"The only good thing about humans," Emilia Black-Hearth decided as she shifted through a pile of dusty tomes,
"Is their tendency to collect all of their knowledge in one place."It was early winter. It had snowed a few nights ago, and the city of Reichsgard had been coated in a thick blanket of white ever since. The busier streets had been cleared by the city's mage council, but the side streets and alleyways were still difficult to travel on. Icicles hung from every rooftop and street lamp, and in the cold mid-afternoon the entire city seemed to sparkle.
Emilia
hated snow.
The former dragoness had come to this city for a single reason- Reichsgard had a famously large bookshop. Books were knowledge, and knowledge was
power- and power was something Emilia desperately,
desperately wanted.
Unfortunately, the bookshop didn't seem to have any of the power she was searching for.
"Wildlife? No, that's useless. Cooking? Boring." she thought as she went through each and every book on each and every shelf.
"Where are the books about rituals and sacrifice? This place is a dreadful travesty!""Excuse me ma'am?" Emilia turned to see one of the clerks looking at her. "Would you like help finding something?"
The former warlord's nose wrinkled. "Not from
you, worm. Get out of my sight!" Emilia turned on her heel and walked away, leaving the man speechless.
"Disgusting creature!" she thought angrily.
"How dare it address me as if it knows better than I do?"Another thirty minutes passed without Emilia finding anything.
"This is a hopeless waste of my time." Emilia thought bitterly as she stormed towards the exit.
"I cannot believe I bothered to grace this filth with my-"One her way out, a small book lodged between two encyclopedias caught Emilia's eye. Picking it up, she looked at the cover and smiled.
Collective Belief: A Mortal's Guide to Godhood
"That works." she thought. Walking towards the door, she waved to clerk. "You'll be giving this to me, human. Be thankful that your establishment wasn't a complete waste of my time."
The clerk looked at Emilia dumbfounded. "I- Hey! You still need to pay for that!" He yelled as Emilia walked out of the shop. "Get back here!"
Emilia didn't listen, and began to walk down the ice-covered street.
"Now all I need is a good, quiet place to read..."