The marble beneath Alaric's boots echoed the grandiose architecture of the tower's third floor. The scent of incense caught the air. Above them, modern elven script was engraved clearly enough to read as if someone had carved it yesterday. Alaric stared at it, every facet of it engraved within his mind.
Teacher's Quarters.
Asimi occupied the space closest to the archway, with Alaric directly behind her. Dawn tightly clenched to the side of Alaric as if sensing the danger which might lurk within. The Knights Theurge placed their efforts to reveal the door's secrets into magic, whilst the Knights Gallant in brute strength.
Those doors are not meant to be opened by hands, but by intention.
"Alanor." voiced Alaric.
Correct,Prince.
"If you are communicating with the Archmage," started Asimi, "you will tell me what he is saying." adjusting posture as if to stand between her child and the soul of the archmage should such a thing even be possible. The expectation behind her words were apparent, she was not requesting Alaric's permission.
"Alanor is instructing me on the way to unlock the way forwards," Alaric replied half in truth yet half not entirely truthful. "I will soon open the doors, please stand back mother."
Asimi adjusted her position to the side of her son, whilst Alanor instructed further.
It is not simply a lock. It is a boundary against the world. These quarters contained not just room and board, also artifacts deemed too dangerous to allow access. Why do you think the tower was buried in the first place?
"Then how do I open it?"
The spell is rather simple, you must cast 'Knock', but your intention is important, Prince.
"We seek knowledge," Alaric said clearly. The shimmering seam held steady. He continued, voice firm, "We seek tools to protect Asmora and the people under my banner. We seek strength not for vanity, but for survival." Dawn stepped forward half a pace and spoke, voice softer but sincere. "And we accept the responsibility of what we learn."
Now awakened to his second sphere, Alaric gathered mana as natural as breathing and released it, shaping a spell which flit from his outstretched hand and to the frame of the door's lock. Flitting light beamed from the keyhole as if announcing success.
"Knock!" He intoned, finding that this time, the spell did not drain him. Theorizing that the lack of stamina lost had something to do with his heightened sphere, he observed, willed the doors to open. And, with a shimmering echo, the doors parted.
Knights sprung into action, forming a protective wall between the contents unlocked and the others. Alaric stepped forward first, knowing that hesitation would only invite someone else forward to claim the moment. Dawn remained at his right with Asimi on his left side.
The teachers' wing was well-preserved.
Shelves stood neat and unbroken, scroll racks lined with sealed parchment, and crystal lights embedded in the walls glowed dimly as if awakened by their presence. On either side, spaces for personal residence. A large desk sat in the center of the room, polished and dustless, a large chair pushed in behind. The room had not stagnated with age, like a paused lesson.
Dawn's breath caught. "It's… untouched," she whispered.
The Knights Theurge commander stepped forwards, magical insight assessing the shelves with awe. "These wards are exceptional. To believe they have held all this time. The knowledge belonging to their creation could change the way academies teach magic." Alaric's heart felt heavy, realizing that he had only stepped into the kiddie pool of a deep ocean of magic.
As the knights and others scattered, Alaric approached the table to discover a journal set upon it. Alaric picked up the journal, opening it. The words written on the first page brought a stunned silence. Alanor Elewyn Val Eriendil. This journal, it belonged to the Archmage.
This is where my true work began.
Alaric swallowed. "Your true work?" he asked quietly.
What the empire would call heresy. What the church would call blasphemy. What desperate teachers call survival. Tenth-circle magic and beyond.
"Tenth-" stammered Alaric
The five archmagi of the Ancient Aelessir Empire, myself included, discovered up to three additional circles of magic beyond the tried-and-true nine circles known. Though, I've only mastered the tenth and began dabble in the eleventh.
Alaric closed the journal carefully and held it close. The tower had given them entry, knowledge, and warning, and Alaric understood that this was only the first page of a much larger story. The teachers' wing remained silent and pristine behind them, like a room waiting for its lesson to continue.