Irrational Summoning

Rain poured down endlessly from the sky. It was not just normal rain; it was warm rain that made you feel like you had gotten out of a hot spring and the warm water was just stuck to your body. I ended up jogging through this kind of rain looking for the library.

To understand how this happened I will go back an hour.

After finishing the work and chatting casually with Georgis, I went back to my shack to rest for about half an hour. The day before, I had decided that if I was going to survive in this terrain, I needed to learn everything possible about this world. So, with an attitude ready to consume all knowledge available, I traveled to the library. 

Upon opening the door, I found the sky clouded over. I was amazed by the quickness with which the weather changed. Not only was it a cloudy sky with no blue in sight, but it was also extremely windy outside. I couldn't help but wonder if the weather constantly changed like this.

While I was on the road to the village the sky let loose on me. I got drenched by what felt like a waterfall. So, I ran around looking for the library in warm downpouring rain. 

Running to the end of the street with the Billings tavern yielded the results I wanted. After wandering around the town for 15 minutes, I finally stood in front of the glorious library. This building was my hope and a shining light for understanding this world and possibly finding a way back to Earth.

In some ways I missed Earth and New York City but, in other ways, I did not. My mind told me to believe that my journey was a vacation. I didn't think that was accurate, but it was the best description I had.

Looking up at the building it looked similar to the tavern, except it had a sign hanging above the entrance that read Billings Library.

I pushed open the entrance doors and wiped my feet on the welcome mat. Still dripping water, I walked over to a big, grand desk sitting off to the left side of the door. 

Behind the desk sat a young woman with long brown hair and a slim figure. She had glossy large eyes and a resting disposition which gave off a timid aura. The most interesting thing about her was the necklace she wore. It was the emblem of a dragon breathing fire. 

"Hello," I said raising my hand to greet her.

"KYAH," she yelped nearly falling backward at my greeting. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I said.

"You don't need to apologize, it was my fault for getting scared at a simple hello," she responded in a quiet voice.

She seemed to be totally out of it and not paying attention when I greeted her. What an aloof character I thought. After internally thinking about how to make such a shy person more comfortable around me I asked, " Why is your big desk off to the side of the entrance in what seems to be, how do I put it? An inconspicuous spot."

"Oh, the reason is that the desk does not block the view of any part of the library when you walk in," she responded looking a bit more comfortable than before.

I had not taken the time earlier to look at the library but a glance. Turning my head to the side I looked to see a magnificent, ostentatious room. The shelves had to be 40 feet tall full to the brim with books. The room was a spherical shape that left most of the floor open with desks and chairs to study at. Thinking about my University library I believed this library to feel cozier and homier. 

"Wow," I said in awe just taking the whole view in.

The girl giggled at my reactions to the room. It was the first time her face had broken out into a smile.

"You're funny," she retorted clutching her stomach after settling down. "What is your name?"

"Ken," I answered offering my hand to shake hers. "What is yours?"

"Lily," she responded having the courage to shake my hand.

I was glad she warmed up to me and felt like she could speak a little bit more freely.

"It is nice to meet you," I told her after we had properly introduced ourselves.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too," she responded making eye contact with me for the first time.

"Well, anyway, I do have one question to ask. Where are the history and magic books?" I asked turning to the side and looking at all the vast shelves. 

"Ah, the history and magic books are on the shelf straight in front of you at the end of the room," she replied.

"Ok, thank you so much," I replied giving a goodbye wave and flashing a half smile.

Smiling and waving back she said, "Good luck with your studies."

"I'm going to need it," I responded. 

Barreling over to the back where the books were with my hands in my pockets, I thought to myself I didn't do too bad in socializing back there. I reached the section of the library I wanted to be in and examined all the books in it. I found one history book, a couple of magic books, and one alchemy book that I wanted to check out and looked around for a spot to read them. 

I found a cozy little spot between two shelves. It had a great big window displaying a glorious view on the other side of the glass. You could see the beautiful, rolling hills behind the library very clearly. It was still raining out, but that made reading all the better, in my opinion.

In this crevice was a comfy, cushioned chair for me to kick back in. There was no desk, but I didn't really need it because all I was going to do was read. 

I plopped myself down in the soft seat and cracked open the first book, A Short History of Melalova. The pages were rough, and the book was covered in dust. It must not have been read in quite a while. 

I learned of wars, important figures, and other sorts of things in most of the book. One part that I found to be very interesting was the geopolitical sphere discussed in chapter 6. Learning about other kingdoms was fascinating. One kingdom was entirely underwater with both humans and merpeople residing in it. The fact such incredible places as that could exist goes to show how much more uniqueness and wonder exists in this world over mine.

Another point of interest to me was the structure of power in Melalova. It was a nontraditional monarchy with features of government that didn't seem to fit with a monarchy. They had a king and a royal court but besides having these two things the kingdom also had a lawmaker and a common man's representative who were chosen. The lawmaker was chosen by business owners who operated and conducted businesses across the country, and the common man's representative was chosen by all the servants of the royal family and court.

These two selected individuals seemed to have separate authority from the king in certain regards to keep the king from doing extremely reckless things and protect the general public. I couldn't help but see that the system had some merit to it to make sure tyranny could not reign. However, the king still ruled the country and had the majority of the power to make changes. 

If I had to compare Melalova to any country on earth I would compare it to Middle Ages Spain based on some of the influence it has on the surrounding region and such. 

I finished the book about Melalova's history and stood up stretching my arms. I had to process the information I had just consumed. This world seems to have come to life straight out of some fantasy novel or something. Nothing about this place seems real. But something that became more painfully obvious the more I learned is just how dangerous this world could turn in an instant. It seemed this region around Melalova has never had long-lasting stability. Wars could break out over practically anything.

Knowing that wars could break out is exactly what led me to reason I must adapt quickly to the ways of this world and learn everything possible about warfare. I pledged to myself I would learn all about magic and alchemy as it would be my best means of thriving in these circumstances.

I sat back down in my chair and opened the alchemy book. I quickly committed to memory the lists of herbs in the book and what such affects ingrediants may have. I also memorized recipes and formulas for all of the most common and practical potions that filled the book. These potions included Fire resistance, stamina recovery, physical enhancements in various levels, many different healing potions for different ailments and injuries, blessings for weapons and objects, etc. 

I would say I breezed through the alchemy book and learned lots of different things from it. Of course, I knew that alchemy was going to be important at some point down the line, and my knowledge of different potions could just be the difference between life and death, but the real trophy was still waiting to be opened.

I had one more area to deep dive into in my basic study of this world. That area was the most important of all and I had two different books to study about it. The area I am referring to is magic.