11.2 ▌His Past

                                    

                                          
Year 3988, 25th Day of the 8th Moon
 Ember Isle, Fliamma Kingdom, Continent of Humana


THE FOLLOWING days were as peaceful as they could get. Erkhan had left today and Orin insisted on her rest. Nonetheless, Elise never liked doing nothing so she visited the library instead. At long last, she finally went towards the history section.
She browsed the shelf and found a very thick one amongst the rows of stained book spines. The pages were already turning into a pale yellow hue and reeked from the musky scent of old wrinkled papers and long dried ink.
Her fingers brushed the embossed name 'Tales of Elith' written in fancy lettering. She flipped the pages as delicately as she could because of how thin it was. The evidence of its age was apparent unlike the other books she and different from what she had seen before. Only the front pages had contents in them while the backside was completely empty with a parchment that was almost see-through.
Once she started perusing, her focus was gripped and she simply stood there without leaving her spot. She was never fond of fantasy books but she quickly reeled in on how they fascinatedly defined the world and the beings of this place. 
From the gist of it, the Emperor's lineage were the members of the Ancient Clans and Royal Families. They were considered the most powerful humans since they could use two or more elements, unlike the ordinary Enchanters who only have one, and Mundrans with none at all.
As she delved deeper, other races were also described. If the humans were divided into three, the fairies had eight kinds which represented the eight elemental spirits of Elith which are dark, light, fire, water, plants, ground, wind, and ice.
Her index flicked through the next part which was the shifters. It was much more complex as the different types were enumerated but her eyes stuck on a single line.
Elise had to reread that part, thinking her eyes must be playing on her. But it was really stated there that the Celestial Dragon was part of the four Divine Beasts. As she skimmed more, her lips formed a perfect 'o'.
'Oh my god! There is even a unicorn and a pegasus!'
The shifters were followed by the demons. They were strictly divided based on their appearance. Those who have a mortal form and those who have grotesque features that were drawn in such a creepy manner. She could withstand horror movies but the figures shown sent goosebumps to her neck. She swiftly flipped the pages and read more.
In just a few hours, she had finished a whole row of ten books. She decided to scan for more and maybe find some clue along the way but so far there was none. The soreness from her soles was already signaling her brain to rest and she eventually went back to her seating place.
There were piles of books on the coffee table with notes sprawled around it. She grabbed one and her lips curled. 'Indeed, medicine books are still the best.'


ELISE WAS still lazing at the library when she heard the footsteps coming at her. It was already nighttime so she was sure it was him.
"Aricson, can you get me some snacks? I'm hungry," she mumbled without looking up.
After what happened in the graveyard, they usually met up in the library during the evenings. So far, she realized that they could actually see eye to eye.
And for some reason, he was extra nice to her. Way nicer to make her mistake it as something above friendly terms. Worse, she didn't mind it and was getting habituated to how he was treating her.