Archive of Athanasius

After entering the door, Mikael and Siegfried found themselves in a hallway stretching a long way. The walls were white, decorated with brown wood and several doors along the hallway. They must all be leading to somewhere interesting, Mikael thought as he looked around. Then Siegfried started walking along, signaling Mikael to follow him. After walking a bit they went inside one of the doors in the long hallway.

Upon entering, this room looked to be some sort of laboratory or study as there were various equipment on the different tables along with a filled bookshelf and many, many papers placed on the main desk. In addition to this desk there were also two other tables most likely for some sort of research. Siegfried put the bag down on one of the desks, sat down in a chair by the main desk and pointed to another chair nearby Mikael could sit in. While bringing along his chair, Siegfried started to tinker with some syringes, most likely for collecting blood, since that was part of their agreement. After finishing his tinkering, Siegfried turned to the now sitting Mikael and started talking in a more serious tone than he had used during their first meeting.

"The reason your blood is special Mikael, and also because you have those unique eyes, is because you are only part human."

? What was Siegfried talking about?

"While most of you, is in fact human, you have the blood from a different race. Members of this race are characterized by having crimson eyes, pure white bodies, beautiful wings, and another special ability. The extraordinary ability to adapt in order to improve oneself, resulting in high speed regeneration."

!? Mikael still couldn't wrap his head around it. He was only part human? And he had never heard about this "race" that Siegfried was describing.

"Because of their looks, they are commonly mistaken for angels and because of that misunderstanding are referred to by that name. They constantly strive to improve themselves, reaching unbelievable feats. However, they are also very violent and actively kill humans in particular. Most of them are not intelligent, and can thus be dealt with. The ones that posses intelligence, are some of the strongest beings, able to easily destroy cities.

"...What the fuck... And I'm part "angel"? Are you saying I'm a maneating monster?"

"No, no, not at all. I don't know the details, but you have some angel blood in you which affect your appearance, and granting you your special eyes. And because of your blood, it is possible that you have powers of regeneration."

Ooh. Regeneration sounds cool. My eyes are really nice, but that as well would be even better.

"I mainly want to check your blood to see if you have powers of regeneration. And if you have, then I can use your blood in my research while also helping you cultivate your abilities."

After this "interesting" conversation, Siegfried picked up the syringe and took a sample of Mikael's blood with it. After filling the syringe's vial, he put some drops of the blood on a circular piece of glass and put on what looked to be a monocle. Closely observing the blood, Siegfried smiled very happily. Looking akin to a child opening a present on their birthday. After putting away the monocle, Siegfried turned to Mikael, declaring:

"It really does seem that you have powers of regeneration, indeed. Now that we're finished here I want to show you something very special since you will be living here starting today... You are still good with the agreement?"

Mikael nodded. Standing up from their seats, both of them left the room and continued going further down the hallway, all the way until they reach a crossways. Positioned where a corner should have been was a large double door entry with a big lock in the center between them. Once again, Siegfried reached for his jacket's inner pocket and pulls out the same golden key that was used to enter the "house" or more appropriately, the mansion. Unlocking the doors with the key, Siegfried opens them to a room that is way bigger than what should be physically possible.

The inside of the room expanded as far as the eye could see, which wasn't that far because the horizon was blocked off by many, many rows of giant bookshelves. There didn't seem to be a clear rule as to what is up and down either. With some of the bookshelves being what seems to be the roof, even though there were openings between the them so one can go further in. A bit further into the room was an opened space with a lectern, and behind it, a giant globe covered with layers of bronze wheels rotating around it.

The view was way too surreal. How this worked was beyond Mikael. All he could do was stand still, completely stunned by this ridiculous room. The silence was eventually broken by Siegfried's soothing voice. The voice of a proper gentleman.

"This is the most important room in my home. The "Archive of Athanasius". It's where is store all the things I collect. Everything from magical artifacts to books on various topics. It's basically the world's biggest and most impressive library and collection of magical items."

He seemed like a kid excited to show off his cool toys to a friend, Mikael thought.

Going further in they reach the lectern where a book sat closed. Siegfried stood before it and suddenly, the book opened, turning its own pages at an astonishing rate. Then finally, it stopped on a page where Siegfried put his finger on it, as if choosing from a menu. The book seemed to actually be a register of the archive and it seems Siegfried just found what he was looking for, judging from his satisfied smile.

From the distance they could clearly hear the sound of flapping wings. Approaching them was a thin book which had wings and was flying down straight towards them. Surprised, Mikael looked at the flying book with wonder, while for Siegfried this was a natural occurrence. After the book landed in his hands, the wings evaporated into thin air and Siegfried proceeded to open the book.

"Here is an example of what I have in my collection. This is a "grimoire", a book full of magic spells."

Turning to a random page, Siegfried chose a spell and the air around him solidified, becoming a thick layer of a see through substance similar to gelatin. If one didn't pay attention, they would not see it at all. However, for those that did see it saw a see through shell surrounding Siegfried. The wizard reached out his left arm, while holding the grimoire in his right and knocked on the solidified air. A loud "clunk" sounded in the archive, confirming for anyone watching, that the magical shell was indeed sturdy.

"As you can see, I just used this grimoire to cast the spell, "Shell". I can do it just fine without this, it works as a great demonstration as to what my archive contains. With the help of a grimoire, almost anyone can use the magic spells written in it. They are rare, and sought after by the nobility in every nation and prominent families of mages, such as the "Solnirm" family."

It was all quite overwhelming. Before Mikael was probably the biggest archive to exist, containing just about anything one could probably imagine. The name was a bit peculiar though. What was "Athanasius"? But even so, all he could do was stare in complete awe.

"If you think that was cool, then there are plenty more to show you. This grimoire is far down on the list of impressive items in my collection. I even have different habitats for magical creatures, including unicorns and griffins."

Unicorns!? Unicorns are supposed to be extinct or at least near extinct. They were hunted down and killed by royal families because of the magic unicorns wielded and their beauty. There are also rumors that many wanted to captured them as a gift to their daughters. Today it's virtually impossible to witness a living unicorn.

After the demonstration Siegfried threw the grimoire into the air and it sprouted new wings, flying back to where ever its assigned spot was. Leaving the archive and locking it up, they went through a door not far from the archive doors, leading to a dining hall. The hall had an oval dining table enough for around fifteen, surrounded with fancy chairs for the guests and an even fancier chair for the lord of the house. The edges of the chair were decorated in bronze and the backrest was covered in wine red fabric. "He must really like this color." Mikael thought as the carpet in the room was another color similar to wine red but not quite.

Behind the master's chair on the white wall hung a large painting of a man clad in shining armor, resting his arms on the hilt of a greatsword stabbed into the ground while overlooking a vast field. The short blond hair and emerald green eyes definitely added to his heroic appearance. While admiring the painting, Siegfried happily commented, explaining who the person was.

"That man is recognized far and wide as the great hero, Gaius. Most commonly known for uniting the warring states of Granheim, establishing it as the "Country of Knights". Later killed during the "Second Great Crusade", which ended in failure just like the first one. Since then no nation has been powerful enough to launch a third one."

The painted man did indeed fit the image of a great hero. The painting seemed quite old and Mikael wondered just how expensive it must have been to buy it. 

"Oh, by the way. I need to get back to Caelbrim and retrieve what I came for. In the meantime I will have you shown to your room- and it's also a good idea to take a bath before dinner. Alice!"

Calling for the woman who had stood behind them by the wall, and who Mikael hadn't noticed before now, came forward, ready to fulfill Siegfried's wishes. She was clad in a black dress with a white apron on top of it, as well as a white headdress on her long golden blonde hair. She had beautiful white skin, deep blue eyes, and was a maid judging by the well known uniform.

"Please show Mikael here to his new room Alice, and have Marianne also help with dinner in a couple hours. Hopefully I will be back by then."

"As you wish then. Follow me, Mikael. The bath is over in this direction, but we'll go to your room and give you a proper change of clothes."

…

After bathing Mikael found his new set of clothes placed on a nearby stool in the bathroom. These included black pants, slightly fancy brown shoes and a white shirt with frills along the middle and on the sleeves. These clothes made him appear like the son of a minor nobleman, which was a huge from the dirty clothes from just an hour ago.

After changing, Mikael headed to the dining hall where the food had been finished and was now being placed upon the table by the maid Alice and her coworker Marianne from what Mikael could guess. She wore an identical outfit to Alice but her hair was brown and tied up in a long ponytail as opposed to Alice letting her hair flow.

Sitting close by Siegfried, who had returned from his errand, at the end of the table, the two of them enjoyed the delicious food which was unlike anything Mikael had ever tasted before. To him this was like tasting happiness. The two maids were also eating with them, making them seem less like staff and more like family. During the dinner, Siegfried explained that the only ones living here at the moment were, Siegfried, three maids, including Alice and Marianne, and now Mikael as well. So few for a home this big.

After the lovely dinner Mikael went to his room and get an early rest. The room was not was not very big, but not that small either, seeming to be a little smaller than the laboratory that they had been in earlier. It had a comfy bed, a desk, a bookcase, a wardrobe and a small window to the outside. Looking out, Mikael could see the sun setting and an ocean as far as the eye could see. Weird. Where is this mansion anyway.

He could ask all the questions he wanted tomorrow though. But even though he had seemed optimistic and happy for the new change in his life, Mikael was also simultaneously worried that he would once again be abandoned, just like he had once before. Even though Siegfried's eyes held no deception, Mikael could not help to feel anxious about his future.

And while pondering these thoughts, Mikael fell asleep in a proper bed for the first time in his thirteen year long life.