After a few minutes of waiting, Casia returned with two different books about Ivory. One of the books was basically about how the gods created Ivory, and the other was about Ivory's history.
"I've read about the gods already, so I don't really need this one," I said, dismissing the book on divine creation.
Saori nodded in agreement, saying, "Same."
Turning to the book about the history of Ivory, I opened it and began to read. "Ivory, the planet of beauty, is said to hold mysterious things. Ivory is around the size of 76,800 miles(123,597 km) and boasts lavish features and beautiful scenery. Within Ivory, there are different continents and races."
Continuing, I read, "Ivory has six continents: the Natural Continent, the Crystal Continent, the Mechanical Continent, the Human Continent, the Dark Continent, and Terac."
Reading that, Saori and I began to memorize each continent's name before continuing.
Saori then said, "Ahh, let me read this time," and I passed the book to her.
Saori began reading aloud, "The Natural Continent is quite large and is full of pure trees, flowers, and natural factors. Deforestation does not take place within the continent, and the mana is very thick in the air. It is home to many races."
"The Crystal Continent is full of beautiful gemstones and artifacts. Everything is pure within the continent," Saori continued, her voice animated with curiosity. "The Mechanical Continent is the most advanced continent with technology and the richest, as they are full of assets and everything. The Human Continent is mainly inhabited by humans and is quite large. It is one of the most known continents."
I then asked, "Sister, what's an artifact, and also why is there such little information on the Human Continent?"
Saori replied, "1. I have no idea what an artifact is, but we can likely find out its meaning if we search the library. 2. Maybe because there's nothing special about the Human Continent?"
Saori did have a point. I mean, out of all the continents mentioned so far, the Human Continent, where we live, doesn't seem so special.
Continuing, Saori read, "The Dark Continent is said to be full of evil organizations and is lawless. Tons of murders happen, and it is said to be full of the most powerful people in the world. And finally, Terac, the largest of all, is said to be a continent which no one can enter. The mana is too dense, and it alone will kill you, along with several natural factors happening within the continent, for example, tornadoes, volcanoes erupting, and earthquakes."
"Hmm, sounds interesting. I should go there some day," I said.
"Huh, did you not just hear what I said? The mana within the continent is so thick you'd die just from it, Gis," said Saori.
I laughed and replied, "That may be true, but all you'd have to do is grow strong enough so you can resist it."
Saori sighed and continued reading. "Within all these continents exist different races. These races include Dragons, Phoenixes, Spirits, Fairies, Merkins, Demons, Elves, Beastkin, Monsters (Orcs, Goblins, Slimes, Cyclops, Ogre, Pythons, Spiders, Hydras, etc.), Unicorns, Dwarves, and Humans."
"Dragons, who are said to be the mightiest beings ever feared wherever they go. They have the largest mana cores and thick scales, large wings, and horns. Dragons are said to be a mystery within the world, as they have been shut off from the world for a very long time. It is said that they likely inhabit the Terac continent, since they would be one of the races who could handle such a bizarre environment. Phoenixes are large birds that come second only to dragons. Some are red, some blue, and some black. Phoenixes are said to usually breathe fire, and their fire isn't any normal fire. The fire is so strong that if a human were to get caught up within it, the fire would even burn and destroy their soul."
Saori then stopped, shocked, and said, "Huh, what's up with these strong beasts? One is capable of destroying even a soul just from its fire, and the other is mysterious beings that likely live in the Terac continent."
I replied, "That's so cool."
Saori then continued, "Spirits were said to be the most proficient elementals. They could harbor the natural force within nature, controlling tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, and many more. There were different spirits based on the attribute. For example, a fire spirit would be proficient with fire and have complete control. Spirits were ranked from low to high tier, and above high tier were the spirit kings. Spirit kings are the best at a specific elemental; for example, the lightning spirit king had complete control over lightning, and no one can beat it at that attribute. Spirits are said to be beings that can make a contract with any race and grant them their powers. For example, if a human were supposed to sign a magic contract with a water spirit, the human would automatically be able to use water magic very well and could even use the spirit's mana."
"Wow, that sounds amazing. Where can we find one?" I asked.
"Uhh, it says here that they are within the natural continent, which is also inhabited by elves, fairies, unicorns, and merfolks," said Saori.
"I see. Well, let me read now," I said eagerly.
Saori handed me the book, and my eyes lit up, ready to start reading. The book stated that Elves were a race of graceful peacemakers who adored nature. They had pointed ears that distinguished them from humans. They are meat lovers, as they cannot eat plants due to how they adore them. Fairies are said to live among elves as they get along. They were small human-like creatures that had wings. They have amazing magical abilities and are ruled by the fairy queen, who is said to be large as an adult human and has large wings.
Unicorns, on the other hand, are almost like monsters, but because of how graceful and beautiful they are, people distinguish them from monsters. They are like horses but with large horns on their foreheads. Their horns are what allows them to channel their magic. Unicorns are as beautiful as rainbows and usually live in peace. Merfolks are said to be half-human, half-fish, as they usually dwell in water bodies and prefer not to be seen by strangers. They also have strong magical abilities.
After reading about the various races, I was struck by the descriptions. Monsters such as orcs, ogres, hydras, goblins, cyclops, spiders, and slime were depicted as terrifying creatures with evil intentions, often harming people. Dwarves, in contrast, were portrayed as skilled craftsmen, excelling in blacksmithing and technology, primarily residing in the mechanical continent.
The depiction of humans as the weakest of all races was disheartening. They were said to lack talents and were often looked down upon by other races due to their low mana and physical strength. It was a sobering realization of humanity's standing in the world of Ivory.
After reading the book on the basic knowledge, I was pretty intrigued but ticked off by the fact that we humans were the weakest. It was awful to hear.
Saori then took the book from me, telling me she wanted to know more. Soon, she left engrossed in the book, and I and Urie were now in the room alone once more. I then thought, "It'd be better if they had pictures of the different races. I'd be able to see what a unicorn looks like."
Meanwhile…
"Now that dimwit's awake, I can finally concentrate on practicing the sword. I'll get my wooden sword and find James," thought Anco as she made her way to the bedroom.
Going into the room, Anco became surprised and shouted, "What the hell happened here?"
Looking up, Abby saw that Anco was in the room and didn't reply. Anco then looked at Abby, who looked a mess, and then went up to her, holding onto her blouse tightly, and said, "Did you do this?"
Abby then smiled and said, "It was a cockroach."
Anco gritted her teeth and said, "Don't take me for a fool. Did you mess up the entire room like this, you crazy cunt?"
Abby got angry and then hit Anco's hand off her blouse and said, "I saw a cockroach, it was really big, so I tried throwing some stuff at it, and then by the time I was done, the room looked like this."
"Huh? Are you stupid? Tch, then where is the cockroach?" asked Anco.
"It got away," said Abby.
"You stupid bitch, I'll beat you up right now. What's the sense of trashing the entire room like this and the cockroach escaped?" said Anco.
Anco then moved from Abby and went to find her wooden sword, which she left on her bed, on the ground broken in half. Anco picked it up, gritted her teeth, and went to Abby, then slapped her in the face.
*Bow*
Abby was surprised, and she touched her cheek, which Anco had slapped, and then shouted, "Oi, you crazy? You think you can just go around slapping me?"
Anco then gave another slap to Abby's other cheek. Abby touched her cheek and then shouted, "I'll kill you!"
Abby was about to say, "entangling embra-," only to be cut off by the time Anco jumped on her and started punching her.
"I won't let you use magic as you need a good beating for disrespecting me who's older than you and for being a crazy wench," Anco exclaimed.
Abby tried fighting back, attempting to find an opening where she could channel her mana and use magic, but she couldn't concentrate as she was receiving so many punches.
*Punch* *punch*
"That was my practice sword until Aunt Frisca got me an actual one," Anco protested.
*Punch* *punch*
"It- it was only a wooden sword," said Abby.
Anco started hitting her even harder. After receiving so many punches, Abby's body was pretty tired and weakened. Anco then got up off her and dragged her by her hair and hit her face into one of the nightstands nearby.
"Ahhh," Abby cried out as blood was coming from her.
Jenny, who was still in the bathroom, became curious about what was happening. She began wondering if Abby was throwing a tantrum again. Jenny then opened the bathroom door to see Anco slamming Abby's face into the furniture.
Jenny ran up to Anco and grabbed her hand, saying, "Cousin, please let my sister go."
Anco looked at Jenny and said, "Did you know this cunt trashed the place, started acting like she was the shit, and then broke my wooden sword, and she didn't even apologize? Not only that, she tried to use magic on me."
Jenny then said "I understand"
Anco saw Jenny's neck and asked "what happened to your neck?"
"It's nothing" said jenny
As jenny said that suddenly large veins and tree branches formed around Anco embracing her tightly.
Jenny then realized what was happening. It was Abby. After Anco took a few seconds to talk to her, Abby used the time to concentrate and channel her mana.
Abby, who was still on the floor bleeding from her head and nose, got up, albeit stumbling, and declared, "I will not forgive you. If I don't kill you right here and now, then I'll lose my pride and face."
Suddenly, Aunt Frisca appeared out of nowhere and uttered, "Stasis Charm."
As Aunt Frisca said this, Abby's movements stopped, as did Anco's. It was as if time had stopped for both of them.
"I'm sure you both know I don't tolerate violence within my household. You both will be held accountable and will be punished severely," said Aunt Frisca.
Jenny, who was there, was surprised and asked, "Aunt Frisca, where did you come from?"
"I teleported. Jenny, do me a favor: go and inform both your parents and Anco's that I want to see them in my office," instructed Frisca.
"Okay aunty," said Jenny.
Jenny then went through the door on her way to inform her parents and Anco's.
.
.
.
"Hmm, I should get out of bed now and go outside. Oh, that's it! I should go see my cousins. Let's see, perhaps Cion, since Richita said she wanted us to get along," I said, deciding on my plan for the day.
I then got out of bed, and suddenly, an elderly woman burst into the room.
I realized it was my grandmother, Emersia.
"Ahahaha, hello, granddaughter! I decided to visit you since you're supposed to be better now," said Emersia.
I smiled and replied, "Ahh, grandma, hi! This is the first time we've ever conversed."
"Yes, that is true. So, I came to visit you today to make us closer," said Emersia as she made her way onto the bed beside me.
"Now, tell me, how are you, my dear granddaughter?" she asked.
"I'm doing well, grandmama," I replied.
"That's good. I heard from your father that you and your sister, Saori, are excellent cooks. I have a few recipes that I want to teach you and your sister," said Emersia.
"Oh, like what? I hope it's mainly sweets," I said eagerly.
"Hahah, of course! Anything. Whenever you have the time, just come to my room and give me a visit, and I'll teach you anytime," she assured.
I smiled and thanked her, saying, "Thank you, grandmama."
She then took something out of her dress pocket and said, "Here, this is for you."
Taking it from my grandmother, I found a small box. I opened it and saw a beautiful necklace. "Wow, this is so pretty," I exclaimed.
"Hahaha, I got something nice for each of my grandbabies. I made sure to find out what each of you would like or perhaps something that resembled you, and I think that necklace definitely does, Giselle," said Emersia with a warm smile.
The necklace was a blue crystal-like necklace. From looking at it, I could definitely tell it was expensive. I hugged my grandmother tightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek, saying, "Thank you, grandmama. I'll make sure to visit you soon."
After that, my grandmother and I conversed a lot. I told her many of my experiences before coming to Berlynne, and we laughed and chatted.
Soon, our conversation ended, and my grandmother left.
"She's a nice woman," I said to myself.
Soon after, my door burst open again, and now it was Saori.
"Sis, did you not hear?" asked Saori.
"What?" I asked, curious about what she was going to say.
"Anco and Abby got into a really bad fight, and Aunt Frisca is punishing them severely. She sent for Mom and Dad to come to her office," Saori informed me as she entered my room.
"What? Huh, Abby and Anco?" I asked, surprised by the news.
It was weird; the last persons I ever expected to interact, much less fight, were Anco and Abby. I quickly made up my mind, saying, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Aunt Frisca's office."
Saori hesitated, expressing concern, "Are you sure you should be out of bed?"
"I'm alright. Let's just go," I reassured her.
Saori and I, with Urie tagging along, went up the grand staircase and made our way to where Aunt Frisca's office was located.
Arriving there, I saw Jenny, Cion, Harry, and James outside the door.
I approached them, and Cion greeted me warmly, "Ahh, cousin, you've woken up. Nice to see you doing well."
I smiled in response, "Thanks, Cion."
"Yeah, it's nice knowing you're better," James chimed in.
I thanked him, and Harry echoed the sentiment.
"So, what exactly happened?" I inquired, eager to learn more about the situation.
"Basically, Abby trashed the bedroom and broke Anco's wooden sword, and they got into a serious fight which Aunt Frisca intervened," Jenny summarized for me.
"Damn that Anco, how dare she hurt Abby!" exclaimed Harry, clearly upset.
I was about to reply to Harry when James interjected, "Abby deserved it. Only Anco and I can understand how much a sword means to us, even if it's wooden. To break it is a sign of war."
"Tch, it doesn't matter. Abby didn't deserve it," argued Harry.
"Stop making so much noise," I interjected, trying to keep the conversation quiet.
"Let's just eavesdrop," I suggested, taking charge of the situation. I moved closer to the door, pressing my ears against it, ready to listen in on the conversation inside.