Chapter 39: Arc III Chapter 5

III

---

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

---

Arc III Chapter 5

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---

“Here, my notes, I doubt you can read them anyway.“ Nelaeryn presented her with his notes. Not that they were of any use to the doll-loving country pumpkin. They were written in Alfreikian. As if the plebeian peasant could read them. Education was a rare good among humans, a privilege of the few and rich.

 

Aurora stared at his writing. The letters were ... cryptic, to say the least. Unrecognisable in shape and form, alien. Nevertheless, they appeared ... familiar, as if once known.

 

Aurora kept staring at the notes, equally lost and at a loss, unable to decipher the incomprehensible text before her eyes. The letters didn't trust her, their content.  Beaten by a piece of writing. Such a shameful display.

 

Nelaeryn relished in her defeat. He celebrated his moment of victory with a petty grin. He was a terrible loser, and a terrible winner. He knew she couldn't read.  

 

Nelaeryn poked her nose. He had scored a victory, restoring his hurt manly pride. “Told you so, country pumpkin.“

 

“You are such a meanie. You knew, didn't you?“ The girl puffed up her cheeks. Such a predictable reaction.

 

Nelaeryn grinned. Having the upper hand warmed his heart. Victory made him magnanimous, not to say arrogant. “Doesn't matter. Victory is victory.“

 

Aurora grumbled. “But I must say your handwriting is pretty. Your letters are beautiful. Elegant, yet simple. No wasted movement, requiring the smooth guidance of a firm hand.“

 

“How flattering.“ Nelaeryn cleared his throat. Finally, someone acknowledged his calligraphy.

 

Aurora merely smiled. A healthy dose of tactical flattery never hurt. Nelaeryn thought highly of himself. Despite his numerous years, youthful naivety and vanity still guided him. He should know better.

 

Nelaeryn held his head high, flattered by her simple words. His mood visibly improved.

 

“You are a smart girl for being a human, and smart girls deserve a reward. Didn't you asked me what we are doing?“

 

Aurora nodded.

 

“Have you ever heard about archeology?“

 

“Not that I know.“ Aurora tilted her head.

 

“Archeology is the study of the past. Arwing and I are both archaeologists. We try to preserve the past.

 

We are preserving the past through our efforts for future generations. Sadly, much knowledge was lost.“  

 

Nelaeryn soliloquised again. He liked his own voice a bit too much. Not that Aurora cared. A talkative fool was an useful fool to extract information from. Better not to interrupt him.

 

“The beginning of the past millennium was a time of chaos and lawlessness that plunged the world into centuries of darkness and illiteracy. The Weltenbrand was a dark age of destruction and peril that pushed civilisation to the brink of extinction.

 

You are reading story Schwarz -‖- Der Wille zur Macht at novel35.com

Scholars still disagree about the causes of the events. It's an era now mostly confined to the realm of myths and legends. We only know that the War in Heaven brought untold devastation to the land. Entire cities were razed from the map, vast stretches of land depopulated.

 

Even our forefathers took part in the war, long before the foundation of Alfreik. We elves fought at the side of our ancient ma... at the side of humans of Valyria, the pearl of the north.

 

Unfortunately, we don't know more. Few sources survived these troubling times, and those that did are unreadable. Valyrian and Valentian are both dead languages at this point. Old Arcadian and High Alfreikian still carries some elements, but beyond that, traces are sparse. We speculate ...“  

 

Aurora touched her temples. Her headache returned. A sharp pain befell her, like a knife driven into her skull. Nelaeryn's tale sounded familiar, yet different from what her tutors instructed her in.  From one moment to the next, she saw things much clearer.

 

Nelaeryn noticed her absence. “Hey, are you listening?“

 

“... There is something I don't understand.“

 

“... Such as?“ Nelaeryn raised an eyebrow.

 

“Unless I am mistaken, Valyria was a ... human city state, wasn't it?“

 

“Yes.“

 

Aurora smiled. “Don't you see it, you are contradicting yourself, my friend.“

 

Nelaeryn dismissed her. “Tsss, what would a human like you even understand? The intricacies of history are beyond you anyway.“

 

Aurora smirked with dark, calculating glee. Old habits died hard. A glimmer of her true self resurfaced. “If you think so. You are quite sure you are privy to the truth, but history is a delicate art. Looking beyond bias and narratives is not an easy task.“

 

Nelaeryn narrowed his eyes. “Stop obfuscating, what's your point?“

 

“You elves take considerably pride in your lineage. Some more. Some less."

 

“You are right, we are a proud and noble race, proud of our origins, proud of our superior intellect and magic talent. “

 

Aurora listened faithfully. “That might be true, but if the elven race is the crown of creation, blessed by spirits themselves, tell me, what are you doing here in Valentia?

 

Why are you here? Why are you studying the ruins of an ancient human civilisation? Don't you have any ruins of your own glorious and splendid past?“

 

Nelaeryn stiffened like petrified. His widened eyes betrayed his shock.

 

Aurora grinned. She got him where she wanted. Her lips moved on their own, privy to knowledge no simple girl should possess. “Am I not right? I noticed your slip of the tongue. It was masters what you wanted to say, wasn't it?

 

Considering your unglamorous past, you elves sit on quite a high horse for a race of uplifted slaves.“

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---

 

You can find story with these keywords: Schwarz -‖- Der Wille zur Macht, Read Schwarz -‖- Der Wille zur Macht, Schwarz -‖- Der Wille zur Macht novel, Schwarz -‖- Der Wille zur Macht book, Schwarz -‖- Der Wille zur Macht story, Schwarz -‖- Der Wille zur Macht full, Schwarz -‖- Der Wille zur Macht Latest Chapter