After lunch, Tamrie and I found Arizar already at the library, hunched over her desk.

Rather than disturb her, I took the opportunity to delve into the shelves, scanning as many books as I could with Review Scroll, though Tamrie settled down on a nearby chair. My efforts weren’t entirely random, since even if I took my time walking shelf to shelf casting the spell non-stop, it would’ve taken me weeks to scan every book.

Instead, I had an attendant direct me to sections on magical theory, agricultural practices, infrastructure and the philosophy of tax law.

The last had been partially inspired by Folras, in that he’d inadvertently reminded me that there was such a thing. Not something I’d personally heard of. But Perth had slept his way through more than one lesson on it. Which hadn’t exactly helped me remember the core material, though it’d given me an awareness for the subject.

Thozgar had also mentioned one specific book in particular that turned out to be in the section.

I got the attendant to make me a copy of the supposed seminal work on the topic, A Leader’s Guide on using Taxation and other Levers to Shape a Nation.

As I continued scanning books, I started reading. There weren’t many hard examples in the book. It referenced other books where it needed those, stating that such things weren’t the purpose of A Leader’s Guide. As such, it was rather thin and amusing for a book on taxes.

Instead, it focused on how to use taxation, benefits and regulation as levers to get people to do what you wanted. A simple concept, but as the book pointed out, remarkably complex in execution.

It didn’t have answers, just questions and scenarios that any leader should consider.

Some of which I’d been struggling with. Most were new, which wasn’t reassuring.

It was when I got near the back that a passage drew me to a stop.

“Far too often, I have seen powerful ensouled attempt to do everything themselves, avoiding taxation. This author humbly asks, is this wise? Yes, they are capable of raising a building in the time a mortal may haul a single brick. Yet unlike the ancient rulers of the world that served as humanity’s cradle, their time is actually worth more than a mortal’s. They are, in effect, taxing their people even more heavily than if they were to simply take ten percent of a mortal’s wage.”

It was the reference to humanity’s cradle that’d caused me to stop in the middle of the aisle, my hand resting on the shelf. Then I checked for a print date on the book. There were hundreds of lines for the reprinting and translating of the book. Many of them used different calendars. I was honestly amazed the book had survived in any form over so many versions.

Maybe the book had enough prestige to enshrine its status?

Whatever the case, I requested directions to several of the books it referenced. I was disappointed to discover they’d been updated to more contemporary titles, none of which was more than four thousand years old.

Four thousand years. Contemporary.

As if that wasn’t shocking enough, they only allowed me to trace the printing date of the last two entries.

Another couple inquiries led me to a book that helped translate the many calendars further. Which was actually about the rise and fall of kingdoms, empires and republics. It turned out that new governments liked establishing their own dating system. After a half hour of investigation, best I could tell, the original book had been published more than a hundred thousand years earlier.

It was frankly astounding to me that the libraries were certain of anything from that long ago. There were notations in the fallen nation turned calendar book that included references to which spells had been used to scry the past, which seemed to be where their surety came from.

All of them used the Eternity affinity. Funny how I hadn’t even known that was a thing until I started down my tangent. A quick check in the affinity materials section revealed that Eternity affinity materials were exceedingly rare. It also mentioned that Arcane could be used to replace Eternity in many spells, though the mana cost was significantly higher.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Keeper used Eternity affinity spells for its work.

Having managed to spend an hour more than I’d meant to, I hurried back to Arizar and Tamrie. They’d moved to a large couch that hadn’t been there when I’d left.

Arizar spotted me first, mumbling something to Tamrie I didn’t quite catch, then they both started laughing.

It brought a smile to my face, even if I suspected it was at my expense.

“Ah, speak of the dweller,” Tamrie said when she spotted me. “Was just telling Arizar about how we first met.”

“Those kids looked like they had you on the verge of retreat,” I said, shaking my head.

“Sure enough, they did,” Tamrie said with a sigh. “Was a relief, what you did. Least, at first.”

“I can’t believe you made her a gemstone and didn’t realize it could be taken as a sign of affection,” Arizar said, traces of mirth still on her face.

“Look, I missed a lot of the normal social stuff growing up,” I said, shaking my head. “You want to know how to fight or bust loose a stubborn bolt, I’m your man. But from what I’m learning, a surprising number of folk miss little things like the gem.”

They both laughed at that, Arizar reaching over to squeeze Tamrie’s hand. “Little things, he says.”

Tamrie nodded deeply, hand pressed to her face as she struggled to speak, her smile moving from mirth to something more tender as she looked up at me. “But wrong, he ain’t. For him, it was the smallest of things.”

Her earnestness was more embarrassing than the teasing.

Arizar arched her eyebrows, but otherwise didn’t respond.

I chose that moment to redirect the conversation away from any further embarrassment and towards the other reason I came to the library. “I’m ready to choose my spells for the day.”

“Then let us be off,” Arizar said, pushing to her feet. “Did you already have spells in mind, or should I expect to have time to work on my spells?”

“Today should be pretty quick,” I said, giving Tamrie a quick hug and kiss before following Arizar to the obsidian portal, the jagged blue lines within shifting as we got close.

“Very well,” Arizar said, tapping the portal then stepping through.

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I followed, a single step behind. Inside, I found myself struck once more by just how much magical knowledge was gathered in one place.

Despite what I’d just said, I found myself wanting to page through the grimoires. Part of me wanted to see what they had for Eternity spells. And I could really use an upgrade to Restore Form…

“Actually,” I said with a sigh. “I think I’m going to look through the Nature section. Just realized I should see if there are any better healing spells.”

“I can assist you with your search, if you’d like,” Arizar said, dipping her head in a slight bob that wasn’t quite a nod.

“Sure. I do know one of the spells I’m going to take though,” I said, stepping over and pulling a Worlds grimoire off the shelf. “Higher tiers take longer, right?”

Arizar paused, turning back to look at the grimoire I now held. “It does. Were you looking to transfer a fourth Order spell?”

Of course she knew which level I wanted. After all, there weren’t any higher tier spells in that restricted section. And I’d done third Order last time we were there. “Yeah, it’s a Worlds spell. Not the most useful at Pegasus, but I figured Nexxa and I could learn a lot by studying it.”

A small smile made its way onto her face, and she nodded. “A wise choice. Creating your own spells is the sign of a true mage.”

If I had more time, I’d have totally agreed with her. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of being a true mage. Instead of mentioning that, I laid the Worlds spell and my grimoire on the two sided podium.

Then I slid a Phase Spider Queen’s brain into place - one of the three tier-3 Worlds materials Thozgar had given me - onto the components shelf alongside over a thousand Waves worth of silver dust. With everything in place, I stepped back and let the process start.

“We will have a little over an hour before it’s finished,” Arizar said, after inspecting the process for several seconds. “Come,” she added, waving me in the direction of the Nature section.

I nodded, following her over. The longer we paged through the grimoires, the more spells I wanted.

While Worlds and Celestial spells were incredibly powerful, there was so much that could be done with nature spells.

And we had so many Nature components I could’ve taken them all. Well, I’d run low on silver dust after the five fourth Order spells, but with the nigh unending monster hordes, that was a lesser concern. Nexxa had literal tons upon tons of low-tier monster bones just waiting to be collected and processed.

When I mentioned this, Arizar raised an eyebrow, smiling. “It is good you see the value. Still, if you’re able to master the Recall spell, perhaps you will be able to return more often. I intend to do so.”

“Doesn’t it work better with a place with higher weight? From what I’ve been able to tell, Spellford is kinda the opposite.”

“It is. However, about a hundred miles out of the city, there is an old site father has built a fortress atop of that serves the purpose well,” Arizar said, handing me one of the books she’d been paging through. “I shall ask him if you can place an anchor there. This is the spell you should learn first.”

“You’d do that?” I found myself asking. Arizar hadn’t seemed to be my biggest fan.

“You are an ally. And while I still have my reservations, I… well, this is a small favor,” Arizar said, waving me off.

“Right,” I said, though I was smiling as I paged through the spell.

The Flower Blooms Eternal

Within the heart of all creatures, there lies a seed of truth. That which represents the creature at its heartiest and most hale, the Flower.

By ensuring that Flower is eternally blooming, it prevents the field from lying fallow.

Just beneath the overly poetic description was another much more succinct note.

While this spell is active, the caster can’t be killed by physical damage, regenerating from all but complete destruction. Confirmed limits are variable dependent on the caster’s available mana reserves. The record is held by a Djinn souled caster who regenerated from her pinky finger.

I reread the note three times before moving on to the actual matrix.

It was… elegant. Most spell’s I’d seen failed to be half as well designed. Maybe that poetry hadn’t been as overly wrought as I’d thought. “How… how is this a third Order spell?”

“It is particularly well designed,” Arizar replied, understating by an ocean, a smug grin on her face. “Though it is rather expensive if you take damage. In a very real way, so long as you have mana the caster is immortal. Assuming you’re not dealing with an experienced mage who knows how to undo your work.”

I grunted as I studied the makeup of the spell. That last point was more relevant than it would be with most spells. Despite its elegance, the matrix was, for a third Order spell, rather fragile. Even Tamrie - who hadn’t even unlocked her first spell slot - could, in theory, disrupt it.

If they could lay a hand on the caster.

Still, unless a person was up against, oh, say an army of ensouled, it was a very powerful tool. Even for training it would be useful, since it was more mana efficient than Restore Form.

After I pointed that out, Arizar couldn’t stop from digging out another book, with an improved version of Restore Form within.

Technically, noting down the improvements didn’t count against the two spell limit. While I was tempted to find out if I could get any more spells out of her, we’d already spent over an hour looking through the Nature spells.

Returning to the podium, I started copying The Flower Blooms Eternal, opening up the Worlds book to review the fourth Order spell the podium had just transferred.

The spell carried a familiar warning, though it wasn’t crossed out this time.

Enhanced Translocation Matrix

This spell is meant solely for Operatives of the Altean Empire. Possessing this spell without the proper license is sufficient merit for instant soul binding or execution.

If you are reading these words and are not an Operative of the Altean Empire, cease now. This is your only warning.

It was almost amusing, seeing the warning. I had to wonder if any of their Operatives might still be alive. Sure, the empire had collapsed hundreds of years ago, back when the Forgeborn had won their freedom, yet that didn’t mean the people who’d been part of it had died with it.

Hydra-souled tended to have pretty long lifespans, nevermind the higher ranks. If what I’d learned from the ascension chamber was accurate, that lifespan was further enhanced for those who had both Ascended bodies and souls.

By Dragon-souled, the only known cause of deaths were Dragons or other Dragon-souled.

And, I supposed, Phoenix-souled.

Returning my attention to the spell, I continued reading.

While this Worlds Matrix is slotted, it will map the local seventh dimension. While the exact topography of the seventh dimension is in constant flux, and permanent mapping has little use, outside the most general of patterns, having localized data allows more efficient travel through the seventh dimension.

Translation, as long as I had it slotted, my Worlds spells would be cheaper and faster. If that was the only effect, it would’ve been one heck of a disappointment for a fourth order spell.

A proficient Operator can learn to read the shifts in the local seventh dimension, and, while this spell is slotted, can use the local permutations to translocate themselves.

Basically, super cheap local teleportation, though which locations the caster could move to were based on this seventh dimension’s local terrain.

Any Operative wishing to slot this spell should ensure they have a safe location stocked with enough food and drink for a full week. While a high affinity may reduce the time required to slot this spell, even the most attuned Operatives require four full days. This can be stretched out, however, at least an hour must be spent securing your progress with each session.

A rather steep requirement. Not the sort of spell you’d want to swap in and out on a whim.

By the time I was finished reading over Enhanced Teleportation Matrix, Flowers Blooms Eternal had finished copying over.

Third Order spells really were a lot quicker. I suspected lower tier spells were practically instant.

If I could find some Eternity affinity materials, I might find out when I chose my last spells before we left.

Making our way outside, we gathered Tamrie before meeting up with the others for dinner. Bevel had spent the day helping Oltras with his Peace blade, though she noted that he’d gotten rather upset near the end of the day, despite them making him a blade that allowed him to hear Equilibrium clearly.

The next morning, I returned to the library with Arizar. Even Thozgar didn’t have any spare Eternity materials, though I was able to page through their limited selection. We were only there long enough to pick up two more nature spells, both of which were variants on spells I already had.

One was basically a third Order version of Restore Form. Didn’t help much with the efficiency, but it did allow healing much trickier wounds from a longer range.

The other was a buffed up version of Bloom I recorded as Mana Blooms. When cast it would provide a plant with all the nutrients it needed, including the requisite affinity mana, so long as the caster had said affinity.

A very powerful tool, though a single cast left me with less than ten percent of my mana.

With six powerful new spells in my repertoire, an inventory full of Worlds materials, and several recruits lined up, we made our way to the docks.

Xelinda was waiting on deck, yelling up at a figure standing next to the ramp.

That figure, hands on her hips at the edge of the stone pier, was Arizar. Stacked next to her were huge racks of dresses, heavy tables and large cushions.

“Think she’s heard of the saying, travel light?”

“Don’t reckon she has,” Tamrie said, fondness in her voice.