His first day out on the Asteroid for his weekend visit was productive and he’d even gotten a decent nights sleep as well. He’d spent the first day continuing his cataloging and had made a good dent, five shelves in total, before he’d given up to rest for the night. After getting up and eating some dried fruit and granola for breakfast he headed into the library to explore some of the bits he hadn’t gone to yet.

There were two doors he hadn’t gone through and after thinking he chose the one on the left side of the room. Once he’d gotten the door open he was surprised to see an almost untouched hallway. There was none of the rubble and hardly any dust and he wondered for a moment if someone else had been out here.

He knew that was ridiculous but everything else seemed to be damaged. Turning around he looked at the doorway and his eyes widened as he noticed something carved into the doorframe. Reaching out he touched the symbols, realizing they were slightly warm.

Magic.

Some of it was still working and whatever part of the library this had been deserved protection. Smiling brightly he ran his hand over the stones one more time before turning back down the hallway. This was what he was looking for. Something that the people of Arsinoe hadn’t wanted destroyed could hopefully tell him a bit more about who he was.

The hallway was wide with other doors branching off to either side every once in a while. The first few he came across lead to what had been bedrooms, probably for the scribes who lived in the library. They were simple with just beds, a small dresser, a couple of shelves, and a desk, but everything was well made and soft. He’d prodded one of the beds just to see and was surprised it was still in any sort of useful condition.

Not wanting to get distracted though he continued on, nudging open doors and ignoring most of them as he went since it was much more of the same. One lead to a large open hall full of tables and another a large room full of desks.

After he looked into the dining hall he paused in the hallway, looking down toward the end he hadn’t come from. Something down there was pulling at him now, an itch in his skin that wanted him to run and find whatever it was. Running a hand through his hair and trying to ignore the itchy feeling on his skin he headed that direction, slowly. The end of the hall held another large ornate door with the same carvings on the frame and a large version of the Arsinoean symbol carved into the center of the door. Around it were more letters and he wished he could actually read what they said.

He reached out and set a hand on the middle of the symbol, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to make the door tell him what it meant. “Why can’t I just read you?”

“Have you forgotten about the Watchtower already my child?” From behind him a deep, soft, voice answered his question.

Arsinoe jumped, managed just barely not to scream, and whirled around to face the voice. Standing in the once empty hallway was an old man who looked like they were trying rather hard not to laugh. With his heart pounding Arsinoe stared at the old man and suddenly a memory clicked into place. His first tutor, the man who’d then become his teacher and mentor when he’d joined the Scribes,

“.... Master Anjing.” he lowered his flashlight which he’d been holding out like a weapon as he tried to make sense of how his old master was still standing in front of him. It took a moment for him to realize that the image of his old master was translucent and the old man wasn’t looking at him. He shifted a bit, moving away from the door and realized that ‘he’ was still standing there.

Leaning himself back against the wall of the hallway he watched whatever was going on. Sometimes these visions were a nuisance but so far he’d learned something good from each of them.

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“Of course not Master but you know my father does not like the idea of me taking the final step. He hasn’t expressly forbid me from performing my vigil but every time someone mentions it he gets this look on his face. I know he doesn’t want be to but ….” He signed and ran his hand over the door again before turning to face his Master.

“Your father can not control your path any more than I can. You are our Guardian and you are one of the most brilliant students I have had the pleasure of teaching so you must make your own path.” He smiled at his student, bowing his head slightly and motioning for the young man to follow him back to his study.

“But if I take the final step.” He knew no one could take anything away from him. He’d earned his place as a Guardian and that technically put him above his father in rank but he’d never wanted to pull that card. He respected his father and had tried to go with his wishes as much as he could. Something about the library had always called to him though and he’d been a voracious student. “I want to but I don’t know if I am ready for it.”

Master Anjing pulled out two chairs and sat down, waiting for his student to sit as well before he looked at him again. “You will know when you are ready and when that day comes no one will stand between you and the Watchtower. Every scribe who wishes to devote themselves to the library takes their vigil when they feel ready. It may be tomorrow or it may be years from now but you know all of us will stand behind you if that is what you wish to do.” The young Master was a favorite amongst the scribes even though he was also their Guardian and their Kings son. The young man had been destined for great things and he expected nothing less of him no matter what path he chose.

He looked out over his Masters shoulder for a moment almost as if he could see through the walls and up into the tower. That was the final step in his journey, the only thing keeping him from officially being one of the Scribes. He knew it was something he wanted but his family all thought it would interfere with everything else he was responsible for.

“One night Vigil …” He murmured. “Up in the tower with a single lantern and your own heart to guide you. Find your way amongst the stars.”

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As quickly as the vision had appeared it vanished and he was left leaning against the hallway wall staring at the stones. He looked over at the door for a moment, reaching out but taking his hand back before it touched the stone. His watched beeped at him letting him know he’d been out for a few hours and that it was probably time to go back to camp.

Taking one more look at the door he shook his head and started back down the hallway. That was going to be something to mull over and deal with another time.