Krion and Hatsune ehe warmth of the early afternoon sun as they walked together across campus toward the tral Archives. His first css of Etiquette and Courtly Manners had been draining, and the versations that had followed had been worse, but the longer he was outside, the more his mood began to lighten. For as long as he could remember, it had always been the same. No matter the difficulty of a situation or the obstacles in his path, if he had crete, aable steps forward to address them, he could fooving forward. Css was done for the day and he finally had the time, not to mention the s of Knowledge, to figure out just what the hell was going on with House Bcksword and why he had so quickly bee the target of so many other ss at the Academy.

  “You don’t think we should take a break and head back to Banor for an hour or two?” Hatsune asked. Her witched, a habit Krion had e tnize as her way to hold back stroions. Givehing that had happened since yesterday, it was a for him she was likely trying to keep trol over. “You’ve been through a lot, and some rest would do you some good. We always go to the tral Archives ter, before di The Hearth & Ember.”

  Krion gave her a small smile but did not deviate from his path. “I appreciate your , but right now I need answers more tha. If I don’t uand the history of my own House, let alone what kind of css options I have open to me, I’m as good as lost given all the potential enemies arrayed against me.”

  Hatsune sighed but didn’t press further. “Fine, but don’t expect me to stand by and watch you overdo it.” She cut him off before he could respond, “It’s my job to keep you safe, after all. And that includes proteg you from yourself.”

  Rather than ent, Krion decided to let the admonishment from the Leporiruth be told, he was touched by the level of she was showing for him, even though she had only been his bodyguard for a number of days now. At some point, he would have to find out more about her past. He mentally added that to the long list of things he had to do, grunting in irritation at how many of them were critical to his survival. Hopefully, at some point, things will slow down a little. Perhaps once he got a css of his own.

  Soon, they came to the tral Archives. Despite having seen it multiple times now, Krion still took a moment to appreciate the bas-reliefs of who he assumed to be schors and adventurers from across the Empire’s long history. Passing ihrough a side entrahe air was cool and he breathed deeply of the faint smell of part aher. After that moment of simple enjoyment, Krion looked around for the librarian. He might be able to figure things out on his own, but he knew he could save time if he simply sought the help of someoraio provide it. There.

  Krion approached a desk that stood alone nearby where an assistant librarian — a young man with round gsses and a meticulously pressed uniform — sat flipping through a thick ledger. He looked up as Krion and Hatsune approached, immediately going into a polite bow after seeing the rank of Krion’s school uniform.

  “Good afternoon, S Bcksword,” the assistant librarian said. “How might I assist you today?”

  “I was w if you might help me track down some information. I’m looking for a primer on potential csses as well as a prehensive history of House Bcksword.”

  “I see,” the assistant librarian pulled out a sed ledger, quite a bit thicker than the first, and began writing in it. To Krion’s surprise, the words disappeared to be repced by several lines of writing. Before he could get a closer look, the assistant librarian tinued. “There are several options for both, but before I present them to you, how many s of Knowledge do you possess and which topic is more important to you?”

  Krion took a moment to think over what the assistant librarian was asking. Clearly he was being asked because the young man did not think he had enough s of Knowledge to purchase access to the best information on both. So which topic was the more important one?

  The choice should have been straightforward. A primer on potential csses would shape the foundation of his future strength, and help him figure out what his best optioo ensure his survival and success at the Academy. But even as that thought crossed his mind, it rang hollow.

  What good ower if he didn’t uand the game he ying? Or the pyers he was peting against?

  His estra from House Bcksword, the circumstances behind which he still did not knoarently did not mean he was exempt from the maations surrounding it. The attempted assassination by Dungeon roof of that. To move forward without uanding the history of House Bcksword, and far more importantly the intricate web of their allies and enemies, would be reckless, to say the least. After all, the ss who had tried to kill him weren’t ag in a vacuum. They were pawns to greater struggles within the Empire — pieces on a board whose rules he was just beginning to learn. If he wao protect himself, and those close to him, he o uand House Bcksword’s current situation.

  “My priority is whatever you provide me on the history of House Bcksword. Though, if I afford it, I would like a primer on csses still,” Krioually said. When the assistant librarian looked back up, Krion remembered the sed part of the question he had asked. “I have fifteen s of Knowledge I exge right now.”

  “Very well,” the assistant librarian said, looking back down at the lines of text that had appeared in the ledger in front of him. “With that number of s of Knowledge, and given your priorities, I would suggest The Path of Power: A prehensive Guide to Imperial Csses on to Rare, and A Brief History of House Bcksword: Foundation to Five-House War. The first is retively cheap, but a great pce to start if you haven’t spent much time looking into csses yet, and the sed is my reendation for the best volume you might affiven the number of s of Knowledge at your disposal.”

  “I uand,” Krion agreed, theated. “Um, how does this work exactly? This is my first time using s of Knowledge.”

  The assistant librarian was not put off by his question, likely because it was a on one from first-year ss who hadn’t been to the tral Archives before. Reag down, the young man opened a drawer filled with tiny gss spheres. Pulling it close to his face, the assistant librarian muttered something Krion couldn’t quite make out, causing its surface to light up with faint, glowing runes. Bringing it to the ehat had appeared in the ledger in front of him, he pressed the rgest ruo two entries. After it fshed once, he went to hand it over to Krion.

  “This simple Sphere of Inquiry will guide you to the books you seek. Simply hold it in your hand and focus on which of the two books you would like to find first. Once you locate them, bring them back here, and I will create a copy of each using the s of Knowledge you have as payment.”

  Krion aking the sphere in hand. Its surface was cool to the touch, and he closed his eyes, trating on the book about csses first. A tingliion traveled up his arm as the sphere pulsed faintly. Moments ter, a soft gloeared in the distance, deeper within the shelves of books. A thought suddenly struck him: why hadn’t he been able to use this item before to find Whispers of Bck Steel?

  The assistant librarian smiled. “You should be seeing a light now, which marks the location of the first book you need. Once you collect it, you use the Sphere of Inquiry to find the other.”

  “Thank you for your help, but I have o question before we go track the books down,” when the assistant librarian nodded for him to tinue, he did so, “if there exist such ve items like this in the tral Archives, why would any s o physically search for a book here without them?”

  “Ah, I’m guessing you previously pleted an Academy Assigo track down a missing book?” the assistant librarian asked. At Krion’s nod, he tinued, “Then the answer is these items are worthless if the book it is seeking is not properly shelved. It is only when the right book is in the right position within the specific part of the Archives that a Sphere of Inquiry be helpful.” He smiled sheepishly, looking even youhan his already young age. “That’s also why there are so many assistant librarians w here, as without us to physically verify the locations and pt of books within the Archives, it would quickly bee too chaotic to fun.”

  Krion mulled over the assistant librarian’s expnation as he returo his work. The revetion that there were magical means to trag down books, but that they only worked when they were properly shelved, was an iing ohe fact that the Archives, with its endless shelves aiculously cataloged colles, relied on the stant efforts of living staff rather than magic was both amusing and somewhat reassuring. There was something f about the imperfes of the system.

  Turning away, Krion led Hatsune in the dire of the light that only he could see. Despite it still being the afternoon, there were very few people around, with most of those being assistant librarians going about their work.

  “Are you sure this is the right way to go about it?” The Leporine woman asked him quietly, her ears twitg as they made their way down the aisles.

  “It’s the only way,” Krion said, his gaze still fixed on the distant shelves indicated by the light. “I ’t afford to make decisions blindly. Knowing the history of House Bcksword will help me anticipate how other ss will see me. And as for the primer on csses… well, it will be a starting point at least. I always spend more s of Knowledge to get a better source from here if needed.”

  The book ended up being a thie bound in rich crimsoher with golden embossing. The pages on the inside were filled with vibrant illustrations, detailed tables, and carefully writte in a yet legible script. Flipping to the table of tents to verify this was what he needed, Krion saw that it broke down the book into ses focused on csses ranging from many on to a good number of unon and finally a range of the more studied rare csses doted within the Empire’s history. There was even a se for so-called hybrid csses, which seemed to be those that were based around a range of stats rather than just a pair of them. From what he could tell in that brief look, each css entry not only provided information on how to unlock the css, but also notes on its known strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully in this book would be a css that lined up with what he wanted. Perhaps even a hybrid css of some sort. As much as he had focused on melee bat, part of him was still attracted to the idea of using magic of some sort.

  Hatsune leaned over his shoulder, witg in disapproval, her long ears dropping slightly at what she saw him looking at. “Hybrid csses? Really?” she asked. “You know those are some of the hardest to level, right? And you have to spread your free stat points around quite a bit more? They’re weaker at the start pared to pure csses. A lot of people say they aren’t worth the effort.”

  “That’s part of why I’m ied,” Krion replied, closing the book. “If they’re harder to master, then they will likely be stronger in the long run. It seems like everyone here is looking for a shortcut to power, but that’s no the kind of strength I want.”

  Hatsune sighed, crossing her arms. “I get that you’re trying to py the long game, but this isn’t just about you, Krion. You already have enemies, and you o be able to protect yourself now. A hybrid css might leave you vulnerable. And that will make my job harder.”

  Krion g her, seeing the genuine worry in her eyes. “I appreciate your , Hatsune. But if I’m going to carve out a pyself, I o think beyond just surviving the attack.” He looked around and, seeing no one else nearby, leaned closer to Hatsuh a smile. “Besides, you remember my stats? How many do I get per level…?”

  She blihen a small smile of her own touched her lips. He could practically see the gears turning in her head as she realized with that advantage, a hybrid css could be just as strong as the alternative but with greater flexibility.

  The first book found, Krion focused on the sed, which immediately caused him to notice a sed light ba the dire they had e from, though off to the side from where he had talked with the assistant librarian. Leading the way, the two of them moved past the shelves and a nearby reading table. Hatsune walked beside him, her ears flig in quiet agitation. After passing down the aisle of books, she spoke again, her voice quieter this time.

  “You know, it’s frustrating,” she said. “You get to make choices like this — what kind of css you want, how yoing to build your future. But for me, those choices don’t really exist.”

  Krion g her, his brow furrowing. “What do you mean?”

  Hatsuated, then sighed. “In the Empire, Leporine like me… we don’t usually qualify for anythier than on csses. Unlike in my homeworld, where there are a lot more options tailored for my race.” She sighed again in frustration. “There might be exceptions here, sure, but I’d been hoping to take one of the ones my family has in any case. Not like that will happen now.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair,” Krion said with indignation. “Surely there is a way we ge that.”

  “In theory, yes,” Hatsune admitted. “But it’s not easy. To qualify for a better css, I’d o find a css primer in the Archives that presents csses from my homeworld, or at least oailored to my race. Then, even if I am able to find o is likely the css that I end up deg on will be rare, and then I’d need specific materials to unlock it. Those materials aren’t just rare — they’re expensive. Way beyond what I could ever afford.”

  Krion stopped abruptly, causing Hatsuo jerk to a halt to avoid running into him. “Well, what if I helped you?” he asked. “Given what you’re saying, I already expect I’ll o traaterials for my css as well, so why don’t we work together a enough for both of us? You shouldn’t have to settle for less because you ended up in the Empire as my bodyguard.”

  “You do know how long that might take, or how expehat might be? To help me?” At Krion’s dismissive shrug, her eyes widened, and her ears perked up in surprise. “You… you’d do that? Why?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do,” Krion said simply. “I know you didn’t sign up for all this. If I help you reach your potential, then maybe we both e out of this stronger.”

  Hatsune did not respond immediately. She looked down at her hands, her expression a mix of shod ption. “I don’t know what to say,” she murmured. “No one’s ever offered me something like that before.”

  “You don’t have to decide right now,” Krion said moving again in the dire of the sed book he had e here to find. “Take some time to think about it. But if you want my help, it’s yours.”

  Hatsune nodded slowly, stepping up to keep pace at his side. “Thanks, Krion. I’ll… I’ll think on it.”

  Finding the sed book was as easy as the first. It was on a shelf full of other histories for this sector of the Empire, the Bcksword crest promily dispyed on the spine and cover. Uhe primer on csses, Krion did not open the book up to skim it, and instead only took the time to firm it was the book he aking it in hand, he led Hatsune back to the assistant librarian’s desk near where they had e into the Archives. Thankfully he was still at his desk p over a ledger.

  “Here are the books, as well as the Sphere of Inquiry,” Krion said, handing them over once he got the assistant librarian’s attention.

  Setting the ledger aside, he took them from Kriourning the Sphere of Inquiry to where he had taken it from, he theed the hand movements Krion had seen done before for the fragment of Whispers of Bck Steel. Intricate patterraced by his fingers in the air, and threads of golden light began to weave around first one book, theher. Slowly, identical copies of both books appeared beside the inal. As soon as the duplication process was plete, he stacked the inals above a bel on his desk that said returns.

  “Here they are,” the assistant librarian said, taking both magically copied books in hand. “The primer on csses will cost you two s of Knowledge, and the history of House Bcksword… well, that will be ten more.”

  Krion nodded his agreement to the pri s of Knowledge. The assistant librarian then handed both books over to Krion, and as soon as they were left in his hands, Krion received a notification of the s of Knowledge beied from his total.

  “Now, is there anything else I help you with, S Bcksword?”

  Krion shook his head, tug the books securely under one arm. “No, this is all I need for now. Thank you for your help.”

  The assistant librarian smiled warmly. ”Of course, S Bcksword. If you need anything else iure, don’t hesitate to ask.“

  Turning, Krion motioned for Hatsuo follow him. She fell into step beside him as they made their way out of the Archives.

  “You think that is all you will need?” she asked, indig both books.

  “For now,” Krion replied. “Let’s head to The Hearth & Ember. Hopefully, I’ll have some time to read before Valdre and Redrek get there.”

  I hope you all ehis test chapter!

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