The Ancient library

"Finally!" The boy shouted as he picked his bow. He had been slaving at the old butcher's shop for months so that he could scrape enough money together to buy a bow and some arrows, now he had.

All around, he had been telling everyone about his crazy plan to become a mercenary, one who uses a bow. Many of the folks listening to the child were used to this. He was quite outspoken about his dream, which always solicited a laugh from his listeners.

Many who knew him found him to be quite a likable kid, despite his background. He never seemed to let anything sully his spirits. The old butcher had a special liking for him, hardworking and honest, he never had a cause to complain. The boy would promise to bring him some game once he learned how to hunt, and the old butcher bore no doubt about that.

"Don't get lost out there." The old butcher shouted. Now that the day had finally come, the boy didn't seem to hear what he'd said. With a sigh, the butcher understood what was going through the boy's head.

Hours later, the boy returned, his countenance had fallen. He looked defeated. The unbridled joy that had been beaming off his face was all but extinguished. He then came to the old butcher in tears saying, "I am sorry Uncle Tima, I could shoot down any game."

"Don't worry old boy, you just need some training, you'll be taking them down in no time." Chuckling, the butcher took the time to comfort the boy, make him feel safe and okay.

"Who will train me then?" The boy was uncomfortable it seemed.

"Let's make a deal," The old butcher said, "If you want me to train you, then we have to make a deal. You will learn both archery and both reading and writing."

Up till this moment, Chege had never seen much point in education. To him, reading and writing was something the rich kids did, a privilege that he was not privy to. Yet here it was being offered to him. He felt like a different world was being opened up for him. It was only after he started reading that he understood what a toll it took on someone, and within no time, he was like every other student.

Now Chege found himself remembering that kind old man. It was because of him that Chege could make sense of what he was seeing.

Standing at the entrance, Chege couldn't begin to wrap his head around what he was seeing. All over the hall were scrolls. Like any grand library, it was littered with scrolls all over. The entire structure expanded to a space of about 300 meters deep underground. Its width was up to 100 meters, and there were about 10 rows with about 5 racks worth of scroll. Just looking at them, Chege was blown away.

"Welcome to the great library." High priestess Menza was more fluent in the god language than Oyoo, so she spoke something close to what Chege could understand. It wasn't very accurate, and it came out formal and strained, but communication was achieved.

Chege wasn't even paying attention as he made his way in the hall. He reached out to one of the scrolls and unfurled it. To his pleasant surprise, he could read it. These scrolls had all been written in his language.

Reaching out to another, he found that his assumption was wrong. Some scrolls he could understand, others he did not. This was a treasure trove that Chege had not hoped to find, such a boon.

Over the next few days, life seemed to have established a rhythm, a sense of normalcy. The mayi were engrossed in community building activities, making the shelter habitable. Despite it being underground, it was shaping up to be quite beautiful, especially with the luminescent green stalactites that lit up the underground like street lights.

There was food, shelter, and security. Everyone felt content and hopeful of the future, the sullen mood having dissipated.

On his part, Chege also got into a routine. He would rise early and go to the library, where he spent most of his time. When he got bored, he would have a chat with Oyoo, or the high priestess if she was available. Every so often, he would visit his captives and try to make conversation with them.

Dr. Hanni was like a kid in a mall. He couldn't get enough of the creatures. As someone who had dedicated his life to the study of the extra-terrestrial, he loved every moment of it. Contrary to his companion, who was perpetually in a sullen mood, Dr. Hanni took this as a learning experience.

He could remember discussions about venturing into the wild and co-existing with the aliens to get a better understanding of them, but that had remained a pipe dream. No one wanted to throw their lives aimlessly, so it was never done. Now he had a front-row seat, and though his life was forfeit, he was a glass-half-full kind of guy.

Due to Doctor Hanni's excitement, he, together with Chege, had begun forming a mode of communication. More than just signs, a form of a language was being formed. It was still a long way from being anything concrete, but so far, things were looking up.

There were all kinds of scrolls. Some were informative, others being biographies. Some works were fiction while others were non-fiction, historical or educative. There were even those that Chege could understand the words but not the context. Yet these were the readable ones. Over time, some had disintegrated so severely they couldn't be perused, let alone read.

The early days were spent with Chege trying to familiarize himself with the scrolls. He sorted them in sections. He then dove into the history books. He wanted some answers over where he was and how he ended up here, and more importantly, how to go back home.

After several days of seeking out any information, Chege hadn't made any progress on this front. Though he desperately wished for these answers, they weren't so forthcoming. However, there were a few boons obtained.

All his life, Chege had never been a scholar. As such, reading was not his cup of tea, and for the most part, he had to struggle to finish reading a letter. Yet now as he was reading the scrolls, he realized that not only was reading much easier than he remembered, but he also didn't even have to struggle to get the meaning behind the text. Could his intelligence have been improved along with everything else? Chege wondered. It was a reasonable assumption, one made by a very smart mind.

One fateful afternoon, Chege had reached out his hand and started studying the educative text out of frustration. As he perused its pages, he found himself enjoying the text and the words in it. Try as he might, Chege couldn't put down the scroll until he was done. Even after, he found himself wanting to reread so that he may understand better.

The book he'd picked up was about the Fire Element. It touched on the basics of casting a fireball by manipulating Fire Elementary particles. The concept seemed simple enough, save for one hitch. One had to have some affinity to the Fire Element.

Most of what was in the text Chege didn't understand, as it was not for beginners. He didn't even know what Mana was, but based on what the book described, he could make out a few things about it.

Firstly, Mana was the force or power behind magic powers. It was clear that for one to cast a spell they needed to gather mana around themselves. It seemed as though mana was the medium in which magic was cast, just like swimming is done in water.

However, to manipulate mana, one needed ona. Ona was the measure of one's internal power. Ona was to magic what speed was to haste. To perform a spell, one needed to release internal energy(ona) to interact and manipulate the external medium(mana).

The more that Chege read, the more he desired to perform the spell. While the library was quiet, Chege decided against practicing in there. If anything went wrong, there wasn't any other place he could obtain the scrolls, hence he sneaked out.

This was the first time Chege would leave the cave after so many days had passed, and boy was he looking forward to seeing sunlight. Not that he was restricted, but he had gotten lost a couple of times trying to find his way, and he didn't know his way. He eventually had to call Oyoo to act as a guide, but he did well to hide the scroll. The matriarch had insisted that no scrolls would leave the library.

Finally, Chege was outside and a good distance away from anything delicate, other than Oyoo of course. He then sat down and closed his eyes.

Before a mage could cast a spell, they needed to understand and interact with mana, and that was what Chege did. He used his ona to reach out and feel the mana around him. It felt like a warm breeze, only it encompassed all of him. He could feel its fluctuations, and he even trying releasing his power into the environment. It felt like a stirring of some water, or more like a magnet, drawing all mana to himself.

Taking a deep breath, Chege lifted his palm and aimed at a tree. Following the explanations and examples illustrated on the scroll, he was able to start the process, but he wasn't sure if he had the Fire Element affinity. If he didn't, then he was doing little more than waving at a tree.

However, the moment he released his power, he felt his hand heating up. It did not pain or ache, but he could feel his body being excited, particularly around his arms. More importantly, he felt a strange power build up within him, rising to a crescendo. He did his best to understand what was happening, but he had too little information. Right now, he was just following instincts.

The power building within him felt wonderful, almost like an orgasm. Many mages had recorded that performing magic consciously for the first always felt awesome. As time went by, it wasn't the pleasure that deteriorated, but the drive for power that overtook this pleasure. Many lamented over that, all the while enjoying the power magic commanded.

The ona build up in his body fused with the ambient mana to bring about immense power. Chege almost stopped, but he found that he couldn't.

A small flame was formed at the edge of his palm, but it continued growing. Bigger and bigger it got, showing no signs of stopping. By now, it was the size of a ping pong ball, but it continued growing. Faster and faster it grew. Beyond the size of a basketball, it still did not stop.

Oyoo stared in surprise as a fireball with a diameter of about 2 meters was formed. She wanted to flee, but the power behind the flames was so intimidating she felt powerless to move. When Chege opened his eyes, they were blazing as the fire element flowed within him.

In a single breath, he released the ball of fire, sending it towards the forest at an unimaginable speed. It incinerated everything in its path as it made its way towards its target.

Boom!

The ball of fire was like a missile, destroying a major portion of the forest. Dust, smoke, and ash rocked the entire valley. Any nearby mayi folk ran to the shelters, scared for their lives. The ensuing explosion created a massive crater.

On a spaceship orbiting around the planet, the instruments picked up a massive heatwave. It only appeared for a moment, and when they turned their cameras to investigate, all they found was a crater.

"Alert ground troops, we might have the current location of the creatures."