Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Bookkeeper

H’win opened his eyes slowly. He was on a bed made of the finest red silk. The sun was slowly casting spun gold threads of light through the windows.

“Where am I?” He gazed at the room. It was adorned with gold decorations. A lady in a crown and gold armour appeared. “Hello H’win, the albino! I have heard much about you.” She spoke softly and graciously, “I am Queen Draco II of the wälkrail dynasty. You are the fighter of the black-heart raid. That fierce warrior almost responsible for your death was King Wailt IV. I have heard that you have no magic, thus cannot be a warrior, so I have a special job for you. I own such a thing that would be worth all the gold in the world if I sold it. It is a book; the book of Darius, the father of all Arcoils and son of the True One.”

I gasped, “But how do you own such a powerful book? Wasn’t it owned by the great Æthyl, Darusa Elvesard and never put into the world. It stayed in the land of eternal life didn’t it?”

She looked solemn and sighed, “Such should have been the case, but it came to this world thanks to–” She lowered her voice, “Vaisail, the dark lord brought it in to help his army of goblins. During his defeat, the warrior elf, Larathiel of Flamantheon took the gem of all doom or the Goblinical ring. He soon became corrupted, but not due to just the gem. He found the book and soon he drove himself to insanity and drowned. The book did not ripple or fray. It stood there, until fished out of the river by an old fisherman who was corrupted soon after and sold it to the king of the Blue-jays. In a fight, my mother, Queen Availe III took it and gave it to the librarian. The book was unreadable, though it still had words you can understand. That’s the problem, you see. The book is the root of magic yet it is only readable by those who are eternal or have no magic. It was only ever meant to be heavenly and in this world, it corrupts anyone who owns it.”

“So where do I fit in?” I asked.

She replied, “I need a new bookkeeper. I have had many bookkeepers, including–” she whispered, “My husband, Echo, who was not killed by elves, but by insanity. Because you are albino, you are naturally immune to corruption by the book. What I am saying is that you will be the key to the saviour of all”