Fireborn (The Dark Dragon Chronicles Book 2) by Ripley Harper

Author:Ripley Harper [Harper, Ripley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fireborn
Publisher: Ripley Harper
Published: 2020-03-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Mostly referred to simply as the ‘Codex’, it has been dated to approximately 250-150 BCE, but it is now widely accepted that the information contained therein probably predates even mythical antiquity. (See Chapter 3 for exciting new evidence which suggests that the oldest existing document was directly transcribed from a set of tablets in the palaces of the Persian King of Kings (5th century BCE) and that the knowledge on those tablets, in turn, came from an earlier civilization of which no trace now remains.)

The manuscript itself has a long and interesting history. The surviving scroll was originally housed in the Great Library of Alexandria (circa 200 BCE). In the fires that spelled the end of that great center of learning, all the original, immeasurably ancient texts which might have pre-dated the Codex were lost, but by a spectacular stroke of luck (see Chapter 3) the Codex itself was spared and later relocated to the Imperial Library of Constantinople. By all accounts, it remained there until it was seized by the Venetians in the Fourth Crusade in 1204, whereafter it found its way to the House of Keepers in Rome, less than a century later. There it remained for over five hundred years until its mysterious disappearance in the mid-nineteenth century.

From A Brief History of The Order of Keepers by Lord Harry Charles Shawcross (1961)

For a little while, I allow Gunn to convince me that everything will be alright.

I spend the next three weeks honing my firemagic skills in an atmosphere of almost dreamlike peace and simplicity. In the continued absence of phones and shops and texts and news and school and social media, the days become strangely timeless, boiled down to a rich essence both simpler and more satisfying than anything I’ve known since childhood: Healthy food. Fresh air. Friendship. Long walks. Learning. A shared sense of purpose.

I spend most of my days in the study with Daniel’s mother, hiding from the heat outside, while she teaches me everything she knows about firemagic. Which isn’t a lot, unfortunately. One problem is that most discussions end up with me clutching my head and groaning, paralyzed by the Pendragon spell. The other problem is that firemagic isn’t supposed to exist, which means Sofia talks more about myths and legends and ancient religions than about actual firemagic. According to her, these stories often contain a kernel of truth about the powers of my kind, and she hopes that some incidental wisdom will light a spark inside me (or as Gunn would have it, “unlock the genetic memories stored within my DNA”). So, obviously a well-thought-out and not at all desperate plan.

At first Sofia tries to get me to read a bunch of books and scholarly articles, but there’s just so much of it, and it’s all so eye-wateringly dull, that in the end she starts tutoring me herself. I try my best to listen carefully, which isn’t too difficult because she’s a good teacher: interesting and funny and to the point. But I don’t take notes.

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