"Gods, we got so sidetracked," Anne said suddenly, pulling Caius back from whatever distance he had wandered,

"Where was I? Oh right, most of the manuscripts you handed me have been very hard to decipher.

But I've made headway with one."

"Oh?" Caius answered and Anne was already piling together notes while carefully lifting a manuscript with it. She handed them all to Caius.

He stared at the manuscript first and it was almost funny how now knowing how hard it had been to decipher, the writing seemed all the more like gibberish to him.

He decided to focus on Anne's notes instead for the translation that he could understand.

The Manuscript apparently contained Alchemical Procedures and Caius smiled because it confirmed his guess. Because of how strange the writing had been with the original, he was mostly going on a hunch. Now he knew he was on the right track.

This translated manuscript wasn't at all detailed or complete though. Really, it seemed more like a collection of footnotes which made even less sense since what it was referencing were likely part of the untranslated pile still giving Anne trouble.

"This is good," Caius said out loud.

"I'd hope so," Anne said with a little smile, and then got a look in her eyes as she watched Caius keep looking through her translation notes before asking,

"So do you know who wrote them?"

"Hmm?" Caius intoned as he raised his eyes from the notes.

Anne gestured at the notes that littered her desk.

"As I've said, a lot of these are not written in any of Lochxen's lost languages…" she started.

"Yeah, you said something earlier about them being languages from before the reign of mortals," Caius noted.

"An educated guess. Languages are numerous and it's impossible to understand them all by just knowing a couple. But once you've seen enough mortal languages, you see patterns that point to some commonality. Most of the symbols here don't have that.

And if it's because their languages are such a far-gone existence… well, I can't help but wonder about who wrote them at all?

Was it a god? Or was it a mortal who lived when the gods ruled the mortal plane?

That would make all this an obscenely rare and valuable piece of history."

Caius smiled lightly at how imaginative she was being.

"I believe a Mage called Allegra wrote it. It was among the legacy she left behind in her tomb. But while Allegra did live/die thousands of years ago, I don't believe she was part of the age before the reign of mortals."

"Hmm," Anne said, "But all this…"

"Allegra was… talented. She did things no one should be able to do. Cheated divine ordinances. Pushed the innovation on various works of life; Alchemy, Crafting, and so on.

Language was likely just another dabble of hers. I suspected she didn't write those manuscripts in the common tongue to keep the knowledge hidden. I just didn't realize how far she went."

Anne's expression became a curious one and she leaned back in her chair while eyeing Caius.

"You speak like you know her," she said.

"You could say that, I suppose," Caius answered, "Why do you ask?"

"There was a flavor of familiarity in your tone when you spoke of her, is all," Anne said.

"Well," Caius said in a low voice as he raised the manuscript, "You can learn a lot about someone by reading about them."

"She's notable in history?" Anne asked, surprised now.

The name Allegra hadn't rung any specific bells. And if anyone would know, it would be her. She was something of an expert at it, after all.

Sure many had borne that name in the history of the Acheron Empire but as far as she knew, none was a candidate of the sheer genius she was staring at and hardly understanding in the notes Caius had handed her.

"Somewhat. Think of her as being more notable in fiction," Caius said vaguely still looking at the footnotes. One of these references was sure to direct him to what he needed and what he needed was Allegra's expertise in dealing with materials one shouldn't.

Allegra had sought out vestiges of Divinity and crafted a device that could house it. She had devised a workaround to the set limit of the Evolution charge within a person. If anyone would know what to do with Demon Blood, it was her.

When Caius took Belron's blood, he reasoned that it was a valuable trump card. He was right of course. It would act similarly to Magical Beast Blood and could be used to craft something akin to a 'Trait Acquisition Potion'.

But to use it as it was would be a recipe for disaster because he was a Vampire. Blood might be their way but Demonic energy was not. As much as Vampires are vilified (and rightfully so), they are not demons. They are monsters, yes, but they are monsters backed by Divine ordinance. Which, interestingly enough, is not all that uncommon.

Humans already have terrible integration with Demonic power but Vampires are even worse off. To dabble in such is to incur the wrath of the Goddess Nyx, which, as established, is tantamount to an instant death.

But Caius didn't think that reaction was because Nyx was paying attention but rather just part of the makeup of a Vampire. I.e Once Demonic energy is inside a Vampire and is utilized, death is next. As such, if he was right and it was simply a matter of his vampiric nature… Well, nature can be cheated.

And who better to trust to cheat nature than the one who had given him the foundations to create a Divine Seed? Which, again, he should not have been able to do.

"Caius?" Anne called.

Caius blinked and looked at her chair to see that she was no longer seated in it. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed her standing and walking to his side where she now stood.

"Sorry," he said with a little smile.

"It's alright," Anne said. Her robe had fallen open to reveal scanty clothing within with a chest piece that was struggling to contain the greatness that was her chest.

Anne secured her robe but as she stepped and sat at the edge of her desk, it slipped open again ever so slightly. A very alluring sight.

"If I'm going to decipher the others, I'll need to do a lot more research. It might take some time," Anne said slowly, looking off to the side.

"Take all the time you need," Caius said.

He would have preferred to have what he wanted now but as things were, what good would it do to even rush her? He hadn't handed her all of Allegra's manuscripts—which were numerous—and focused only on those whose descriptions—the only part he could somewhat understand—looked Alchemical.

The rest, he had left with Arlette who had tasked 'Ophiuchus' with the task of deciphering them. And he was starting to think they wouldn't have any luck if Anne was having this much trouble.

"It would mean leaving Lochxen," Anne said and looked into Caius's face.

"It would?" he asked.

"Lochxen has extensive knowledge on so much. However, I'm afraid this is one field they are completely lacking in."

"Where will you go?" Caius asked.

"We'll start at the capital, I think," Anne said, "I have contacts there that could point me in the right direction."

"'We'?" Caius asked, confused.

"Yes, Lea and I," Anne answered, "She's not at the Academy today because she's preparing for the departure. We'll likely have to journey past the Acheron Empire borders and such journeys require supplies."

"You're already… You've been planning this?" Caius asked, stunned.

"This is important to you, is it not?" Anne asked.

"Well, yes…" Caius started.

"Then of course, we have," Anne cut in to say like it just made sense, and then she smiled lightly as she added,

"Besides Lea and I haven't spent a holiday together in a decade. This has the potential to satisfy both of us;

Her desire for adventure and mine for linguistic research. It could be the most fun we've had for a holiday since she was a teen.

The Mid-Semester break is simply an opportunity I don't think we can pass up."

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