After eating breakfast, Andur and Nathiel wanted to go to the library, so they asked around where to find it. A man told them how to reach it, but even with his directions, they ended up lost, and after half an hour looking, they decided to ask for help.
- Sorry, to bother – said Andur -. We were looking for the library, but I think we are lost.
- Yes-you-are – replied the man, talking so fast it was hard to understand -. It’s-in-there, in-the-bigger-building, near-the-center.
- How can we reach it?
- Its-not-hard. You-go-down-the-stairs, walk-to-the-left, skip-two-crossings, on-the-third-you-turn-right. Then-you-go-into-the-first-door-upstairs. Then-you-cross-a-bridge-to-the-left-and-go-into-the-room-to-the-right. Then-you-go-out-cross-the-bridge-then-god-own. Walk-up-on-the-street-and-on-the-second-crossing-turn-left. The-third-door-to-the-right-has-the-stairs-to-a-bridge-into-the-library. Sorry-I-am-busy.
The man continued walking, and didn’t look back at them. They walked down as the man told them, and then Nathiel sighed.
- I got lost after the second bridge.
- Same.
They walked to the left, and on the third crossing, they turned right. The first door led into a small room with only the stairs going up, so they went upstairs and saw there were three bridges in three of the sides. They took the one on the right.
It took them another half an hour to find someone to ask.
- Excuse me, we are lost. We wanted to reach the library.
- Oh… then you are in the wrong part of the city.
- I would tell you how to get there, but I guess you would get lost half ways there. I don’t have much to do right now so let me help you reach it.
They followed the man gladly, as they were tired of trying to figure out where exactly they were. While they walked the man kept talking to them.
- We, the Rhyen, have very strict rules when it comes to working. Everyone has their assigned duties, and they have to put them before any other matter. We also have politeness rules, which say we should help the guests as much as we can. That’s why everyone will most probably either try to avoid you, or do whatever they have to do as fast as they can so they can go back to their duty.
- That makes sense… I think – said Nathiel. Andur and the man laughed.
- You probably think of us as weird people. It’s normal; we think the same of you. Most of us (not including me) think you should do whatever you came here for and leave as soon as you can. And they will think worse of you with each day you stay here. But then there’s that boy, the one who got sick. They can’t force you to leave, or do anything against you, as long as he needs treatment. I guess it’s a good excuse for you to stay longer, if you can’t find what you need in just one day.
- I guess everything bad happens for a reason… - said Andur, knowing it was one of the main teachings in the religion of the Rhyen.
- That’s exactly what we believe.
They reached the final bridge, and after crossing the door on the other side, they entered a big room full of shelves, which in turn were full of books.
- This is it: the library of Rhyen’dar, the place where most of our knowledge is stored. You can talk to the bookkeeper, he should be somewhere around here, and ask him anything you need. I will go back to my workplace now, I hope we meet again.
Andur and Nathiel started walking through the room, crossing corridors with shelves in each side, disposed in a strange pattern they couldn’t figure out.
- I wonder why everything in Rhen’dar is so complicated – said Nathiel.
- That is because we believe simplicity is a weakness – replied a man behind them.
“That’s stupid”, thought Nathiel, and he was about to say it when Andur, like if he read his mind, put his hand on Nathiel’s shoulder.
- I am sorry for this boy’s rudeness. He had never been near the Rhyen before, and he doesn’t know the rules yet.
- I knew that much.
- Of course, as expected from a bookkeeper, knowledge is your skill, which we came to ask you for.
- Indeed. I had been told you had matters with the library. I expected you to come a lot earlier. Can I know what is it that you need to know, or should I go back to my work, keeping the books?
- Sorry. We came to Rhyen’dar searching for a story, or legend. A man who works in the capital of Illuminas told us he had heard about it once when he was young, one day he visited Rhyen’dar. The story, or legend, would talk about a boy with a white spirit, and a battle against a god of darkness. The man couldn’t tell us anything else about it, so we came to ask.
The man looked surprised after hearing Andur’s explanation, but he quickly changed his face into a clearly faked confusion expression.
- I… I’m sorry, I don’t know of any story like that.
- Are you sure? – Said Andur - I hoped being the bookkeeper, you would know about it – then he lowered his voice -. Maybe the bookkeepers of Rhyen’dar are not as good as I was told…
- Look, man. I am the best bookkeeper you will find in this world. I know every book I keep in this library, and I can tell you there’s none with a story like that. You should now leave, I am busy.
- Okay, sorry to bother. We will go somewhere else to ask.
- Don’t bother. If I don’t know about it, no one will.
- We will try our luck. Let’s go Nathiel, we don’t have anything else to do in here.
- Suit yourselves.
Andur pushed Nathiel, telling him to walk faster, and they went out of that library as fast as they could without running.
Once they reached the streets, they started a nearly comical sequence. They would ask about the story, they would get either a face of surprise or confusion, together with the pretension of ignorance, in either case. Then they would kindly ask for directions to reaching their room, just to get lost trying to find their way, until they ran into another person, which restarted the cycle.
After a few hours of walking, asking, and getting lost, they managed to reach the dining room, where they met Garen and Eanel.
- We are back, at last. Damn maze-town.
- They can hear you.
- I don’t care anymore. We have been hours lost in this place just to get thrown away by nearly everyone.
- I’m thirsty – said Nathiel -. I will go get some water. – Then he left towards the fountain at the other side of the room.
- It looks like, for some reason they can’t tell us, or don’t want to, what we came here for. I don’t know what to do anymore.
- I would say patience is the way to go, in this case. Give them time, at least while Leo is still sick, they can’t do anything, and they will let us stay and eat.
- I guess that will be the only way. By the way, where are Amy and Eana? I guess Ly is still with Leo.
- Yes, she is. Amy and Eana should be with her now, after eating lunch, they said they wanted to rest… which reminds me, you must be hungry.
- Yeah…
---
In the room, Amy was talking to Ly, while Leo was peacefully sleeping.
- You care so much about him, Ly… and he seems to care about you too. I feel somewhat envious.
- Didn’t you have a boyfriend?
- I do… or at least I did. I barely see him lately. Sometimes I think the next time he will just tell me he has married someone else because he was too bored to wait for me.
- Really? That would be sad. What happened that you don’t see him anymore?
- Well, I’m in the army. At the beginning I was rarely sent out, so I had time to talk to my old friends, and meet people. But then the attacks became more frequent, so they needed more people in the borders, and I was picked up.
- Owh. You must have missed him.
- At the beginning, I couldn’t stop thinking about him all day. I had a hard time concentrating because I was always wondering when I would have some free time to go see him. Then I started getting used to it. I still love him, but I don’t know what to feel anymore. Some part of me wants him to tell me he has met another girl, so I can be relieved. But I also want to meet him, and touch him, and let him touch me. I want him so badly sometimes I would want to melt away. You want him too, don’t you? Leo I mean.
Ly’s face became red, and she looked away, to where Leo was.
- Yes… I do. I liked him from the first time I saw him. I never told him anything because I didn’t know him, so I didn’t know what to expect from him. But it’s getting worse every day. Sometimes, when he’s near, I think I can’t hold myself. I really want to be with him, tell him all I feel, give all of myself to him, but I can’t, not yet. There are some things he needs to know. He has to learn my secrets, and judge me for them, only then I will feel free for him.
- I don’t know what it is you keep inside you, but I know it’s something only he has the right to know, so I won’t ask. But what you said right now, it was so intense, I don’t think he can reject you, Ly, you are meant for him. I wish you to be happy with whatever fate has prepared for you.
- Thank you, Amy.
---
After eating and talking with Garen and eanel for a while, Andur went back to the streets to ask some more. After a while, he met Jakkar.
- Good afternoon, Andur. It has been sometime since the last time we met, and those were completely different times.
- Indeed, long time no see, Jakkar. I guess you already know what we came here for.
- Yes, I do. That’s the reason I am here talking to you.
- I guessed as much. So what is the matter that makes the Rhy’nan come directly to a humble guest?
- Don’t act in front of me, Andur, we know each other. To the point: you won’t learn anything from my people, not about what you ask. The “tale” you have been asking about, Andur, is explained in one of our sacred texts. Those texts are forbidden to anyone who isn’t part of the Rhyen, and their contents must be kept secret. The fact you learned about this means the man who told you is a traitor to the Rhyen, there is no way he could have overheard about it.
- So… coming here was useless?
- Not necessarily. I need to ask you why you are so interested in this tale.
- Well, I can’t lie to you, not if I want to get something clear out of this. To make it short: the boy who came with us, the one who got sick, has a white spirit.
- Are you sure about that?
- As sure as I am alive.
- Then things might get interesting for all of us. I need to see it, and if it’s true, I need him to join the Rhyen. We will teach him about our religion, and rules, and he will learn about our tales, that’s the only way.
- Join the Rhyen… I can’t decide that for him. You will have to ask him when he gets better. If you want to see his spirit, then we should go to the room, where he sleeps.