After Avalon finished his introduction, Midas was the only one who didn't get up - his somewhat serious expression set on the man in front of him. Hesitant at first, Skye eventually left the two of them; her eyes only briefly glanced over his expression—Jakal and the other boy next to him went in the other direction.
"I have seen your application paper… You definitely made the right choice to fill out this option. Even though I have to say that I'm intrigued by your second choice."
Midas watched as the flat grin of his dimmed down completely; the library was nearly completely silent—dim voices were traveling in between the sets of bookshelves to his left and right.
"I honestly was hoping to choose something that would bring me closer to understanding mana while being able to have extra lessons in writing and reading… I honestly have no idea what the last of these four clubs is…"
Avalon only nodded in silence, intertwining his fingers as he closed his lids to think for a short while. Eventually looking at the sunken gaze of the boy, his brows still stern.
"I think you should see for yourself; you're lucky that its current head is able to speak the southern tongue as well—I taught her after all…"
"So… you really are able to stay longer after successfully learning the water kingdom's language…"
"Indeed, even though most decide to travel to the east after mastering the language. There are plenty of universities to choose from—yet, the ones in the capital city have far more resources and professions to choose from… You should definitely go there once you finish your business in Cle'phoria."
Midas's eyes widened slightly as he stared at the dark wood of the table; he needed to make a choice between staying in the water kingdom and heading for the storm. The timeframe of two great sun cycles seemed much more narrow now, given how much time it would take to actually get from the east of the water kingdom to the border that separates it from the south.
"I fear I lack time to arrive at the storm in time to stop it… I will need to speed up my pace when it comes to learning this language—plus, I need to somehow find a path that would allow me to head straight through the southern mountains without having to walk around it…"
The almost grim expression on his face made Avalon raise his brows—the youth in front of him had set himself great goals to achieve, and faltering under them was visibly stressing him, a burden he would've never thought a child of his age would ever need to bear.
„You know… I'm sure you're not the only one that will take matters into their own hands to stop that storm. I'm sure the water kingdom's troops will someday march towards it. You should focus on your own future…"
Midas only sighed to himself; Alma had entrusted him with the rune, something that was clearly worth more than his own life. He was bound to protect the northern fort after his death—the chance of him possibly leaving something behind there was just too great to not make the journey back to it. Would the youth decide against taking care of the storm, he would ultimately risk it getting buried under the sandmass that is currently covering up the fort to the east at the same time as they spoke.
„I definitely don't want that—stopping the storm is just another step… All of it is necessary to preserve the remains of what Alma left behind. I can't just look away, knowing it will get buried in an ever-expanding storm… I'm bearing his death on my shoulder by carrying this rune after all."
Expanding his bandaged hand out at him, a lump formed in Avalon's throat—both of their eyes sunken at the roughed-up cloth that covered his fingers. The man was unable to answer for a while, eventually rubbing his eyelids. Raising his eyes up to the boy again while keeping a relaxed smile.
„You came to the right place, Midas. I will give you additional lessons in writing and reading; use the books as material to find out more about what this rune might be used for… Perhaps we might have some older scripts that are able to tell you more than I can."
Midas's eyes eventually lit up, nodding at his words as he remembered his need for paper—the library was a perfect place to get enough. Skye did him a favor back then; the great amount of bookshelves must also have contained things like translation scripts as well as atlases, which depict all kinds of maps—similar to the book he and Alma used to search for all around the fort.
"Can I enter the library after the lessons have ended...?"
"Of course, I won't always be here—but you're free to look at any of these books at any time... The back entrance doesn't get locked at night since the plaza is completely fenced off from outside."
"... And is there perhaps a stockpile of paper I could use to write on...? It would be nice to have some, since I plan on studying in my dorm after school as well."
His words made Avalon rise up from his seat, gesturing for the boy to follow him with a hand motion as he turned his back to the table—beginning to walk once Midas had arrived at his side. The two of them followed the long paths of the laid-out carpets; their vibrant red and the darker, crimson tone on the walls added onto each other. As they strode in between wooden shelves filled with books of all sizes and colors, Midas was able to spot a marble statue, making him stop in his tracks.
Looking at it, the boy mustered a stern but tired-looking man—the shape of his droopy eyes was replicated with great attention to detail—Midas was able to see slight implications of eye bags under its eyes; his sight was eventually caught by a metal plate stuck onto its base; the metal shined a faint golden color; letters were engraved in it; definitely northern.
"I see. He caught your attention, Clad Aventus—the one that built not only this university but the grand university in the capitol as well. He accumulated his wealth before passing; his literature was known widely around not only the water kingdoms and the nations surrounding it; his work even managed to be read by many across the ocean to the west..."
"Clad... Oh, one of the ten that are used to count...? This stone was polished very well; the details are quite sharp—as if its creator managed to somehow soften this stone to behave like clay."
The way Midas shortly turned to him with raised brows, only to examine the portrait carved in marble more closely, made Avalon grin to himself - enjoying his intrigue in this kind of art.
"Ah, I can read this... it's his name that is engraved in this plate."
"You're right. Right under it is the Trestempo he was born in. Let me see... yeah, the second third of the 209th Trestempo after the Great Fracture."
Avalon flooded Midas's head with his casual wordings, his brows furrowed at the things he told him—suggesting by the context of a birth date, a Trestempo was most likely a great collection of days, like a great sun cycle—most likely made up of thirds, even though Midas didn't know what separated them.
"Is a Trestempo something like a great sun cycle...?"
"You could say so. Even though a great sun cycle is typically started by the majority of sun priests that decide the season of snow has come to an end... For the people of the south, there are four major seasons—suggested by your expression. Alma hadn't told you... but I will. Every great sun year starts with the season of wind—the temperature begins to rise, and the days become slightly longer, after which the season of the sun arrives. The temperatures peak at the time, fish begin to lay eggs, and great droughts make it difficult to travel..."
As Midas paid attention, he wondered about when he actually wandered through the desert—beginning to think he must have woken up during the sun season, the skin covering his back began to scratch just by thinking about the piercing rays of the sun.
"After that, another season of wind sweeps over the south—at least, some say in the center of the rock kingdom... During this time, a lot of people say they see great flocks of birds flying over the southern mountains you had crossed before. A great cycle then ends with a season of darkness; others call it the season of the moon—depending on who you ask."
"The days grow shorter, the nights longer, and the climate cools down to its lowest... I have never seen the actual process of tracking the sun's position, but at the very end of the season, a great mass of people watch the same collection of sun priests as they look up at the sky—eventually announcing a new great sun cycle once the day grows long enough again."
Midas's mouth gaped dimly at the lengthy explanation; Avalon clearly knew more about his point of origin than he ever had, depending on if he even grew up in this region. Midas kept his eyes on the man as he spoke, eventually asking him something once he was done.
"We met in the mountains... you found me on your way to this place—so you clearly traveled south, am I right...? Is that why you know this much?"
Avalon's confident smile eventually dimmed at his question, sighing shortly as he turned to the rounded window built into the side of the sloped roof wall; the brief sunlight that shone through it lightened up fine dust particles that traveled through the air.
"To come back to your original question of what a Trestempo differentiates from a great suncycle—the people in the north, no matter how far you go into any direction on this continent, believe only in three seasons... or thirds. A third of growth, a third of change... and a third of cold."
Midas didn't look at Avalon as he continued, both of them facing the cold light of the sun that shone through the glass panel—the boy didn't dare to ask him again, the matter clearly being personal. Even though he was somewhat confused as to why he so suddenly refused to answer him, clearly having no problem with lengthy explanations.
"We should go now. You still need the paper after all."
"Ah, yeah. You're right..."