This Chapter will be told from Kael's Point of View.
Kavella has decided to accompany me to the library, and I do not refuse the notion. I feel that the three of us (Sigmund, Kavella, and myself) are close-knit, and yet I haven't had much interaction with Kavella at all. The usual turn of events is this: Sigmund talks to me, and then Sigmund talks to Kavella. The amount of conversation I've had with her is extremely limited.
Because of this, Kavella is still a great mystery to me. I can't seem to pinpoint her exact motivations for doing what she does, and all I seem to come up with is 'she must be a really awesome person'. There has to be more to it, though. There always is.
We take a turn down the street and start heading eastward. This city is marvelous and brilliant, especially with the daylight shining on the pearly white streets. It seems almost like a dream, and for a moment I have to wonder who could have designed such a place. Did Pearl City start out as nothing more than a dream in some architect's mind?
We pass by quite a few Vitarine employees, and I am keen to observe them closely. If they scope me out, it most certainly means they're looking for Spiritguards. Not a single person I see, though, seems to take notice of me. That relaxes the tension in the air for me. Hopefully this whole 'Merava' situation is fairly low-key, and there's only a small handful of people who are aware of what is actually happening.
I tilt my head to look in Kavella's direction, and I notice she is absentmindedly glancing toward the sky. Given our amount of previous interactions, I wonder if I should try and get her to open up to me. I find the notion a little funny, honestly, but I open up my mouth to speak to her.
"I've been wondering, Kavella," I start. "Where did you learn so much about Animus techniques? You knew quite a few before you started schooling."
Kavella makes eye contact with me while we are walking, and she looks a little bit inwardly surprised that I asked such a question. It's probably because we've spoken so little that it is strange for her to receive a query from me.
At first I think she won't tell me, because she has been unfathomably evasive with any question about her past. To my astonishment, she answers the question quickly and fully.
"The place I come from suffers from more Spirit activity than any other place," Kavella says. She has never told any of us what village or town she hails from, but if her information is true, I know exactly where she is from. To the far north of Arcona Village, the absolute farthest point north in our nation, there sits a city by the name of Ramstadt. During the great terrible land war between the different factions of humanity, the Ramerian Peninsula was the site of the largest, bloodiest siege in history. Nearly a hundred thousand people were slaughtered on that small peninsula, because it was the source of many important valuable resources and treasures. It was considered to be the wealthiest place in the country, and as such all of the world powers desired it.
Since Spirits came to be after that long and terrible war, the places that were hit the hardest with death and despair were the places where the most Spirits would be. The Ramerian Peninsula was no exception, and to this day has about fifty to sixty percent more Spirit activity than any place in the country.
"Because of that, many of us are trained to use Animus techniques from a young age, should we ever need to protect ourselves. Knowing how to use the technique 'Bright Eyes' is also incredibly important, because the Spirits there like to disguise themselves as household objects or litter in the streets. Those are the most dangerous types of Spirits…the ones you don't even know about until it's too last. There's no way to defend yourself from them unless you use Bright Eyes. Then you can tell what a Spirit is and what is not a Spirit."
She's revealed quite a bit, but not enough to discern her origins. All she's really informed me is how people live life in the city of Ramstadt. It is still the richest city in the world, but so much of its wealth and resources are dedicated to the Spirit problem that it makes it hard for those that live there.
"I'm surprised they don't have the Spiritguard schooling up there," I say.
"There actually aren't any Spiritguards up there," Kavella states. "They were all run out by the nobility. You see…there are a lot of sentient Spirits up in Ramstadt, and the noble families have actually made pacts with the Spirits so that they may run free. The largest noble family, the house of Madera, has around three thousand Spirits that are employed by them. These Spirits, in exchange for safety, work for the Maderas. They guard important mine shafts and other places to make sure nobody else can infiltrate, and they also do battle with Spirits from other houses in order to establish control over new areas."
"Seriously?" Even after all of my research and all of the discoveries I've made concerning Spirits, I've never heard of such a thing. From what I understood, the house of Madera was a noble, rich, and elegant family which garnered respect all around the nation. I had no idea they were so corrupt that they'd be working alongside Spirits. I find that worrisome, to say the least, but enlightening. Now I have some idea of why Vitarine might be assisting Merava. They must also be trying to enlist the aid of a Spirit army, in order to expand their empire.
Vitarine is already a force that is just as powerful, and in some places even more powerful than our government. If they can find a way to pull the Spirits to their side, then Vitarine will be set to take over the entire country.
"Life in Ramstadt is generally hidden from the public," Kavella says. "I'm one of few to have escaped that place. We have a train, so theoretically anyone can leave, but hardly anyone does. Most people are indebted to one or more of the royal families, and don't have the social mobility to just get up and leave. The train station there is controlled by the nobles, and if you owe anyone anything, there's no way you're getting on that train. The only other way out is to walk miles in Spirit-infested territory, and probably die in the process."
"How did you get out?"
"I hiked," she says. "All the way across the length of the Ramerian Peninsula, all the way to Arcona Village."
I'm amazed that she was able to accomplish something like that over two years ago, before she even started training. That is an incredible journey
"I had a little help," she says, "Spirit repellent from Ramstadt. It doesn't work on most Spirits, but I'd like to think it kept the more vicious ones at bay."
"There's such a thing as Spirit repellent?"
"Yes and no," Kavella says. "Not officially, but certain people know how to use it."
She's going back to her cryptic ways, and I don't press her for more information. We've arrived at the library, and I'm interested in sinking my teeth into this new world of information. First things first, though. I need to find out where the sealed Spirit is being kept.
"What did that weapon collector say this thing was called?" she asks me, pointing to her staff.
"Oh, he said to look up 'Kaladanda'," I reply. I don't see where a name like that would come in handy, but at least it gives her something to search for in books concerning Spirit weapons.
I find some records of the Spirit War and I begin to delve through the tome. I am able to skip about eighty percent of the book, because I know they didn't start sealing Spirits until late in the game. Finally, I find what I am looking for. It is an excerpt on the terrible Spirit that plagued the budding 'City of Pearl'. According to this passage, Pearl City was being built as an anti-Spirit stronghold. The white marbled streets and buildings of Pearl City are built with an Animus technique that weakens any Spirit activity. Interesting…I guess, given that information, Merava will be weaker if we fight her within the confines of the city.
I find what I am looking for. It says the Spirit Lord Andrakias was unable to be killed by normal means, so the only way to defeat him was to seal him. One of the High Shamans of the Church was able to make contact with Andrakias and perform the ultimate Animus technique known as Life Seal. This technique will kill the user, but also encase the victim in a ruby red crystal. This powerful red crystal is indestructible by normal means, but a select few Spirits have the power to dispel it. Among them are…I read along the list of various Spirit Lords. Some of them are familiar from my studies, some of them aren't. As I go through the list, I notice one name that is much too familiar. Right here in this book, it lists the Imp Queen Merava as one of the Spirits that is able to dispel the red crystal.
"The Spirit Lord Andrakias's sealed body was transferred to the basement of the Rose Building, and has been there ever since…" I read the last part of that passage out loud. Now I need to figure out where the Rose Building is. Instead of delving into a new book, I shelve the one I am reading out of and I decide to ask the Librarian working at the counter if he knows where the Rose Building is. I figure a native to Pearl City like him might have some sort of indication.
"Hello, sir," I smile at the man working the counter. His skin is wrinkled and his hair is white, and yet there is a youthful friendliness in his bright blue eyes.
"Why hello," the Librarian smiles and leans in closer. He must have a hearing problem, because I notice he is speaking loud. "What can I help you with?"
"I was wondering, sir, if you could tell me where the 'Rose Building' is in this city."
"Oh, the Rose Building…I haven't heard that name in about fifty years," he grins. "When that blasted company moved in…Vitarine Inc. Their headquarters is in what used to be the Rose Building. It's a shame. That used to be a great big old 'indoor farm'. Now it's…just a place where they make all that bottled crap and have everyone addicted."
The Vitarine building. Of course it would be there. I'm starting to see the connection with all of these things. Even fifty years ago, someone bought the Rose Building for a reason. How long has this conspiracy with Merava been going on?
"Well, thank you sir," I say, and I begin to walk away.
"You'd best be careful of that place," the Librarian warns me. "I get bad vibes from that building. I don't know how or why, but I don't trust those Vitarine people one bit."
I nod and walk away. It seems like we're not the only people suspicious of that company. Still, how many of their employees could honestly know about what is going on? If the thousands of people who serve Vitarine were all privy to this information, I don't think they'd have been able to keep this secret in for so long. Someone would have ratted out at one point.
I return to the place where I was sitting, where all of my books are still waiting for me, and I find that someone else has sat down at the table. There are four seats at the table, so they aren't in my way, and I sit down.
As I sit, the person looks up from the small book they are reading. They are wearing a big red hat with a feather in it, so I cannot see their face until they look up.
I make eye contact with the young woman, and the first thing I notice about her is her large, dazzling green eyes. I've never met someone with green eyes before. It is a trait more common to the eastern side of our country, while most of the westerners have blue eyes. Those in the south have mostly brown eyes, but all of those ethnic groups have intermingled and nowadays there is a huge variety of people of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
It used to be people with blue eyes and black hair, like Sigmund, that were the dominant group in our country. He's a very strong example of someone who has heritage in the country to our north, which is known as Meldea. Sigmund's skin is a bit darker than mine as well, which is another trait of the Meldese.
There are also a race of people who originally had blonde hair and blue eyes. They are from the distant island nation of Merrany. The people with brown hair and brown eyes are originally from the country that we share our eastern borders with, which is called Avistan.
Green eyes are the rarest in our country, because very few people have migrated from the southern country Hadria. Dirty blonde and green eyes, those are the distinguishing features of the Hadrians. Those are the four major groups of people that have migrated to our country, Luries.
This girl before me, with the big green eyes, does not have dirty blonde hair. She's actually got her hair dyed a rich scarlet color, which is at least ten shades darker than her eye-catching hat. I give her an in-depth examination, but I try to do it quickly. I don't want to be like Sigmund and creep anyone out by staring.
What I see from the girl is this. She has a lovely heart-shaped face, and I notice her forehead is pretty tall, almost like her hairline goes back a little bit too far. Her cheeks are smooth and round, quite like the rest of her face.
Above her large, sparkly eyes, her eyebrows are thin and directed in an angle that would make one think she's constantly worried about something. The huge smile that opens her soft pink lips and reveals pearly white teeth says that she isn't worried about a thing.
Her nose is a bit-upturned and quite small, but it reminds me of a ski-slope or something like that. I notice her ears are a bit pointed and she's wearing quite a few earrings. From what I can tell of her body from my vantage point, she's very thin and frail, despite her rounded face.
"Nice to meet you," I say.
The girl's eyes flash to the big stack of books I gathered. "I saw you were looking up all kinds of things on Spirits, and I couldn't help but want to meet the person that put this all together."
I give a quick smile. "Yeah, I'm trying my best," I give a weak laugh. I don't know how I'm supposed to act around this stranger, so I just act casual and not too interested in what's going on with her.
"You see, I'm also a researcher," she tries to keep the conversation rolling. "I'm particularly fascinated with Spirit Possession. Have you ever heard of it?"
"Of course," I reply. Spirit Possession is something that a few ghost-type Spirits are able to accomplish. One of the most notable of these would be Banshee Spirits.
Banshees are Spirits that look like human females, only they are translucent and wraith-like. They harbor different emotions within them, such as fury, heartbreak…you name it. These crafty Spirits will stalk someone from the shadows who is experiencing feelings similar to the one they have identified with. A Banshee who is familiar with feelings of intense loss might attach itself to a gambler who loses again and again, and enter his body. Then, when his feelings skyrocket out of control, the attached Spirit is able to dive into the victim's soul and take possession of their body. At that point, they successfully become human, and are able to use that body however they wish. When the host dies, the Spirit is released to the atmosphere, free to possess again.
"I have been looking into all kinds of things about them," the woman in red states, "What I find most interesting is that…"
As she begins to talk about Spirit Possession, I listen to her and fill in what I know about it. All in all, our conversation is fairly interesting, but nothing noteworthy. I enjoy it for what it is, though, because I don't get to spend too much time with people who are as fascinated with studying as I am. It's a nice change of pace, to say the least.