14 The Records

A few miles away from the Talley household in the center of the capital, a tall man with long strides and a permanent scowl on his face, was walking down a cobble stone street. The street had only one flickering lamp, keeping most of the road in shadows. Most of the light that was able to line the path, spilled out from the doors and windows of the bars that were still open. The man ignored the loud guffaws and cheers that came from the late-night revelers as he stepped past an unconscious drunk and walked into an alley. At the back of the alley he stopped in front of an unremarkable door and without pausing, entered.

The door opened to a dimly lit room. One other person was in it, seated on a wooden stool. When the tall man came in, the man on the stool noticed the large unassuming sword that hung on the man's waist, it's only adornment a dark ruby egg inserted on the hilt. Right away the guard knew who the man was. Only one man carried this sword. The name of the sword was Devil Killer, named for having been baptized in the blood of devils, and the ruby was to have been made from the blood tears of every person it had killed. The man who carried the sword was even scarier. Hastily the guard stood up and saluted, shouting, "Captain!"

The captain frowned when he saw this over eager display by this low-ranking guard. He didn't like noisy people. He waved his hand, making the guard return to his post. The guard wanting to please the legendary captain, immediately sat down and had focused, non-blinking stare at the main door. The captain walked right past him and into another room.

The room was packed with old, musty books piled on table tops. Men were scurrying around and slowly combing through them, and every once in a while, pausing to take down information. The captain walked up to one of these men. This man was the steward of the national library. The librarian carried the strong air of a devoted intellect, wearing long plain, grey robs and small wiry glasses.

"Have you found anything new?" the captain asked.

The librarian, not even noticing the arrival of the captain, didn't look up but kept pouring through the heavy tome before him. The captain then loudly cleared his throat, but still failing to gain the librarian's attention he heavily clapped his hand on the librarian's shoulder.

The captain repeated his question again, "Have you found anything new?"

The librarian pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and turned the page before replying, "Some interesting tidbits here and there. Did you know that the legendary Brougis family actually has no relation to the great hero from the war with the white devils 500 years ago? Apparently, the man was sterile, all of his children were adopted. They are an uppity bunch so proud of sharing blood with their great ancestor, if they ever learn of this, I want to see their faces!" The librarian's voice got more excited the longer he rambled.

The captain's face remained uninterested. Few people would ever believe that the head librarian, and most renowned historian in the world, who was a studious man that looked and lived like a monk, a man with few worldly concerns, was the worst gossip in the city.

"Any relevant information to the search?" the captain specified. These past few weeks he become used to the librarian's endless chatter.

"Indeed! Yesyesyes."

The librarian got up and whisked across the room. He bumped into many other researchers, even knocking one in the back of the head with his elbow. The people behind him grumbled, but he continued without stopping until he reached a sturdy table that was stacked with towers of books that reached the height of a man.

He went swiftly moved the books away to pick up a massive volume that was laying at the very bottom. The librarian grunted and tried to pick up the book but was unable to lift it even an inch off the table. Sighing in exasperation the caption went over and easily lifted the book for him.

"Thank you captain my weak back couldn't handle carrying such weight." The librarian put his hands at his lower back and groaned in pain.

"Stop fooling around," the captain said, starting to lose his patience.

"Yesyes captain! Right over here captain! You can place it here," the librarian said gleefully. His backpain now seemingly cured.

The captain did as he was told and took the book over to another table. The troublemaking librarian was already sitting contently waiting for him. The captain held the book over the table and let it drop from his hands. The book landed with a loud thud, almost crushing one of the librarian's hands. With the loud bang everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked over at them.

Seeing all the attention on them the librarian immediately fussed, "Captain, this book is a national treasure, containing valuable information of our history. You cannot treat it so carelessly."

The captain stared down at the librarian and coldly said, "Show me." His icy presence, demanding no nonsense, stopped the librarian's childish behavior.

"Yesyes," the librarian quickly replied, now showing a more dutiful attitude. He opened the book and briskly flipped through the pages, making a cloud of dust fly through the air.

He was over halfway into the book before he paused. "I did find something that might be something of interest for you. This book contains the family lineages from the time when time began. Most of the family lines that still exist today have carefully maintained their pureblood status. Almost none of the main family lines have a trace of mixed blood."

"Then what about the other branches, or the illegal children?"

The librarian shook his head, "Most concubines that marry in were born from concubines as well or from average families. Tracing their lineage is almost impossible. It is too murky, but that is not what is interesting." The librarian pointed to the corner of the page in front of him. "This is a line of a current main wife, but see this here? The words are faded and the corner is torn."

"It's an old book that's understandable," the captain said, unimpressed.

"No, that's just it. Most people would probably overlook it," the librarian bent putting his eyes at eye level with the page and stroked it, "but this is the current legal wife. It should have been recorded with their union, the ink should not have faded, yet it looks like it has been untouched for hundreds of years. Then there is the torn corner. This book really is a treasure, it holds the records of all the prominent families. Their lives, their marriages, their deaths. All of it is recorded here. A treasure is well taken care of, I would not allow any book in my keeping, let alone a treasured one, have a torn page."

The librarian sat up and looked at the stalwart captain with eyes that were begging to be praised.

"Good job. I will send my men to investigate right away." The captain overlooked the librarian's pleading eyes and got a closer look at the page in front of him. After reading the names he left to send orders.

It might have been small, but suspicions were growing in the captain's heart. Even if it was just a coincidence, it was still enough of a lead to look into. And if the Talley household did have mixed blood offspring then it was best to have it all taken care of quickly and quietly.

He would give orders to have his men sent in in, and if they saw a mixed breed or found evidence of one…then it was best to exterminate the entire polluted plant, roots and all.