Dance of the Gods

Suze came back with three different books, but two of them were in languages unknown to Veronica. She placed all of them down on their table, then went back to her seat and sat down with an exhausted sigh.

While Suze was drinking a sip of alcohol Veronica reached for the only book that she could read. It was a dictionary that translates Dracish to a language called 'Ancient Rener'. Before she could open it Suze spoke.

"That book will be very important for you. All rituals has to be conducted in special ritualistic languages, like Ancient Rener or Holy Antish. The words in these languages contain power, which you can harness with specific rituals. Sadly you will have to learn at least one for you to be able to ascend."

The way Suze spoke about learning a different language seemed like a very arduous task, but Veronica already spoke three languages fluently and at least another three very prematurely. Back in her own world that was one of her hobbies... learning new languages.

Her nationality was Austrian, so German was her native language, but in her world English was necessary if you wanted to speak with foreign people. Another language she learned passionately was Italian, and then there were three that she wasn't very good at, Chinese, French and Latin.

Strangely enough the language that came in handy a lot of times was Latin. In history especially in Europe's that was a very useful language to know... And it was always nice to speak in Latin, it made her seem smart.

'Wait! Technically I can speak 4 languages fluently now if I count Dracish!'

Veronica was thinking about that, when she opened the book and her mind went blank. The words on the page, they were familiar. She couldn't read them, but just by a quick glance she already knew what they resembled...

'They look like Latin, but written in a different dialect... Is this another clue of what this world is?... A language that is considered dead in my own world appearing here, on a different one... *sigh* At least learning it will be easy...'

More questions rose in her head, but there was no use thinking about it now. First she would learn more, then maybe later spend some time organizing all the information. Her vision gradually crawled up from the open book's pages and met with Suze's eyes.

"Okay, doesn't seem to be too hard of a task." Said Veronica with a cunning smile, Suze just raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"That's good, but do learn it thoroughly. If you make even one mistake in a ritual, then there is a near hundred percent chance that you will die faster than you could notice the issue."

'Okay... Not disheartening at all... And very reassuring indeed!'

They both stayed silent for a few moments, but Suze soon continued with the lesson.

"These other two books you won't be able to read until you learn Ancient Rener. One of them contains the main rituals and symbolisms, the other contains the real history of this world. Both is very important to know about, but we are short on time, so you have to learn quickly and alone."

Swiftly she opened each book and looked at a few pages. The book containing the rituals was fairly obvious since there were a lot of pictures in it. They showed candle arrangements, color symbolisms, weird materials, and all sorts of things which Veronica had no clue about.

The other was a bit more text focused, but every now and then maps were shown with many different countries. But there was only one map that really interested Veronica, because instead of Outlands there was a different name written there... Rener Utopia.

From the name her eyes immediately went to the text next to it, but strangely there was none, for some reason all the ink on the paper got smudged. Suze looked down on the page as well, then sighed before explaining.

"The Rener Utopia... we know nothing about it... There are some other texts where the name comes up, but every time the text that contains some actual information gets written down, it somehow becomes unreadable... The weird thing is, the name itself is impossible to destroy..."

The head of Veronica snapped up and she stared at Suze confused.

"What do you mean it can't be destroyed? It's just writings on a paper... You can just throw it into a fire and it will burn away!"

*Laughter* "Oh you think so? Then wait a minute I will bring some paper and pen." Said Suze then she stood and went back towards the room that must have been an office or something.

Meanwhile Veronica's thoughts were in constant turmoil, it was obvious that Ancient Rener's origin was this country, but what happened that turned it into the Outlands? As she thought about it another fact came to her mind.

'The language they spoke in the Outlands is called Rener, and the one they spoke on the Islands is called Old Rener... They both have this place as an origin?! But how did it spread to all the different small island nations?... AH! So many questions, and no real way of getting answers... *sigh* So annoying!'

While waiting she began reading the dictionary, and soon another surprise shook her. Every time she read a new word in the language it appeared in her mind, like a memory... As if she wasn't learning it from scratch, but remembering it!

'What is going on?!'

A flicker of panic rose inside her, but it soon went away. This made her job of learning easier, why would she question a gift's origin?

Suze came back to see her already studying and a proud smile appeared on her lips. She sat back down then pushed the paper and pen towards Veronica.

"Write down Rener Utopia on a piece of paper, then try to ripping it!" Her voice sounded very satisfied, like she was teaching a child a lesson that she learned long ago.

Skeptically Veronica wrote down the name and held the paper in her hands. Strangely the ink set instantly when she finished writing, there was no way to smudge it. Her hands began to move, but even after putting all her strength into it the paper stayed the same.

She was left speechless, but instead of giving up she doubled down. Near them a fireplace was burning and with a quick movement she threw the paper into the flames. As the paper's edges caught fire a proud smile appeared on her face, but when she looked back at Suze, there was no difference about her.

A bit confused Veronica turned back to the flames where the paper was already burned to ash... Or at least it should've been.

Right in the middle of the fire was the exact piece of paper with blackened edges, but the words untouched... Rener Utopia.

'That... How? It's just paper, how does it not burn?! Is this some sort of trick?... Some prank Suze is pulling on me?'

"It's not a trick, and even I don't know the reason for this weird phenomenon. These two words contain so much power, that if you write it down they become indestructible, by normal means." Said Suze who at some point came to stand next to her.

In her eyes the flames reflected, which brought a flash of a memory to Veronica's mind. A different fireplace, a different woman, a different reflection in her eyes. It soon went away leaving no trace behind.

Veronica turned to Suze and asked, "And what are those not normal means?"

She didn't even look at her only the flames, slowly she went closer to the fireplace, then bent down on one knee and whispered one word into the fire... "Ardeon"

The meaning of the word immediately appeared in Veronica's mind, like she always knew it... Ardeon – Burn.

And just as the words were spoken the paper caught on fire burning in bright orange, but then the color changed, it became the color of rainbow, then pink and soon all three at once. The colorful dance of the flames only lasted for a few seconds before the paper fully burned away.

Even more questions rose in her, but at least some answers came as well. She finally understood what Suze meant by words have power, but there was still some doubt in her.

They walked back to their table and sat in silence, only after drinking a few sips did she came back to reality.

"These words with power... How do they work? Is it like casting a spell?" They looked at each other for a few seconds, but then Suze's face broke into laughter.

*Chuckle* "What? No... Of course not! It's more of a party trick than anything else... *sigh* Yes these words contain power, but don't think about it as a usable source of strength, it is more of a mysticism material. Like ingredients to a ritual, they have ethereal property which makes them have potential power."

This cleared up nothing for Veronica since she didn't know anything about ritual materials or ethereal properties. Suze soon realized it as well, and she looked away a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry, I got side tracked. We haven't even gotten that far... Be assured you will soon understand more. Let's start from the beginning... again."

As Suze spoke Veronica understood how much more she had to learn, but unlike most people she accepted the knowledge with open arms. And even craved for more!