
The three of them spend their time well into the afternoon among the books. Klyran managed to learn the whole alphabet in a few minutes and then spend the rest of the time practising it. At some point, they were disturbed by a servant who came in and told the Ryan that his cloak was ready and waiting for him in the room that he spend the other night in.
Some time in the afternoon Aldryn also came into the old library. His hair and clothes were ruffled, as if he had been running and rolling around the ground. He explained with excitement that he briefly met Ildurin in the morning and then spend the rest of his time downtown playing with children. A fact which made Cyan rather jealous, not because he wished to play with the oracle, but because being the niece of the King didn't give him much freedom. He was mostly allowed to play with the children of other nobles and whenever he spend his time with the kids of common folk, he would be supervised by a Knight or two.
"Have you spend the whole day here?" the priest asked, looking at the three of them.
"I learned how to read and was going through some books", Klyran said rising the book he was reading to show it to Aldryn.
"Well I reckon that is more than enough for today" the oracle said and begun pulling the Ryan by his arm, "The river remember?" he asked, which perked Lunahera's curiosity.
"What about it?" the Queen asked, looking between the two men.
"Prior to arriving here, Klyran has never seen a boat in his life. He was quite curious about them, so I promised to speak with Ildurin about a ride on the Royal Boat" the blonde man then said.
"Oh my" Lunahera said standing up, "This does sounds like fun", as words fell from her mouth, her eyes begun to twinkle with a childish excitement.
And so, the four of them departed. They left the old building that contained all the knowledge of the city and headed back to the yard. There, they found Ildurin speaking with a few Knights. Unlike his subordinates, the King was not dressed in armour, but simple clothes, or what could be called simple for the royal family. Upon catching sight of them, Ildurin quickly bid his good bye to the Knights.
"There you are", he said with an easy smile, "Everything is ready."
He then offered his hand to Lunahera, who gracefully took it and led the way to the small dock that could be found inside the castle. It was different from the others. It had iron gates guarding it, that would only lift for the royal family. There were a few such gates scattered around the river that led to the castle. It made sure that nobody could sneak in easily by using the water.
Once they arrived, just like Ildurin said, a boat stood there waiting. It had a few servants on board and the smell of food became obvious upon approaching it. The servants quickly bowed when they saw their masters approaching.
Despite others climbing on it without fear, Klyran paused. He looked at the icy water that stood under the wooden construction and could not help but hesitate. On one hand, he knew that were something to happen, he could always use his wings to avoid falling into the water, but on another hand, he never saw such a vessel prior to arriving in the Silver City. A part of him feared that the wood would snap and trap them all under the water to drown, a concept that he only learned recently from humans. Such death sounded horrible to him.
"It is safe" a small voice said to his right.
Klyran looked down and saw Cyan looking at him. The child grabbed his hand and tugged it, pulling the Ryan after him. The first few steps were hesitant, but after that, Klyran gained more courage and confidence in the woodwork. Once he felt at ease, the others also relaxed and Aldryn begun to walk around the deck, while Lunahera sat down in one of the chairs planted near the single table filled with various food.
In that moment, another feeling overtook Klyran, he felt rather awkward. But it soon disappeared when Ildurin came into his vision and started pulling him toward the table. The King then started saying the name of the various fruits laid out there and offering them one by one to the Ryan.
And that is how they spend the rest of the day. The King would make sure to offer his guest every fruit that could possibly be found in the city at this time of the year, while the Queen would once in a while ask the servants to stop and explain to Klyran certain parts of the town and how they were used.
Between the food and the talking, the Ryan could not help but look everywhere around himself. The view was completely different from when he was walking. He saw the market and the way some ships with goods moves around to make way for their King and Queen, he saw the streets with homes and could not help but look into the windows. Some houses were empty, which caused Klyran to create a small game for himself. He would quickly look at the furniture and try and guess who lived there, an old couple, a single person, parents with their children and so on. Other houses would have people inside, cooking food, sewing some clothes, Klyran even saw a young woman painting a vase. He could not help but enjoy it. This city had more life in it than Klyran's whole world.
After a while, Ildurin begun speaking about the various holidays and traditions that they had in the Silver City. Most of them, and the more important ones were in the winter.
"I always thought that people invented most holidays in winter because it is the most laid back season", Lunahera joked, while sipping on a cup of wine.
The rest of the day was spend with such discussions and sightseeing. Whenever Klyran spotted something interesting, he would ask about it and others would explain to him the history behind it. It was a wonderful day, the Ryan thought and then, became a bit sadder, thinking that maybe it was even one of the best days of his life. He looked around then, at the happy faces of the people surrounding him, both his new friends and those walking on streets. Then, in that instance, it seemed that all the problems of the world melted away. There might be a war ongoing somewhere in that world, villages and cities burned down by raiders. But here, it all seemed like unreal stories.