Chương 23: The Vacu Paradox

Ari woke up on time the next day, but when she got out of bed, Lyra wasn't in the room. She wasn't in the privy, either. Strange. Maybe she'd awoken earlier and gone for a walk to clear her head. Ari had wanted to talk to her about her essence problem, but on second thought, maybe it was better she didn't. According to Elric, that could potentially come off as judgment, and she was trying not to portray that. Maybe it was best to let Lyra reach out when she was ready.

At least, that was probably what Celie would say, although she herself was terrible at taking that advice. Once Ari was ready for her first class, which was leyline studies, she checked her messaging scroll. Still no response from Elric. Her worry strengthened, and she sighed, sealing the scroll before leaving the room. Lyra and the twins weren't at breakfast either, so Ari decided to sit alone for today.

She'd had a ton of interaction the day before, which should tide her over for some time till she desired companionship again. The food was different, much to her annoyance. She'd liked the duck yesterday, and had been looking forward to making it her daily breakfast option. Why were they now serving an assortment of berries and oats, with fat sausages on the side?

"Excuse me." After two minutes of internal deliberation and preparation, she approached the same man from yesterday and asked, "Do you happen to have any duck?" He shook his head.

"Not today." Ask follow-up.

"Well, do you have bean porridge, or quail eggs, or rye?"

"No. The menu looks different every day, but we never have any of that."

"Different every day?" That was terrible, the most worrisome news she'd heard since being here. How was she going to cope? She swallowed her horror and said carefully, "Would it be possible for me to get the same standard meal each day instead?"

"You want the same thing every day?"

"Yes, please. If you can." He stared at her for a few seconds, then asked her, "What would you like?"

"I enjoyed the duck," she said.

"You can't have just the duck. It's not a balanced meal." That was correct. She needed a grain to counteract the duck. She glanced at the selection on the table and told him, "I will let you know how I feel about the oats and berries today." His moustache twitched for some reason as he said, "Please do." Ari found the oats and berries adequately suited to her taste buds, and she hummed while she ate.

She also read the new book that Elric had gotten her, pausing on the passage about fostering appeal with absence: When seeking to win another's favor, one must cultivate a careful sense of timing, particularly in knowing when to withdraw. While it might sound counterintuitive, distance can strengthen rather than weaken one's position. To court a king is an exercise in both restraint and presence.

Just like a courtesan, the jester must toe the line, remaining reliably available when called upon, yet avoiding becoming so ever-present that their company loses distinction. Ari nodded. She had thought so too, which was why she had given Lyra her 'space' today. However, the book didn't tell her when that space-giving was supposed to end. It simply told her to 'check the temperature of the relationship routinely', and 'offer your presence when suitable.' She would need further clarification about that.

Ari also mentally highlighted a passage about compliments. Commendations must be as close to honesty as you can get. Kings often know when they're being lied to, and they despise it. Keeping compliments grounded in reality sounded like a great idea. Ari would also despise such deceit. This was a very good book. The next chapter was called "The Art of a Good Joke," and she was looking forward to delving into it after she was done studying today. Ari's first class was Leyline studies.

Lyra was there, but Ari pointedly took the seat furthest away from her to create that necessary distance required to win favor. Lyra didn't seem to notice, but that might be because the professor walked in and the lesson promptly began. This was the first class in which Ari had not been asked to introduce herself. Professor Flintwick barely acknowledged the students at all, not calling any names or asking any questions as he droned about leyline angles and harmonic convergence.

Ari could already tell this was not going to be her favorite class, simply because all of it was theoretical, with no practical, and it was not a topic she was particularly interested in. However, she appreciated how technical it was and wrote down all the things she would have to study on her own time. The class after that was core stabilization.

It was a guided meditation session with Professor Llywyd, who revealed she was a Vitae-dominant, capable of reading auras and sensing how much essence each person's cores were consuming through that. Ari made sure not to ingest too much, keeping it within her reported levels. Still, Professor Llywyd stopped in front of her for some time without moving.

"Interesting," she heard the professor murmur. When Ari opened her eyes, she found the short woman staring at her through her round glasses.

"Your name is Arielle Blacksoil, correct?"

"Yes?" The professor had a small smile.

"Are you unsure of that, dear?"

"I'm sure of my name. I'm unsure why you're asking." The professor simply shook her head.

"No reason." Then she continued her stroll. After class, Ari skipped lunch and headed back to her room. When she got there, Lyra was watering her plants. Ari decided to check the temperature by telling her, "You're doing a very good job, tending to them." It was a compliment grounded in reality. The plants looked more vibrant and healthy than any of the ones her mother had tended to.

"Thank you," Lyra said without looking up. Ari was satisfied, and she headed to her desk, opening her messaging scroll. There was a message there for her, but it wasn't from Elric. Ari! This is Celie. We just received this messaging scroll from Archmage Elric, and he said we could talk to you like this! If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Ari responded simply, even as her insides jumped with elation. Yes.

Her sister's response was even quicker. Wow! I can't believe it worked! This is my first time using one of these! Brom's here too! This is Brom. Are you the real Ari, or has that wizard replaced my sister with a cheap clone? They're not called wizards, Brom; they are ascended. And clones, by and large, are not cheap. They require expensive magical tools and expert craft. Also, Celie, you do not have to end each sentence with an exclamation point. It gives the impression that you're screaming at me.

Two sentences were scribbled at nearly the same time. Heavens forbid I show excitement because I miss my sister. I'm convinced. You're definitely Ari. Ari wrote back: I miss you too. Ari chatted with her family for exactly ten minutes. She told them in detail about her first two days, and her brother was particularly hyper-focused on the Faulkey incident as well as the duel.

She told him she couldn't share much about what she'd done to Faulkey via scroll, but he seemed happy enough when she told him she'd beat her first duelling opponent in record time. Ha! Just as I expected from my favorite student. I was your only student. Exactly. Did you tell them I taught you everything you know? Well, I told them you taught me how to fight. I think they were suitably impressed.

Brom proceeded to end their conversation by giving her more grappling tips, after which she had her last class for the day, which was Politics and History. There, they discussed the creation of the Grand Luxarium, the sky palace on the edge of a cliff that hosted all the knowledge in the world, and how that was used to give birth to the system.

"It's safe to say that the creator of Luxarium, Lucera Aurelius, was the one who made us realize the true potential of Stoichiomancy," she said.

"And without her, magic as we know it wouldn't exist."

"You're just saying that because you're from a Luxa-dominant clan, professor," Byron said.

"An inherent bias does not make my words untrue," she said, tossing her hair.

"So, your assignment for the week is this: write a brief report on the Luxarium rules of access, and the research on the information networks. It should be at least three pages long." Even though most of the class groaned, Ari was excited. She was always happy about reading history, and she loved writing reports even more. Plus, it would keep her busy while she waited for Elric's response.

At the end of that class, she was called to the front and given an extra workbook that would help her catch up with the rest of the material. Then, she returned to her room until it was time for her meeting with her Creatures and Clans group to research the Unmaker. They visited the library on the first floor, a vast space lit by the reflective windows, with towering shelves stretched to the ceiling and packed with tomes, some of which looked practically untouched.

The room smelled like leather, parchment, and a relaxing incense. Rows of tables and benches were interspersed between each shelf, giving students a private nook to study away from prying eyes. What a wonderful place to spend the evening.

"I hate this place," Riorke said when they arrived.

"I don't think she shares your sentiment," Lacey said, and when Ari looked over, he was staring right at her, with an amused look. Ari wondered if her excitement showed up on her face because Riorke looked to her in disgust.

"Well, I'm glad she's on our team at least," Cuthbert said.

"I'm glad too," Ari said.

"Why don't we split up?" Lacey suggested.

"Find as many books about the Unmaker as you can, and then we'll meet back and share what we found."

"It will probably be nothing more than what we already know," Cuthbert grumbled, but they did it anyway. As Ari walked, she passed her hand over the tomes, appreciating the texture of the smooth leather and gritty spines. At the other end of the room, she saw a spiral staircase that led to the top floor, which was marked restricted access, for books that could only be read by those in Cohorts 3 and 4, or Cohort 2's who had reached adept tier. The shelves were sorted according to subject and essences.

Ari picked up a book titled The Vacu Paradox and another titled Brief History of the Greatest Mages Alive. She decided to start with those two and went to the bench that Riorke already occupied to begin reading. Ari immediately ran into a problem. It was difficult to focus on her book with the others there. Their presence was too loud. Riorke spent most of that time complaining about how boring it was and how it smelled like old books.

Cedric called off early for a stomachache, and Cuthbert simply fell asleep and was snoring on his tome.

"You're all very noisy," Ari told them after thirty minutes, and Riorke narrowed his gaze at her.

"You're right," Lacey said as he leaned back.

"And I can't read this anymore."

"Neither can I," Godfrey said. They'd both been reading through two separate volumes of a book discussing retellings of the Unmaker.

"There's just so much information here, and they all contradict each other." Ari nodded. That was mentioned as well in The Vacu Paradox, which discussed the conundrum of Vacu being so influential yet so unknown. It wasn't like it was unexplored. It just seemed that everyone who had explored Vacu to any length came out with a different conclusion, and no one seemed certain about anything when discussing the Unmaker. Was he a cursed spirit? A meter of justice? A friend to humans? Or a foe?

According to her book, he was called the one who lived in negative space, who judges the world from without. The Great Undoer. That was the extent of anything concrete that could be said. The rest of the lore concerned his three greatest disciples, the Abyssal Drift, the Hollowed Priest, and the Death God, with legends about how they'd rid the world of chaos and destroyed the worst of the evils. Yet everyone who had seen their face had died.

Sometimes the Death God himself would appear to great men on the day of their death. He wore a hood and spoke in a slow whisper, as he stole the breath from their mouths. The book also mentioned the War of the Primordials that destroyed the first Earth. It almost destroyed the second as well, until the Great Balancer stepped in and restored peace. This was why peace and balance were inextricably linked, and anytime there was universal imbalance, calamity soon followed.

Within a few minutes, the rest of the boys went off to dinner with their respective books, but Ari stayed put, glad for the silence. There were more tales about the Abyssal Drift than any of the other disciples, and he was a very controversial figure according to myth. Some thought he was a god of mischief, spreading lies and trickery. Others thought he was a secret protector of the weak, but his deeds had to remain unacknowledged due to the nature of his powers. Which was another controversial thing.

People couldn't decide what those powers actually were. The good news was that there were a lot of potential things to be discovered. The bad news was that they didn't even know where to start learning about these things, if no one actually knew anything about them. As she read, a shadow fell over her, and Ari looked up at a familiar face. It was the boy who had been duelling with Selena. He pointed at the book by her side titled Brief History of the Greatest Mages Alive.

"May I look at that?" he asked.

"I have to double-check something for my rune seal." She nodded and slid the book over to him, watching closely as he flipped the pages. She wanted to ask him about his Vacu runes, but didn't want to distract him while he was reading. She knew how much it annoyed her when people did it to her. Once he got to where he wanted, his fingers traced down the page, and he frowned with focus. He then closed the book and handed it back to her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I–" The words hadn't even made it all the way out of her mouth before he was gone. She was about to put down the book again, but her curiosity got the better of her. She wondered what he'd been reading so intently. Had it been about runes? Would it help her create some? She bit her lip and recalled a spell she'd seen in the Advanced Spell Craft book. She glanced around her and, recognizing that no one was looking, she silently moved her fingers around, activating the [Revertus] spell.

The [Revertus] spell was an adept-level spell that returned things to their last known position. While doing so, she adjusted the Massa ring in real time and limited the spell to only affect pages of the book; if not, it would send the entire thing hanging in mid-air where the dark-haired boy had just been standing. The orbs floated around the book, and in one movement, it opened to the page he had been reading. It was one she hadn't gotten to yet, and the title on the page was The Dark Summoner.

Below is the legend of a man who had summoned demons to get rid of his powerful enemies, the king of a foreign kingdom, and all his soldiers. The demons had obeyed his wish, but once they were done, they'd eaten the man too and dragged his soul to the Abyss. It was a pretty grotesque story. Ari frowned. Why would he have been looking at this? An hour later, Arielle left with both books, checking them out at the main desk for a week. Hopefully, by the time the week was over, she could find something useful.

She really didn't want to fail her class. It was late in the evening, while Ari was studying double bonds in spell craft, that she thought to open her message book again. It was nearly her bedtime, and she half expected not to see a response. But there was one anyway. From Elric, finally.