Absolute Understanding, Part I
Aonva tried to keep her breathing level as she approached the west tower. She clutched a summons from Lady Emgard in her hand. Despite the explicit note “You are not in trouble”, Aonva couldn’t stop herself from imagining everything that could possibly go wrong. She tried to organize her mental library, but even that couldn’t stop her anxiety from running rampant.
She turned into the corridor that led to the door. Flashes of two years ago came to her mind, the time Roshil had picked the lock. Even though Roshil didn’t break the rules so blatantly anymore, Aonva still worried about her.
“Apprentice Aonva.”
Aonva jumped. She’d been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Lady Emgard standing next to her. She stood at attention.
“Apologies, My Lady!” Aonva shouted louder than she’d intended.
Lady Emgard smiled at her, and she felt calmer. Her anxiety eased up somewhat, although it never left entirely.
Lady Emgard unlocked the door and led her through. Then she opened the second door and beckoned Aonva inside.
The chambers were decently sized, certainly bigger than any apprentice’s. Lady Emgard led her through a sitting room into a room covered with books. Lady Emgard pulled up a chair and motioned for Aonva to sit.
“Welcome to my study,” Lady Emgard said. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Aonva didn’t think she’d ever be comfortable in Lady Emgard’s study. She doubted most masters had ever been inside, but here she was, a third year apprentice, invited by Lady Emgard herself. She wanted to read every book she could see. Which ones hadn’t she read? She wished she and Roshil had figured out their book reading spell.
“I brought you here because the court has recovered something of great value. Umkanokseh helped us find it, and now, I’m sharing it with you.”
Lady Emgard took a book from the table beside her and handed it to Aonva. It looked new, although slightly worn. Aonva leafed through it. The ink still glistened. This book had been written recently.
“The original, which we put away for safekeeping, was written by a man called Veran. He was somewhat eccentric, but he had a fascination with dragons. One dragon in particular, which was why we’ve spent a lot of time tracking him down. There aren’t that many dragons in the world, but even so, they don’t know much of one another’s lives. They mostly keep themselves to themselves, rarely even speaking with humans.”
“Thank you so much for letting me speak with Umkanokseh!” Aonva blurted. “I know I didn’t say much, but it was a privilege even seeing her. That was amazing! I… I still don’t know what to say!”
Aonva closed her mouth before she rambled on and embarrassed herself even more in front of Lady Emgard.
“It wasn’t my decision, it was Apprentice Roshil’s. Without you, I doubt if she would’ve spoken to Umkanokseh at all. And this,” she motioned to the book, “might not have entered our possession.”
Aonva trembled. She tried to speak, but all she could manage was a few squeaks.
“The council has already read the book you now hold. It has a lot to offer, but I wanted a fresh set of eyes on it. You are in a unique position, Apprentice Aonva. You’re clever, and you put pieces together that the rest of us don’t. That’s why I’m letting you borrow that.”
“Thank you,” Aonva squeaked.
“You’ve earned it. I think you’ll find it quite captivating. I certainly did. There are, however, a few rules.”
Aonva looked up from the book that she’d already started reading. Her first impression was confusion, but she was sure if she kept reading, everything would start to make sense.
“First, you must show this to no one. This includes Master Kaernin and Apprentice Roshil. The former has been informed that you have something in your possession that he’s not allowed to see.”
Aonva nodded, hoping she could keep it a secret. It would be easy enough not to show it to either of them, but she was worried she’d start on another panicked ramble.
“Second, do not discuss its contents with anyone apart from me. This specifically includes Apprentice Roshil.”
That would be tricky. Aonva loved talking to Roshil. She was the only person who always listened. When Aonva got excited, Roshil would be excited simply because Aonva was.
“I… Roshil might be…”
“Turn to page 15, and you’ll see why I say this.”
Aonva turned to page 15 and started reading.
I found him. After all this time, I found him. Valignatiejir, the great dragon of fear. I stayed far away so he wouldn’t sense me. Records of him date back centuries, millennia. There’s no telling what he can do.
Aonva looked up at Lady Emgard.
“It’s all like that. Veran was obsessed with Valignatiejir. It goes back decades. You may learn a lot about him, but you may not speak his name when Apprentice Roshil is near. Only take the book out in your room or in here. If you are having trouble, talk to Lord Grund. You may tell him about the book.”
Aonva looked down at the black book. An imprint of a dragon’s claw adorned the cover.
“Valignatiejir was the dragon that hurt her, wasn’t he?”
Lady Emgard stared at her with a gaze that could see into her soul. Aonva quivered with terror.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to speak out of turn! I just… Roshil won’t say, of course, but after hearing the name from Umkanokseh, who didn’t explicitly say it, but the way Roshil reacted I thought it must’ve been him.”
“You didn’t speak out of turn. It was Valignatiejir. Read the book, and it will answer most of your questions. I hope it proves helpful to you.” She got to her feet, if a little shakily. “Do not stay up all night reading it.”
Aonva got to her feet. “I won’t, I promise.”
Lady Emgard showed her out. Aonva carefully put the book in her bag before leaving.
“Thank you, My Lady.”
“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Apprentice Aonva. Please, take care of yourself.”
“I will!”
Aonva left the west tower in a slight daze. She’d barely left the corridor when she bumped into Roshil.
“Hello!” Roshil beamed at her.
Aonva smiled back. Another great thing about Roshil: She was always happy to see Aonva.
“Everything okay?” Roshil asked.
“Fine. Lady Emgard… um… had an assignment for me.”
“Great! We can work on it tomorrow. Unless you wanted to cut curfew.”
“What? No! We’re not going to cut curfew!” She looked around to make sure no one had heard Roshil say that. “Don’t say things like that!”
“If we’re not cutting curfew, then we need to get going, because it’s almost curfew.”
“Right.” Aonva hadn’t realized it was that late. How long had Roshil been waiting for her?
“What’s the assignment?” Roshil asked as they started walking to the north tower.
“Oh… um… I’m not allowed to say.”
“Oooh! Secret assignment!”
Aonva nearly laughed at how excited Roshil looked. It was good to see her friend happy after seeing Umkanokseh a few weeks ago.
“Yes, I guess so.”