29. Investigations #2
The Conclave’s sole purpose was to serve the Sovereign Queen and the Royal Family in protecting all territories within Nevaria from invasion.
This meant that only the most powerful riders were allowed to join their ranks.
As Aeden understood it, he would become an Adept once he graduated and was deemed combat ready.
Then through combat and proven ability, a rider could become a Warden, and then a Sentinel.
That path would lead to the Master rank, which meant a rider could teach at any one of the four academies across the land.
There were ranks within the Conclave too, but Aeden wasn’t too familiar them.
All he knew was that to serve was the highest achievement, and their ranks only consisted of the purest bloodlines.
“Trust me, you’ll know if they arrive,” Lyric said. “Sorry to put all of this on you, but I believe you deserve to know everything.”
“Which is still not a lot,” Aeden said, his mood souring. “Now what do we do?”
“Well, we have established that you’re going to train, and I am going to research, to try to find out exactly where Nyra comes from and help you tend to those wings of hers. ”
“Thank you,” Aeden said, “for all of this, for everything you are doing to try and help her. It’s more than what anyone else at the academy is doing.”
“It will be my honour to help such a beautiful Aer-Kin like Nyra. There’s something about her that I believe will shock the academy, make them regret ever doubting what she is capable of. I am sure of it.”
The two of them set about trawling through pages and pages of Lyric’s notes and documented imprints.
Aeden decided to check every one of the Support Aer-Kin index just to be on the safe side.
With the quiet between them, Aeden contemplated taking the opportunity to ask Lyric if he had known his parents, but for some reason he couldn’t muster up the courage.
As much as Aeden was growing to trust him, Lyric was already risking a lot withholding certain information from Director Vale.
If he was snooping around about his parents, could he be sure that it wouldn’t be fed back to her?
With this in mind, Aeden opted to keep quiet.
Perhaps he would wait a little longer before enquiring about them given everything else that was going on.
When they were done with all of the old books, Lyric would fetch more through from his office, which was attached to the hatchery.
It took them most of the morning just for Aeden to go through the Support imprints alone, but Lyric had at least started to make some headway with the Scout index.
It was a slow and monotonous task, with Aeden taking the time to study every single imprint on every single page, looking for any tiny detail that would give them a hint as to Nyra’s breed.
Lyric’s frustration was clear as he let out a huff of air, as if he himself was ready to breathe fire .
“Is it that important that we know her breed?” Aeden asked.
“To me it isn’t, no, but to the Conclave . . .” His expression soured, as if troubled by his own thoughts. “If they arrive and see she can’t fly, they will not be impressed. If we can’t prove she comes from a pure bloodline . . . Well, that will only serve to make things worse.”
As it stood, it felt like everything was stacked against Nyra, not only with her broken wings but also the lack of clarity around her bloodline. With that in mind, Aeden suddenly felt more determined than ever to find any kind of evidence in Lyric’s records.
But every time he compared each imprint only to find no similarities, his disheartenment rose.
Books and papers piled higher and higher as Lyric’s hut gradually began to look more like a library than a home – if a library was this untidy and uncoordinated.
Books were scattered across the floor and every table, some opened, some piled up high creating mini towers, one of which Lyric had ended up fashioning a makeshift table using a spare peace of wood - only to then use this as a platform to store more books. It had become a hoarder’s paradise.
“What’s your next lesson?” Lyric finally broke the silence.
Aeden turned another page, barely recognising the question. His index finger and thumb were now blackened from the charcoal on the parchment, and his eyes were tired and heavy from all the reading.
“You there, lad?”
“Sorry, what?” Aeden shook his head, blinking his eyes as they started to water.
“Your next lesson. What is it? ”
“Cartography, I think.” Panic surged through him. “Shit, I lost track of time. I can’t be late, not again.”
He quickly folded up the book on his lap, placed it on the pile next to him, and raced to the door. “Tell Nyra that I’ll call over after my classes.”
“You can just tell her yourself; that’s kind of the purpose of your Weave.”
This was something Aeden still needed to get used to, and he laughed to himself as he raced out of Lyric’s hut.
The last thing he wanted was to give Director Vale any extra ammunition when it came to him and Nyra.
“Thanks for this, Lyric!” he called over his shoulder.
“If I find anything in the meantime, I’ll ask Nyra to give you a shout through your Weave.”
With that, Aeden shut the door behind him and ran to his next class, uncertain how much time had passed since getting lost in the books.
He only hoped he hadn’t missed the lesson completely.
He’d had more than one warning about his timekeeping, and having bonded with Nyra, he didn’t want to give the academy any further reason to reprimand him.