Aria's POV
I still hated the fact that I had to be escorted everywhere I went. But beggars can't be choosers. I decided to ignore the annoyance I was starting to feel about it as I had no choice.
'I am doing this for the greater good' was the mantra I kept repeating to myself whenever I was starting to feel suffocated or annoyed at my situation.
I sat at the small round table in the royal archives. It had stacks of dusty old books and scrolls. The more we went through them, the more they seemed to never end.
Namarie and Lyra were with me, both of them going through ancient texts and making notes. They both focused more on books in other languages and left the others to me.
My eyes were getting blurry. It has been hours since I arrived here. We took a short break for lunch and continued.
I dropped the book I was going through, frustrated. It was about plants and herbs used for healing and as much as it was probably an important topic, it was not what we were looking for.
"No luck?" Namarie looked up at me with a little smile probably sensing my frustration.
Lyra, who had been quiet for most of the day, suddenly looked up from the scroll she was translating at Namarie's voice.
"Let's take a break, if I see read another word on how to grow the perfect orchid I'll lose my mind" Namarie exasperatedly stated.
Lyra and I exchanged a look and burst into laughter
"Orchids?" Lyra repeated still amused. "Who writes a whole book about that?"
Namarie chuckled. "Apparently, someone who's very passionate about orchids. This book talks everything from soil composition to pruning techniques."
I raised an eyebrow. "And I thought mine was bad."
Namarie grinned.
The conversation soon evolved into talks of their childhood.
I found out that they were both childhood friends of Kael which further confused me.
I looked at Lyra and Namarie, my mind still reeling from the conversation. "I've been confused about something," I said, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "If you all left Everia more than a century ago, how are you still alive and young?"
Lyra and Namarie exchanged a glance, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something like concern in their eyes. But then Lyra smiled and leaned back in her chair.
"Ah, that's a good question, I thought Kael already told you though" she said. "You see, when we left Everia, we didn't exactly age in the same way that we did before."
I frowned, not understanding. "What do you mean?"
Namarie leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with interest. "We're not entirely sure how it works, but it seems that the magical energies that permeate this world have a…preserving effect on us. We don't age in the same way that we did in Everia."
I felt a shiver run down my spine as I listened to her words. It was both fascinating and unsettling to think about.
"So, you're saying that you're…immortal?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around the concept.
Lyra nodded. "In a way, yes. But we can be killed and injured, but we don't fall sick easily.
And as long as we stay in this world, we remain kind of frozen in time, so to speak."
I sat back in my chair, my mind reeling with the implications.
I looked at Lyra and Namarie, they were more than a century old, and yet they looked and acted like people in their mid-twenties. It was both amazing and terrifying to think about.
I pushed the thoughts aside, trying to focus on the present moment. But I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this world, and to the people in it, than met the eye.
Lyra's eyes seemed to cloud over as she spoke, her voice filled with a mix of sadness and nostalgia. "We don't age like those without magic, here." she said, her words barely above a whisper. "The ancient one's blood runs in our veins. It was one of the reasons we were hunted."
"People were already envious of us because we had magic, we were considered the upper class, the ruling class," she continued. "That envy quickly turned to hate. They were more than us, and when the Eldrids fell and the magic was gone, we were hunted like animals."
Lyra's eyes seemed to glaze over, lost in thought, as she continued to speak. "Those who managed to escape were led by Kael to the waterfall. He was in his late teens then. We all owe our lives to him."
I looked at Lyra, seeing the admiration and maybe even love in her eyes for Kael and for a moment I wondered if there was something more between them. I shook my head at the thought. Even if there was more, it was none of my business.
"When we arrived here, it was nothing but a vast plain land," Namarie said, her eyes gazing off into the distance as if remembering a distant past. "We built everything from scratch. We learnt and adapted."
"Magic made things easier for sure," she said, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "But it wasn't as strong as it was in Everia. Only a handful of people were able to wield magic. The mages, mostly and Kael. The others have a more subtle form of magic, only able to perform simple tasks." Namarie explained.
I realized this was an opportunity to fish for information since they both seemed so forth coming with it.
"Kael mentioned something about dangerous creatures but he never explained…" I trailed off hoping she'll take the bait.
"He was probably talking about the A'shae" Namarie said thoughtfully.
"A'shae?" I questioned.
"A few years ago the A'shae came. We had no idea where they came from, all we knew was that they kept evolving and multiplying in large numbers."
"They started out as small predators easily killed. They only hunted at night, and our magic killed them quickly. Then they started evolving, they grew in both size and numbers, getting harder to kill."
"We soon realized that they had started feeding on our magic. Instead of killing them, it made them stronger and faster. But we realized too late. They had populated massively."
"Kael had everyone evacuate the cities and towns and relocated everyone here. He and our warriors drove the A'shae to the outskirts and gathered the strongest mages, together they created a barrier the A'shae couldn't penetrate."
"They've tripled in number and are currently wearing the barrier. Which is partly why we are desperate to find the crystals. If they manage to break through, not even Kael would be able to save us this time." She finished.
I let out a deep sigh at this new piece of information. "Thank you for telling me" I said meaning it. I was glad she told me, at least I now knew the full extent of what was at stake.
Namarie smiled at me, her eyes filled with warmth. "You deserve to know the full extent of what you're risking your life for."
Lyra nodded in agreement. "Yes, you do." she said. "Elara told me about your troubles. I'll send in the elixir tonight" she said changing the subject.
I nodded in thanks.
I walked away from the archives, I feeling a sense of gratitude towards Lyra and Namarie. They had managed to distract me from the turmoil that had been plaguing my head, at least for a little while even though they had given me something worse to worry about.