Chapter 203 - Arcanites
Chapter 203 – Arcanites
Kimon watched Lord Gawyne observantly. He had fulfilled his end. Now it was Lord Gawyne's turn.
It was clear by now that Kimon had delivered a sound curation procedure. He was too invested in his deals with Lord Gawyne that he wouldn't even think of running away when Lord Gawyne partially fulfilled the end of his deal.
"Are you still chasing my father's journal? I don't see it assisting you in your endeavors. Everything written in it couldn't help my mother, even after death," sighed Lord Gawyne.
Kimon's tone softened, "It has something I need. Something I want. You wouldn't understand, and I don't need you to understand."
Lord Gawyne looked at the blue moon as he spoke, "I might not understand but I recognize that fervent desire burning in you. It is the same flame my father bore, and it killed him! He turned his back on his family, and in the end…."
Lord Gawyne's soft laughter was mixed with weak hints of cries, "Hehehehe, in the end, it became futile. He lost his wife and he lost me!"
"That doesn't bother me. It is none of your business what I do. Just give me what you promised…or I promise….."
Kimon had to admit, the words of Lord Gawyne irked him.
He aligned it with the voice of a defeated man. The voice of a man who never pursued the impossible.
How sad must it be that Vaddon Drateel's son couldn't understand him and saw his acts as destructive?
Kimon thought himself lucky.
Fortunately, he didn't have anyone like Lord Gawyne on his side. No one could deter him from his true goal. The only one capable of that, Circe, only tried for a while before supporting him.
Perhaps this was the perks of having fleeting relationships. His number of real friends was a handful. That was for the best.
Lord Gawyne took a step back, "Pay no attention to my words. You have given my children hope. For that, I am forever indebted to you. I just…..don't worry about it."
It was the same situation with his father.
After his mother's death, he had turned crazy and refused to listen to his pleas.
Lord Gawyne sighed, "My father's journal is not with me…."
A fierce aura blasted out of Kimon. It was good enough that Lord Gawyne irked him. Now, he did this!!
Knight Villaime stepped in front of his noble lord and held on to his sword. He faced Kimon's aura with his own. A terrific battle was about to spark.
"Wait…Wait. I never said I couldn't help you. It is true that my father's journal is not in my possession. But I know who has it," shouted Lord Villaime.
"Who?"
"My mother's coven. You have to know that my father discovered all sorts of secrets in his pursuit to resurrect my mother. His journal is invaluable. There is no human that can deny being attracted to it. I realized that if I kept on receiving guests, I would not be able to protect myself, so I gave it to someone who could successfully keep it."
Kimon withdrew his aura as the conversation went on, "You are in touch with your mother's coven?"
"I have only communicated with them a few times. They are quite secretive."
"Might I ask which coven is this?"
"The Circle of the Willow…."
Kimon cocked his head instantly, 'Things just more complicated.'
The Circle of the Willow was not an ordinary coven. It was one of the greatest covens in Xoris if not all of Arcadia.
This coven was speculated to be located in Narva, which rang true. They were the prime allies of the present royal family during the Great Rebirth, the event that reshaped Narva.
After that, they disappeared silently, only showing hints of themselves occasionally.
Kimon could guess Lord Gawyne's mother was one such hint. Perhaps that is why the Noble House of Drateel still remained in their seat even after the controversial marriage of Vaddon Drateel.
Normally, some noble extremist group would mercilessly wipe the noble house from the face of the earth.
Kimon rubbed his head, "How on earth did a witch from the Circle of the Willow fall for your father? He must have been quite the lady-killer."
He faced the pressing issue, "How do I find them?"
"I-I-I don't know. Despite the number of times I have been welcomed into their coven, I can't remember how exactly I got there. But they did gift me a coordinate.."
"Damn, they must have cast an enchantment on you. Hmmm…can I see the coordinates?"
Lord Gawyne brought out a thin slip of paper he had prepared long ago and gave it to Kimon.
Looking at it, Kimon discovered that the characters weren't arcadish numbers as one would expect. Instead, they were obtrusive symbols.
'Hmmm….runic language? No.'
Runic language had been lost even before the Era of Sins. There was no way any existing coven could still have access to it. Furthermore, Kimon had seen his fair share of runes. This did not look like it.
'Then, Feyspark? No, it can't be that. I would recognize it easily. It shouldn't also be dragon tongue.'
Feyspark was a form of Ancient Elvish language that was spoken by the faes. Dragon-tongue was the language of the dragons.
Yet, none of them seemed to be the characters Kimon was looking at.
'Hmm….these symbols seem geometrical…..That's it!'
How could he have forgotten?
Morrites were talented arcanists. Most of them delved into this path. After all, they had everything required; the long lifespan, the great affinity, the terrifying mana control.
During the Era of Sins, a few powerful morrites had come together under the banner of the Great Mother, the ancient leader of the morrites.
It was there they had developed the Arcanites, a language system built on the foundation of magic circles. It made a good encryption system since even a minute change in the vertex of a magic circle could change its entire context.
'This would be technical,' realized Kimon.
For the first time, he wasn't confident in himself. Arcanites weren't easy to decipher, and each of them had mini-systems.
Nevertheless, he would attempt it!
Kimon lightly bowed at Lord Gawyne, "Thank you. I will see what I can do with this."
Thus, he took his exit.