Chapter 167 - 162: The Language of the Past
The following morning arrived beneath a sky of clear blue.
Warm sunlight filtered through the curtains of John’s room, illuminating the journal still resting on his desk. Beside it lay the three books Aerion had given him the previous evening.
John woke earlier than usual.
For once, it wasn’t because of danger or habit.
He was genuinely excited.
After washing and dressing, he sat at the desk before anyone else had awakened.
He opened **Introduction to Ancient Scripts**.
The first page contained a simple sentence.
> **"To understand history, one must first understand the people who wrote it."**
John nodded to himself.
It was a simple idea, but an important one.
He had spent so much time searching for answers that he had overlooked something obvious.
The records weren’t written for him.
They were written by people who lived centuries ago.
If he wanted to understand their world, he needed to understand how they thought.
Not just what they wrote.
---
A knock sounded on the door.
"John?"
"Come in."
Sylvara peeked inside.
"I thought I’d find you reading."
John smiled sheepishly.
"Am I becoming predictable?"
"A little."
She laughed.
"The others are downstairs."
"Breakfast is ready."
"I’ll be there in a minute."
She noticed the open book.
"Already studying?"
"I figured I should prepare before meeting Master Aldric again."
She nodded approvingly.
"I think he’d like that."
---
A few minutes later, the group gathered around their usual table in the common room.
Roland greeted them with a cheerful smile.
"Good morning."
"The usual?"
Lythriel immediately answered.
"Yes."
John laughed.
"You didn’t even ask what it is."
"I trust Roland."
The innkeeper chuckled.
"I appreciate the confidence."
Soon, steaming plates of breakfast were placed before them.
Fresh bread.
Fried eggs.
Herbed sausages.
And warm apple cider.
As they ate, Lythriel looked toward John.
"So..."
"When are you going back?"
"This morning."
He answered.
"Master Aldric asked me to begin helping with research."
She leaned forward.
"What exactly does a research assistant do?"
John thought for a moment.
"I’m honestly not sure."
"Probably a lot of reading."
"A lot?"
Aerion calmly corrected him.
"An enormous amount."
Lythriel groaned dramatically.
"I suddenly appreciate swinging a sword."
Everyone laughed.
---
After breakfast, they left the Silver Stag together.
The streets of Valenor were already awake.
Craftsmen opened their workshops.
Merchants arranged colorful displays outside their stores.
Students hurried toward the Scholar’s District carrying stacks of books almost as tall as themselves.
John smiled.
The city already felt familiar.
Only three days had passed since they arrived.
Yet it was beginning to feel less like a place they were visiting...
And more like a temporary home.
---
When they reached the Royal Library, Elena was already waiting near the entrance.
She waved as soon as she spotted them.
"Good morning."
"Master Aldric is expecting you."
John nodded.
"I’ll be there shortly."
Elena looked toward the others.
"The public reading halls are open if you’d like to spend the day here again."
Lythriel sighed dramatically.
"I’ve been defeated."
Sylvara tilted her head.
"Defeated?"
"I actually want to read another biography."
John grinned.
"I knew it."
She crossed her arms.
"Don’t say a word."
Aerion smiled faintly.
"Too late."
---
John followed Elena through the eastern corridor toward the archive wing.
Unlike yesterday, he noticed details he had overlooked before.
Portraits of former archivists lined the hallway.
Each bore a small plaque beneath it.
Some had served for twenty years.
Others for forty.
One name caught John’s attention.
**Edmund Valis – Chief Archivist for Fifty-Eight Years**
John paused.
"That’s a long time."
Elena nodded.
"The archives choose patient people."
John looked at the portraits again.
Generation after generation...
People had devoted their entire lives to preserving knowledge.
Very few outside the library would ever know their names.
Yet without them...
Much of history would have vanished forever.
---
They reached Aldric’s office.
The elderly scholar was already awake, arranging several books across his desk.
Without looking up, he smiled.
"Right on time."
"I didn’t want to be late."
"A good habit."
Aldric motioned toward the chair opposite him.
"I hope you had a restful evening."
"I did."
John placed his journal on the desk.
"I also started writing."
Aldric’s eyes brightened.
"May I?"
John hesitated briefly before handing over the journal.
The old scholar read only the first page.
He smiled.
"You began with questions."
"I wasn’t sure what else to write."
"It was the correct choice."
He returned the journal.
"The best historians never stop asking them."
---
Miriam entered carrying a wooden tray with several old documents.
"Good."
"You’re both here."
She carefully placed the tray on the table.
"I have work for our newest assistant."
John immediately stood.
"What can I do?"
She smiled.
"First..."
She handed him a pair of spotless white cotton gloves.
"Wear these."
John did as instructed.
The gloves fit surprisingly well.
"Why gloves?"
"Natural oils from our skin damage old parchment over time."
She answered.
"Some of these documents are older than entire kingdoms."
John looked down at his gloved hands.
Even touching history required preparation.
---
Miriam carefully unwrapped the first manuscript.
Unlike the Dragon King scroll, this one was in excellent condition.
"The writing isn’t in the modern language."
She explained.
"It’s written in Old Valenic."
John examined the page.
The letters looked familiar.
Yet...
Different.
Some symbols resembled modern writing.
Others were completely unfamiliar.
"It’s like..."
He searched for the right comparison.
"...looking at the ancestor of today’s language."
Miriam’s eyes widened slightly.
"That’s an excellent observation."
Aldric smiled from across the room.
"You’ve noticed the pattern."
John looked confused.
"What pattern?"
"The language evolved."
Aldric replied.
"Just like people."
"No language remains unchanged for centuries."
John nodded slowly.
It made perfect sense.
If words changed over time...
Then ancient records could easily be misunderstood by modern readers.
---
Miriam handed him another sheet.
"This one."
She pointed toward a short sentence.
"Read what you can."
John leaned closer.
He recognized a few symbols.
Others he could only guess.
Slowly...
Carefully...
He sounded out the words.
"It says..."
He paused.
"...’The northern...’"
"...’guard...’"
"...’forest?’"
Miriam smiled.
"Close."
She pointed to one unfamiliar symbol.
"Not forest."
"Frontier."
John looked again.
Now he saw it.
The difference was only a single stroke of ink.
"I completely missed that."
"And that’s why historians work slowly."
She replied kindly.
"One mistaken word can change the meaning of an entire record."
---
For the next several hours, Aldric and Miriam introduced John to the fundamentals of archival research.
How to handle fragile books.
How to compare different copies of the same manuscript.
How to identify later additions made by scribes centuries after the original text.
How to recognize damaged passages without guessing what was missing.
It wasn’t exciting work.
There were no hidden treasures.
No secret magic.
No legendary artifacts.
Yet...
John found himself completely absorbed.
Every lesson revealed another layer behind the books he had admired downstairs.
History wasn’t simply read.
It was investigated.
Questioned.
Verified.
---
As the afternoon sun shone through the office windows, Aldric watched John carefully comparing two copies of the same document.
The young dragon didn’t rush.
When uncertain, he stopped and checked again.
When he found a difference, he wrote it down instead of assuming one copy was correct.
The old scholar smiled quietly.
Miriam noticed.
"Well?"
She asked.
Aldric folded his hands behind his back.
"I was right."
"About what?"
"Our choice."
Miriam glanced toward John.
The young man hadn’t noticed them.
He was too focused on the faded text before him.
She smiled faintly.
"Yes."
"I believe you were."
Neither of them realized...
Beyond the library walls...
Another scholar had already begun making preparations for an expedition to the Ashen Peaks.
And if the ancient records were correct...
John and Darius were no longer walking separate paths.
Sooner or later...
Both roads would lead toward the same forgotten ruins.
---
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