His mother had taught him that marriage was a sacred vow. A man and a woman, pledging eternal love in the name of God, bound together until the day they died. So when Izela Tengiz mentioned something so profound with such casualness, Boran could only stare, his expression blank.
She saw his face and burst into laughter, waving a dismissive hand. “What’s with that look? I was just joking!”
“My lady, please…”
“Alright, alright. But do give it some thought! The seat next to me is still empty.”
With a final grin, Izela disappeared down the hallway. The butler, who looked as though he had aged ten years in an instant, mopped his brow and bowed repeatedly to Boran. “My apologies,” he murmured.
A short time later, Boran stood before the door to the grandest room in the castle. He opened it to find an office filled with the mounted heads of magical beasts, their glass eyes staring down at antique furniture and ornate decorations. Seated in a large chair at the center of it all was Lug Tengiz, the head of the house and the lord of Orem.
“Come in, young noble. I trust you know who I am?”
“My name is Boran.”
Behind Lord Tengiz, a man and a woman stood at attention, swords at their hips. Knights, Boran presumed, assigned to protect him, though personal guards seemed a needless precaution for a noble of his stature.
Lug leaned forward, intrigued by the simple introduction. “Boran, is that all?”
“My house has enemies. I cannot say more.”
“Hmm. And which of the recent disputes warrants such caution? Hadit and Corel? Ire and Kellau? Samarkhan and Kulan…?”
At the mention of Samarkhan and Kulan, Boran focused his mind, careful to betray nothing. Lug continued listing the names of various houses, but when Boran offered no reaction, he snorted, seemingly bored.
“Well, it matters little. We have no enemies among the noble houses. However, should the Tengiz Lineage ever find itself under your protection, I trust we will be treated with the same courtesy we are showing you now.”
“I promise you that.”
It was a dance of unspoken rules, the very etiquette his mother had drilled into him. To host a fellow noble was a sign of mutual respect, a promise to avoid conflict. To refuse such hospitality after entering another’s territory was a declaration of malicious intent.
“So, you wish to use the library? For what purpose?”
“My upbringing was… unusual. I lack a great deal of common knowledge, and I wish to learn about the world through books.”
Lug snorted again. “I should warn you, many come here chasing rumors. You will find no ancient spells or secrets to amplifying your magic in our library.”
“That is fine. I was not hoping for such things.”
Boran’s sincerity was plain. He simply wanted to learn of the world beyond the hill where he had spent his entire life.
Lug studied him for a long moment before shaking his head. “If that is your desire, I see no reason to refuse you. There are no secrets of our house in there, after all. For now, rest today. You may begin tomorrow. Is that acceptable?”
“I will not forget your generosity, my lord.”
“Good,” Lug said, nodding slowly. “I trust you won’t.” A faint, meaningful smile touched his lips.
The next day, Boran left the castle accompanied by a Tengiz knight and made his way to the library. The guard at the entrance, a different man from the day before, examined the paper bearing the lord’s signature and nodded.
“Entry permit verified. Welcome to the Celestial Archive, honored guest.”
The first things to greet him were a few desks and chairs arranged in a small reading area. Beyond them, a spiral staircase wound its way up along the tower’s circular walls. Though there were no windows, the room was bathed in the bright, white light of a glowing orb fixed to the high ceiling.
As Boran stepped further inside, a middle-aged man at one of the desks rose to greet him. “A pleasure to meet you, Sir Boran. I am the librarian. As per the lord’s orders, I will explain the rules for using this facility.”
The Celestial Archive’s rules were not complicated. First, any damage to the books or the building would require compensation according to the value set by the house. Second, books were strictly forbidden from leaving the premises. To Boran, it seemed less a list of rules and more a list of things no sane person would ever do.
“Additionally, during your time here, I will be observing to ensure no rules are violated.”
As soon as the librarian finished, Boran wasted no time and headed for the stairs. When he reached the second floor, he found bookshelves filling the central space, laden with hundreds of volumes.
“Oh…”
Jochi had said there were thousands of books, but that felt like an understatement. Given the height of the building, Boran wouldn’t have been surprised to find tens of thousands.
He climbed higher, however, and soon noticed the shelves growing sparse. By the time he reached the tenth floor, there wasn’t a single book left. The librarian, who had followed him, explained that no books were stored beyond this point. Deflated, Boran returned to the second floor.
“The collection seems rather small for a library of this size.”
“This library was built during the era of the Old Empire,” the librarian explained. “But Orem has changed hands many times in war. Many books were lost in the process.”
The Old Empire. The name was familiar; his mother had mentioned it a few times. It was the ancient kingdom established when the Tengri Sky Clan conquered the other races and ruled the world. But after the gods ascended to the heavens, their descendants—the nobles—fell to infighting, and the empire collapsed. This had led to the current era of fractured houses and competing wizard families.
Boran ran his hand along the spines of the densely packed books on the second floor, then turned to the librarian behind him. “As the librarian, I assume you’ve read these as well.”
“Yes. Assisting patrons in finding what they need is part of my role.”
“Then what would you recommend for someone wishing to acquire basic common knowledge?” Boran chose his words carefully, aware that everything he said could be reported back to the lord.
The librarian tilted his head in thought, then began pulling books from various shelves. After several trips to the upper floors, he returned and placed a dozen volumes on a desk on the first floor.
“Many of the books here are hundreds, even thousands of years old, so they may not be what you are looking for, honored guest. However, I believe these selections will be of some help.”
“Thank you.”
Boran sat, picked up one of the books, and examined it. The cover was thick cowhide, the pages were finely cut parchment, and the text within was a dense block of meticulous, hand-inscribed letters that looked as though they had been engraved by an artisan. The book itself felt like a work of art.
So this is a book…
He felt a complex pang of emotion, realizing how easily he had obtained something his mother had so desperately longed for. With mixed feelings, he opened it. Having learned to read and write by scratching letters in the sand with a stick, he stumbled at first but found he could make out the text well enough.
The title was Journey Around the World.
After a preface praising the book’s unknown sponsor, the main text began. The author was a noble from a small city north of Orem who, yearning to see the edge of the world, had set off on a journey to the east.
The stories captured Boran’s imagination completely. A mountain pass that opened only once a day. Blind dwarves who hid in the peaks, hunting any who dared to cross. An endless desert of shifting sands that boiled by day and froze solid by night. There were tales of lush jungle fairies and of mermaids whose songs lured sailors to their deaths upon rocky reefs.
The author’s ability to depict places Boran had never seen with such vivid, almost chilling clarity felt like a magic of its own.
By the time he was halfway through, he began to feel the pangs of hunger. Committing what he’d read to memory, he closed the book.
Impressive.
Now, the vast, unknown lands to the east had a shape in his mind. He could picture the other races, their cultures, and their homes. If he could learn so much from half of one book, what wonders did the rest of the library hold? His heart pounded with anticipation.
After receiving permission to use the library, Boran fell into a routine. He would arrive every morning to read and would not return to the castle until evening.
On the second day, he learned of the great noble houses, the politics between wizarding families, and the systems they used to govern their cities and villages.
On the third day, he gained a new appreciation for common items he had once taken for granted, learning of their origins, the materials they were made from, and the regions they came from.
On the fourth day, he read a magical beast guide, discovering the abilities common to different creatures and how their physical traits often symbolized their powers.
On the fifth day, he learned that relics of the Old Empire were still scattered across the world. The library itself was one such relic, as was the stone-paved road he had traveled to reach Orem.
As the knowledge accumulated, the world, which had once seemed a vast and unknowable space, began to take on a clearer, more defined shape in his mind. It felt as if he were slowly evolving from an ignorant shepherd boy into something more. The satisfaction was not as visceral as eating a fine meal or absorbing magic, but it was a profound pleasure nonetheless.
On the morning of the sixth day, as Boran was heading to the library, he received a summons from Lug Tengiz. The moment he arrived at the lord’s office, Lug came straight to the point.
“I hear you’ve been making excellent use of the library.”
“Yes.”
“I trust you understand that allowing you its use was a kindness, separate from my duties as your host. And now, I would like to claim compensation for that favor.”
“Please, ask.”
If one side only takes, Boran knew, the other will eventually tell them to leave. The customary stay for a noble guest was three or four days. Having long surpassed that, it was only right that he heed the lord’s request.
“Recently, a magical beast has appeared north of Orem. It has been attacking travelers.”
“Do you want me to hunt it?”
Lug nodded. “Four knights went to subdue it. They did not return. It seems a noble will have to step in personally. However, our house has only two available to deploy. If you join them, that makes three. It would be much safer.”
The Tengiz family had six nobles in total: Lug, his wife, his younger brother, his daughter, and two nephews. Of those, Lug’s brother and one nephew governed other cities. Lug himself had to remain in Orem in case of emergency, and his wife was no warrior. That left only his daughter and his other nephew—two nobles.
“I understand.”
He agreed readily. He had spent his time reading, not training, and his magic power had stagnated. Besides, he remembered Batyr’s words: humans are always at risk of losing their homes to magical beasts, and it is a wizard’s duty to protect them. The people of Orem were not his flock, but the food he ate, the water he drank, and the clothes he wore all came from their labor. A shepherd survives on the wool and meat of his sheep; in return, he must protect the flock from wolves.
Nodding at the thought, a question occurred to him. The official in Angkor Thom had said nobles and knights were rarely enthusiastic about hunting magical beasts. Why was Lug so different?
When Boran posed the question indirectly, Lug’s answer was simple.
“The northern road it is blocking is an important trade route. It has been closed for ten days. It must be cleared as soon as possible.”
Ten days. Boran recalled the meaningful smile Lug had given him five days ago when he had first granted access to the library. He finally understood why the lord had been so generous, and a strange sense of ease settled over him.