Library of Rain

The First Book

In the early hours of the morning, Rain was waiting for Lon, holding a wrapped package in her hand. When he finally came down the stairs from where he and his father lived above the bakery, he appeared surprised to see her. However, Rain greeted him with a cheerful wave and a smile.

“Morning Lon! I have something for you.”

Lon’s confusion deepened a bit. Maybe there was a bit of concern in there, too.

“Morning Rain, what's this thing you have for me?”

“It's a secret. Do you have some time? I need to explain it.”

Lon looked a little uncomfortable at that. 

“I need to help Pa make the morning bread and pies. I’m going to be busy for a while.”

“I could help you in the kitchen again.” Rain offered, excited to spend time with her friend. She’d conveniently forgotten she’d promised herself to leave him alone. Or at least that's what she told herself. 

“No, no, that's a bad idea,” Lon said, waving his arms back and forth. “Last time was okay because Pa was out front, but he’ll be in the kitchen this time, so no, you can’t help.”

This vehement refusal took Rain aback, but Lon wasn’t lying, so she let it drop. 

“When is the food for sale? And when can you talk for a bit?”

“Come back in an hour for food. And Pa usually gives me some time to rest at noon bell.”

“Okay, make some good stuff. I'll be back in an hour.”

With that and a wave, Rain set off to wait at one of her favorite spots. There were a few benefits to having people unwilling to give directions unless she threw money at them. The first was she got very good at navigating the city. Already, Rain knew this section of the Low Ring pretty well, so getting to her destination didn’t take nearly as long as it would have a few days ago.

The second good thing was that while wandering around, she would sometimes find interesting places. Today, she went to one of her favorites. A depression in the city floor that went from the very top of the city to the bottom like a riverbed only without the water. Over the small ravine were dozens of bridges connecting streets from both sides of the scar in the city. Rain had found three similar crevasses at the other cardinal directions of the city. She supposed they had a purpose but had no idea what it might be. She liked to think they were the claw marks of a dragon that had attacked the city.

That wasn't why she came here, though. She came here for the view. Without any buildings in the way, it was possible to see to the bottom of the mountain Tineak was built around and the island below.

The island was full of valleys and hills. In the valleys were swirling colors of ash over black rocks. The hills were capped with verdant greenery. Many hilltops were populated with small towns and farms. Others were covered in thick pine forests, giving those hills spiky dark green hair. Beyond the hills and valleys was the sparkling blue ocean, waves lapping against the shore, and the rising sun made everything glitter. Rain knew she had things she should do here, but a part of her wanted to sail that expanse and see the other islands. She promised herself that one day she would.

Rain stared out at the distant ocean waves until it was time to return for the food. Determined to try one of everything, she headed back to the bakery, only making detours twice to avoid questionable people.

When she arrived, a line of people was already waiting to get their breakfast before going to work for the day. Rain got in line and closed her eyes to inhale the scents wafting from the bakery. 

When she opened her eyes, she was a little sad to see that although the line was fairly tight-packed, the person in front and behind her made sure not to get too close to her. She decided not to let it ruin her day. She ordered a huge meat pie when she reached the front of the line, paying Lon’s grumpy Pa a whole ver. 

Carrying her prize off, she ate it in a doorless alley where she could easily see both ways. It was a good place to ensure no one could sneak up on her while she ate. 

The meat pie was delicious. Meat grease mixed with the mushrooms and crust giving everything a wonderful flavor. Rain ate the whole thing, then made sure to eat the crumbs and lick her fingers.

Leaning back against the wall, she looked at the wrapped package she had been carrying around all morning. Inside was the rough book with the claw braided string attached to it. Rain had decided this book would be as good as any for getting Lon a class. 

She had to admit she was a little worried about the corruption Lon would experience. But none of the books she had read gave more than twelve percent. It had taken three books before she had started seeing side effects, so Lon should be problem-free with only one. 

Unlike Rain, whose hidden Master of the Library class kept absorbing all the new skills, once he gained a skill from a tome, he should be able to form a class around it. Then, he could make all his dreams of going to the academy and becoming a hero come true. 

Rain knew she should be happy at the thought, but she knew that if he did become someone important, she would need to avoid him, or she would drag him into her problems. The thought made her reconsider giving him the book. She still had time to find a replacement surprise before the noon bell. 

Rain cut her thoughts short and returned to the bakery to wait before she betrayed her friend for selfish reasons. 

The remaining wait was excruciating, but eventually, the time came, and the bells rang their noonday signal. Now that the time was here and the decision made, Rain was excited to see what kind of class Lon would get. She stood outside the door where she had first met Lon, bouncing from foot to foot as she waited for him to come out.  

When Lon finally came and saw Rain, his expression changed from tired to amused. 

“Excited about something?”

“Yes, now hurry up and get over here!”

Lon grinned as he walked over to her. When he was closer, Rain unwrapped the book she had been carrying all day.

“Remember how you told me you wanted a class so you could go to that academy?” 

Lon nodded at that, eyes fixed on the book in Rain's hands and brows furrowed. 

“Well, this book can grant anyone who reads it a skill they can build a class around.”

Lon’s eyes widened at that. “Wait, you're saying reading that book could get me into the academy?”

“Yes, but there are some problems.” Rain said, worried that he might try to read the book before he knew what he was getting into.

Rain’s words immediately caught Lon's attention. “What kind of problems?”

It was time to make sure that Lon understood what he was getting into.

“First, I don’t know what kind of skill it will give you. It could be something really great or weak.”

Lon didn’t seem too bothered by this, so Rain continued.

“Second, there is a chance it won't work. I read a similar book that didn’t give me any skills.”

This caught his attention, just not for the reason Rain expected.

“Wait, you’ve read one of these books? Does that mean you have a class? If I read this book, will we be going to the academy together?” 

The hopeful look in Lon’s eyes made Rain feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe she could go to the academy with him. She did want to learn how to put her skills to their best use after all. It wasn’t her fault that training to use her abilities would place her close to her friend. Feeling her resolve stretch to the breaking point, Rain soldered on before she could make a decision.

“I do have a class. But I'm not sure if I want to go to the academy or not yet.”

Lon looked like he had a lot of questions to ask, and Rain wasn’t ready to answer them yet, so she spoke before he could.

“Lastly, reading one of these books will cause mental and possibly physical corruption.”

“What does that mean?”

Rain decided that now was as good a time as any to check something. Rolling back her sleeve, she pointed to one of the things moving around under her skin.

‘Do you see that.” she asked.

Lon looked at her arm as if trying to figure out what she was talking about. Finally, he asked in a hesitant tone.

“Your arm?”

“Do you see the thing moving around under the skin?”

Lon looked closer, trying to see what she was talking about. Either he couldn’t see the large lump where something moved under her skin, or the lump didn’t exist. Since Rain didn’t think his eyes were that bad, the lumps must really be in her head. 

Knowing that she was slightly crazy was comforting. Better that than actually having parasites living under her skin.

“What you can't see are the things that live under my skin. I’m pretty sure that the reason that you can't see them is because they don’t exist. I started seeing and feeling them after my mental corruption hit nineteen percent. I don’t know how the mental corruption will affect you, but it took me three books before my mind started playing tricks on me, so you should be fine.”

“What you’re saying is that reading this book could make me see things, but it could also get me into the academy?”

That about summed it up.

“Yea”

Lon took a long look at the bakery next to them.

“If it can get me out of this place, it’ll be worth it. I’ll read it.”