Knowledge is Forbidden Fruit - 01

~Chapter One~

"Mysi, I need you to get us a book on soul capturing."

The girl with violet eyes looked up from her book and stood up. She was wearing a lilac kirtle and her long, black curls were tied back with a purple ribbon.

"Using enchanted crystals or just common method?" She asked the dark-skinned scholar that had called her.

"The common method will work just fine." He replied as another scholar pushed a pile of paper to him. "Oh... And deliver these reports to Seven while you're there."

Mysi nodded and took the papers. She walked out the door and into the late afternoon light. She started humming merrily as she looked up at the massive tree-shaped structure which was made up of a patchwork of technologies and styles. It wasn't alone in it's peculiarity, the whole city used whatever mixture of inspiration it's residents thought was best.

"Okay, soul capturing would be under... 3F0D6.C5, so that would be on the... thirtieth floor, in north-north-west branch." She murmured aloud, before proceeding to the side entrance. Entering, she waved to some friends amongst the library staff as she walked towards the organic looking chutes in the centre of the library. She pressed the soft fleshy bit near the sphincter muscle-like door and waited for it to open. The inside of this biological contraption was made of calloused skin. It had a flat, leveled floor and rim of the ceiling glowed slightly. The ceiling also consisted of a human size hole. On the walls were soft, fleshy gashes, and tattoos near them marked of floor numbers. Some library patrons came out of the elevator and after they did, Mysi went in and pressed the area to get to the thirtieth floor. The inner and outer door closed. Mysi watched through the ceiling as the creature ascended.

She had to wait on the way for a few people to get on and off, but it didn't take much of her time. Without any confusion, she left the lift and went straight in the direction she had planned, ignoring the exhibited artifacts and models, which she had already looked at before. As she walked up the gently ramping corridor, she passed shelf after shelf of books. Every so often the rooms style changed drastically, but there was still shelves and shelves of books, interupted only by the occasional study carrell. The only other common element was the calculated designs marked almost everywhere. Finally Mysi began to slow, as she came to the section she was looking for. She picked up a book and flicked through it. Dissatisfied she put it back and took out the book next to it. She looked thoughtfully at the pages and then smiled. She tucked the book under her arm with the reports and walked back to the elevator. This time taking it to the basement.

The basement ran through out the city. From here she could even walk home. The basement was actually a natural underground cave which had been refined for the library and eventually the city's use. Mysi walked into a round, stone booth that had a blood-splattered altar. She held her hand over it and secreted a dark orchid, viscous substance from her palm which dripped onto the altar. The marking carved into it flashed and then a dark cloud enveloped her for a second. When the cloud disappeared, she was in another room.

"Oh, Hey Mysi." Greeted a female guard that was waiting near the exit booth. "What brings you to the central office? Delivering something to the Grandserpent?"

"Uh huh. Is he in or is he helping with research somewhere again?" Mysi asked her.

"You're lucky." She answered. "He just got back. He's in his study."

Mysi walked past the people working through papers at their desks and past the people with strange helmets sitting at organic terminals until she got to the centre of the room which was enclosed by a weird mix of hardened rock, bones, and fungal growths which glowed. The wall was shaped like a giant snake, the open mouth forming a door. She entered, ramping around until it opened into the wide room.

"Mysika!" The city's leader greeted with a smirk. His deep black eyes reading into her face and body language. "Is that the field scholars' research reports you've brought me? I'll be interested to take a look through them."

"Hello Zeva." Mysi greeted enthusiastically. She walked over to him and handed over the reports.

"Have you finished the book I suggested you read the other day?" He asked her.

"Almost. It's quite scary. He really goes into detail of how he slaughters and eats his victims. And he tortures them so much before he kills them" She replied.

"The diary of Britassian's biggest serial killer is a great window into the mind of a blood-thirsty psychopath though. And all the horrific accounts provide great inspiration for torturous illusions you could manifest on your enemies in the future." Zevaryn preached to her. "I mean you're only half Meisai, so your illusion-casting ability works better concentrated on someone rather than spread out and used passively.You have to use it agressively to get the best use out of it."

"I know. I never said it wasn't interesting and useful." She replied. "I like reading all the material you recommend to me. Father used to do the same thing, but those things captured him. Now I have more reason to develop my skills."

"Enthusiasm for finding and eliminating the Celesai is all well and good." He told her. "But they're powerful ancient beings. While it's likely that what we released were all of them, they've already had a few years to plot and increase their strength and numbers. By all means, search for traces of them with us and be ready to fight them if the situation calls for it. But carelessly chasing them will lead only to your defeat."

"I know you're right Zeva. I just miss him." She muttered, her head hanging sadly.

"I'd imagine the field scholars want that book under your arm." Zevaryn commented, changing the subject into productivity. "You should get back to them with it. I'll get someone to deliver some good texts to your house."

Mysika left and made her way back to the ground floor. She got the book issued out to the field scholar's office at the circulation desk and headed back to the field scholars.
Mysi handed over the book she collected and resumed reading her book. She took little interest in watching them chalk up calculated markings around the artefact, but did look up at times. The dark skinned scholar who was leading the experiment on the artefact took out his ritual knife and cut his hand so he could activate the spell circles with blood. More time passed and Mysi had finished her book. She took a peek at the results they were getting. The younger assistant asked her for help with a task that he was having trouble with and she obliged. Eventually the scholars had finished. Some said their goodbyes and went home while those more involved in the artefact's research retreated to the study rooms to write up their report. Before they left, they asked the assistants to clean up after the experiment. Mysi pumped water into a bucket while the boy fetched the scrubbing brushes and soap. A crow flew into the window and landed on her shoulder.

"Maki!" She exclaimed at it. She heard other crows outside coming closer. She started petting the bird. "Did Kali leave something in her office?"

The scavenger cawed in reply. A young woman walked in the front door. She had sleek black hair and dazzling blue eyes. Her black, feathery clothes showed a lot of skin, but were still long and flowing. She held a foreign lightweight spear with bright purple tassels hanging around the tip. Many crows hung around her and some were even perched on her.

"Good evening Kali." Mysi greeted, and the boy waved his hello too. "We're were about to clean up the markings of Mukanda’s experiment. Did you leave something behind this morning?"

"Actually, I came to chat to you." She said with a smirk. She took a brush off the other assistant and started to help out. "It's your twelfth birthday soon, right?"

"It's a couple of days away actually." She replied, accepting the help and quickly beginning to clean up with her. "I still haven't found someone who'll take me on as an apprentice though. I don't want to have to ask a research scholar, I want to go out there and discover things."

Kali laughed, and the crows on her cawed in synchronisation.

"Yeah, it would suck to spend all day underground processing lab results, good thing you won't have to" She said in reply and smiled mischievously at Mysi. "I want to have you as an apprentice."

"Really?!" Mysi answered excitedly. "You told me a while ago that you were too 'young and wild' to take on an apprentice."

"Yeah, well you're what I'm looking for in a student, and Maki likes you." Kali explained to her, then she caught the gaze of the other assistant. "Oh, sorry Todd. You don't need to hear me chatting away to Mysi. Don't worry about the cleaning, just take the books back to the library and then you can go home or whatever."

"Oh, take my book back too please." Mysi added.

They finished cleaning the floor while chatting about the new apprenticeship and how Kali liked to do things. They packed away and took their conversation to the streets. Kali asked if she could stay the night at Mysi's place.

"Well, I'd have to ask Amethyst but I can't see why she'd have any problem with it." She replied.

They approached a house built into a mound, in which a tree sprouted out of the top. Mysi took opened the door and Kali followed her, leaving the crows to roost around the house.

"Ame~. Are you home." Mysi called down the hallway. She received no answer.

"I guess she's still out on some mission." Mysi murmered, picking up the books by the door and heading up the stairs.

"She's nice to have on a mission. Cares for the people she works with and seems to nurture the rookie mercenaries who come with us." Kali said aloud. "Although, I wouldn't want to be her enemy, evocationists are always scary to go up against, but she uses that freezing acid slime so furiously and precise."

"I have that in my blood too." Mysi protested, coating her hand in the dark purple substance and then letting it disappear into mist.

"Yeah, but you don't use an amplification gem, and well, Ame is one." Kali said in reply. She caught the down look on Mysi's face. "She's still a lot like your mother you know. I never really knew her personally, but I did go on a few missions with her as an apprentice. Amethyst's trying to establish herself differently, but she came from the same memories."

They got to Mysi's room and she placed the books on her desk. Her furnishings were quite upper class, but of mixed cultures and tended to favour the colour violet quite a bit. She sat down on her bed. Kali sat down next to her. Maki and some other crows were staring in through the window.

"Just so you know, I'm planning to train you to be a raven shaman too." Kali said casually with a smirk. "So I'm gonna work you twice as hard." She gave a somewhat sadistic laugh.

"Huh...? Okay then. Whatever you can teach me." Mysi replied. "But are you sure you won't me to take on that role?"

"Sure. You have a good affinity for it and it is easier if I only have one apprentice." Kali answered and stood up. "Got anything to eat around here?"

"Not of the proper meal kind." Mysi replied. "We'd have to go to the nightmarket for meat and vegetables and such."

"I think I'll pass, people always complain when I enter the markets. "Kali sighed. "They complain that the crows steal their merchidise. I can't even go to the necromancer's market either because the crows attack their merchandise too."

Mysi started laughing at the image of crows pecking away at zombies. "I'll just get biscuits from the cupboard then."

Later on Amethyst got back with food she bought from the market on the way home. Mysi prepared some dinner while Kali chatted away to Amethyst. They ate together and then made their way to bed after a bit more chatting. Kali left early the next morning and Mysi joined her a bit later. At a more casual time, Amethyst went to see what mercenary jobs were on offer. Later in the day Kali was called to see the field scholar's manager.

"I hear you reserved Kainys' daughter as your apprentice." Said the young man with serious green eyes, who was going over maps and reports on his desk. He had short blond hair, large spectacles and a top hat. "Here are the forms you'll need to document that, although I called you here to inform you of your next mission. The son of the leader of the rangers recently uncovered some ruins quite close to home. I'm assigning you and your new apprentice to check them out just after this midnight."

"Wow, you're deploying her as soon as you can aren't you" Kali commented while taking the papers he handed her. "Do we get anyone to go with us?"

"Well the ranger's leader's son will guide you there, and I'll let you recruit one mercenary and a rookie they're training. Tell Mysi about this assignment and tell her she has the afternoon off to sleep and prepare. The same goes for you." He answered and let Kali leave the room. Kali told Mysi and the scholars ran off to prepare.