Chapter 13: Education and the Archives
[Year 1172]
Vali who was 22 years old, had finally gained the qualifications to enter the colossal library of Asgard. It was under the name of 'Archives of Asgard', and supposedly the first book had been placed there by the first Asgardian Buri himself.
The knowledge it holds has only increased since then, due to the Vanir scholars who constantly build upon the existing knowledge and the knowledge absorbed from the realms Asgard warred against, ruled over or simply invaded. They probably exchanged quite a few of them from other pantheons of gods as well.
The Asgardians have to undergo a mandatory phase of education for 20 years, though it wasn't that they had to study ceaselessly for 2 decades. They simply had to attend the 'Outdoor Academy' every now and then, during this period and choose a few subjects they'd specialize in.
Though there were 3 mandatory courses; 1. Geography & Politics, which involved the existence of Asgard and the surrounding realms, 2. History, which mostly spoke of the wars their predecessors participated in and their failures to learn from, 3. Basic Magic, mostly for the Vanir but even the Aesir who preferred being pure warriors had to pass this course to learn how counter those who used magic against them.
They'd have to learn a minimum of the three mandatory courses and complete a magical test within those 20 years. The tests were conducted with runic devices that tested a candidate's knowledge on the courses and there would be no half-arsed participants who take the test frequently, because failing once would mean having to wait for another 10 years to take the test again.
They were allowed to study other courses which included combat & strategy and whatnot, if they finish taking their tests within the 20 years. Most warriors and Aesir stuck to the basic courses and attempted to clear the necessary requirements towards the end of their education. While the smart ones yearning for knowledge would clear the tests early on, attempt other courses or spend their time in the archives.
Vali spent 2 years clearing his requirements, nothing spectacular as there have been several intelligent Asgardians who've done it a lot faster. But this was Vali taking his time during the first two years completely brushing up on his basics and taking care of his combat training, since he knew that once he entered the library; he would be busy for a decade or two and he would have no time for other matters once he starts studying seriously.
In the field of magic, 'knowledge was power' and the Asgardian Archives that had hoarded several millennia of knowledge was his chance at a quick and monstrous increase in power. In these last two years he had gone through the basics of Mind magic and as he stood in front of the archives, he knew that he'd have to master it in this place.
---Asgardian Archives---
The Archives were held in an imposingly towering building that had golden gothic architecture, with curved arches on the top and the entrances were guarded with seemingly wooden doors with runic lines that flickered into being every other second and seemingly unassailable well-built guards that stood on either side of the entrance.
As Vali walked past the entrance after clearing his identity with the guards, he came upon towering shelves and bewitching hallways which were filled with an extensive collection of books and scrolls. The musty smell of the books and the dim lightning seemed to magically bestow the person who set their eyes upon it, the feeling of travelling back in time.
The usage of magic was strictly prohibited here so Vali secretly activated his 'truth eyes' for a few seconds and saw what others couldn't, as the entire Archive's structure along with everything in it seemed to be covered in runes resembling a ginormous magic artifact. Vali who had just seen such a magnificent creation, had to take a second before he composed himself and walked towards the only being that could be seen.
It was the Librarian, a several-millennia old woman who was one of the oldest scholars alive in the realm. His mother, Frigga had asked him to be respectful to this old lady and that itself spoke a lot about the weight of her existence.
She had a grey hair, wrinkles, a curved back owing to her old age as she stayed seated behind her desk with a weak presence but his instincts screamed danger and he instantly knew that she was anything but weak, and that her appearance was a mere facade if anything.
Vali had obviously done his research on the place he would be spending over the next decade, but he couldn't find any data on the librarian even with all his authority. She was pretty much a ghost on Asgard and his mother's reminder on being respectful towards her, only made him more vigilant.
She was obviously older than his mother assuming her appearance was real, from the absence of information and what he observed she was a lot smarter than most naive Asgardians. Asgardians had around 5000 years of lifespan, she seemed to be around that age with lots of experience and wisdom that came along with it. She was obviously one of the strongest beings on the realm right now and based on what he felt, she was beneath his father but slightly stronger than his mother.
He decided to keep his conversation as curt as possible and get straight to the point, as beings at her level could deduce everything about a person's personality based on simple interactions. He cursed his mother a teeny tiny bit for not informing him about such an unknown dangerous being in the realm.
When Vali walked over, she remained unresponsive to his presence and Vali played along and remained silent ever since he approached her space. After about an hour, she raised her wizened face which deeply contrasted with her spirited eyes that were filled with cunning and wisdom.
Seeing that he had gained her attention, he spoke up with a brief question "May I know where I can find the Mind magic section?"
Without proper help, he would probably be in here for years searching exactly for what he needed. There was no data regarding the Archives anywhere else in the realm, so the librarian was the only person who could help him.
If he had known that she was such a being, he wouldn't have bothered and would've directly asked his mother for help regarding the sections of the magic he was looking for. As his head was filled with a barrage of thoughts, outwardly he had a stoic expression on his face.
He had honed his instincts thoroughly; it was one of the only things he wholeheartedly trusted and now it was giving him uneasy vibes about this woman. He even held back from using his 'truth eyes' as he knew that would come off as 'rude' and his mother wouldn't have any of that especially after she had warned him to be polite.
The old lady replied after staring at him for a few seconds with a slow croaky voice, "Down the hallway and you follow the arrow, little boy!" She had barely finished her sentence and he could see a magical purple arrow in the air waiting for him down the hallway.
He didn't bother replying or thanking her, before he promptly moved, getting away from this mysterious being and followed behind the magical arrow that wormed its way through several shelves before stopping before a column that denoted 'Mind'.
What Vali didn't know was that as soon as he had left, the appearance of the old woman had magically turned into a middle aged beauty. The space around her fluctuated, and Frigga stepped out, nodding in greetings to the woman.
"So what do you think of my son, O' Mistress of Magic?" spoke Frigga with a smirk on her face along with eyes that hid worry.
The middle aged woman seemingly not surprised by her arrival, simply replied "You don't have to be worried about him being influenced by his divinity, Frigga. If anything, his attempt at hiding as much possible by keeping himself scarce was an interesting experience."
Frigga who just had a look of relief on her, sighed with weariness and said, "This little one of mine matured too early, he has even managed to defeat me a few times in the strategy games we play against one another. He's an extremely cautious and calculative child but I know he loves us, so I haven't bothered attempting to change his behavior."
"I was about to probe his entire body inch by inch completely at the end of our conversation, but he ran away like I was about to swallow him. I'd assume he inherited a very tiny portion of your cosmic awareness, as his instincts seemed to have warned him about what I was about to do." said the middle aged beauty with intrigue in her face.
She followed up with slight admiration, "You've given birth to an extremely talented being, Frigga. It seems Asgard would be in safe hands, with proper security in the future."
Frigga just smiled at the mention of her son but her mind was filled dread when she thought about Ragnarok and the future of Asgard. She soon cooled her head, convincing herself that her children would be safe bringing Asgard to its greatest point ever. Her senses reached out and saw that Vali had started his reading before turning to the librarian and saying her goodbyes.
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The upcoming chapters will hold a few infodumps necessary for the MC's future growth, so brace yourselves or stack chapters to your own convenience.
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