Chapter 212: Rhodes Is Both Light and Human
"It's a certificate issued after passing a test administered by the royal mages," the guard explained patiently. The two of them had an extraordinary air about them, especially the elf. She was clearly a powerful mage. He trusted his intuition.
"We don't have one. Is there any other way?"
"Please wait a moment," he said after a brief pause. "I will call for Lord Akaf."
A short time later, he returned with a middle-aged man in a mage's robe, an insignia on his chest. His gaze was scrutinizing as it fell on Rhodes, but it lingered on Serie, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He could feel the extraordinary power that radiated from her.
"Are these the two who wish to enter the magical section?"
"Yes, my lord. But they do not have a certificate."
He held up a hand. "I am Akaf, and I am in charge of this section," he said, his gaze now fixed on the two of them. "According to the rules, one must prove their qualification as a mage to enter. Since you do not have a certificate, please... perform a spell."
Rhodes just sighed and looked at her.
She, for her part, was not amused. To have to prove herself... it was both troublesome and a little ridiculous. She didn't even raise a hand. A single thought, and a spear of a pure and piercing light appeared at her side. It hovered there, its very presence making the air around it ripple.
Akaf's own eyes widened in a pure and unadulterated shock. Such a skillful use of a light magic... no ordinary mage could do that. And the power, the destructive power, so perfectly contained within it... it was terrifying. "The elven light spear spell... magnificent," he said, and his own tone was now one of a deep and profound respect. "It seems you are a great and powerful mage, my lady."
"So can we go in now?" Rhodes asked.
"You, sir... you will also have to perform a spell," he said.
He was about to say that he was just a companion, but seeing the look on the man's face, he just raised a hand. A similar, but much smaller, spear of light appeared in his palm. And in the eyes of a true mage, its own power was not to be underestimated. But it lacked the primordial, raw power of hers. It was a perfect imitation. But an imitation nonetheless. Still, it was enough.
And more importantly... they were not demons. Though a demon could disguise their appearance, in a city that was protected by a grand and powerful barrier, their magical aura could not be hidden. Ever since the theft of the holy sword, all the human kingdoms, and especially this one, the holy city of magic, had been on high alert.
"Very well," he said, his last doubts now completely gone. He gave them a respectful bow. "Please, go ahead. My apologies for the inconvenience. But it is the rule. The knowledge within, especially the magic that humans have developed in recent years... it holds great power, and with it, great danger. To restrict access... it is a way to protect the knowledge, and to protect those who would seek it, and the city itself."
He stepped aside. "The magical section is just ahead. Please be quiet, and do not damage or remove any of the books."
"I understand," he said with a nod. She just gave him a cool and detached glance and walked past.
The magical section was different from the floor below. The air was thick with the scent of a raw and untamed magic. The books were not of a normal paper but of a special, alchemically-treated kind, and some were just scrolls, or ancient stone tablets. And the people... there were only a few, all of them lost in their own research.
"This is..." a new and brilliant light now shone in her eyes, "...a mage's paradise." So many books... and even if she knew most of them, to find even one that she did not... it would be a thrill. She suddenly didn't want to leave.
His own gaze, however, fell upon a section that was protected by a special magical barrier. "Found it," he said, and walked over. The shelves were made of a dark ironwood, and on them were a collection of ancient, but well-preserved, tomes. And at the very top, in a glass case, a single, unassuming book, its cover a reddish-brown leather, its title written in the common script of the Age of Myth. He stood before it, and a wave of a deep and profound nostalgia washed over him.
She had, at some point, come to his side. She, too, looked up at the ancient book, a look of a new and dawning understanding in her eyes. She remembered it, not as a book, but as a series of a handwritten notes.
The Codex of Origin.
Authors: Rhodes, Norne.
"This is... the one you wrote?" she asked softly. She remembered, a thousand years ago, two figures, by a campfire, discussing magic. It all felt like yesterday.
"Yes," he said, his voice a distant sound. "I'm surprised it's still here. And in a place like this."
Just then, Akaf came over. "Awe-inspiring, isn't it?" he said with a reverent smile. "The 'Origin'. That is what we call it now. The cornerstone of human magical civilization, the first beacon that lit the path of our exploration. Before him, magic was a power beyond our reach. No human had ever been a mage. But he... he did something unprecedented. He learned the magic of all the races and, from it, he created a new magic of his own. And with the Holy King Norne, he wrote this book. In it, he explained the very nature of magic, of mana, not as a gift from the gods, but as an energy that exists in all things, in ourselves. He even proposed a clear theory of magical aptitude. And more importantly... his system is the foundation of all modern magic. The first lesson in any academy... is the study of his Codex."
His voice was filled with a deep and sincere reverence.
He just listened, a blank expression on his face, but she, she could see the flicker of a deep and profound emotion in his eyes. If only Norne could have seen this.
"And not only that," he continued, "his system... it shaped the very direction of human magical research. Not just for destruction, but for the betterment of our civilization. And the source of it all... is this book." He sighed. "He was not just a being of a great wisdom, but a god who guided our civilization to a new and brighter future. But... so little is known of him. Only this book, and the vague and distant legends."
He walked away, leaving the two of them alone before the display case.
"How does it feel?" she asked, a hint of his own teasing tone now in her own voice. "To be worshipped like a god?"
He slowly looked away from the book, and a self-deprecating, but at the same time, a peaceful smile touched his lips. He looked at the other scholars, at their focused and dedicated faces, and then back at her. "You know, that was not my original intention. This feeling..." he paused, as if to find the right words, "...it's strange. Like you plant a seed, and then a thousand years later, you come back and find that it has grown into a great and mighty tree, and a whole forest has sprung up around it."
He reached out a hand, and his fingers gently traced the surface of the glass. "I just wanted more people to learn magic, to give humanity a way to escape from their fate. That's all. But I am content. Not because they worship me as a god, but because I can see how they have built upon my work, have created such a diverse and vibrant tapestry of knowledge, to see that magic is now a part of their society, not just some... distant and unapproachable thing. I am content."
Had he foreseen this, a thousand years ago, when he and Norne had been writing this book? Yes. But he had not known then that he would live to see it.
She listened in silence, and she saw in his eyes, in the quiet and contented look in them, a deep and abiding peace. And she understood. Why he, who had slain a god, who had achieved a kind of an immortality, was still so obsessed with his quest. The pursuit of magic... that was his most precious treasure. His talent... it was a thing that only he could have so fully and so completely realized. His Codex... it had not just changed the way humans learned magic, but the very way all the races of the world understood it.
"Let's go," he said, and gave the ancient, world-changing book one last, long look. "This place... it is a fine place. But it is the past. And one cannot live in the past. And besides," he said with a smile, and took her hand in his, "it is all... obsolete now. The future... there is a new chapter waiting for us. And that... is the path we must walk."
She let him take her hand and, with a final glance at the holy book, a book that had been placed on a pedestal, like a god, she looked at the man beside her, the living god-slayer.
He did not need to be worshipped. He, himself, was the ever-advancing light. And she... she would walk with him, always.
(End of chapter)
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