Seeing that the Black Emperor had given his orders and there were no other matters, Arsena spoke.
"My Lord, the Chief Librarian has discovered a peculiar item among the holdings of the Avenian's great library."
Arsena stepped to the control console, connected a datapad, and used his control rod to project a holographic image.
"It is a bird-shaped statue. One half is the pristine white wing of a snow-shrike."
"The other half resembles a bat's wing."
Nareth examined the black bat-wing with interest. Two skulls hung from it.
At both ends of the bat-wing, sharp spines protruded.
"The Chief Librarian reports that the right wing appears to be shrouded in shadow."
"Interesting." Nareth rose from his throne. Thomas's "Eye of Secrets," which he could never close before reaching Sequence 4, could see far more than an ordinary man.
"Tell him I will come to examine it at once."
Moments later, an Aquila Lander flew from the Shadow's Sovereignty.
Arsena, standing beside him, remarked, "The great library at the Phoenix's Crag is truly a treasure trove. The Librarians and 'Readers' estimate it will take two months to catalogue and record everything."
Nareth nodded, unsurprised.
He recalled that Ankhu Enam, the Guardian of the great library at Tizca, had overseen thousands of quill-wielding servitors for three months to complete the transcription.
Only Magnus himself read everything, absorbing all the knowledge the library contained.
As Nareth pondered, the "Polymath" Arsena continued.
"Following your command, I have selected three hundred apprentices for instruction."
The silver-haired Primarch's attendant smiled. "Forty-nine have already become polymaths, with a broad understanding of all fields of magic. Only one more is needed to fulfill your command."
Nareth nodded, satisfied. The advancement ritual for Sequence 5 "Mysticism Magister" was as he remembered: to instruct at least fifty polymaths.
He knew that completing this ritual meant the "Mysticism Magister" had no weaknesses in any field of sorcery.
He had no doubt that these forty-nine met the requirement. Arsena was always meticulous, unfailingly carrying out his orders.
"Keep up the good work. When you complete your task, you will receive new power."
A flicker of joy passed through Arsena's narrow, blue eyes. "By Your will."
As they spoke, the black Aquila shuttle flew through Heliosa's clouds.
The craft jostled in the turbulence, but Nelson, the Primarch's personal pilot, quickly found the smoothest path through the winds.
The shuttle steadied, drawing closer to the south pole's silvery peaks.
With a slight shudder, the Aquila landed smoothly on the causeway leading to the silver pyramid.
The landing gear deployed, and Nareth, with Arsena, stepped down the ramp.
At the great library's entrance, two Librarians, their psychic hoods raised, force staves in hand, stood guard.
The "Knowledge Keepers" saw their gene-father approach. His majestic form dwarfed the entire Avenian city, his presence confined to a small body, just as this world was merely a vessel for him.
Their bodies trembled, and they bowed their heads quickly.
"Father."
"You have been vigilant and diligent. Well done." Nareth smiled and stepped through the open doors.
Inside, his vision was filled with row upon row of bookshelves:
Primitive books woven from the feathers of Heliosa's birds, yellowed paper texts, exquisitely bound silver metal tomes...
Librarians, maintaining the First Level of the Magnus Enumeration, held data crystals, inputting information.
The "Readers" under Arsena moved among them, laboriously copying texts with quills onto parchment.
Artifacts lined the central aisle and sides, their themes mostly of mountains and birds.
To the right stood a semi-elliptical sculpture, thousands of stones of varying sizes and materials piled together to form a lifelike mountain range.
To the left, a row of bird specimens: spread-winged pterosaurs, shrikes with beaks poised to strike...
"My Lord." Chief Librarian Thomas, his force staff in hand, bowed.
"Show me the statue," Nareth said, nodding to the Librarians and "Readers" who had noticed his arrival and bowed respectfully. He gestured for them to continue their work.
"It is on the thirteenth level," Thomas said, stepping aside to lead the way.
The telepath moved his mind, sending a psychic pulse to the Black Emperor.
Nareth's eyes shifted, receiving the message.
A cold, dark voice, as if from the other side of the veil, spoke.
"Thomas, I know you."
"You possess exceptional intellect and keen perception. They have not been fully utilized."
"Now, you have an opportunity. Do not give my wing to Nareth. You will receive unimaginable knowledge and..."
The voice cut off. Thomas's scoffing laughter rang out.
"Enough! Daemon!"
"Your temptations mean nothing to me. Your words defile my Lord."
"You are nothing but a rat hiding in the shadows."
The psychic image vanished. Nareth's pace did not falter. With anticipation, he continued up the elegant silver steps.
Clang, clang, clang...
His boots flew up the stairs. He reached the thirteenth level.
His obsidian eyes were immediately drawn to the statue at the center.
In the "Mentor of Disorder's" vision, the right wing was shrouded in thick threads of shadow.
"A truly unexpected gain!" Nareth smiled. The bat-wing on the statue's right side seemed strangely familiar.
It was, unmistakably, the right wing of Be'lakor, as he remembered it.
Combined with the shadow-threads and the dialogue in Thomas's mind, he could confirm that this was another fragment of Be'lakor's relic.
'An unexpected windfall. I never imagined Heliosa would hold a fragment of Be'lakor's relic.'
Nareth beat his wings, rising into the air, reaching out with his right hand to grasp the tip of the wing.
Sizzle...
The shadow-wing flickered. The light above dimmed. The black stone wing grew faint.
Prepared, Nareth summoned black mist in his palm.
His right arm's muscles rippled. He applied a slight pressure.
Crack...
As the stone wing tore free, a piercing shriek erupted in Thomas's and Arsena's minds.
A cold, knife-edged cry, laced with resentment and hatred.
"Nareth..."
The cry vanished. The black bat-wing vanished with it.
Thomas looked at the Black Emperor with awe. 'That daemon in the shadows is no match for my Lord's power.'
He drew a scroll from his robe and presented it to the Black Emperor.
"My Lord, this is the spell-book you asked me to prepare."
Nareth took the scroll. He already possessed all the other materials for the "Mysticism Magister" ritual. The only missing ingredient was a spell-book from someone else.
Such a book could come from the Hermit pathway's Sequence 7 "Warlock," the Demoness pathway's Sequence 7 "Witch," or the White Tower Pthway's own "Polymath" or "Mysticism Magister." Replicas were acceptable, as long as the original author was not the user himself.
Nareth activated his spirit vision, studying the "Scrolls Professor's" spirit body.
Seeing the lavender, mystically inscribed spirit body as a unified whole, he gave his orders.
"Leave the work of copying the great library to others."
"Your task is to carefully record the vista of the Ark Reach Cluster, to chart its true form, and to master the full body of mystical knowledge corresponding to it."
The advancement ritual for Sequence 5 "Astronomer was as he remembered: to select, observe, and chart the full scope of a constellation, to restore its true form, and to master all the corresponding mystical knowledge.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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