#storybite

 "What exactly is the Compendium of Ver?" He asked absently whilst pouring over an illuminated scroll.

"The most beautiful and the most horrific tome ever written," his master replied without looking up from his own pile of work "It is a work of art."

"Why is it referenced so many times here?"

"Because these scrolls are medical in nature, and Ver was a raving psychopath who did a lot of unethical things which mean that no-one else ever has to."

"What do you mean?"

The master looked up from his work and met the student's enquiring gaze with a deep coldness in his eyes.

"We no longer have to wonder how long it takes for someone to be digested alive by a worm. We no longer have to ask how long someone can survive on the shoulders without water or food. We now know exactly how long a person's guts can be open before they die. We now know how long it takes a human body to decompose in the sands and how well the mummified organs are preserved... Ver was a mass murderer and a meticulous record keeper. His compendium is full of the results of his wicked experiments and we use that tainted knowledge to save people's lives."

The student shuddered "So why is it a work of art?"

The master maintained his grave expression "The tome is bound with human ivory bleached by the sun. It is so pristine that it glows with an unearthly aura. Each piece of parchment is so perfectly flawless that you forget all too quickly that it is made from human skin. He favoured the pale skinned for his books and the dark skinned for his clothes. The ink on every page is a mixture of charcoal and Gavia blood, and it is all enchanted and bound so that it never fades, never ages and never falls apart."

They both felt as though the room had grown colder.

"Now that you know. Do not speak of it."

 As she sat in by the window of her well lit and spacious office, she struggled to comprehend the level of desperation that would have driven her current accused to do what he did. The case file scroll sat open on her desk a short distance away. She gazed out across the city as she considered the facts of it. That morning the prosecution had made their case quite clear and the defense had very little to say in defense of their client. It was clear from the representative's face that his own client disgusted him. She was so lost in her own thought that she didn't even notice she was no longer alone.

"Nasty case, that."

She turned to look at her guest. He was another of the judges here at the courthouse, and he came with another scroll, this one marked with the royal seal.

"Orders from above," he commented dryly "His majesty has granted you leave a judgement of either exile or forced labor if you pass a guilty sentence."

She frowned "Not imprisonment? He butchered someone."

He replied "His majesty has no love for loan sharks."

"Does anyone?"

A face appeared in her doorway "Your honour, ten minutes till we resume."

She sighed, her fellow judge frowned, and the face vanished into the gloom away from the window.

"Wheres the labor sentence?" She asked plainly,

"The new reservoirs at the utmost edge and the new aqueduct leading deeper into the wilds."

The deafening wail of the all at hands siren pulled him violently from his rest joined by loud shuddering and the scream of twisted metal. He groaned loudly and cursed, barely audible over the cacophony. His bunk-mates were also stirring and began to pull on clothes as quickly as they could. The door opened and his commanding officer barked orders, he couldn't hear a word, but his eyes stung from the bright reflection off the corporal's nameplate. For the briefest moment the word "Adija" flashed through the room followed by a burning, flooding light. He cursed again and dressed. Their ship was under attack. The wailing subsided for just long enough for the words of his commanding officer to reach his ears.

"All engineers report to stations, hostile fleet inbound. We're too close to the planet-"

Honored as she was to receive the residential posting from her dear nephew, his great and almighty highness Stivanous the Fourth, King of Adjisa Gor, she was horribly bored. Her apartment in the upper reaches of the temple was suitably comfortable and richly furnished. All of her favorite artworks had been brought here from her old family seat, and her sons were allowed to visit whenever their schedules permitted. The food here was also quite excellent and the monks were very generous with their provisions so she never wanted or went without. But for all her comforts, there was no-one to gossip to. No courtiers to scandalize or proper young men to embarrass. No plays, no musicals, no tawdry affairs to witness and expose to the world. She did so love that whole process, and she had been especially excited to have learned the truth of the king's children last month and now she had absolutely no-one to share it with.

The scroll slipped from the top of the pile. It's wooden binder hitting him squarely on the shoulder before clattering noisily to the floor and unraveling in it's roll towards the wall. He grit his teeth and drew a heavy breath. "Do you even care about keeping your post, Alari. Or would you rather take up as a people watcher. I hear the pay is significantly less." Another scroll toppled, this one clearly aimed, he caught it before it stuck his head.

A drawn out note of unmistakable female irritation came from the other side of the pile "I really don't care about summoning spells and these were all written by dry, boring old men from the cloisters. Can you honestly understand half of what's in these?"

He put his notes to one side and stood up to speak to her over the stack, she was head down upon the desk surrounded by piles of neat little notes in her own hand "I cannot."

Alari looked up at him with a weary expression. He continued "But if you had not set Maester Yulia's robe on fire we would not be here."

The cool and shady streets of the village of Teiba were a welcoming relief from the baking heat of the temple valley. Even with the cooling effect of the water temple's many aqueducts and cascades, the sun was not tempered. He rested against the central pillar of the entrance way for a moment, letting his skin drink in the coolness of the shadows and his eyes adjust to the gloom. The village was exactly the way he remembered it. The houses carved into the living stone of the cliffs, the needlessly curved tavern roof, the little winding pathways and of course the imposing entrance to the school high above.

"I saw two city guard stop a Gavia earlier. Went through all his bags and possessions and yet they let others walk straight by. Gavians I mean. I think it was because of his plumage, they always seem to stop the pale ones…" she commented whilst idling on the window seat and gazing out across the city "I mean I know they have a reputation but I do wonder how much is true, I mean, I don’t even know anyone from Caparia so I can’t say I’ve heard from a direct source but they can’t all be bad."

She was answered by an exasperated sigh. It did not deter her “I’ve been watching them for a while now. The two guards I mean. They only stop pale Gavia and the occasional apprentice, I wish they’d actually go and do their jobs rather than lazing around up here where there is no crime.” "Much as I commend your concern as a citizen," he replied from behind a pile of tomes and scrolls "You’re supposed to be researching this ritual."