There are several conflicting accounts of the various dragons, as well as the different breeds of dragonkin. Wyrms are, by their very nature, varied. But for this reason, we must focus on the different types of dragons in the world, currently and historically. Dragons are thought to be associated not only with the Elements but also with the different areas of magic. But again, there are conflicts within the stories and histories, claiming that dragons are either devious subjugators or remnants of a lost civilization that predated written history. However, it’s doubtful that any dragon would talk with a member of one of the races that has hunted them almost to extinction. — Excerpt from Wyrms: A Comprehensive Compendium, Author Unknown

  “Frozen night? Oh, you mean the riddle! Wouldn’t there be a quest marker on your map? And what about the first part? Did you find the beast?” Eric asked. He looked from Harper to me, waiting for an answer.

  Vessa chose that moment to make her entrance, undraping herself and perching on my shoulder. She chirped happily at Eric, who sat forward in his chair, mouth agape.

  “Is... is that a dragon?” the old Wizard asked.

  “She is, and her name is Vessa,” I replied. Vessa hopped onto the table, landing on a stack of books, which barely shifted under her. Careful not to damage the covers, she settled in and looked curiously at the Wizard.

  “He looks old, but nice! Could you tell him I say hello?” She thought, vocalizing a chirp.

  “Vessa wants to say hello to you,” I said. “She can’t form words with her mouth just yet, just speaks in my mind.” I moved closer and gave her head a rub. She pressed her head into my hand, the knobs that might be horns someday rubbing more roughly.

  Eric looked between the two of us and grinned. “Fascinating! I’ve got a few books about dragons, all very old. None of them mentions the building of a telepathic link with a human or otherwise.”

  The little dragon perked up at that. “He has books about dragons? Are there pictures? Ask him if I can see them!”

  “Vessa, you can’t read,” I replied. She turned her little head to look at me. “Okay, I’ll ask him. Vessa wants to know if she can see those books and if they have pictures.”

  “I mean, she can. If I remember correctly, one of them does. But—”

  The baby dragon jumped into the old Wizard’s lap and cuddled against him. “Thank you, thank you! This is so exciting!” Vessa thought.

  Eric started laughing as I relayed her message and gave her a gentle hug. “I’ll have to retrieve it, but yes. We can look at it.” The little dragon chirped happily, and Eric looked around at all of us, the guards included. “It’s on the third floor, so let’s get moving.”

  The old Wizard stood up, hugging Vessa to his chest, and led us out of his office. We all followed him out and up the main staircase. The carpeted steps muffled the footfalls of even the guards with their steel-covered boots. I tried to think back to when I had been here before, and I could not remember if the stairs had been bare marble or not.

  Come to think of it, I hadn’t even focused on them. The number of books was so overwhelming that it was hard to take everything in. And my mind had been on...

  Arilyn.

  I could almost see her here, browsing the shelves at length.

  We passed the second floor and gazed upon several tables and reading areas spread out. There is so much room, why isn’t this place filled with people? It was very odd. “Hey, Eric? Why is it that this library isn’t filled with people?”

  Eric glanced over his shoulder briefly. “Usually, it is, but today is not a Public Library Day. Three days a week, the Royal Library is open to everyone, and it is just a wonderful time of chaos. I have several staff and volunteers who help me deal with the adults and children who come to read,” he said.

  Looking around, I could imagine the library flooded with people, young and old, reading and studying everything from fictional stories to history. It brought a smile to my face. It reminded me of home.

  “We also have visiting scholars and dignitaries given special permission on the other days to visit, but they are few and far between,” Eric continued. “The citizens of Kathelon, however, have embraced the Public days with an energy tantamount to festival days! Why, when we first started it, almost nobody came, but then people were bringing their kids to...”

  I stopped listening when I stepped onto the third floor. My jaw dropped. An errant sunbeam enveloped a shorter woman clad in a simple dress, her head uncovered. The light played across her curls, giving her almost a holy quality. I had been imagining seeing her here. It was as if my mental meandering had manifested the embodiment of everything missing from my life until that point.

  “Arilyn?” I asked tentatively.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  She turned, and her eyes widened. “Finn?” she replied. “Finn! You’re finally here!” She smiled and rushed over to me with a forgotten book in her hands. When she noticed it, she handed it to one of the guards. He nodded and slipped his crossbow onto his back and took the book from her.

  Arilyn took my hands in hers and looked over my face, noting my full beard.

  Blushing, I looked down at her. “You are the last person I expected to see today.”

  “Oh, should I leave, then?” she asked, with a hint of humor around her eyes. “Because—”

  “No! I only meant... it’s nice to see you,” I replied. The whole thing had me at a loss. All I had planned to do was to let Eric know about Juan and maybe get some answers before going to talk with the Allied Army. But with Arilyn here, maybe it could be more.

  “Good,” she said and got closer to me, tilting her face up for a kiss.

  “A-hem!” grunted Eric, looking at us disapproving. “This is a library! Miss Arilyn, you of all people know better.”

  Her face went bright scarlet, and she stepped back from me. “You’re correct, Wizard Eric. You’ll have to forgive me. I... I have work to do,” she said, deferring to the old man like he was her uncle or father. She gave me a small smile. “I’ll see you later. Okay, Finn?”

  Before I could reply, she hurried off. I watched her snatch the book she had handed off and hustle back to a full cart. She pushed the thing farther away from us, stopping only to shelve a few volumes. Vessa watched her go with a curious intensity.

  Eric chuckled. “Ah, to be young again.”

  “You know she’s one of Missana’s charges, right?” Harper said. “I don’t know how she’d feel about you ordering Arilyn around like that.”

  Vessa tore her eyes away from the fleeing woman and chirped impatiently at the Wizard cradling her.

  “Right, so the book I was talking about should be on shelf three-hundred-forty-six,” Eric stated. The old wizard moved to the right of the staircase, and within minutes had found the book and opened it on a nearby table for Vessa to look over.

  Once Vessa was engrossed in the book, Eric turned to Harper and me. “Quite the remarkable little creature, isn’t she? The reference to Vessa as a beast, not so much. We should, however, move on to your question about the frozen night,” he said, motioning for us to sit down before doing so himself. “From what I remember, and I am going to have to verify this, there is no agreement as to whether it was an area of perpetual darkness, or an individual locked in place by extreme cold. Each and every treatise on the subject of the riddle agrees on one thing: none of it is clear. There are references to the One True Light in other works, suggesting that it is a holy artifact of some sort, though none of the Gods of Temberis claim it as theirs. I have it on good authority that it is not of the Gods, but something from before the creation of this world and its connected System.”

  I did my best to pay attention to what Eric was saying, but my eyes sought the far shape of Arilyn on the other side of the massive library, where she was shelving books. Why was she here, working for Eric? Didn’t she have other duties for the Storyteller? Yet here she was.

  “So, no one knows anything about the frozen night or knight?” I asked.

  Eric shook his head. “Not necessarily. There is one person I’m aware of who might know the answer.”

  Harper frowned. “If you’re thinking of who I think you are... Juan wouldn’t like that.”

  “Wait,” I said, confused. “Who the hell are you talking about?”

  “He’s talking about the Lich,” Harper said with disgust.

  Things went downhill from there, what with Eric and Harper arguing over whether there was any merit to meeting with the Lich. There was something about payment in kind, and being taken advantage of. I was pretty sure that they didn’t need me there for the argument. Honestly, I had already decided that I would need to talk with the Lich at some point. It made sense for me to do so, as he would likely have had the answers to several questions. Compensation for those answers would have to be worked out, as there was no telling what the Lich would want.

  “This book is amazing, Finn! Can we keep it?” Vessa asked.

  No, it belongs to the library. But we can find out if there is a bookstore that we could buy a copy from, I thought at her. Are you going to be okay if I go talk with Arilyn?

  Vessa looked up from the book, cocking her head to the side. “I’m okay here. But you should know that there is definitely something different about her.”

  I nodded and got up. The only people to notice were the guard captain, who sent the three guards to follow me as I walked around the third floor of the library to talk with Arilyn.

  It was irritating that they were following me for what I hoped would be a private conversation. It couldn’t be helped, though, so I did my best to ignore them as I got to where I could see her. “Hey Arilyn! Wait up!”

  She glanced in my direction and, seeing me coming, finished shelving some books while she waited for my arrival.

  “I see you have an honor guard,” she said, eyeing the men and woman flanking me.

  “Less of an honor guard, more of a kill-me-if-I-do-anything-untoward thing,” I replied awkwardly. “Anyway, how are you? And what’s with the whole librarian thing you have going on here?”

  “Oh, I had some questions for the Royal Wizard, and I hoped that if I stuck around for a couple of weeks, maybe you’d come by,” she said. “And here you are.”

  “That’s a big hope. I could have died in those caves,” I said quietly. I pulled a chair out from the nearest table and sat down. “Almost did.”

  Pulling out a chair herself, Arilyn sat so that our knees touched. “What happened?” she asked with concern.

  My mind filled with the memory of pain from the trap that broke my leg, the rushing through the chambers of the mole people, to the fight with Jerseil. I shuddered. “The demon. It was Jerseil. He...” I gritted my teeth and slammed my fist on the table. “Fuck him! He pretended to be my friend. He tried to kill Vessa. And me.”

  She grabbed my fist and squeezed it. “Hey, don’t do that to yourself. You couldn’t have known,” she said firmly. “Not everyone is what they present themselves to be. Sometimes, they don’t even know. But you... you’ve changed, Finn. What happened to that boy who was open to the world, who didn’t know the world?”

  I looked at her sadly. I was still angry about everything that had happened. And there was an unfamiliar ache in my chest, joining all the rest. As cliché as it sounded, I had a fire raging within me, one that hungered for revenge. The more I thought about it, the angrier I was at the Steel Falcons. They interrupted my tutorial. Chased me across two kingdoms and through the mountains. Then they killed my mentor, my friend.

  “I had to grow up,” I said. “Without Juan, I have to make the choices. Harper isn’t in a place right now to deal with things, so I must.” I looked away, toward the shelves of countless books. This was not going the way I wanted.

  “Then I’m just going to have to help you,” she said. With a touch, she turned my face, so that I was looking into her eyes. “You don’t need to go through this alone, Finn. Let me help.”

  I really wanted to say yes.

  To that end, I am going to have to drop my posting schedule from 5 days a week to 3 days a week starting February. I hate to do it, but I have to take care of myself so that I can succeed academically and keep the quality of my chapters as high as possible for ya'll. I have one more class after this, then I'll be done with my grad program (yay!).

  TLDR: School important, switching from M-F postings to MWF postings starting February.