Bab 19: Fereldyn
When the morning came, Sargon gave his farewells to Orfred and Yeseme. Then he and Pharis took off back to their destination. They were about a day and a half from Fereldyn, so one more day on the road and arriving at the fortified border city the next. The day of travel was uneventful and they only gathered astra while on the move. Pharis had noticeably gotten better at handling astra, but alas she was still a human, not an astral. Sargon thought that maybe he would have to bathe her body in huge amounts of astra in order to change her race, replicating what happened to him. He would find a method when he was powerful enough, this he was certain.
"My next goal is ebony level I must complete my sky and turn my horizon into a world.", Sargon said to himself. He thought to himself that there must be knowledge of astra somewhere. The library in Fereldyn would be a good start. Many forces have been established there for centuries, the library, or perhaps one of them may have the knowledge I seek.
Pharis still has to fill up half her sky before she can upgrade to malachite. In his thoughts, "My previous level happened because even though I had the necessary amount of starts, my connection to my astral body wasn't strengthened enough. The tragedy of Kesh solved that problem." Continuing to ponder many things, the last day of travel ended. The next day they would arrive at Fereldyn.
They again rose with the sun, eager to get to Fereldyn. Pharis was excited to enter a big city since she has only ever known the small city of Kesh. Sargon wanted to learn more about the power of the Juriel Kingdom through Fereldyn. Kesh wasn't a good place to gauge the kingdom's power.
A little before midday, they arrived at Fereldyn. There was a line for merchants convoys and citizenry. A line for travelers, and immigrants. A line for people of rank, nobility, fame, and prestige. This line is where Sargon and Pharis queued up to enter the city. There was a whole separate gate next to this one for the local forces and population. Sargon thought, "Perhaps I should register as a citizen if possible since we will be in the area for a while." It was only a few minutes before it was their turn.
"Next", the old but fit gate guard beckoned. He asked for identification and I showed him my seal. He took out a device able to "read" the seal and my identity profile came up from the magic device. He got a surprised look on his for a second. "It has been a long while since a knight errant has entered Fereldyn, about 13 years.", the old guard said. He welcomed me to Fereldyn and we entered the city. There was a stand with a small thin book and sign above that read "Free City Pamphlets". I took one and opened it up. It had a full map of the city, a brief history, a summary of the lord, and laws. It all a lot of information and it was what I needed to know too. "what a developed city", Sargon muttered while reading the pamphlet. Instead of areas like Kesh, Fereldyn had districts since it was much larger. The city itself was much richer than Kesh in every regard. Well-paved streets, three-story buildings lining them, well-built houses for the population.
The guild buildings were very grand as well as the auction houses. The castle in the center of the city was even grander. The Lord of Fereldyn is Marquis Tristan Ophris and the Ophris family founded Fereldyn centuries ago. Their noble family has existed since the first king's reign. They are known to be powerful warriors since they have fought off invasions from demons and monsters for generations.
"Pharis we will stay in the city tonight, I am going to the library. You can tour the city and have the rest of the day to enjoy. Here are some gold and silver coins you can use as you please."
Pharis smiled, "Thank you Master!" She took off right after that. Sargon chuckled before using the map to reach the library. He wasn't too worried about her, she was titanium-level and he could sense her signature with extreme accuracy already. He found the library and entered using his seal. He was granted access to most books in the library from it. He began searching for books mentioning astra or astrals.
He found one book about the ancient temple that worshipped the stars. They apparently used rituals that were researched and found to be magic formations. Wall carvings depicted the ritualists gathering starlight with the formations and taking it into themselves or storing it. No magic-user could replicate the formations though. The temple was a ruin long before magic scholars found it. No mention of astrals though. More writings about their formations and arcane practices were in the book. Again, no magic-user has ever replicated it.
They shouldn't need to use all these methods to gather and practice astra though. Sargon determined these ritualists were all human. As for why Pharis can do what they could without such methods. He attributed that to his involvement in using his own astra on her to help her feel astra. this led to another conclusion. They would've needed the help of an astral to even get started. Just one person needed to be awakened to astra to teach others and pass it down. Sargon had learned a great deal about his power. The formations and methods may not be strong enough for him, but he could improve them. "An astral would surely be able to create stronger methods.", he thought to himself. "hah, maybe I'll end up building my own temple in the central plains, hahaha.", He thought aloud.
He left the library satisfied with his information. He tracked Pharis down to a toy shop. She was eyeing a small stuffed doll. It had a big head, a small body, and wearing a little blue dress with brown hair. I ask from behind her, "Do you want it?" She turns around a little surprised to see me and says, "Is it okay?"
"Of course it is okay Pharis.", I assure her. She smiled brightly and we went inside and bought the doll. "So the doll doesn't get damaged, reinforce it by infusing it with your astra. You could also imprint it, connecting it to your astral horizon." She nodded excitedly. I thought her on the way to an inn how to do it. She was very happy with the small doll as she laid in bed with it. She fell asleep with a smile.
Tomorrow, they would go to the central plains where they would reside for a few years.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone