Rekindled Flames

 All was usually peaceful in today's lands. The dark god that plagued them was no more, and most towns and cities were rebuilt within the last few years. There were the occasional bandit raids and monsters attacking, but it was nothing the others could not handle. All of it was out of his hands now, anyway. Until the next world crisis, he would remain in the shadows.

 The shadows of bookshelves and towers of books, that is. The library was a mess, with books scattered everywhere and nobody bothering to put them back after they use them. Always a mess, this place. Always having to clean it up on his own. Or at least, he would, if he didn't know that it would merely find its way to become as if a hurricane had come by.

 He always remembered who came in. Yesterday, a young, buff maid had arrived with a parfait-balancing girl, researching holy magic and looking deep into Levia's Trademark Recipes before asking each other about their master's afflictions and gluttonous ways. Then there was that annoying child, dressed like a knight, but with an attitude more fitting of a noble. Shunning the library and hoping all would burn as his younger friend read The Four White Mages. Perhaps a book ate his parents when he was younger? Ha, if they had teeth, maybe. And finally, there was that shadow of a man who thought he could sneak in undetected. But no, he read Creed of Pirates and Noble Rogues before skittering off with it and a copy of Self Improvement and Altruism, in 150 Easy Steps.

Yes... this was his life now. Simply writing, reading, and sharing the collection of books he had scoured the globe for. His story had long since ended.

So he thought.

 It was the middle of night, the moon hidden behind a cover of clouds. He was at his desk, reading and sipping green tea, when he heard something topple over. Curious, he used an old, oaken staff to help him up and summoned a wisp of light to his side. He gingerly stepped around the scattered tomes and glyphs, eyes darting about, trying to spot the intruder.More books were toppled over, as far as he could hear, and when he checked the entrance, he could see a flash of green and the glitter of gold dashing towards it. Their voices, too.

"Hurry, hurry, HURRY, Greed, or whoever runs this stinky place is gonna catch us!"

The voice was feminine. Squeaky. A child? And whoever responded didn't respond in words, but with a loud moan. God, he smelled awful, like he hadn't had a bath in days, as far as the owner could tell. Either way, with a snap of his fingers, the door snapped shut-

...Too late.  They had escaped. And they had left a nasty, smelly residue on the books, too! Ugh, he would have to wash that out somehow. He followed the trail of grimy books to see if it would give a clue as to what they were searching for. It led him to a small little place, one where he normally kept his safe. It had some valuables and magical artifacts he sealed away in fear of someone trying to steal them, stuff that he would NEVER let anyone take normally. Unbreakable artifacts.

 And said safe was gone, with only grit and grime, or lack thereof, to show it was even there to begin with.

 The wizard clutched his staff tightly and turned away, a fire rekindled in his heart. Whoever they were, they were dangerous. They knew those artifacts were there, somehow.  And while they could not break the seal or the code, they could take the whole thing. If they managed to open it... Hell would be brought to whereever they took it. Heavens forbid it wasn't Levia, unless they wanted Alex to shove Excalibur through their hearts.

 No matter. The safe was left in a stupid place, and he paid the price for it. He would find those who took it, and stop them, no matter what it took. He would not let Alex or anyone else know of this; it was his burden, and his alone...

 The librarian slipped gloves on his delicate, bandaged hands, and slipped on a traveling robe. Shame that his good staff was destroyed in the battle; he would need to buy a new one. The old one was okay, but it couldn't withstand some of the stronger spells. Oh, and of course, he needed to bring a few good books to read on the way.

 It was time to set off.


 Time for the Scholar of Flames, Xavier Dean, to rise again.