Chapter Eighty-six: Interest in Innovation (Part Three)
Lessa responded with a guilty smile. “Sorry, Ma’am. I ran into Woods and Corrie on my way here, and they insisted that I join them for some sweets in the market.”
“Excuses, excuses,” muttered the woman, who looked at Alistar with kind eyes. “And how are you doing today, Mr. Silverkin?”
“I’m doing fine, thank you. I hope your day is going well, Mrs. Jadestone.”
“As good as any,” smiled the woman, who opened the door and motioned for them to enter.
“Ah, I can’t go in because I’m all wet.”
“Don’t fret, now. If I say you can come in, then you can come in.”
Alistar thanked Mrs. Jadestone and followed her and Lessa inside, though he politely turned down the woman’s offer to join in on their lesson and instead found his way over to a certain aisle that he had visited many times before.
Now that he was in a discreet corner of the vast, book-filled hall—a musty labyrinth of ancient bookshelves that were filled with countless written works—he spent the next two hours looking through different aisles in search of more detailed information about the noble houses of Mais.
Today, like several others before it, Alistar had entered the library for the main purpose of looking into his own lineage, specifically on his father’s side. Even after all this time, Caedmon was strict about keeping this part of his background a secret, having only revealed that his father had been a lesser noble from ‘a province of the Baldor Empire.’ This wasn’t much to go off of considering that each province was a vast kingdom in and of itself, not to mention that the empire in question was made up of many such provinces. Still, it was somewhere to start from. If his uncle’s words had indeed been true then there should remain some sort of record of his father’s marriage to his mother. His mother had been a princess, so surely her matrimony would have been documented.
This time around, his search finally yielded some results, however disappointing they proved to be. He’d managed to find a relatively recent book that was similar to the one that he’d initially read two years ago, The Regions of Mais and Its Noble Inhabitants, but just when he thought that he was on the right trail he stumbled upon a section of the book that had been unceremoniously removed. A single page was torn out of the part that detailed House Silverkin’s relations, which almost made him throw the book to the floor in frustration. Someone had deliberately torn this page out, and it had likely been his uncle. Who else would care to hide such things?
Calming himself, Alistar continued to look around the aisle that he was in. Although he found two more books that focused on similar topics, these were also missing the relevant sections. If only he knew his father’s surname, or even his third name. Thinking of his parents, he stared down at the book in his hand in deep dejection.
Is this why you never told me your other names?
The thought only made him more anxious. Whatever had happened to his family that had seen them doomed to live out the rest of their lives as slaves, his parents and his uncle Raidon had clearly intended to hide it from him for as long as possible.
Crystellum is in Melsian County, which is in the Kingdom of Loyarre. Perhaps father was from there?
He was very frustrated over the fact that he was ignorant of such sensitive information. Why wouldn’t his family want him to know something so important? For the first time in a while, Alistar’s eyes began to water, though he collected himself almost immediately. His parents had been wonderful people, and they wouldn’t have hid such a thing from him for no reason. Even Caedmon was making it a point to keep him in the dark about this, likely out of respect for the will of his parents but possibly for his own safety. Could it be that his family on his father’s side was just as rotten as those on his mother’s side, with the exception of Caedmon and Anice? Thinking along these lines, he felt a sudden pang of guilt that he was going against their wishes and attempting to unearth the secret on his own.
Hearing his parents’ voices as if they were right beside him, his ears were filled with an echo of the past, with the same unsatisfactory answer that many of his questions had earned him all those years ago.
You’ll understand when you’re older.
Suddenly full of heartache, Alistar placed the book that he was holding back where he’d found it and decided to shelve the thought of unearthing his background for the time being. Downcast, he slunk out of the aisle and began making his way back to the main area of the library when he almost bumped into someone, so distracted was he by his empty state of mind.
“Uncle?”
Caedmon was rifling through a book that he’d pulled from a small section that covered trinkets, inventions and innovations, and was completely immersed in its content.
“Alistar?” He blinked his tired eyes several times in surprise before throwing on a smile. “Chance running into you here, my boy. Did you just finish practicing with Tramon?”
He nodded, blushing slightly when he noticed that his uncle’s eyes were lingering on the blanket that was draped over his shoulders.
“Where did you get that?” More to himself, Caedmon continued with a laugh. “And why do I doubt that Tramon was the one that gave it to you?”
“Lessa lent it to me. I’ll be giving it back to her around dinner.”
“Ah, a good girl, that one. It would have been nice to see her, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it home for supper tonight.”
Was that the reason why Anice had invited their friend over?
Reading Alistar’s face, Caedmon added, “Anice must have had the idea after lunch today, else I’m sure she would have told me.”
“What are you reading, Uncle?”
“Ah, it’s a journal from an inventor from Providence Region, but it was written so long ago that much of the ink has smeared or faded.”
“Is it about your printing device?”
“Indeed it is. I’ve taken much of my inspiration from this nameless man, but information on him is quite scarce. Aside from a few of his journals that I discovered by chance, it’s as if the fellow never existed. He was clearly a noble, after all, and with ideas like his one would think that his name would be well known across the land.” Trailing off, it seemed as if his words had steered his thoughts in another direction, which prompted him to look over at the aisle that Alistar had just come from. “What was it that you were reading, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Alistar wasn’t much of a practiced liar.
“I…” he trailed off, knowing that his uncle had seen right through him.
Caedmon frowned, putting on a complicated look. “I told you not to look into that,” he whispered. “Please, Alistar, just leave it alone. I know you’re a curious boy and that such a thing is an obvious source of curiosity, but it’s best for everyone if you perish the thought for now.”
He nodded, feeling as if he had let Caedmon down. “I understand. I’m sorry, Uncle.”
“You’ve done no crime, Alistar. It’s only natural for you to wonder about such things. Only, the situation is very complicated, so it’s best left until you’re older. You’ll—”
“I’ll understand when I’m older. I know.”
Caedmon saw the sadness in his eyes and stooped down to rest his free hand on Alistar’s shoulders. “That you will. For now, however, there are plenty of other things that you’d be better off understanding, things that are much more enjoyable to learn about.” Looking thoughtful, Caedmon straightened up and brushed a long strand of black hair from his face. It had grown quite a bit in the last two and a half years, and was now the length of a hand and a half. “Here’s an idea. I’m about to meet with an associate of mine—a professor here at the collegia—to talk about some of the projects that we’re currently working on. Would you like to come?”
“Can I?” His uncle had been terribly busy as of late, so he was very interested in the work that was occupying so much of his time. Up until now he’d only been given vague explanations, so he was eager to learn as much as possible about the intriguing printing device that was currently in development.
“Of course, of course. Come along, Mr. Danper is waiting in his study.”
Chapter Eighty-six: Interest in Innovation (Part Three)
Lessa responded with a guilty smile. “Sorry, Ma’am. I ran into Woods and Corrie on my way here, and they insisted that I join them for some sweets in the market.”
“Excuses, excuses,” muttered the woman, who looked at Alistar with kind eyes. “And how are you doing today, Mr. Silverkin?”
“I’m doing fine, thank you. I hope your day is going well, Mrs. Jadestone.”
“As good as any,” smiled the woman, who opened the door and motioned for them to enter.
“Ah, I can’t go in because I’m all wet.”
“Don’t fret, now. If I say you can come in, then you can come in.”
Alistar thanked Mrs. Jadestone and followed her and Lessa inside, though he politely turned down the woman’s offer to join in on their lesson and instead found his way over to a certain aisle that he had visited many times before.
Now that he was in a discreet corner of the vast, book-filled hall—a musty labyrinth of ancient bookshelves that were filled with countless written works—he spent the next two hours looking through different aisles in search of more detailed information about the noble houses of Mais.
Today, like several others before it, Alistar had entered the library for the main purpose of looking into his own lineage, specifically on his father’s side. Even after all this time, Caedmon was strict about keeping this part of his background a secret, having only revealed that his father had been a lesser noble from ‘a province of the Baldor Empire.’ This wasn’t much to go off of considering that each province was a vast kingdom in and of itself, not to mention that the empire in question was made up of many such provinces. Still, it was somewhere to start from. If his uncle’s words had indeed been true then there should remain some sort of record of his father’s marriage to his mother. His mother had been a princess, so surely her matrimony would have been documented.
This time around, his search finally yielded some results, however disappointing they proved to be. He’d managed to find a relatively recent book that was similar to the one that he’d initially read two years ago, The Regions of Mais and Its Noble Inhabitants, but just when he thought that he was on the right trail he stumbled upon a section of the book that had been unceremoniously removed. A single page was torn out of the part that detailed House Silverkin’s relations, which almost made him throw the book to the floor in frustration. Someone had deliberately torn this page out, and it had likely been his uncle. Who else would care to hide such things?
Calming himself, Alistar continued to look around the aisle that he was in. Although he found two more books that focused on similar topics, these were also missing the relevant sections. If only he knew his father’s surname, or even his third name. Thinking of his parents, he stared down at the book in his hand in deep dejection.
Is this why you never told me your other names?
The thought only made him more anxious. Whatever had happened to his family that had seen them doomed to live out the rest of their lives as slaves, his parents and his uncle Raidon had clearly intended to hide it from him for as long as possible.
Crystellum is in Melsian County, which is in the Kingdom of Loyarre. Perhaps father was from there?
He was very frustrated over the fact that he was ignorant of such sensitive information. Why wouldn’t his family want him to know something so important? For the first time in a while, Alistar’s eyes began to water, though he collected himself almost immediately. His parents had been wonderful people, and they wouldn’t have hid such a thing from him for no reason. Even Caedmon was making it a point to keep him in the dark about this, likely out of respect for the will of his parents but possibly for his own safety. Could it be that his family on his father’s side was just as rotten as those on his mother’s side, with the exception of Caedmon and Anice? Thinking along these lines, he felt a sudden pang of guilt that he was going against their wishes and attempting to unearth the secret on his own.
Hearing his parents’ voices as if they were right beside him, his ears were filled with an echo of the past, with the same unsatisfactory answer that many of his questions had earned him all those years ago.
You’ll understand when you’re older.
Suddenly full of heartache, Alistar placed the book that he was holding back where he’d found it and decided to shelve the thought of unearthing his background for the time being. Downcast, he slunk out of the aisle and began making his way back to the main area of the library when he almost bumped into someone, so distracted was he by his empty state of mind.
“Uncle?”
Caedmon was rifling through a book that he’d pulled from a small section that covered trinkets, inventions and innovations, and was completely immersed in its content.
“Alistar?” He blinked his tired eyes several times in surprise before throwing on a smile. “Chance running into you here, my boy. Did you just finish practicing with Tramon?”
He nodded, blushing slightly when he noticed that his uncle’s eyes were lingering on the blanket that was draped over his shoulders.
“Where did you get that?” More to himself, Caedmon continued with a laugh. “And why do I doubt that Tramon was the one that gave it to you?”
“Lessa lent it to me. I’ll be giving it back to her around dinner.”
“Ah, a good girl, that one. It would have been nice to see her, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it home for supper tonight.”
Was that the reason why Anice had invited their friend over?
Reading Alistar’s face, Caedmon added, “Anice must have had the idea after lunch today, else I’m sure she would have told me.”
“What are you reading, Uncle?”
“Ah, it’s a journal from an inventor from Providence Region, but it was written so long ago that much of the ink has smeared or faded.”
“Is it about your printing device?”
“Indeed it is. I’ve taken much of my inspiration from this nameless man, but information on him is quite scarce. Aside from a few of his journals that I discovered by chance, it’s as if the fellow never existed. He was clearly a noble, after all, and with ideas like his one would think that his name would be well known across the land.” Trailing off, it seemed as if his words had steered his thoughts in another direction, which prompted him to look over at the aisle that Alistar had just come from. “What was it that you were reading, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Alistar wasn’t much of a practiced liar.
“I…” he trailed off, knowing that his uncle had seen right through him.
Caedmon frowned, putting on a complicated look. “I told you not to look into that,” he whispered. “Please, Alistar, just leave it alone. I know you’re a curious boy and that such a thing is an obvious source of curiosity, but it’s best for everyone if you perish the thought for now.”
He nodded, feeling as if he had let Caedmon down. “I understand. I’m sorry, Uncle.”
“You’ve done no crime, Alistar. It’s only natural for you to wonder about such things. Only, the situation is very complicated, so it’s best left until you’re older. You’ll—”
“I’ll understand when I’m older. I know.”
Caedmon saw the sadness in his eyes and stooped down to rest his free hand on Alistar’s shoulders. “That you will. For now, however, there are plenty of other things that you’d be better off understanding, things that are much more enjoyable to learn about.” Looking thoughtful, Caedmon straightened up and brushed a long strand of black hair from his face. It had grown quite a bit in the last two and a half years, and was now the length of a hand and a half. “Here’s an idea. I’m about to meet with an associate of mine—a professor here at the collegia—to talk about some of the projects that we’re currently working on. Would you like to come?”
“Can I?” His uncle had been terribly busy as of late, so he was very interested in the work that was occupying so much of his time. Up until now he’d only been given vague explanations, so he was eager to learn as much as possible about the intriguing printing device that was currently in development.
“Of course, of course. Come along, Mr. Danper is waiting in his study.”
