Chapter 205 - Unknown gem

Faustina stared at the book given to her by Ezekiel. Strangely enough, it was coal-colored and it didn't exactly have a reference sticker that should be pasted on it. And to top it all off, the book looked different among the others.

It was worn out.

How can it be the case when all the books are being regulated and kept with magic?

Faustina then swiped her thumb across the leather of the book; and then that's when she sees a mark of her thumb. The book was dusty. Patted the book tentatively to get rid of the dust, and before she decided to open it, she looked affront; to her left, right; and finally, behind.

No one seems to be there.

Faustina held her lamp close to the book.

Faustina began to scan her eyes to the text. It was a good thing it was written in a common language.

"Huh...?"

Faustina began to examine the book's content once more.

"Is this handwritten...?"

Faustina began to compare and contrast the repeating letters to each other. Usually, the books written in Magierstadt are replicated and are printed with magic using fixed letters and symbols, which in turn, help in the consistency of the text. Orwell said that original books written by the old authors are kept safe by magic from decomposing and also are safeguarded by strong magical barriers to preserve them.

"We wouldn't want a pillar in the body of knowledge to collapse, right? So we need to preserve what happened in history."

Faustina shuffled through the pages, in an attempt to find the things that connect to mediums. The title of the book was a little faded given how it was worn. Although it was a struggle to read it in the dark, Faustina was able to make up the words.

"Alchemy."

Faustina stared at the contents, scanning down for valuable information.

She thinks she should probably do this now before she would head back to the table. For some reason, Faustina thought that this was the best choice to take given the fact that there seemed to be a lingering mystery regarding her staff—or more specifically—the unknown gem on top of it.

"You hold a warlock's staff."

Faustina halted; in that very instant, the undead maid's words resonated to her mind. She had spoken a different language, which she understood. And that very maid she understood just told her she harbors a warlock staff.

Faustina knew this was too peculiar—for one, she shouldn't be able to translate such an old body of language so quickly. And especially a language that was considered to be of old, that not even the scholar Orwell Lotheringwood could decipher.

The reason that Faustina could all think of was only one particular yet unsatisfying reason.

"Heilen."

It's because she was a Heilen.

Such reasoning wasn't far from possible, given the fact that her race was sought out by slave traders for their 'magic capability' and other things. Faustina knew that this was a convenient reasoning whenever there is something that comes out of nowhere which doesn't have an answer closest to a logical explanation.

"An unknown gem..." Faustina murmured as she once again continued to find and search for the answers in regards to her medium...

...if it did exist, that is.

**

"What an unusual gem." Leviticus murmured as he walks to the aisle of bookshelves towering above him. He was looking for Goldenfag and Folkmanor's books, which tackled many unusual things. Leviticus assumed that they would have a say on Faustina's gem, as well.

That odd, broken gem.

It was cyan in color, which isn't typically seen in staves. A cyan-colored gem—even Leviticus hasn't seen such a thing in books of minerals that he had studied back in Atziluth. He wondered what they meant, and at some point, Leviticus wondered if it is some kind of a foreign element that is yet to be found. But that was odd. If it was indeed a new gem, then it will need extensive studies.

"A broken gem… huh."

Why was it broken, anyway? Leviticus wondered. Another pressing issue about Faustina's peculiar staff was how the gem was broken as well. He wasn't sure if there's a staff with a broken gem on history—or he wasn't just looking hard enough.

Well, Leviticus ought to cut himself some slack.

There was no way a mage would be able to break their gem—it's like breaking mana, which is practically impossible in itself.

Leviticus was able to find Folkmanor's books easily about alchemy. He used wind magic to have them come down to him. The books weren't dusty at all, although they looked quite hidden atop the bookshelf.

'Thanks to magic,' Leviticus said on the back of his mind as he opens the book.

'My observation in Alchemy is like this—there is always a meaning behind how things work as they are. It's comparable to a machine; an automated object that moves on gears, something that I have seen in that world. You remove a gear, and it loses its purpose. Once that purpose is nowhere to be found, the entire machine collapses. And when it collapses, it becomes dysfunctional. That is how alchemy works—which is a step by step mechanism. Once you remove or fail to deliver a certain chant or spell adequately, the magic stops at a certain percentage which will not be resumed again. That is how alchemy works, yet not what alchemy is. Alchemy is precisely what makes magic—magic.'

Leviticus felt as if his head was spinning around. This was the problem for both Folkmanor and Goldenfag. They use jargons that only they could understand. Many scholars have tried to interpret what these two philosophers are pertaining to, but they could only come up with vague conclusions. Sometimes Leviticus wondered if they are actually from another world of some sort.

Leviticus then headed further into the library in search of Goldenfag, which isn't much further from the philosopher Folkmanor.

—

After a while, Leviticus was able to garner about five books he was fifty percent sure have the probable answer regarding Faustina's staff. The percentage was considerably low because of the rarity of Faustina's staff is closer to actually non-existence.

It wasn't that Leviticus was exaggerating things. The staves or the gems in Earthland are already recorded and there hasn't been a newfound gem or mineral for a thousand years, which led to the conclusion that perhaps—it was just to that extent.

The limits of magic.

Leviticus sat at the table he and Faustina decided to occupy. There was still time before the curfew, though they would need to hurry. Faustina could borrow the book, but it would be too unwise. If the books they had didn't have the information about her staff, then they would be back to square one and come back here again.

And yes, 'they'.

Leviticus had this odd feeling of curiosity over Faustina. It was something inevitable, and he really doesn't understand or explain how it manifested. Perhaps it was from her staff, or how she strangely held a certain presence.

But none of them constitutes whereas to why he prefers being with her.

And besides, Leviticus would be more than happy to provide assistance. He glanced towards the window. The outside showed a magnificent view of the night sky, which was bombarded with twinkling stars. Leviticus' eyes then darted to something that was considered to be one of the oldest trees in the world.

The tall tree.

The garden where the tall tree is situated is said to be harnessing guardians. Leviticus wondered if those guardians are protecting them, like how their name implies.

Leviticus began to search for information in the book.

"Ruby... sapphire... opal... amber," Leviticus murmured as he scans his eyes to the content of the text. There were specific attributes that were the littlest of the details that made up the mineral itself which was then distinguished to the text.

"A cyan-colored gem," he said. "I wonder where it is..."

Leviticus then turned to another book from Folkmanor which was specifically dedicated to his theories about alchemy.

"Unknown gem... cyan..." Leviticus began to search as he shuffles through the pages,

"No luck in here too, huh," Leviticus then shifted to Goldenfag who made his observations about mediums of magic, and classified wands, scepters, and staves.

Leviticus shuffled through the pages, hoping to take find at least something closer—or similar to the broken gem on Faustina's staff.

But there was nothing.

The reached the last of the pages but he had seen nothing else. "Am I switching pages too quickly?" Leviticus asked himself.

But he wasn't too surprised.

The gem was unique in color and appearance. It was different—too different that one may not even consider it a staff if it weren't introduced as one.

Leviticus took his time searching on the other books as he glanced occasionally at the time.

"Faustina,"

Leviticus smiled as Faustina finally arrived, walking with her hand holding one, black book.

Leviticus' smile slowly vanished as he sees the dread in Faustina's face.

"Faus—"

"Can we go?" Faustina muttered.

"Go...?"

"Go back," Faustina silently said.

"Let's go back to our dorm."