The slam of the heavy oak doors behind me echoed against the vast dome ceiling of the library, causing the cranky faces of everyone on the first floor to flicker up at me. With a shy bow, I waved my hand as both a greeting and an apology. I looked around the library, taking in the immense building I had entered. There were seven levels, though every level besides the first was more of a rim inside the building, made of shelves on balconies that allowed for the center of the room to extend all the way up.
With multiple floors, each lined with gold decorated bookshelves, it was stories full of stories. In the center of it all was a small circular desk where an old librarian sat. I approached her with a heavy heartbeat, well too aware of the fact that her eyes had been glaring at me from the moment I made an obnoxiously loud entrance. Something about the stare she gave me sent a cold sweat down my back. Her eyes tracked me from behind the book she was reading as I got closer.
As I approached, the title of the book in her hands came into focus and I lost all the fear that had been growing inside of me. With glasses thicker than morning fog, protruding chin hairs on wrinkled skin that made her look like a dried-out cactus, and strands of grey hair falling out of a dilapidated bun, it was the exact opposite of anything I would have expected an old lady like her to read.
The Forbidden Blood Lust… From the title and tacky title font, I could instantly tell that she was reading some sort of… vampire smut. I choked on my laughter, which only made her glare worsen. I quickly cleared my throat and stepped up to her.
"Ah, would you be able to help me find some history books?"
"Be more specific," she responded curtly.
"Um, maybe some about more recent history, in the past few decades. Do you have any about the relations between the dukedoms?"
Without speaking, she pulled out a piece of paper, ripped off the corner of it, and scribbled down the number 273, leaving ink drops from the pen that then wiped onto her hands.
"Here," she said as she held it out with one hand and pointed to an area on the third floor with the other. I gave her a slight curtsy and thanked her before walking over to the spiral staircase in the corner as fast as I could. My hurried pace made my heels click against the marble floor, once again drawing the attention of everyone. With another apologetic wave, I quickly disappeared up the spiral steps in the corner.
After two flights of unnecessarily long stairs, I was on the third floor. Unlike the first floor, there wasn't a formal study area with big lamp-lit desks, only a few red velvet chairs dotted here and there.
"How can they use candles in a building full of kindling? They are playing with fire," I laughed to myself, proud of the joke that no one else could hear. I weaved my way through the shelves, looking for the one that had 273 embossed in gold on its side. Once I reached it, I crouched down, reading the titles of the books on the bottom shelf, and moving upwards. Some of the book spines were in perfect condition, while others were tattered and frayed. I was looking for something that could help me understand what caused the tension between the Alterio's and the imperial family that pressured Lawrence in the original novel. When I first entered the building, I was worried that something that specific wouldn't have been written but given the sheer number of books in the library, it was almost impossible for one not to exist.
"The History of Diplomacy, The Imperial History of Trade, aha, A Recent History of Noble Relations!"
The book was in pristine condition. I pulled it out and made my way over to one of the chairs in a far back corner. Before I opened the book, something on the wall beside me caught my eye. Red circles framing portraits, gold calligraphy beneath each one, and branches connecting them all. It was a family tree.
I placed the book down in the seat and walked over to it. When looked at head-on, it was beautiful. Leaves and flowers decorated the intricate branches, and each portrait was a finely detailed oil painting, finished off with a lacquer that made it shine even in the dim lighting. At the top of it all, the name Echethier was written. Starting with the first portrait, I traced my finger down the main family branch until I got to the most recent generation.
"Sawyer," I grumbled, poking at the portrait of a younger him. Even as a kid he looked like a villain. Whoever the painter was, they managed to capture the fierce stare of his golden eyes perfectly. They stuck out amongst the rest of the display, burning like hot embers on the wall. Other than him, the generation was empty. No siblings, no cousins. I looked back up at the generation before his. There was his father's portrait, and next to that was a blacked-out circle with the name Amara Echethier below it. No dead relatives or those who married to other families were crossed out. Hers was the only one like that.
"Huh…"
I shrugged it off and walked back over to my chair, settling in comfortably. When I opened the book, the spine was stiff, and the pages were still tightly packed. It had yet to be worn in. I began reading, candlelight casting fast-moving shadows across the pages as I flipped through them.
"The Founding Lore," I read the title of the prologue aloud, "seems relative enough."
The Founding Lore of the Dukedoms in the Ohlbrecht Empire
Centuries ago, the first Emperor of the Ohlbrecht empire was blessed with five children from the Empress: four boys and one girl. None were named as the heir to the throne, for the emperor wanted his children to grow up feeling as if they were equals, but his untimely death meant that the throne was left empty without an official heir. The four boys fought over the throne to determine who would take control. Their battle against each other lasted for three days. On the fourth day, their sister, who was deeply upset with their fighting, got between them, but in the chaos, she accidentally suffered a fatal wound at the hand of the second oldest brother. Though alive she couldn't stop the fighting, her death caused the brothers to lay down their weapons in mourning. In her honor, they decided to split the empire into four equal sections: the North, East, West, and Central provinces. The oldest took power of the Central province, the second took the Northern, the third took the Eastern, and the youngest took the West.
Though originally meant to stay as separate but equal, united entities, the Central province eventually rose to become the capital and the home of the imperial family. From there on out, the Central province became the ruling province, led by an emperor who held control over all four provinces, while the other three provinces were held under the secondary rule of three dukedoms resulting from the lineages of the original brothers.
Now, the four provinces are ruled as followed: the Central, Imperial province is ruled by the Echethier lineage, the Northern province is ruled by the Terrowin lineage, the Eastern province is ruled by the Alterio lineage, and the Western province is ruled by the Sommers lineage.
Since its founding, the country has remained peaceful, with little internal conflict. The only event that jeopardized the stability of the power dynamic between the provinces occurred when the princess married into the Terrowin family, which created a child with royal blood that could possibly challenge the Echethier family for the seat on the throne. The imperial family assassinated the heir, and while it removed any possible ploy to steal the throne, the loss of an heir jeopardized the stability of the Northern province. Since then, the imperial family has stopped allowing children who aren't named the heir to marry someone in the Sommers, Alterio, or Terrowin families.
I continued to read the rest of the book, skimming through the pages, and picking out small details.
…The East and West had close connections for many years, but recent trade competition has caused tensions between the two. They compete for many of the same trade goods, including produce and dyes. The East is more successful, causing tension between the two…
…The North conducts most of its trade with the Alwyn Empire to the North of Ohlbrecht, but dominates the Ohlbrecht trade market for jewelry and precious metals …
…The North has a standing army larger than the imperial army. The East's standing army is on par with the imperial army. The West has the smallest standing army, putting it at the greatest disadvantage…
…The Imperial Province currently dominates those other provinces financially, as it can tax the other provinces as it sees fit, and the taxes then add to its individual wealth. The North is next in terms of monetary success, and the East is not far behind…
"Who cares about the exports of the North or the trade competition between the East and West. I just want the drama," I whined, tossing my head back against the chair. With only a few more chapters left, I had little faith that any important information would be revealed, but I kept reading regardless. I had already read this far.
…The only way a province could challenge the imperial family would be if the heir of the province has royal blood. Because of this, the imperial family often marries its women off to other countries for diplomatic relationships, or to families of a status below a duke, for they can pose no threat to the imperial family regardless of blood lineage…
…Currently, there is no threat to the imperial family's power, allowing for relatively little tension between any provinces. There are little to no restrictions on the trade of the Northern, Western, or Eastern provinces set in place by the imperial family…
"That's not right," I said. In the novel I read, there was a great deal of tension between the imperial family and Eastern province, and the imperial family had put massive trade restrictions on the Alterio's businesses. I turned to the front cover and checked the publishing date. It had been written 23 years before the start of the novel. What had changed since then?
Tired of politics, I put the book down and got up. I walked over to the balcony, peering down to see if Ryia or Sawyer had come in to collect me. No one was there, so I continued walking around the aisles, checking book titles for anything that would pique my interest. As I passed the family tree again, my attention was momentarily drawn back to the same blacked-out portrait. Amara Echethier…
I ended up at the opposite corner of the floor, next to a shelf of books that look far more beaten up than the rest. My mouth opened a bit as I read the titles. They were all related to magic. Besides the demons, there had been no mention of magic in the book that I could remember. How could something as powerful as magic exist without me being aware of it? Apparently, I didn't know much about the world I was stuck in. I picked up the thin book title The Royal History of Demons and Dark Magic. Its pages were tan with messy script, burn marks and mysterious stains that couldn't have been from just water. I skimmed through it, paying it more attention than I had the other book.
It talked about ancient magic, seen only centuries ago, that was used for the control of animals and beasts alike but the book also stated that the magic skills had been lost through time. I flipped through the book, stopping at a page that had a drawing of a demon.
…These are dark demons found in the catacombs under the castle. Collectively, they are widely known as the Pythiar Army, and remain eternally dormant unless called upon by the wielder of the Pythias Gem…
I turned to the next page, intrigued, and found another drawing titled the Pythias Gem.
…The Pythias Gem, responsible for the control of the Pythiar army. It can only be used by someone with royal blood, or it will cause immediate death to the user…