It has been San Hyun-Ki’s duty to provide counsel whenever Viceroy requested it.

 

His duty, and his penance.

 

Yet, it still had surprised him when Viceroy’s men had shown up at his home, demanding that he had to see their lord at once. It wasn’t the fact that they came looking for him that was unusual. It was how insistent they were to bring San Hyun-Ki in.

 

Even though not all rulers practised the patience virtue demanded, the way how the soldiers acted spoke of a different urgency.

 

San Hyun-Ki didn’t know if Gam Youngjae would have made a better viceroy than his predecessor, but he was certain that this behaviour was a product of a great need rather than the whim of the powerful man.

 

He couldn’t help himself wonder what reason the calvary men dispatched to bring him in front of the Viceroy had for such dire urgency.

 

San Hyun-Ki had plenty of time for that, and the advice he should provide, though.

 

The reason for that was that the soldiers didn’t take him through the streets of Chunnan, to the palace where the viceroy would normally reside. They rode with him to the fortress in the countryside.

 

San Hyun-Ki’s mind was preoccupied with searching for answers in every miniscule detail, to uncover secrets, to gain great wisdom, such as the path of the Sage, even one that fell from grace as he did.

 

Of course, he knew of the war.

 

It had seemed wise for Gam Youngjae to withdraw to the most secure location, though why he needed to summon a scholar with such a haste was indeed a mystery.

 

It was a dire time for Hanulbeol-guk and its people. They all struggled through the hard times, and everyone rich and poor alike felt the decline of their kingdom.

 

Roads through Surao were no longer safe. Trade was next to impossible with all the brigands plaguing the countryside, and even a bountiful harvest didn’t bring any relief when a large portion of it was being stolen or taken away by the soldiers.

 

San Hyun-Ki knew of the problems, yet had no solution for it.

 

War had to end. He, however, couldn't imagine where an old scholar could succeed in a place warriors and generals had failed. His pursuit of knowledge didn’t bring him close to understanding the art of war. He was the Sage, foremost.

What would Viceroy ask from him if it required such a rush?

 

The answer wasn’t something the scholar was prepared for.

 

San Hyun-Ki was shocked when he had to meet the Crown Princess Narim herself! She was as beautiful as he heard, but it hardly mattered to the old man.

 

When he had prostrated himself on the ground, as the protocol demanded of him, he was still struggling with the thoughts eating his mind. What was the reason behind the urgency that demanded him, a simple scholar, to attend?

 

And when he had just assumed that the members of the royal family simply couldn’t be left waiting, he was in for another shock when he was told about the scroll, the ritual, the stranger and his beast women.

 

For the moment, he listened, he pondered, still kneeling in front of the Princess as it was proper, then his old mind finally put coherence between Her Highness’ story and what he had known, or heard, and it made a certain amount of sense to him.

 

Of course, he had never seen the stranger and his beast women pulled from behind the veil of Spirit Realm, and he doubted that there was a man alive that had seen them in the past, yet there was something in the story that sparked something deep within his mind.

 

As unbelievable as it seemed to be, there was an explanation, one of truly legendary proportions which would be remembered for generations if proven true.

 

Something that every Sage aspired to.

 

The scroll, the ritual, the way the Princess described how she had obtained it. The cause and effect.

 

He felt overwhelmed when he finally understood.

 

“You! You had the Scroll! You had the scroll from the Forbidden Library!” He barked out, completely forgetting the protocol he was expected to abide by, along with all the honorifics.

 

Deep under the capital, buried and hidden, lay the greatest treasure every Sage wanted to reach, yet almost none were worthy of touching. 

 

“Yes.” the Princess allowed, maintaining her composure. “I saw it as the best way to save the kingdom in its darkest hours.”

 

“Yes, those are dire times! But the scroll! Where is it?” San Hyun-Ki pressed, “Do you have it? Can I see it? I want to see the scroll!”

 

While the royalty maintained her collected expression, Gam Youngjae was outraged by the outburst.

 

“Stop this insolence!” The Viceroy intervened when Hyun-Ki speech broke all the etiquette he was supposed to maintain. “You are addressing Her Highness Crown Princess Cheonchong!”

 

Hyun-Ki didn’t pay him any attention, against the best judgement.

 

Already, he was overcome with the sense of longing. Being the Sage was the pursuit of knowledge, and he never came so close to the ultimate prize.

 

He had been there, in the capital, in the time of peace. He was even granted an audience with one of the king’s advisors back then, a minor achievement not reached by many. But they had found him too obsessive, and it was there where his journey to the Library ended. Not only declined access, he was driven away, essentially exiled to this remote province where he would put his knowledge in much better use. At least, so they had said.

 

He had given up.

 

And then this happened.

 

It must have been his destiny, he thought, the will of the Gods even working through the Princess said to be beloved by them.

 

“Scroll from the Library of Pho-us-kah!” He nearly screamed, utterly failing in containing his excitement, in a way unfitting for the scholar of his age. He didn’t think this way at that moment, though.

 

And now, one of those valuable artefacts found its way out of the capital. He was forever banned from entering the city, essentially exiled to Surao, where he lived as honorary advisor to whichever Viceroy was granted governance of the region.

 

And perhaps, with the war against the Jin, there would soon have been no Library to be kept away from. Who knew what the barbaric invaders would do if they breached the walls of the capital?

 

“Tell me, please, tell me! Are there others? Where are the others?” He scrambled to his feet. He wasn’t supposed to, but he wasn’t thinking clearly.

 

“Stop this at once!” Viceroy yelled, “Guards!”

 

“The scroll dissolved after the ritual was completed.” The Princess answered, less offended that she would normally be, even gesturing to the rightfully angered Viceroy to stay down, “It is gone. It didn’t do what I thought it would. It wasn’t the solution I prayed for.”

 

She was calm, stroked with sadness even, but San Hyun-Ki couldn’t think of anything but the scroll. It was almost like all the reason left him.

 

“No it can’t be!” The scholar protested, “You must show it to me!”

 

He made the steps forward, grabbed the Princess, or at the very least wanted to.

 

As in that moment, guards were all upon him, wrestling down the scholar was a frail man with ease.

 

“You shall be executed for attacking the Crown Princess!” Gam Youngjae fumed as the guards dragged Hyun-Ki away.

 

The Sage didn’t care.

 

“I want to see the scroll of Pho-us-kah before I die!” Was the only thing he let out, he screamed so as they dragged him down the hall.

 

He had plenty of time to calm down when he ended up in the cold, damp cell of the fortress.

 

Though it didn’t change his determination. He, despite decades of stagnation and his current situation, felt he was closer to achieving his destiny than ever. Hyun-Ki was certain this assertion was correct, his sharp memory recalled the brilliant description the princess gave, and there was no mistaking it - one of the legendary scrolls has been taken out of the royal vaults. Their power has been invoked here, at their birthplace. Relics of such power could be lost and forgotten, but not just disappear on their own, not after they endured centuries in which more mundane documents would crumble. 

 

He replayed the scene in this thought, his memory sharp despite the showing age, assuring him further that he was not wrong in his assessment.

 

There were forces beyond his understanding in play, and such could be called only by the certain relics, the texts of the Forbidden Library.

 

Hyun-Ki had to curse his temperament, his meagre self-control that had failed him in one most crucial moment - now, in this cell, he possibly awaited execution.

 

What he didn’t expect was that Viceroy Gam Youngjae would come to see him in person, accompanied by the captain of his calvary men in full armour, obviously expecting the unruly prisoner to need pacification.

 

This time, locked within his cell, beyond the iron bars, Hyun-Ki did the more sensible thing and bowed to the Viceroy properly, even if he upset the member of the royal family moments earlier.

 

The Sage didn’t speak.

 

“The Crown Princess said that I should show you mercy.” Youngjae stated coldly, “Release you, even, despite what you have done.”

 

He didn’t ask for forgiveness. He would, however, do anything to regain his freedom of movement - the prize was far too close.

 

“Punish this one as you see fit, my lord!” Hyun-Ki said. It wasn’t the proper thing to say in his situation, it was offensive even, but he felt his destiny, the ultimate fate of his life to be close: “But I beg you, let me see the scroll of Pho-us-kah before I die!”

 

The captain was about to say something, likely about the Sage’s improper behaviour the jail hadn't culled yet, but Youngjae stopped him.

 

“There is no such scroll…” The Viceroy scoffed, but then, he added, “Tell me, what is the Forbidden Library you spoke so impudently about?”

 

But there was one, he thought, and it wasn’t an ordinary parchment either. The Crown Princess admitted it herself, Hyun-Ki thought, but said nothing of such.

 

“Forbidden Library, the Library of Pho-us-kah, greatest treasure in Hanulbeol-guk!” He proclaimed instead.

 

“Pho-us-kah?” Youngjae asked, carefully pronouncing the foreign word. His facial expression was unreadable, but this voice showed interest once treasure was mentioned. “I don’t recognize this name. This is not one of Hanulbeol, not one of the Jin even!”

 

The scholar took a deep breath - one needs to show knowledge to gain knowledge, he thought to himself.

 

“It is not. They are relics, older than the kingdom itself! But their impact is one of legends!” he announced.

 

“Many generations ago, an old Sage lived here in Surao. No one knew where he came from, but he lived in the mountains for ages, gathering disciples.”

 

He paused, but quickly continued his speech.

 

“When locals asked what his name was, he told them to call him Pho-us-kah. No one ever found out his true identity.” Hyun-Ki explained, “It was said he had meditated on the universe  until everything was revealed to him! Many more said he was insane, or that gods punished him for knowing what mortals should not!”

 

Viceroy looked around at his guards, still standing at attention, almost as if he was checking who was listening. He, however, said nothing in response. He considered what was said, as his brow furrowed.

 

“Continue.” He ordered.

 

“But the scrolls where he and his disciples compiled all his knowledge were not mere scribblings of madmen. They carried power! Power beyond comparison! In time, he passed away, his abode in the mountains turned to ruins, swallowed by forest. But his library, the genuine relics, they defied all time!”

 

Gam Youngjae didn’t look impressed: “Do they explain the beast women breathing fire?”

 

“No.” The Sage guessed, then corrected himself, “Yes! We don’t know what all the scrolls can do, six hundred and thirty-one of them! I recall people sought to find out only to be killed when they tried to invoke the potency within the relics, even a single one! That’s why the remaining ones were locked within the royal vault, the Forbidden Library!”

 

Viceroy grimaced, impatient, agitated, yet didn’t silence the rambling Sage, instead he seemed preoccupied

 

“Repeat their words and crack in the truth will emerge!” Hyun-Ki chanted.

 

“You said one that remained?” Youngjae asked.

 

“Yes. I don’t know what portion of the true amount remains. What was left was forever sealed under the capital, with only a chosen few truly accessing them.”

 

“Is that so?” Viceroy wondered. “And the rest?”

 

“Lost, perhaps forever!” Hyun-Ki admitted. “Many searched for them! I searched for them! Even the Jin Empire searched for them!”

 

“Jin?” This gained the attention of the Viceroy. Unsurprisingly, considering the war. Jin invaded the lands of Hanulbeol-guk. The Sage perhaps spoke too soon, though he realised that too late.

 

“Yes, it is said the Jin Empire searched for the scrolls as well and didn’t find them. His Majesty the King Seolmun bravely defeated Jin then in the legendary battle here in Surao Mountains! The Library has not seen the light of the day since then!” The sage exasperated.

 

“But that was more than a hundred years ago!” Youngjae protested, and the Sage was about to prove his knowledge of history the Viceroy was visibly lacking, to prove his craft, so to say. Yet, he was silenced.

 

“Nevermind…”

 

Though it seemed Youngjae was submerged in thoughts for the moment, and the old Sage was, at least momentarily, patient enough to let the Viceroy consider his ultimate decision. At least he tried to remain outwardly calm. Internally he was still in turmoil over his foolish act that might spell his end, and anticipation over reaching his lifelong goal.

 

“If you saw the scroll, could you recognize it?” Viceroy asked,

 

“Can I see it?” The scholar was hopeful, “I never saw it, but they are items of legends! I wouldn’t mistake it..”

 

Further outburst was stopped by the Viceroy’s gesture, and this time, despite all his previous foolishness and insolence, Hyun-Ki knew he should stay silent.

 

“The Princess didn’t have the scroll with her. She must have lost it, it couldn’t just disappear into the thin air…” Youngjae mused, with a calculating expression on this face, then gave the order, “If they are, however, of the value you place them at, for the kingdom, then they must be retrieved…”

 

“Captain!”

 

“Yes, lord?” The soldier answered immediately, with the sharp bow of his head and the typical salute.

 

“I want your men ready to ride out as soon as possible! Follow the road, check the shrine there, and find the ruins the Sage speaks about. Scroll must be there somewhere. He can advise you…”

 

“But my lord…”

 

“The Crown Princess herself shows mercy to this man, so I will do the same. His punishment will be his service. Take the Sage with you so he will guide you to the ruins! Even if there are more bandits, they are no match for your men!”

 

The observant Sage couldn’t help himself notice that Youngjae, the Viceroy, remembered perfectly what had been said to him, both here, and during the audience with Her Highness, and caught the detail about the ruins the Princess described as the place of her ritual.

 

“But aren’t the evil spirits, the beast women, in the forest?” The soldier protested.

 

“You have only thirty riders, yes, but you are the best warriors I have, and there should be merely a handful of the beasts Princess spoke about. Together, you bested the Sword Disciple easily. The monster wounded one, but wasn't able to kill him!”

 

Hyun-Ki had heard no lord explaining decisions to their men before. The captain questioning orders was an offence of its own, yet Viceroy took this sign of possible insubordination easily. Shockingly, considering the Sage’s own acts and the capital punishment he narrowly escaped.

 

The beast women, the evil spirits, they must have been  impressive if it was necessary to encourage the men. But it just assured him his conclusions were correct. The Scrolls of Pho-us-kah were feared for a reason.

 

“There might be less than ten of them left. I am certain you will win!” Youngjae declared..

 

When the men let the Sage from his prison cell, Hyun-Ki couldn’t help himself but to feel excited.