The Pharmacist and The Prince

The Continuity of Worlds

continuity/ˌkɒntɪˈnjuːɪti/ : A state of stability and the absence of disruption.  

For the second time in as many days, Ebony was now inside the place she now knew was called the Scribing Chambers. With Aishce's aid, she had bathed, dressed -in the strange ball gown-like dress she had seen some women in town wear- and eaten. Her hair had been combed and pulled into a low, rough ponytail.

When she had informed Aische that she wanted to see the Bookkeeper next, Aische’s face had progressively lost colour until she looked like a white sheet.

“The Bookkeeper. My lady, the Bookkeeper is…”

“I can’t see him?”

“Well, you can but I don’t…” There had been an awkward pause where both of them looked at each other, each trying to understand the other. Ebony didn’t understand Aische’s reluctance and Aische didn’t understand Ebony’s nonchalance.

Nevertheless, Aische had explained to Ebony, on their way to the Scribing Chambers, why they shouldn’t be on their way to the Scribing Chambers. She told Ebony about the stories and myths and rumours about the Bookkeeper. Ebony found these tales interesting but they didn’t deter her from her goal. 

They had entered the castle through the grand staircase and after a few twists and turns, they had arrived in front of a red-paneled door.

Aische had told Ebony to knock on the door and that she would be waiting at the stairs near the door for her.

Ebony watched as the maid walked away slowly, her every step intentional as if willing herself not to run. She laughed and shook her head. Things aren’t going to be boring with her around. Ebony knocked on the door, opening it when she heard permission from inside the room.

The person she wanted to see was seated at the table directly under the candelabrum. Around him was the vast collection of golden books. She had seen the massive display yesterday but it still took her by surprise. It was truly a magnificent sight.

The Bookkeeper stood from where he sat to welcome her with a bow. “Good day, young woman. I hope your night was peaceful.”

Yesterday, Ebony had been too preoccupied with the precarious situation, she hadn’t observed the Bookkeeper in detail. Now she saw him in the light of day, she understood why there were so many fables told about him.

He sat at the only table in the room; his eyes were pensive and melancholic, like a man who had seen so much pain and despair. They seemed to peer deep into your soul and judge you. She remembered the words in the preface of the book.

Turn the page, my dear reader and I shall show you if you truly are.

it looked like the words were very true.

Clearing her throat and her mind, she responded. “Thank you. It was pleasant.”

He shook out his robes. These ones were black, instead of the brown ones she had seen on him yesterday. “How are you finding our kingdom?”

“Fine. It’s…uhm…a very…unique place,” Ebony said. Everything that happened this morning flashed through her mind like a playback. It was in her bathroom that she had realized how deeply entrenched the kingdom was in magic. It was a part of everything they did. Including bathing.

She had stared at Aische, unmoving, when the maid finished explaining how to use the complex bath system. At least, complex to her. Aische had said that all of the baths in the kingdom were similar to the one she had.

“So I use magic to turn on the water. I use magic to heat the water. I use magic to keep the water warm and I use magic to drain the water,” Ebony had asked, stupefied.

“Yes, all simple spells, my lady. Would you like to try it?”

“I…I can’t use magic.” The horrified look the maid had given her told her that she was probably the first person to say that. It was definitely a unique place.

“That’s good to hear. I hope you find your stay more enjoyable as time goes on." The Bookkeeper picked the books in front of him and put them away, on another side of the table, as if to show her she had his complete attention. "So, young woman, I think you have some questions for me.” 

“Yes, I want to ask…Wait, how did you know I had questions?”

“I think that is a reasonable conclusion, young woman. Don’t you think?” He smiled slightly.

Yes, it was a reasonable conclusion. Anyone would have questions when transported to a new world. But there was something about his ambience that told her he knew, rather than concluded, that she would have questions. She didn’t press it, though. There were more important things she had to find out.

“Yes, Bookkeeper. It is a very reasonable conclusion. But there is something I am not finding reasonable at all. Yesterday, you treated me. Healed me.” Strange word. “It was really magic. You really used magic to heal me. My aches, my bruises; they were all removed. By your magic.”

“That is right, young woman.”

“You can use magic and from what I learned this morning, most -if not all- of the populace can. Then why not use magic to heal yourselves. Or why can’t you?”

It seemed like the Bookkeeper was expecting the question. He smiled and smoothed his robes. “It seems like a simple question but in reality, young woman, it is a question we have been asking ourselves since the plague began. I will answer your question. Please have a seat.”

Ebony took the seat he offered, brought out her jotter and pen, ready to write down any important information.

“As you correctly stated, we can use magic. To do a great deal of things. Transportation, invention, construction, agriculture and of course, medicine. Magic permeates everything we do in the Kingdom of Seelsorger. And as with many other things in the world, our use of magic is dependent on our aptitude or natural talent. While most of the populace, can perform menial tasks such as heating water or lighting a fire, the more complex magic can only be done by those who have an aptitude for it. Some people are more suited to construction magic while others find a better fit in cultivation magic. Does this make any sense, young woman?”

Ebony nodded to show she was following. It was something she was well aware of. She and her younger sister were perfect examples of that. Ebony was good at studying and at researching. At academics, in general. Thera, on the other hand, had an aptitude for sports. At the age of 17, she was among the top three high school volleyball players in the country. Siblings, but different abilities.

“It makes a lot of sense. And if I’m understanding you properly, then only select members can use healing magic?”

“Yes. And that brings us to your next question. Why can’t we use the magic to heal ourselves?” The Bookkeeper stood up and walked to a shelf at one corner of the room. With the confidence of a man who had done this several times before, he plucked a book from the shelf, barely looking at it and walked back.

As he approached, Ebony recognized the book he held so casually in his hands.

She jumped up, knocking her chair back, and pointed at it. “That…that’s the book that brought me here.” All the books in the room looked exactly the same. But she recognized this one because of the embossment on the cover. The drawing of the tree.

“Yes, young woman, this is the book we used to summon you.” The Bookkeeper placed the book on the table and pushed it towards her. “This book is a portal to your world. As all these other books are,” he said, waving his hand to indicate all the books in the room.

“What?” Ebony wasn’t sure she had heard him properly. Every book was a portal to another world. Every book in the room was another world. The books, that were too many to count, contained in each of them a world. She spun around, trying to estimate how many books were in the room. “How many…Just how many worlds are they?”

“Countless, my dear young woman. The universe is infinite. And as such, they are infinite worlds. These books contain the records of the worlds that we are connected to. They are several thousand more we are detached from and several thousand more that have ceased to exist.”

Flabbergasted, Ebony stared mouth open at the Bookkeeper. The news was just too much for her to comprehend. Infinite universe, infinite worlds.

“Earth…my earth, how many univer…I mean, worlds, how many worlds are we connected to?”

“I have no idea. When you return, mayhap you can inquire of your Bookkeeper.”

Plop! Ebony’s mouth dropped open again. Earth has a Bookkeeper? What is going on here?

“Young lady, I understand that this is highly disconcerting for you and that you may have questions. Nevertheless, it would be for the best if we continue with our main topic of discussion. Of course, I will, at another time, answer any other questions you may have.”

Ebony nodded and picked up her seat from the floor, unable to speak. It would be best for her if they returned to the topic she could grasp.

The Bookkeeper took his seat as well. “To maintain the stability of the universe, all worlds are prevented from interacting with each other in any way or manner. They are kept completely exclusive of each other with only one exception. The book. The book of records links and connects worlds and this book,” he said, gesturing to the book on the table. “Connects this world to yours.”

“Due to the mutual exclusiveness of the worlds, the wars, politics, technology, illnesses and all the constructs of one world does not affect the other. The only thing that can affect a world is something created or sourced from that world. And that brings us to the plague that is currently devastating our people. For months, our healers have tried incessantly to find a solution, a cure to the disease. All without success. Even the most powerful healing magic has failed. My dear young woman, can you fathom why?”

Ebony nodded slowly. Yes, she could figure out why. If a world could only be affected by something from the same world, then the opposite was true.

“An illness can only be cured by the world in which it came from. Meaning that, the plague is not of this kingdom, not of this world.” She looked down at the book on the table. At the embossment of the woody tree and realized something. “That’s why I’m here, right? The illness, the plague. It’s from my world.”