I took out a drawing of Sera’s new attunement and showed it to the researcher. “Have you ever seen a rune like this before?”
“How fascinating.” The researcher stared at the image. “This is unfamiliar to me. I can check with the central archive, but that will take some time.”
“Central archive?”
The elemental turned her head toward the east…toward the spire, maybe? “My true self remains there, alongside many others of my kind. We gather, maintain, catalogue, and distribute data. Tenjin has kindly allowed this variant of me to remain here.”
Well, that means this elemental isn’t some kind of violation of divine laws, at least. That’s good — I don’t want to deal with any more visage-related complications right now. I have enough of them.
“What are the odds that mark is a restricted attunement?”
Researcher shook her head. “It’s not. I’d have recognized it if it was.”
“What about an ascended attunement?”
Her eyes widened slightly. “That’s…possible, I suppose. I’ve never actually seen one.”
That was interesting. “Do you know how those are obtained, or how they work?”
“No, but I’d like to! If you find out anything about them, I’d love to hear it.”
I nodded. “Okay, another question. If someone had lost the ability to use their attunement properly due to scarring, could I use this transfer ability from my new attunement to help them?”
Researcher shook her head sadly. “It would be unlikely to have any benefit. Mana scars inhibit the proper passage of mana through the body. Attempting to flood a scarred area with mana might do more harm than good.”
Maybe I could get Sera a second attunement, then, and help her get stronger at using that?
No, that’s working around the problem. I’ll do that if I have to, but I’d rather get her voice back.
“Do you know any means of healing mana scars?”
“Not easy ones. In Caelford, they are performing research on full organ replacements, with some signs of success. Our own research has been focused on restoring the body to a previous state, using a combination of local Menders and other body-related attuned from other nations. There have been some successes with both approaches, but each has significant risks.”
Researcher waved a hand toward the section of the library on her left. “The most reliable approach, unfortunately, remains the most difficult. In row 4-D, you can find a section called ‘Goddess-Touched Locales’. We currently have three books covering a location called Vanreach Peak. In this location, rare medicinal herbs can sometimes be found during the winter season. These herbs serve as the foundation for the Vanreach Elixir, which is reported to be an effective treatment for virtually any physical injury, including mana scarring.”
I perked up at that. “How does this elixir work?”
“The herb itself is the most powerful known alchemical component for healing purposes. Elixirs created using the herbs, which are known as Goddess’ Tears, trigger a potent regeneration effect on the body that can repair long-term damage on the body. Some claim the elixir is even potent enough to reverse the effects of aging.”
That sounded pretty amazing. “If this herb is so potent, why aren’t we growing it on farms or in laboratories?”
“Attempts have been made, of course.” Researcher smiled. “But it isn’t a naturally occurring herb — and all attempts to breed it have failed. We have a poor understanding of the conditions under which it grows. At one point, the Valian government placed the entire mountain under observation for the winter. No herbs were found that entire season. According to local legends, the herbs only grow when the goddess visits the mountain to mourn a friend. Thus the name.”
I nodded at that. “And I presume that, given the value of the herbs, there’s a great deal of competition for them?”
“Oh, yes. And the Vanreach Mountains are infested with monsters.”
Of course they are. Everywhere interesting seems to be.
“I’ll take a look at the books when I get a chance, thank you.”
“It is my honor to be of service, Arbiter.”
I twisted my lips in response to her words. “You don’t need to be so formal. I’m not that important.”
Researcher put a hand over her chest and closed her eyes. “Oh, thank the goddess. It was so hard doing that. It’s been ages since I’ve had to be all… ‘It is my honor to serve you’ and such.”
I laughed. “I’ve never been much for titles and formalities.”
“That’s a relief. Now, what else do you need?” She folded her hands in front of her, rolling back and forth on her heels with obvious energy.
“I think that’s most of it for today, actually. Let me think for a minute.”
What else did I need to know?
A whole lot of things, actually.
But what could she help me with immediately?
Probably more questions related to my new attunement? Or maybe something about the Whispers, that organization that Tristan supposedly belonged to?
Maybe not that last part. Asking her about the Whispers could be suspicious. She’s being extremely helpful, but I’m not her Summoner, and I still don’t know who her Summoner is. She wouldn’t tell me last time…
…Meaning that might be a good question.
“Do I have sufficient authority now for you to tell me who summoned you?”
She shook her head. “Nope! That’s one of the things I’ve been expressly ordered not to share.”
I considered that. “If I asked you the name of a Summoner, could you tell me if they’re not the one you’re contracted with?
“I suppose I could answer that.”
Who seems likely? Hrm. “Is it Elora Theas?”
“Not her!”
I didn’t actually know that many other Summoners. I listed a few more names of students, but none of them came up. “Professor Orden, maybe?” She told me she wasn’t a Summoner, but she’d deceived me about plenty of other things, and I knew she worked in here.
“Nope!”
I nodded absently. “Okay…Do you have a list of all Summoners working at the university?”
“Not in a single location. You could look at the general faculty lists and cross-reference them with the individual profiles for each faculty member, though.”
I waved a hand dismissively. “Too much work. It’s not that important.”
“If you say so!”
I rubbed my chin. “I think that’s all I have to ask for the moment, but I’m sure I’ll be back here soon. Thanks for all the help.”
“It’s been my pleasure, Arbiter.” She bowed at the waist. “I had fun, too! You should come by more often.”
It struck me that she sounded lonely — and that made sense, given that she was standing around, sentient and conscious, doing…virtually nothing all day? Maybe she was scanning through the books somehow. I didn’t really know.
“I’ll try to do that.”
I meant it, both for her sake and mine.
I went and grabbed the books about the Vanreach Mountains she’d told me about, packed them in my backpack, and headed out.
It was time to risk visiting my dorm.
I strongly considered going to Jin’s room first.
It was just above mine.
It would have been easy to check on him, just to see if he was there.