“This one should have the details you’re looking for,” said Meredith as she placed a well-worn tome in front of Veleria. Sitting in the corner of the guild’s archive while Adrian discussed whatever it was he was discussing in the vault, she thanked Meredith and looked the tome over. There was a stylized ‘A’ and ‘C’ on the cover, converging elegantly into a rather captivating signature. The title itself used an older version of common, but Veleria could make out most of it.
A History of Raeon III, it read. Faded below the title would have been the years it covered, but they were no longer legible. Veleria flipped through the tome, scanning it first for specific words and phrases such as Kusavah, Mallory, and the Council of Ten. As she wasn’t particularly well read, this took her some effort.
Something eventually caught her eye.
The King of Dragons, Caellach Fauror.
She rubbed her scar as it grew hot. Jackpot. Dragons were practically myth, though. Why would they call him that? She followed the name, brows knitting while she struggled with multiple passages. She closed her eyes then, taking a short break to glance around her environment. It was the first time she had been anywhere other than Adrian’s cabin since her first time in Almor. The shelves were stocked with numerous books, tomes, scrolls, and other knickknacks that clearly held value. It wasn’t dusty, and it was obvious that the resident archivist took a lot of care in the wellbeing of her many items.
Veleria was more surprised to learn that Meredith was the one who cared for the place, though. Less that it was her, really, and more that she and Adrian had the relationship they did. She seemed too intelligent to be one of his side pieces. Veleria pursed her lips at the thought and returned to skimming the tome.
Ten minutes later and she could barely accept what she was reading.
Caellach had razed Kusavah.
She didn’t even hear Meredith set a teacup beside her.
“What the hell…? Why…”
“Why what, dear?” Meredith asked, shaking Veleria from her thoughts.
“Meredith,” she cleared her throat, “do you know anything about the King of Dragons?”
The archivist looked up in thought, arms crossed below her breasts. She said, “only that Lord Cromwell appears to have thought rather poorly of him.”
Lord? So, now the lich had a title?
“The name is misleading, dear. He ruled over the elves of that region. They propped him up like a god. In fact, Lord Cromwell also referred to him as the Red God,” Meredith continued. “Knowing how Adrian would respond, if you’re interested in learning more, then I suggest asking that Auros fellow of yours.”
That was probably the right way forward. As a scribe, she doubted Auros wouldn’t know a thing or two about all this. And yet, just the thought of asking him made her feel a strange, alien sense of dread. Why did her chest hurt so much? She sighed, and smiled towards Meredith.
“Thank you for all your help. I’ll be sure to bring this up with him.”