Chương 14: Desperation and Disappointment
Natural law.
It was time for another dive into endless tomes from the library. Only this time, Seth hadn't waited until the following morning. He could still hear Sin's song from an hour ago blowing in his ear.
He wasn't quite sure what he was going to find but he knew that Sin was being held at his post, cut off from the rest of the world due to the natural law of his kind. So what was preventing him from breaking it? Why stay there? What would it matter if others saw him and heard him? Seth couldn't understand it when he found Sin to be such a creature of beauty and with a talent that deserved to be shared with anyone that could hear him.
For a moment Seth theorized that maybe Sin was just afraid. Perhaps he'd feel unsafe being away from his waterfall or maybe afraid of being attacked for his monstrous imperfections. But another thought dismissed those possibilities when he remembered how much Sin had mentioned nature's law. He might not have admitted it, but Seth was certain that something was binding him to the water, keeping him there. If he understood the reason behind it then maybe he could break whatever it was that held him there.
"Let's see…" He turned the page, illuminated by the flickering dim lantern light on the desk. Seth began reading aloud in a husky whisper.
"Water nymphs naturally take refuge in bodies of water such as ponds, swamps, and lakes. Depending on the species, such as a siren, they may dwell in seawater and beneath the ocean depths. Most are capable of survival on dry land but experience a severely weakened state."
Could that be it? He had noticed Sin leave the water to sit with him on the sand and quickly return.
"Deep sea nymphs were thought to be a myth due to rare sightings, often by sailors spending many months at sea. Originally these sightings were dismissed as illusions caused by seasickness or dehydration. After their existence was acknowledged it was believed that deep-sea nymphs had a sensitivity to sunlight because of their ghostly pale skin, hence them living deeper than any man could possibly venture on their own. However, this was later disproved when sirens of olive and brown tones were discovered in the Western Romantic Sea. The true reason for their preferred habitat is still unknown."
Interesting, but not exactly useful. Sin wasn't a deep sea nymph. He was a freshwater creature of some kind. He turned the page and skimmed over the contents for anything that'd lead him in the right direction. And then eyes fell on a word that snapped his attention.
"River nymphs are less common but are known to be more docile than their deep-sea counterparts. Most remain hidden and avoid human contact for fear of being hunted and expunged from their domain, but there have been encounters of those more sociable towards human children, mostly playing tricks on them if caught swimming in their home territory."
It was the same description he had read in countless other tomes, just written slightly differently. Useless. No matter how much he had searched, the library seemed to have nothing that would be able to tell me anything about what Sin was. Seth groaned and he sank in his chair, hunched forward, and pressed his face against the book on the desk before him, nose pinching until he tilted to the side.
Footsteps echoed from the entrance, to which he paid no mind. It was not a crime for him to be in the library at any hour of the night so long as he didn't take anything without recording it. At least that's what he thought. Lantern light began to illuminate the entry hallway, glowing brightly as it made its way to the main hall. "I had a feeling it was you when the rats told me someone was rummaging through the archives at this hour," a cranky but unmistakably old familiar voice called from afar.
"You can talk to rats, now?" Seth said without straightening up, his face still pressed against the tome.
"I can do many things. I have eyes and ears everywhere, Sir Seth." Lilith croaked as she made her way over to Seth's table. "What is so important that it couldn't have waited until morning? I'll not have you ruining the catalogs at this hour when I just finished organizing the shelves."
He didn't respond. It wasn't like she'd believe him. No one had until now. Even Leon had admitted he was only humoring him if only to speed things along and force him to abandon his research. Seth felt so utterly alone in all this like he was going insane with so many questions without answers and they piled up each time he met with Sin.
Lilith's set her lantern on the table with a soft thud and adjusted the shawl around her shoulders. With a grunt, she adjusted her glasses, realigning them on her nose, and looked at the books, more concerned with what she deemed as 'her belongings' than Seth. "I'd imagine one of the king's wyvern riders would follow the strict curfew laws given the state of the kingdom right now than be up late at night, reading about mythical creatures. Still, working on your "poison in the water" theory? Or have you evolved into thinking a nymph has cursed all of Scaleshire?"
Again, Seth didn't answer. He half-hoped that if he remained motionless and speechless then she'd eventually leave him be. For a brief moment, he thought that he could even sleep there, using the book as a makeshift pillow.
She rolled her eyes and looked back to the books. "You know that friend of yours, the other wyvern rider, was in here the other day looking for you. Called you something like a siren sucker or something," she rambled as her eyes read the page on river nymphs. "Call me old and senile, but I get the feeling that all this research has nothing to do with the plague consuming the kingdom. Am I right?"
He sighed and slowly picked himself up, rubbing his face as he did. "Would it matter?"
"We'll it'd help you locate what you're actually looking for instead staying up this late, disturbing my rest. Now fess up. Why are you researching magical creatures so desperately?"
Seth groaned and looked over at her. Their eyes met. Reflected in her glasses, Seth could see the flame of the lantern illuminating a stubbornness in her that told him she had no plans to be the first to walk away. Given the hour, Seth would pass out at the table, anyway. What good would it be, then? Lilith knew almost every book in the building and if there were truly nothing then it'd at least save him a night's rest.
"Have you ever heard of something called a fossegrimmen?" He finally asked.
She blinked and appeared confused. "Sorry? A fossegrimmen?"
He figured this would be her response. "A fossegrimmen. It's like…a siren. Only it's not a siren. They're water nymphs. Usually male. And they play -"
"- the sweetest music to ever grace one's ears. Yes, I've heard of them. That's not what I'm asking." Lilith interrupted. She glanced over the books on the table again. "Why do you want to know about them? They're an ancient legend predating Scaleshire's foundation."
Seth was stunted a bit, blinking in confusion. "What do you mean "an ancient legend"? That…that's impossible. I…"
"You mean to tell me you actually saw one? Sir Seth, please, don't fool yourself. The only people who've claimed to see fossegrimen may be children on the Northern Continent. They've been discharged from records of living creatures for possible eons. They aren't real."
"No!" Seth banged his fist on the desk and stood up. "I saw one! I heard him. I know I did! I saw him- at the Lady River's Waterfall. He was there and when he plays the entire just…" he was getting angry, frustrated. He should have guessed even Lady Lilith wouldn't have believed him but to go as far as saying that no such thing was possible… "He's…he's out there and I can see him and hear him. I need to know more about him."
The old crone wasn't phased by Seth's emotional outburst. She stared at him, unamused, annoyed, and then scoffed at him. "Fine. If it'll get you out of the library and allow me to go back to bed then wait here. I think I have something that might have more information." She turned, grabbed her lantern, and walked off. The flame melted into the darkness as did her footsteps until they were just a faint, ghastly echo, leaving Seth at his table in the most dumbfound condition.
Despite the crone's disbelief, it would appear there was something right under his nose the whole time that might have held the answer all along, and she was going to retrieve it for him. Finally, Seth was making progress after sifting through so many useless books. It didn't matter what she brought back. So long as it held the answer anywhere within the contents of his pages he'd devour it in mass.
"Hang on, Sin. I'm going to save you. You'll be among us soon enough." That's what he kept muttering to himself.
When Lilith returned she had but one small book in hand, held to her chest. "Here. This should hold everything you need to know." Seth received it and brushed his hand over the cover, holding it near the lantern. It was an old time-worn leather-bound book, much small than anything he had looked at before, The gold embellishments were cracked and faded, the brown leather scratched and ripping at the corners, the spine wrinkled from possibly centuries of use. Seth opened it to the title page, eyes widening in disbelief.
Collected Fables and Fairytales
1st Edition
Year 776
"You can't be serious!" he said, slamming it shut. "You mean to tell me I should be my trust in old children's bedtime stories?"
Lilith nodded. "Indeed I am. There are many things we know to be fact that were once thought to be only fiction, same as there are old beliefs now proven to be lies and imagination."
"And how would one know the difference? Why should I trust that an old fairytale has the answers I need?"
Lilith scoffed. "You have eyes and ears, don't you? Think for yourself and certainly even someone as dumb as you can figure it out." She refused to entertain him any further. Lilith picked up her lantern and began her retreat, retiring to her chambers. Her footsteps collided against the marble stone floors with a thunderous echo, leaving Seth to his bewilderment.
He stared at the cover once again before opening it to the table of contents. A few stories he recognized. Others he had never heard of; ones not as popular, no doubt. Seth sighed and closed it again, finding his eyes were hurting the longer he tried to stay awake. With a tired, defeated sigh, he closed the last book on his desk and stacked it onto the pile, grabbed his lantern, and began to make for the exit just as Lady Lilith had. They'd still be there tomorrow morning, and if not then he knew where to find them again. Until then, maybe a bedtime story would be best.
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Calw_Walker
Calw_Walker I finally got around to adding a bit more. I have two more chapters already written, but given the current pacing of it all, it just didn't feel right to publish them as is. So, I'm working on a bit more "in-between" content. I hope you all enjoy it.
Have some idea about my story? Comment on it and let me know.
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