Stronghold of education and learning, this fortress is in one of the coldest areas of Idalos and home to many knowledge seekers in a variety of disciplines. However, unknown to most, below the city are those who suffer for the sake of science. While all are welcome, not everyone will be treated as they expect.
Biting his lip, Aeodan ducked his head under the shelf, peering at the line of texts behind the first. It was unusual for the Academy to stock the shelves in such a way, but they'd had such an influx of textbooks and other sources in the past season that they couldn't afford to house them all in single lines. It made Aeodan's job that much more difficult, but did offer the opportunity to find the knowledge he was looking for.
Except... Did Aeodan even know what he was looking for? The ruins of Luthereign had offered very little in the way of surviving texts and manuscripts, leaving the foremost scholars on the subject to make anthropological profiles from the fragments of art and architecture they had discovered. Very little had survived of its literature and music, but there were some texts on the subject. And Aeodan knew they were in the Atheneum. He was determined to find something... Anything.
Bits of searching had come up fruitless. Nearly fifteen had passed as he passed by stack after stack of historical texts, bound copies that would have delighted Edalene. He paused at each title, storing each in his mind for later perusal, should he find the topic interesting. Until he stopped to analyze one that caught his attention: Old Mythologies of the Eastern Continent. Cocking his head to the side, Aeodan slipped the old text from the shelf. Its pages were heavy and yellowed, with pieces missing from certain ones. Earmarks and manually-written page numbers marked nearly every page, and from a quick scan of a page here and there, Aeodan knew it was the text he wanted. It may yield nothing in the way of his research, but there was something about old creation myths and the morality stories of a lost civilization that was awfully alluring.
Heading to a nearby table, Aeodan opened to the table of contents of the text. He scrolled past the first few points, which pointed out the Sheoran standard of living and the circumstance surrounding the downfall of the mighty city of Luthereign. Instead, Aeodan wanted to dive into the stories. The first in the text, "When the Suns Sear the Moons", sounded catchy enough to get the Burnett boy started. Flipping to page fourteen, his eyes quickly scanned the page. A wide smile spread across his face, and he nearly hurt himself trying to pack the text in his bag.
Exploding from the chair, Aeodan nearly crashed into an Eidisi, who shot him a dirty look. Over his shoulder, Aeodan offered the blue-skinned student a quick, "Sorry!" before rushing from the Atheneum. He hurried through the Academy, eyes peeled for his sister. He needed to show her his finding, and he needed to show her. Right. Now.
He finally found her exactly where she should be, in the Historian's wing. Running to her, he took several gasps of air to try and calm himself.
"Eda... Found..." He gasped harder. "Found something... For you."
He dropped his pack on the ground and yanked out the book, thrusting it at her.
"Page... Fourteen."
He'd found a Sheoran creation myth that sounded oddly like something Edalene had studied. He remembered her talking about the beginning of Idalos, and this myth paralleled it almost exactly.
Edalene worked hard. Very hard. You could tell she was serious as she had actually remembered, for once, to tie her long hair up in the ribbon that she always forgot at home. Not a wisp was out of place. She couldn't take the risk of having to stop her work to brush away a stray piece of hair. No, this required absolute concentration, and she couldn't afford any distractions.
Her tongue poked slightly out between her teeth as she bent over the parchment, her quill scratching precisely across the page. Passing members of the History Department looked curiously at her, wondering what it was she was focused so intently on, but none dared to interrupt her. She had been working for several bits - almost a break - and they all itched to ask her, but knowing from previous experience, they knew it was bad to speak to her when she was focused. A staff member once asked if she could borrow a book when she had finished with it, and her answering glare was so murderous that none dared to even ask again. Edalene was developing a bit of a reputation at the Academy. Mostly good, though. The Videnese respected hard workers.
Delicately, she dipped her quill in the ink pot next to the parchment, and furrowed her brow as she bent to work again. She was almost finished. It would only be a little bit more, and then she'd be able to sit back and admire her handiwork. She bit her lip fiercely, careful not to ruin her work. Just a little moment more. She was almost done. Almost... almost...
And then, with an 'aha!' she sat back triumphantly, placing the quill against the inkpot. It was finished! She lifted the parchment and blew on it, before smiling at her work. There, on the page, was possibly one of the most childlike and awful doodles anyone had ever seen. With wonky lines and scratches, Edalene had drawn a terrible doodle - almost stick-figure like - of their family. Duncan, and Aeodan were holding hands, and Edalene was poking out behind them, playing with her spirit bear. Said spirit bear huffed in amusement as he sat beside her, watching her work, but she ignored him. She was proud of her work - Immortals knew why - and she couldn't wait to show her family that night. It was good. She was sure of it.
And then a crash and a bang as Aeodan dropped his bag beside her. She had been so caught up in her pride that she hadn't noticed his approach. Edalene jumped with surprise, and as she did so, almost in slow motion, she knocked the ink pot with her elbow and watched in horror as it went flying over her work of art, staining it in one giant blob of ink.
"No! Fuck!" Eidisi and Humans watched wide eyed as they waited for her reaction. None of them had seen what she was working on, but they could only assume it was important, and now it was all gone. They held their breath as Edalene turned to her brother, and waited to see what she would do. Surely - Aeodan's days were numbered.
But she surprised them. She only muttered, "you ruined my art," before taking the proffered book, and turning to the page that Aeodan had said. She read the title aloud. "When the Suns Sear the Moons," she read, raising an eyebrow, gesturing for Aeodan to sit. She pushed her ruined artwork away with a twinge in her chest, before facing her brother. "What is this, Aeodan?" She waited for her brother to tell her what he was so excited about.
Aeodan's excitement turned to stony horror as he hit the inkwell. As if in slow motion, he watched as the thick black liquid overturned and spilled all over the drawing his sister had made. Eyes wide with guilt, Aeodan immediately scrambled to help clean up the mess. Luckily, the ink was all focused on the paper itself, but Aeodan still nearly bursts into tears.
"Eda... I'm so so so so sorry." His voice cracked, and he placed a soft hand on Edalene's thigh. Aeodan knew that Edalene wouldn't scream at him, but sometimes, he wished she would. He knew that she knew how strong he truly was, but she still treated him like a sick boy sometimes, and Aeodan wanted her to see him as the man he'd become.
"I just got excited. See, I was in the library, doing some light reading, and I found this book. The Old Mythologies of the Eastern Continent, I thought maybe it would have something related to the Temple, or something the Sheorans would have found in regards. But the piece I have marked... "When the Suns Sear the Moons"... It's a creation myth of the universe. By the Sheorans. Who mention a strange race of humanoids, with "brok'n legs and arms like needles." Eda... They wrote about the Shay."
He watched his sister's eyes, trying to gauge the amount of interest she'd show. Of course, it was a myth, but it could offer the two of them some insight into the knowledge the fallen civilization of Sheor had about the Shay. Or, it would reference them and never say anything else about them.
"Not to mention, it's a cute story. I thought you'd like to read it with me." Aeodan scratched at a spot of ink that had fallen on his pants, smearing it slightly. "So it's business and pleasure." He grinned, the tears still in the corners of his eyes.
"So I rushed over. And knocked over your ink. I'm still really sorry, Eda." His voice was all contrition.
"It's okay," Edalene grumbled, but there was softness in her voice. She took her hand and placed it over her brother's, wrapping her fingers through his. "Really, Aeodan, it's fine." She smiled reassuringly at Aeodan, before glancing over to the ruined artwork, ink spattered entirely over the drawing. "It was just a stupid picture."
The thing was, it wasn't. It was by no means a work of art. In fact, the drawing had been really rather terrible, and she knew it. But it wasn't a stupid picture. It was her family. It wasn't that the art itself mattered, but Edalene was filled with love for their little family. Her brother and Duncan were all she had in this world, and they were enough for her. "Really, my love, don't worry about it. I can always do another one."
Looking up, she noticed Aeodan's eyes were shiny with unspilt tears. "Hey," she said softly, leaning in and placing her other hand on his cheek. "Hey. It's not important. Really." Her fingers brushed lightly over his skin, and if they were alone, Edalene would have kissed him for comfort. Instead she just smiled, and squeezed his hand. "They wrote about the Shay, did they? You'd better show me your find, then."
Edalene looked over at the book. It was outside her field of research, but any old mythologies had probably stemmed from truth. "What do they say about them? That's ... a rather apt description." Edalene reached for the book and flipped open the pages, old and yellowing with age. "Wait... do you think maybe they saw one of them? How else would they know what they looked like?"
Edalene's heart thudded. If the Sheorans had known what the Shay looked like... not from a statue, but from a real, living being, perhaps they hadn't all disappeared in the Shattering. Edalene shuddered, remembering that strange statue in the Temple, and almost unconsciously, she passed a hand over her scar as it twinged with unease. But no. Focus on the here and now.
"Start reading it to me, love. Let's see what the Sheorans knew."
Aeodan watched Edalene, hand absently brushing his chest through his shirt. He could see the disappointment in her eyes, but he decided not to push the point further. Since the Temple, Aeodan had tried his hardest to see Edalene smile. He watched her die... He could not stand to watch her sadness.
Still, though, if there was anything that could cheer her up, it would be the Shay. And the Sheorans had written about them. Though Aeodan couldn't attest to the veracity of the mythological account, he could tell what the Sheorans were describing, even if they did not call them that.
"It's crazy. They didn't call them the 'Shay'. They called them the Principio. Look, here, this line... 'And the Principio, with brok'n legs and arms of needles, Sang to the world. And it did roil underneath them, churning like the Sea in the Storm. And from it rose a Great Mountain, standing upon the Back of The World.' Eda... It's referring to the Shay praying. But... They were praying in the open, it seems."
He frowned. The implications of the story meant that, somewhere, it was possible that the Shay had spread into the Eastern Continent. If the twins had to go to Sheor, they'd need more than just Thomas.
"Think about what that means, darling. The Shay would have been spread across the continent of Sheor as well. I... I doubt they were alive when the Sheorans accounted this, but perhaps they found a Temple too? If that's one of the Twelve Verses..."
He shrugged and set the book down in front of Edalene.
"And here... 'From Father Mountain came The Streams, made from Snow melted from the Caps.' This fits the grandeur of the Shay temples, and the old gods." Aeodan absently scratched the scar underneath his shirt. Every time he thought of Farafan or the Temple, it itched with a ghostly faintness.
"The Principio?" Edalene mused aloud. She accidentally caught the eye of one of the other Eidisi working in the staffroom, but he hurried away. When Edalene was in the zone, it was best not to disturb her - unless, of course, you were Aeodan. Edalene would make all the time in Idalos for Aeodan. Edalene leant over, grabbed a fresh piece of paper. Then realised she needed to refill her inkpot, as Aeodan had knocked it over.
"One moment, my love. Just getting some new ink so that I can take notes." Edalene smiled a soft smile, before standing and moving to the other side of the room. Edalene filled the ink pot up slowly, and took a deep breath. Breathe, Edalene. Breathe. You cannot have this reaction every time the Temple is mentioned. You promised. You promised Vri. A glance down to her blackened fingernails, and Edalene steeled herself, going back to her brother.
"I'm going to take notes," Edalene announced, sitting down next to her brother. "You know it's how I like to work." And after it was all done, she could add it to her Compendium - all her research on the Shay at the tip of her fingers in a pocket of time. Edalene made a heading, When The Suns Sear The Moons in 'The Old Mythologies of the Eastern Continent', and then turned to her brother, nodding for him to begin reading.
As he spoke, she jotted down key points or phrases - things that leapt out at her, intriguied her, or corroborated other ideas she had had. When her brother had done reading, she had a list that read:
The Shay as 'Principio' to Sheorans - before the Dragons? Lack of interaction with the dragons?
'Brok'n legs and arms of needles' - corroborated by the Statue of the Fifth Verse
'Sang to the world' - the Sheorans either heard a Shay sing or they had access to a SongStone/Temple
Singing as Prayer - Induk Idalos responded physically to this prayer
Shay Temple in the Sheor lands?
Edalene leaned back, tapping her quill against her lips as she thought with furrowed brow. "What I find most intriguing here is the idea that the Song of the Shay affected the landscape itself - do you think that means the Shay had some physical control over the land?" Edalene frowned, reaching for the book. "And this... this Father Mountain. Is that an important landscape in the Settlements, do you think? And if... if you are right... would this Father Mountain be the site of one of the Verses?"
Edalene's stomach clenched as she thought of another ordeal. But no, she told herself, no. You promised Vri. Edalene swallowed, and sent a clenched smile to her brother, eager to assuage him not to worry about her. "I still think there is some likelihood that they could have seen Shay remains - or at the very least had access to a Shay temple, and saw statues, like the... the one we saw." Edalene swallowed nervously. Stay in the present. Do not let yourself be drawn into memories.
Aeodan watched as his sister jotted down the notes. He bit his lip, staring after her hand as it flowed across the page. Something seemed strange to him, and he couldn't quite put a finger on it. It wasn't until his sister mentioned it being a site for the Verses that it struck him.
"Honestly, I don't think so. I've done extensive research on the Sheorans, and they came significantly after the Shay would have fallen. They were pretentious mages with their eye on power, wherever it could be found. If they found a true Shay temple, they would have written about it in concrete facts, studying it as analytically as they could have. They would have found a way to harness its power. I don't think they ever saw any of the Shay."
He frowned, leaning back over the text. Mythologies were often passed down by word of mouth, and it was not unlikely that some oral tradition had come close to the Shay. And perhaps the twins, with their knowledge of the Temple of Farafan, were stretching a vague creation mythology to fit what they already knew. It would not be the first time a scholar's conjecture was built upon pre-conceived notions.
"I mean, it seems almost too coincidental. But what if the Sheorans were literally just talking about some creatures they saw raising the earth? I'm sure there are plenty of spirits that can do so. If they were manifested, and then the story grew... I don't know, Eda. Maybe?"
He would ask Envoy, but the spirit hadn't manifested to him in a trial or so. Aeodan imagined the creature had returned to wherever it was it had come from, and thus Aeodan could not question it. Instead, he kissed Eda's head, smiling.
"If the Sheorans had note-takers like you, we'd know everything they knew. That is impressive." He smiled at her, tapping his fingers. "Unfortunately, those arrogant bastards only knew how to write their successes."
Edalene was both glad and disappointed at Aeodan's theory. If the Sheorans had not seen a Shay or their Temples, it meant that their theories were incorrect. But it could possible be worse if they had. As Aeodan said, the Sheorans were power hungry mages. Who knows what kind of desecration they could have done to the Verses? They could find another Farafan, this time tortured by mortals rather than Immortals. Edalene shuddered to think - how many more Shay gods were trapped in torment? Or was Farafan the last? And which of the two options were worse?
"That makes sense," Edalene said, though there was disappointment in her voice. "All sources I've seen corroborate the idea that the Shay were myths and legends only. Only protohumans could have seen them, and they did not have the intelligence yet to communicate these ideas to those after the Shattering. If the Sheorans had written about the Shay, we would have known it by now. Still..." Edalene trailed off. "It would be heartening to know we weren't the only ones who knew the truth. It would make it easier."
And what a purpose it was that they were burdened with. To save a god of a race that Idalos believed to never have existed... Edalene swam under the pressure.
She shook her head, pushing her hair back behind her ears. She bent over the parchment and scrawled over the notes she had already taken, making some amendments. "What do you think of this, then? I tried to track our thought process. It's easier that way, so later if we need to go back to our original theory, we can."
The Shay as 'Principio' to Sheorans - before the Dragons? Lack of interaction with the dragons?
The 'Principio' potentially as the Shay, but come from an oral tradition or myth - not physical sightings of the Shay
'Brok'n legs and arms of needles' - corroborated by the Statue of the Fifth Verse - NB: Where did this image come from then?
'Sang to the world' - the Sheorans either heard a Shay sing or they had access to a SongStone/Temple - song as religious/creational to the Sheorans. Whether this is related to Shay'ava is unknown.
Singing as Prayer - Induk Idalos responded physically to this prayer
Shay Temple in the Sheor lands?
Edalene leaned back, stroking her chin. Unbeknownst to her, she left a large streak of ink over her skin as she did so. "I think you're right about it being too coincidental. Maybe we're looking for the Shay everywhere we go. Song is an important part of any culture; it does not need to be the Shay. Still..." she mused, narrowing her eyes. "I think the reference to the physicality of the Shay to be interesting. What other creatures looked like that?" Of course, there were spirits in all strange shapes and sizes, but it seemed to correlate too perfectly to the statue in the Temple.
Edalene looked up with surprise as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Oh, shush," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "All I've done is write some notes that have taken us back to square one." The smile faded from her face, and she glared at the parchment with the notes. "I just wish I felt like I was getting somewhere." She shook her head. "We need to find another of the Verses. Only then will we know more. But where on earth do we start with that?"
Aeodan watched as she scratched out her notes, a wistful smile on his face. Often, this was how historical research went, especially with theoretical history like the Shay. Except, the Shay weren't theoretical history. Edalene and he had seen the proof. They'd seen the Fifth Verse, and they had confirmation that the Shay existed. But, of course, they couldn't bring the proof with them. Not until they figured out how to free Farafan without killing Narav.
Or, at least, without Edalene knowing that Aeodan killed Narav.
But still, Edalene was right. Their knowledge of the Shay may be concrete, but it was severely limited. They were grasping at straws to find any morsel of knowledge they could in the histories of other nations, and even if they were talking about the Shay, it was all conjecture. The only person who knew as much as them was the professor, and he was still recovering in Rynmere.
"I have to go to the Settlements next season, but when I return, we will begin our search again. I should be able to leave the excavation findings to the Academy, and that means that we can take our search abroad. If we claim it's for the Academy, we may even be able to get them to allow us transport."
He smiled deviously, winking at his sister. Looking back down at her notes, though, something came to him.
"While I'm in Andaris, I'll pop in on Thomas. Maybe he has heard something else about a possible Temple location, or has anything that can start us on our way. Who knows, maybe I'll convince the old man to come with us again. Yvithia knows we wouldn't have made it last time if he hadn't distracted Farafan."
He smiled weakly, but it was true. Had Thomas not distracted Farafan, it would have eaten them both and spit out their bones into the piles that surrounded it.
"Let's do that. Let's take a breath from the Shay search for now, and just enjoy each other's company until I have to leave. Let's clear our heads, talk to Thomas, and see what we can do when I get back. Does that sound fair to you, my love?"
He kissed her forehead and looked into her eyes expectantly. He knew she'd agree, because they both wanted to savour the remaining trials until he left for Oakleigh.
Edalene chuckled at Aeodan's wink, smiling fondly at her love. "You're ridiculous," she laughed. "But yes - we couldn't tell them it was for the Shay, though. They'd never allow it. They seem to think I'm a raving lunatic." Edalene scowled in the direction of the other scholars in the room, resenting their disbelief. She had begun to think she didn't want to Academy to have their name on her findings. It should belong only to the Burnett twins. And Thomas, of course.
Edalene smiled at the mention of the professor. She thought of him often, about the lengths he had gone to to save the twins from Farafan. He had sacrificed his own magic, something intrinsic and part of him, for Edalene and Aeodan - and Edalene would be forever grateful. Though the Temple held horrors she had not expected, it had changed the course of her life, and she could not resent that. "I hope you do convince him," she said. "I'd love to work with him again. I'm a bit jealous you get to see him. Please send him all my regards."
Edalene began busying herself tidying up her desk. Unlocking a pocket of time, she brought forth her Compendium, which magically opened itself up to the page she had dedicated to information for the Shay. She wrote the heading of her notes, and touched a finger to the heading. The notes, in their crossed out state, folded themselves into the heading. Later, when touched, they'd scroll down the page, unfolding themselves as she had written them.
Putting her Compendium back into Time, Edalene turned and smiled, bending forward to brush a soft kiss to his cheek. "You're right. Let us just enjoy ourselves." Edalene stood, collecting her books and her bag, before holding a hand out to her brother for him to take. "Let's go home. I'm hungry, and you're going to cook for me," she laughed, before they left the staffroom to go home.
