The surrounding area was barren, filled with cracks on the ground as if the land had been stripped of its very life force, abandoned by the nature deity. Dust devils whipped across the surface, strong enough to tumble rocks over. There was a matted down dirt path that we drove, where only dead trees dotted across the empty landscape. Even the air was dry and hot. I could feel my skin being repulsed by the heat.

Highthorn noticed me in discomfort and hit some sort of switch, which caused a cool breeze to flow through the car. “It gets bad out here. We aren’t even in the hottest time of year.”

“Thank you,” I replied. My hair swayed from the cool wind magic. This was something I would definitely have to implement in the library. While the library kept a steady climate, cool air blowing across your skin would be great. I could even use hot air to be nice and cozy!

The area outside the dome seemed like it was dead and forgotten. I had no clue what kind of calamity could have caused this on a global scale. It was scary to think that the entire world looked like this. People now hid inside domes tucked away from the world around them.

The calamity beasts must be terrifying to cause such destruction. Weren’t there any heroes that would rise up against the monsters? It was almost like society had given up, as if life outside the dome wasn’t worth it. There had to have been some sort of method to deal with these calamities, but maybe only the protection of the domes was safe? I wanted to find out, but first I wanted to see how people that had been banished were getting by. If they were taking active measures against the calamity beasts, then shouldn’t the leaders of the domes also take the initiative?

“How are people able to live out here with such a barren climate? If they can live outside of the dome, then why can’t the leaders do something about the calamity beasts?” I asked my guard inquisitively, not able to understand why no one had stopped the beasts.

“We are on our way to a refuge right now, but they are in a mountain instead of a dome, the cost of getting a dome is basically unheard of. Most resources are grown inside of the mountain. They scavenge for resources and gem deposits. Killing calamity beasts is an excellent source of materials that sell well, but the risk is great. Their residual mana can power several gems. Their meat is highly nutritious; the wealthy buy it for a lot of money. The king always tried to buy it before his money problems.”

“That sounds like a horrible way to live. Hasn’t an army arisen against them?” There must have been some collaborative effort. I really needed to read those history books. I didn’t want to pry because it was none of my business, but the king having money problems sounds like a big issue. It was just one more thing to worry about.

“There are stories of people trying, but there are gargantuan size calamity monsters that defeat any army. The only thing that repels them is domes. They don’t bother trying to attack the settlements that are underground or inside of mountains, but anything uncovered is a source of food. All calamity monsters strip the land of mana; that is how they maintain their energy. Even if a smaller one gets into a military force, they grow stronger as they steal their victims’ mana.”

So that’s why the land looks so scarred and empty. They are monsters that suck the mana out of the land, making it unable to grow. “Do you know how they came about?”

“The stories say that kingdoms long ago created them as weapons against each other. Though no one will take ownership; that was covered up so that their descendents wouldn’t be persecuted like the magic users were.”

So that’s why the humans were cursed by the gods. Destroying the lands would make the beast gods as well as any nature gods furious. That made experimenting with the curse even more dangerous. I would definitely have to do it in secret. The library seemed like it would be the safest place to carry out any tests.

“Were magic users the only one to be blamed for this? Weren’t they ordered by their leaders to engage in this?” I got some sort of hazy memory of lots of attack magic being read right before people stopped coming to the library. It had destroyed one of the book clubs I enjoyed. People that were friends stopped being around each other and started to be very secretive. They all must’ve been planning something against each other. I wished I had known, I might’ve been able to do something. Going down memory lane and trying to see if I could glean any specifics would be a good idea.

“Yes, they were blamed for all of it and before anyone realized the consequences, magicians had disappeared. The next generation of children were unable to use magic and their children couldn’t either. Everyone was hiding inside of mountains and underground, scared that the calamity beasts would hunt them down. At some point, books made their way around with knowledge of the gem magic and many other survival skills, all mentioning you. The corporations rose with the development of domes, which released people from hiding. I know little more than that. The Academy might tell you more or the church, but the corporations are very tightlipped about gem technology.”

“So, if there were so many magical beasts, how did people even survive?” That was a lot to take in. I would need to digest all the knowledge later and talk to others that knew more than my guard. It’s safe to say though that library members in my fan club had saved everyone, but I still wasn’t sure why they were citing me.

“They died off as they attacked each other over resources and territory. Luckily, the calamity monsters attacked different nations. Monsters try to drain their mana from one another and rarely chased after humans. Unless you get in their way, they barely notice you.”

“So they eat people?”

“No, they drain you of all your mana and life force and leave you there as an empty husk.”

That shocked me and I felt my stomach turn at the idea of all of my mana being drained from me. I had plenty of mana, but a gargantuan calamity beast might be a threat. A threat to my reading time! This was another thing to investigate, how these calamity beasts worked. If the knowledge of creating them came from the library, then maybe I could do something about it. I sat in silence, thinking about the information I had just heard.

“We are here, Lady Astrid. Look to your right where the hill is. They live inside like the old days.”

Outside of the window, there was a tan dirt hill nearly the size of a mountain. There was a front entrance and a winding pathway to the top, where another door was visible. I guessed that was for defense. There could be more doors that were out of sight, but keeping the total number low kept it easier to defend. At the top of the hill you could see some sort of walled off area, I guess they had some sort of open area up there. I wanted to check out the view. I resisted the urge to just fly up there myself.

It seemed I had the wrong idea of how they were living. Instead of a flatland with buildings rising out of the ground, they were in a hill, not even jutting out of the hill like the kingdom. I quickly dove into my memobrary looking for books by mountain folk. They typically stayed in a mountainous region on another continent; they were called dwarves. They stuck to mining as their major source of culture and income. Their uses of earth magic were unique to their situation, so that is where I looked first.

The book titled “Earth Blending: How to Make the World Underneath Work for You” by T.O Hoff  was the first text I grabbed to go through. The book described the process of manipulating the earth to reinforce structures to prevent collapses and how to make various city basics such as sewage systems. There was even an advance spell on turning waste into fertilizer. The second book I grabbed covered a viable food source while in the underground “The Wonderful World of Magical Mushroom Manipulation.” It briefly talked about how miners grow these mushrooms as they mined deep into the mountains. The mushrooms would take their mana, growing passively as they worked. They could even be put in bedrooms; you just had to be careful to grow breeds that didn’t consume too much mana too fast. It described the magical process of creating a variety of mushrooms, which should help the refugees inside. Though I wouldn’t be making the mushrooms titled “Shroomies”, meant for play.

“Lady Astrid, we are here. It is customary to check in with the front office,” Highthorn said, looking around, coming off very tense.

Him speaking caused me to leave my memobrary. “You seem worried?” I questioned him, wondering what he was so worried about.

“There are only the two of us and while I know some people in there, I don’t trust all of them, especially with your ladyship around.”

“Thank you for your concern, but my safety is fine. I am more worried about my name and my ability to get books. Please don’t mention my name till I do.” If anything happened, I would defend him. I could not look at his kids again if their father died protecting me when I didn’t need it.

Though he seemed a little dejected, like he had read through the lines, he got out and opened the door. I hopped out, and he closed the door behind me while I looked around. The car lowered to the ground, probably to conserve mana till activated again. The harsh winds blew on my face, causing me to squint.

“Let me get the door for you, Lady Astrid.” He knocked on the door.

There was a long groan that could be heard through the iron door. “Who are you and what do you want?” a male voice yelled through the door. A small window opened and a pair of blue eye peered out of us that changed from dreary to shocked. Immediately, the door swung open, revealing an older man with long peppered brown hair and a brown robe. He came off as more of a monk than a wizard, but both loved their robes. “I apologize for the discourtesy. No one informed us of a royal envoy,” he said, getting down on one knee with his head down.

“You are forgiven,” I replied

“The lady here wishes to see the entire base. Consider this a random audit,” Highthorn said, taking the lead for me.

“And your names are? So that I may notify the others. My name is Firth.” He asked the both of us, particularly looking at me. I really hoped he didn’t recognize me. I didn’t want another episode like at dinner the other day.

As if sensing my discomfort, my guard covered for me, “My name is Highthorn Valwreck. You can call her Lady. She is a guest from afar and does not wish for her name to be known.” 

My guard had my back but I really needed to come up with some sort of temporary name. It was good that he was standing up for me, but I mean, I was supposed to be a head administrator now and should be able to speak up for myself. I knew that my anxiety would go up if I talked to too many people at once, but it would never get better if I didn’t practice being more of an extrovert. This was just a side effect of having been in the library for so long, especially the last thousand years where I was alone.

“Yes, you can call me Lady A, thank you. Please stand up and show us in,” I replied, mustering up a disguise name.

He stood up and nodded at me. We followed him inside of the hill. The room was a medium size hollowed out hole; the dirt seemed to be compacted with protruding rocks. The area was well lit by glow stones which I was very familiar with because they were a unique rock that stayed lit with ambient mana, which was fascinating for an inanimate object. They were easy to find, which was another question I had when studying them because just about every region had them.

“Please wait here. So that I can notify the others to come greet you.” He went off into some side room and the door closed behind us. A moment later, he came back out with a smile. “Your name is Highthorn, correct? I got notice that your family would arrive yesterday. We thought they had died in between. We were told you couldn’t be put to death.” 

“Lady A here saved me from that and took in my family,” he said, looking at me with a smile. 

I felt my face heat up a little at being praised in public. “Well, it was only a mistake. You don’t need to keep on thanking me. I think I won by gaining a loyal guard. How often do you get visitors?” I asked in a flurry, trying to change the topic. I really was excited to have someone as knowledgeable as a Highthorn, but he was more like an advisor. Since they threatened him with execution and his family being exiled, he was more likely to take my side. Also, I really wanted to play with his ears, but it just felt really inappropriate to ask.

“That’s good to hear. Our resources are getting thin, especially food. There have been a lot more people getting exiled as of late and the corporations aren’t taking them in. One less mouth to feed makes things easier with our limited supplies. To answer your question, Lady A, the king visits once a year and brings old clothes and other used supplies. We are extremely grateful. He is so much kinder to us than the former queen.”

I knew they would have a food problem. I was so glad I had found that mushroom book. It was interesting to hear that Don was kind to the people here, especially since some of them are animal cursed and they are all exiles. I felt like there was definitely more to him than I originally thought.

There must’ve been something in the air though, because I could smell something burning as smoke entered my nose. Maybe it was how they kept this place heated, so I asked, “Do you light fires inside of the mountain? I figured the smoke would cause some sort of suffocation because I didn’t see this place having proper ventilation in its current state.” 

“No, we use heat stones. Why do you ask?” Firth looked at me, puzzled.

“Because I smell smoke.”

He lifted his nose in the air, his nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath through his nose. His eyes bulged, and he yelled, “FIRE!”