Li Wen's eyes fell on the dark feather, which lay quietly in the palm of White Elf's equally white and almost transparent palm, which looked particularly eye-catching. The texture of the feathers is delicate, and the fluff on the edges glows with a faint blue luster under the light. Other than that, there is nothing else special about it.
She could even smell a faint fishy smell from it that was unique to crows.
"Isn't this just an ordinary raven feather?" Li Wen's voice sounded calmly, and she did not feel any magic fluctuations from it.
"Your vision is very accurate." The White Elf store manager was not displeased at all by Li Wen's directness. Instead, he smiled appreciatively, "It is indeed an ordinary raven feather, so ordinary that anyone can easily find hundreds or thousands of identical substitutes on every roof of Royal Capital."
She picked up the feathers with gentle movements, as if she were handling a rare treasure.
"But it is also a token of 'Raven School'."
Hearing this unfamiliar term, Li Wen said nothing, but quietly waited for the other party's explanation.
"It seems that your understanding of the Arcane Academy is only limited to its shiny surface." The elf store manager put Feather Bookmark back on the counter and leaned against the bookshelf. His lazy posture was like that of a student who was about to tell the students about ancient times. The mentor of the old story, "Do you think Sunday Secret College is a harmonious and unified temple of knowledge? No, that's just the way it wants outsiders to see it. In fact, the inside of the tower is more like a lair composed of seven snake caves that are constantly fighting with each other."
There was a hint of mockery in her voice.
"Arcane Academy was originally founded by seven legendary magicians including Merlin. They were honored as 'Seven Sages' by later generations. But even sages have little understanding of the truth. Their understandings are not completely consistent. After thousands of years of evolution, their respective magical concepts and teaching methods have finally formed the seven distinct schools of thought within the Arcane Academy today."
"They compete for the chief position of the Arcane Academy, compete for the favor of the royal family, compete for limited magic resources, and even openly debate for several months over different interpretations of an ancient rune. In this holy land named for reason and knowledge, its internal struggles are no less gentle than the power games among the nobles outside."
The elf store manager spoke eloquently, revealing the other side of the Arcane Academy under the glamorous appearance of Li Wen.
"Today within the Arcane Academy, the most powerful one is 'Solar Day School' led by Master Siswell. They have inherited the most orthodox and conservative lineage among Seven Sages. Emphasizing the order and inheritance of magic, most of the apprentices are from the ancient nobles of the kingdom. They hold the most resources in the Arcane Academy and claim to be the only guardians of the truth. In their eyes, any innovation and questioning of magic is a blasphemy against ancient wisdom."
"Secondly, there are 'Crimson Spire' and 'Star Chart School'. The former has gathered a group of fanatical element controllers. They are obsessed with the purest destructive power in Aether Spectrum, and firmly believe that power is the only truth. Their acting style is just like their names, direct, fiery and aggressive. They are the purest battle mages."
"The latter are a group of fortune tellers and astrologers who look up at the stars all day long. They try to interpret the revelations of fate from the trajectory of the stars, understand the past, present and future through the starry sky, and draw the grand picture of the universe. But who can really explain such things as fate? Most of the time, they are more like a group of weirdos living in their own world."
The store manager continued, "Compared with these famous schools, there are two schools that are more low-key, but they are also not to be underestimated."
"One is 'Axiomatic Discourse'. They are pure arcane theorists. They are obsessed with the structure of magic itself, studying the syllables of spells, the logic of magic circles, and the laws of the flow of ether between different runes. They firmly believe that as long as they master these most basic axioms, they can construct any magic they want. In the eyes of other schools, they are a group of overly rational madmen, but in the field of deciphering ancient magic or creating new spells, no one can surpass them."
"The other one is 'Silent Syllables'."
Mentioning this, the elf shop manager's voice seemed to be a little softer.
"They are ascetics of the Origin Essence lineage, who believe that truth exists within the heart rather than outside. They do not write books and seldom participate in public debates. They believe that the most powerful power comes from their knowledge of themselves. Through meditation and introspection, they can directly project their will into reality, distort perception, manipulate the mind, and even plunge their enemies into eternal silence. They are the most difficult group among the Arcane Academy, and few people will try to deal with them."
She paused, a hint of amusement flashing in her silver eyes.
"Of course, there is also the long-dead 'Root School'..." She chuckled, "It is more like a philosophical society. They debate the nature of Origin Essence and ether all day long, trying to explore the origin of magic from the most basic level. Unfortunately, the truth will not reveal itself due to debate. Their achievements are very few, and they have long been insignificant within the Arcane Academy."
The store manager White Elf showed Arcane Academy's internal power map one by one in front of Li Wen. The characteristics and stance of each faction were described appropriately.
"And the 'Raven School' represented by this feather..."
Her voice became a little more distant,
"It is the oldest and most secretive of the seven sects. Their founder is the most mysterious of the first generation Seven Sages. No one knows his real name, only that he calls himself 'Corpse Gatherer'. The member of Raven School once They are the eyes and ears of the Arcane Academy. They collect intelligence, explore secrets, and unearth the truth buried in the dust of history. They firmly believe that the truth is not hanging in the sky, but hidden in countless forgotten corners, and it needs to be dug out and pieced together bit by bit to be reappeared."
"They seek secrets, control secrets, and keep secrets."
"Because of this, they are not popular with other schools." The elf shop manager shrugged, "After all, no one likes a group of crows who always want to uncover other people's scars. Over time, Raven School was squeezed out to the Arcane Academy On the edge of, they have lost their resources and their right to speak. Now only some old guys and weird apprentices who are interested in side history are left, guarding a dusty, almost forgotten underground society to survive."
The elf store manager finished speaking and pushed the feather in front of Li Wen again. Her gaze became profound and unpredictable.
"Now, do you understand the value of this feather? It may not allow you to walk sideways in the Arcane Academy, nor can it bring you privileges. However, it can allow you to be accepted by those lonely and silent 'crows'. Just give the feather to them, and they will provide you with any secrets you want to know. Including those secrets that are unknown and will bring disaster if you speak them."
Keeper of Secrets.
Li Wen suddenly came up with this word in his mind. When she was Leicester, in order to coax Bai Lu into doing things for her, she turned into Keeper of Secrets, who claimed to know the secrets of the world.
In fact, Keeper of Secrets is indeed a real existence, or in other words, a real but mysterious god.
He will only appear in some oral secrets. No one knows how he existed before becoming a god and what authority he controlled.
Li Wen had heard in his previous life that there were only a handful of Keeper of Secrets believers in Kingdom of Arthur, but he didn't want to be among the Arcane Academy.