Chapter 1

"Wow, it's getting dark already." Andrea said.

"Yes, time passed quickly."

"It's a pity that we didn't have time to go hunting, I wanted to treat my younger sisters with a hare."

"On the other hand, we found a treasure! We still have lots of time, we can go hunting tomorrow."

"Maybe you're right."

"Of course I am."

Together they went to a hole in the city wall, talking along the way and enjoying the sight of the most pleasing month to the eyes of living creatures.

The sun was already setting below the horizon and the sky was painted with a bright scarlet color, smoothly shimmering into blue.

Two friends quietly entered the city. Vito himself went to the library, and his friend returned home.

The library looked old and shabby, but even so, its former grandeur and high cost were still noticeable. It had one floor with very high ceilings, designed to accommodate tall bookshelves. Along the edges of the walls, at a certain height, there were some kind of balconies on which those who wished to read could be accommodated. Once it was the personal library of one of the counts, but after his death it began to rely on donations from people visiting it.

But despite this, it was not dilapidated, on the contrary. Library's visible age gave it a special charm and an indescribable atmosphere. It was filled with old furniture that could be called antique, which made the library feel cozy. And the kind, elderly librarian worked hard so that most of the visitors felt at home in there.

"Hello again, Vito." said a poorly dressed old man with a long gray beard and dark green eyes, who was the librarian. He was sitting at the table, but got up to greet his only visitor for the end of the day.

"Good evening Raul."

"Were you practicing spells again?"

"Yes."

"Have you come to read or you simply didn't want to go home again?"

"Different reason this time. I want to show you something, but promise me not to tell anyone what you are going to see."

"As you wish, my friend. I don't know what are you going to share with me, but I promise to keep it a secret."

Vito took the book he had found out of his bag and placed it on the table.

"While I was practicing, I crushed a boulder and found this book in its fragments."

"An unusual place to store books." the old man said softly with a chuckle.

He took the book in his hands and started examining it.

"What a mystery thing. It shows beautiful pictures, but where do they come from?" Raul said.

"That's what I thought of after I found it. It is even stranger inside."

The librarian opened the book and peered at the text.

"Are my eyes failing me or does the text change while I am trying to read it?" Old librarian was startled.

"Yes, you're right. There is really no finished text in this book. Also, it seems to me that it is not written in a specific language, but adapts to the language of the reader. When I first opened it, there were letters unknown to me, but after a couple of seconds they have become normal."

"What a strange book. I've never seen anything like it before."

"How do you think it works?" Vito asked.

"Child, I'm not a wizard. I guess the only person who knows the way it functions is its creator."

"Do you at least know who is he?"

"Unfortunately, no. All I can say is that it's someone powerful. So I doubt you'll be able to find him."

"What a pity. By the way, can you read what it says?"

"No, it is completely impossible to understand."

"Strange. Andrea couldn't either, but somehow I can."

"Strange indeed. And what is written there?"

"I don't know, I've only read the title and something like author's message so far."

Vito quickly told what was written there and the old man fell silent.

"I won't lie, my boy. I don't know what this book is or if you should read it. All I know is that you have to be very careful. Who knows what it might be hiding inside. You are a smart boy Vito, decide yourself what to do. But remember that such an artifact is surely able to change your life and yourself forever. Take this into account when you decide what to do."

"Okay, I understood. Thanks for the advice."

"You don't have to thank me."

"Can I stay here?"

"The doors of my library are always open for you, stay as long as you want."

"Thanks." Vito said and walked over to a table at the very back of the library. This was his favorite place, as it was the most quiet and deserted.

Although deserted, didn't mean completely lifeless. The librarian's black cat Murcello also liked to spend time in that corner. It also loved this place for its silence, as well as for its regular guest. Vito loved cats and knew their habits well. Therefore, Murcello often met him and treated him like a member of his family, at least for the fact that Vito did not pester him and stroked him as much as he asked.

"Hello Murcello." Vito said. The cat did not wake up from sleep, but greeted him with a wave of his tail. Vito gently stroked it and lost himself in his own thoughts.

'I'd like to know what secrets this book holds. But the old man is right, who knows what such a strange artifact is capable of. The book that I borrowed from Raul said that modern magic doesn't yet know how to merge magic with material things for a permanent effect.' he thought.

'On the other hand, maybe this book will tell me more about magic. I don't want to be a merchant like my father, but I can't become a magician if I'm guided only by that meager book. Can the Treatise help me to fulfill my dream?' Vito continued his inner monologue. He sat in thought, staring at the cover of the Scripture until he was distracted from his thoughts by hunger.

It made him remember about existence of time. He looked out the window and noticed that the sun had already hidden behind the horizon line, he would have noticed it earlier if not for the lamp on the table and the deem glow of the Scripture.

"Well, book lover, are you hungry yet? Let's go have dinner together. Moreover, it is good time to tell me what are you going to do with your find." Vito heard the voice of the librarian.

"With pleasure, you're just in time."

Together they entered the door leading to the annex of the library, where the librarian himself lived. The cat was already waiting for them there, as he knew that he would also be fed. He often caught rats and mice, but he never refused food offered to him by the old man and the boy.

"It's certainly not a delicacy, but it's better than being hungry," Raul said and put two bowls of cereals and vegetables on the table.

"You are right. Anyways, it's too late to go home."

"You have been sitting there for quite a long time. Have you made a decision, what are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I think it's worth checking what is written in the book. I need new knowledge on magic and it seems to me that they can be there."

"I see."

They did not utter a word more for the rest of the dinner.

"Don't stay up late." said the old man at the end of the meal.

"I know, I know. Thanks for the food."

"And remember to get the bedding from the back room beforehand, otherwise you will fall asleep on the table again."

"Okay, I won't forget this time."

Raul put out all the lights in the library, except for the one Vito used, wished him good night and went to sleep in his room.

Vito returned to his favorite place and reopened the book. The already familiar sight of floating and rearranging words awaited him, with the only difference - this time everything was already in a language he knew. When the words again formed into a text filled with meaning, a completely different page appeared before Vito. Not a trace remained of what he read earlier. Vito was almost unsurprised by this. He started reading.

The book explained to the boy that it knew the answers to all questions. The Scripture delivered its lengthy speeches in a cryptic and vague manner, as if it was trying not to answer his questions, but, on the contrary, to make new ones and confuse him. The book seemed to be endless. No matter how much he turned them over, he never came closer to an end. And the text itself almost never remained constant and incessantly changed, even while someone was reading it. Vito could not go back a paragraph, for one simple reason - it had already ceased to exist.

As soon as Vito got distracted even for a second by something else, when he returned to reading he found that there was not a trace left of what he had read. But to his surprise, the text remained static if he had concentrated on it. The book told Vito intricately about the nature of life, about the stupidity of mortals and the philosophy of beings unfamiliar and incomprehensible to him, whom the book called the Great Ones. But he couldn't understand a word of what he read.

'I will better go to sleep. Maybe something will come to my mind in the morning.' Vito thought while disappointedly closing the book.

He laid down on the mattress, which was a bag stuffed with straw, covered himself with a blanket and tried to fall asleep. Vito could not sleep for a long time. He was disturbed by thoughts about the treasure he had found, although he was no longer so sure if it was a treasure. When he finally managed to fall asleep, he was tormented by nightmares. But to his relief, they soon ended and were replaced by strange dreams. In his dreams, he saw a book and dreamed about how one day he would understand what was written in it. And in one of them he found the way to do it. He dreamed about focusing on a topic of interest to him and the book showing information about it. Vito sensed that this was the key to unraveling the vague texts of the Great Scripture.