III

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Arc III Chapter 3

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25th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753

Aurora spent her time at her most recent favourite spot. Sitting on a destroyed pillar, she was dangling her tiny feetsies in the air. The room featured many pillars. The majority were in subpar condition, either completely destroyed, or severely damaged. Hers was the latter. Cleanly cut in half, the upper half formed a staircase, allowing a petite girl like her to climb the pillar in a comfortable way to throne above her mere mortal friends.

"..." From above the pillar, Aurora observed the entire room. Natural sunlight entered the place through the destroyed ceiling, illuminating the vast hall. Sturdy stones walls flanked the hall from all directions. At the end of the floor, two massive stone statues welcomed them. Two warriors watched over the hall throughout the ages, guarding the closed gate behind them. Nobody knew what mysteries lay beyond the gate, nor was anyone meant to know.

A single word occupied Aurora's mind, boredom. Her life was boring, boring to the point poor Aurora had lost any sense for time and space. Detached from the physical world and the trivial earthly needs of the mortal realm, existential questions about the purpose and essence of life plagued her mind to the point that she was already approaching spiritual enlightenment.

"..." Aurora sighed heavily. Her inactivity was pure torture, an inhumane practice, a miserable fate for a curious girl like her who was bored to death.

Out of options and out of ideas, Aurora consulted her loyal doll. "What shall we do?"

Yet even her most trusted advisers had fallen silent. Aurora doll did not answer, being equally at a loss.

Her hopes deflated, and her gaze turned once again empty as Aurora lowered her head. Her martyrdom would not end ...

Unless ...

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Unless ...

"..." Aurora and her doll both looked in the same direction, identifying a worthwhile victim. A grin adorned her lips. It was time to pay Nelaeryn a friendly visit, was it not?

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"..." Lambert yawned, tired. Guard duty was always such a tiresome affair. Albeit a necessary evil, it was a true pain in the arse. His concentration diminished, and the unfocused mind was prone to mistakes, and mistakes cost lives. Usually.

He rubbed his heavy eyes to dispel his drowsiness. The days passed without anything noteworthy. Nothing major happened. Not that the complaint, as peaceful days were good days.

"Tired?" Michael chuckled. "Even the wise Lambert isn't immune to the temptations of sleep."

"..." Lambert grumbled, as he wasn't much in the mood for teasing. "Shut up, Michael, be glad you are still young ..."

His instincts snapped to attention. The girl was once again on the move. Their mysterious girl had left her pillar and had started wandering around.

"..." His watchful eyes narrowed, following her every step. His distrust was well deserved. Where was the little demon going? What was she planning this time?

"Should we intervene?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

Lambert calmed his friend. "We should ..., but I guess we can give her some leeway. The girl behaved the last few days."

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Like the days before, Nelaeryn was studying the walls while expanding his notes. He copied glyphs and produced drawings. Their predecessors had performed sloppy work, work unworthy of the high standards of the Royal Academy. They had been dispatched to correct their errors.

So many secrets, so much knowledge were lost following the fall of the ancient kingdoms. Their time was an era lost to the realm of myths and legends. Their fall shook the very foundation of civilisation for centuries to come. Darkness engulfed the known world the day their shining light succumbed. The Weltenbrand set the world afire, plunging the continent into an age of strife and ruin.

"..." A heavy sigh escaped his lips as pain filled his heart. The loss of so much knowledge pained the soul of every true scholar. No true seeker of knowledge could not be moved. Science, literature, art, all forever vanquished by the fires of war. So precious little had survived. So precious little had been saved. Today, only fragments remained, relics of a distant past. A tragedy, but a true scholar like him would give his best. They would preserve the past to the best of their abilities for future generations.

Nelaeryn continued drawing. His swift hands moved his pencil. His work proceeded smoothly until a certain girl disturbed his peace.

"Uncle Nelaeryn, what are you doing there?" A certain girl appeared from behind, peeking at his drawings.

"..." Nelaeryn closed his notebook to guard his precious work. Children, annoying brats regardless of race. "That is none of your business, girl. My work is a matter of civilisatory importance, so stop bothering me!"

Aurora tilted her confused head. "Civilisitory importance?"

"Civilisatory." Nelaeryn scoffed, his dismissal apparent. What would a mere girl understand about the heights of academic pursuit? What would she know? The girl might possess some modest talent for magic considering her human pedigree, but in the end, she was nothing but an ordinary human girl and an illiterate country bumpkin.

The girl pouted, puffing her cheeks. "Hmpf, no need to be so mean. I was just asking, but Uncle Nelaeryn is a big old meanie. Sister Arwing is way nicer than you."

"..." Nelaeryn retained his calm. Her mediocre insults did not bother him in the least.

"..." The girl crossed her arms, hugging her doll tightly. "No wonder that you've no girlfriend. Evil Uncle has a terrible personality. Evil Uncle will never find a wife."

Her words provoked an immediate reaction. Nelaeryn met the girl with a furious glare. His eyebrows twitched in anger. "What did you say?"

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