We were spending some time at the old house over the summer, my brother and I. It had been in our family for as long as anyone could remember, some saying that its foundations could be traced back to the year 800 C.E.
“Alta!” I heard my brother call from the basement. I walked down the rotting staircase and into the dimly lit cellar. For such an old home, the cellar was surprisingly large and had multiple rooms that extended past the foundation. The floor was mostly a mix of dirt and crumbling cobblestone. The walls weren’t much better. I made my way over to where Hadassah was standing, near one of the old bookshelves.
“There’s something behind this bookshelf,” he said plainly. I looked at where he was looking and saw the hole behind some of the old texts strewn about on the shelf.
“Yeah. Do you want me to help you move this?”
“That is why I called you down here,” he said smirking. As I pulled he pushed and we slowly moved the bookcase out of the way. Hadassah pulled out his Darkwood scepter.
“Illuminabant.” The tip of his staff began to glow brightly and he edged himself into the opening. I did the same and followed. When I stood up and began to look around, I was amazed. This wasn’t just any hole in the wall. There was a room had been completely forgotten about. Around us were old cabinets, desks, and even a bed frame. We looked around, finding nothing of any interest. That was when our attention turned to the staircase on the right side of the room. Curious, we ventured down the winding stone staircase. It seemed to go on forever. Finally it opened up into what looked like a laboratory of sorts. I recognized some of the items from history books. Alchemical furnaces and alembics alike lined the left side of the room, with broken tubes leading further into the darkness of the elongated chamber. On the right were desks with broken and dilapidated jars. We quietly moved down the corridor and came upon a series of desks. Parchments were stacked atop one another and next to them were a pile of old books. What caught our eye was on the central desk on a pedestal of sorts. On the book was the family emblem, the symbol that our ancestor created to represent his great findings on the origins of magic. The binding looked as though it were about to fall apart. The whole thing seemed far too fragile to pick up, so I pulled out my Silverwood scepter.
“Deprehendere tempore.” Wisps of magic crawled over the book, through every faded page, over the rotting covers, across the ragged binding and back into the staff. “Weird, I can’t seem to touch this book with magic.” Hadassah pulled out his scepter and tried, but to no avail.
“Do you know what this is Hadassah? It’s an ancient thaumaturge’s lab. This… this must be his lab. And that means this must be his book.”
“Do you mean Atrius?” Hadassah asked, also in awe.
“Yes, I do. But Atrius published all of his works. He was adamant in his belief that all knowledge, no matter what it was, should be open to all who wish to know it, but I don’t recognize this book. If this is an unpublished work by Atrius, then no eyes except his have ever seen it. This book could contain knowledge that none have.” I was in awe. The last work published by Atrius was over 800 years ago. Without hesitation, I opened the book to the first page. The “title” was just “JOURNAL.” I read on.
“It’s with great urgency I write on these pages. I am on my deathbed, for no other reason than that my pursuits of the arcane have given rise to unforeseen consequences. Finally those consequences have found me. As it is known, I advocate for the freedom of knowledge to all, no matter the subject matter. However, I now recant that statement. In my travels, I have made discoveries. Places of exquisite beauty and prestige, and artifacts of untold power. I realize now that if these discoveries were made apparent to the masses, there would be an endless pursuit of them. I cannot allow this, but I cannot allow these discoveries to be lost to time. For this reason, I have sealed this text in blood. Should any other than those carrying my blood attempt to interact with it, they will be immediately and utterly eviscerated. If you are reading this, then you are truly my blood and I impart the knowledge of this text, a collection of my greatest discoveries, to you. I pray that you use this knowledge wisely.”
There was no way I could stop reading now. Discoveries that were so great that even Atrius himself kept them a secret couldn't be ignored.
“After I had completed my work on Thaumaturgy, after no more of the Thaumonomicon revealed itself to me, I began scouring the Overworld for clues about further knowledge. My first quest would take me to a place that I had only heard of through myth, The Garden of Hesperides, which was fabled to contain a single apple tree that grew apples of the purest gold and when eaten, granted absolute immortality to the consumer.
If by chance you have read my other story, this one is in the same universe. Neither are completed, but I am working on it. I hope you enjoy the introduction to this one! Of course don't forget to give credit to Azanor for his awesome Minecraft mod, Thaumcraft. http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/mapping-and-modding/minecraft-mods/1292130-thaumcraft-5-0-3-updated-2015-11-9
The Adventures of Atrius Thaum
The Garden of Hesperides
We were spending some time at the old house over the summer, my brother and I. It had been in our family for as long as anyone could remember, some saying that its foundations could be traced back to the year 800 C.E.
“Alta!” I heard my brother call from the basement. I walked down the rotting staircase and into the dimly lit cellar. For such an old home, the cellar was surprisingly large and had multiple rooms that extended past the foundation. The floor was mostly a mix of dirt and crumbling cobblestone. The walls weren’t much better. I made my way over to where Hadassah was standing, near one of the old bookshelves.
“There’s something behind this bookshelf,” he said plainly. I looked at where he was looking and saw the hole behind some of the old texts strewn about on the shelf.
“Yeah. Do you want me to help you move this?”
“That is why I called you down here,” he said smirking. As I pulled he pushed and we slowly moved the bookcase out of the way. Hadassah pulled out his Darkwood scepter.
“Illuminabant.” The tip of his staff began to glow brightly and he edged himself into the opening. I did the same and followed. When I stood up and began to look around, I was amazed. This wasn’t just any hole in the wall. There was a room had been completely forgotten about. Around us were old cabinets, desks, and even a bed frame. We looked around, finding nothing of any interest. That was when our attention turned to the staircase on the right side of the room. Curious, we ventured down the winding stone staircase. It seemed to go on forever. Finally it opened up into what looked like a laboratory of sorts. I recognized some of the items from history books. Alchemical furnaces and alembics alike lined the left side of the room, with broken tubes leading further into the darkness of the elongated chamber. On the right were desks with broken and dilapidated jars. We quietly moved down the corridor and came upon a series of desks. Parchments were stacked atop one another and next to them were a pile of old books. What caught our eye was on the central desk on a pedestal of sorts. On the book was the family emblem, the symbol that our ancestor created to represent his great findings on the origins of magic. The binding looked as though it were about to fall apart. The whole thing seemed far too fragile to pick up, so I pulled out my Silverwood scepter.
“Deprehendere tempore.” Wisps of magic crawled over the book, through every faded page, over the rotting covers, across the ragged binding and back into the staff. “Weird, I can’t seem to touch this book with magic.” Hadassah pulled out his scepter and tried, but to no avail.
“Do you know what this is Hadassah? It’s an ancient thaumaturge’s lab. This… this must be his lab. And that means this must be his book.”
“Do you mean Atrius?” Hadassah asked, also in awe.
“Yes, I do. But Atrius published all of his works. He was adamant in his belief that all knowledge, no matter what it was, should be open to all who wish to know it, but I don’t recognize this book. If this is an unpublished work by Atrius, then no eyes except his have ever seen it. This book could contain knowledge that none have.” I was in awe. The last work published by Atrius was over 800 years ago. Without hesitation, I opened the book to the first page. The “title” was just “JOURNAL.” I read on.
“It’s with great urgency I write on these pages. I am on my deathbed, for no other reason than that my pursuits of the arcane have given rise to unforeseen consequences. Finally those consequences have found me. As it is known, I advocate for the freedom of knowledge to all, no matter the subject matter. However, I now recant that statement. In my travels, I have made discoveries. Places of exquisite beauty and prestige, and artifacts of untold power. I realize now that if these discoveries were made apparent to the masses, there would be an endless pursuit of them. I cannot allow this, but I cannot allow these discoveries to be lost to time. For this reason, I have sealed this text in blood. Should any other than those carrying my blood attempt to interact with it, they will be immediately and utterly eviscerated. If you are reading this, then you are truly my blood and I impart the knowledge of this text, a collection of my greatest discoveries, to you. I pray that you use this knowledge wisely.”
There was no way I could stop reading now. Discoveries that were so great that even Atrius himself kept them a secret couldn't be ignored.
“After I had completed my work on Thaumaturgy, after no more of the Thaumonomicon revealed itself to me, I began scouring the Overworld for clues about further knowledge. My first quest would take me to a place that I had only heard of through myth, The Garden of Hesperides, which was fabled to contain a single apple tree that grew apples of the purest gold and when eaten, granted absolute immortality to the consumer.