Given that they didn't share a common language, the first attempt at communication between Mage J'zargo and the four young wizards ended in failure.
This did, however, remind Skyl that if more seekers from other worlds were going to show up in the future, then figuring out how to communicate without language barriers was a subject worth researching.
Skyl took J'zargo's place in presiding over the welcome ceremony.
"Welcome to the Tower of Tomes. This is the divine realm of the Tower Lord; He welcomes all who seek knowledge. You may claim a section of the gallery as your study room. But keep in mind: you have the right to use it, not the right to control it."
"A study room?"
"Yes. You will be granted the Mark of the Tower, and from now on you'll be able to freely enter and leave the Tower of Tomes. You can treat your study room as a private space. Here you can store your belongings, study magic, rest, or use it as a refuge."
"Cool!"
Every child dreams of having a secret base of their own; for them, this was that dream come true.
Skyl had once entertained the idea of turning the Tower of Tomes into a bustling planar hub linking together the multiverse. The advantages were obvious: a transit nexus could bring in an ocean of resources and fame.
But he had quickly abandoned that idea. The Tower of Tomes was not meant to be a marketplace; it was a secret sanctuary for seekers of knowledge. It was not meant to be a railway station either, but a hidden haven where learning and wisdom gathered.
The Tower Lord allowed members to visit one another's rooms and exchange ideas, and even to trade goods in moderation, but he did not permit them to set up trading platforms or business offices inside the Tower of Tomes.
Junior members could use their Mark to enter the Tower of Tomes, but could not travel to other universes, nor bring visitors into the Tower.
Tower Disciples could apply for extra-planar expeditions, lead apprentices to other worlds, keep servants and bring along guests—but the movements of those servants and guests were restricted to the classrooms.
This was the difference between the right to use something and the right to control it.
Skyl explained these rules to the four—Harry and his friends—and asked whether they accepted them.
"Honestly, I don't really get all that," Ron said, scratching his head. He always looked like he couldn't be bothered by anything, the very picture of a carefree kid. "The Tower of Tomes is that secret club you kept talking about, right?"
"That's right. You're the first Hogwarts students to find the Tower of Tomes. Quite an achievement."
"Then I'm in!" Ron thumped his chest with great gusto.
Hermione, on the other hand, had a good sense of legal rights and was much more cautious and steady. She voiced the question that worried her: "Do we have to pay any price for this?"
"No, you needn't pay any price. Joining the Tower of Tomes is only the first step on the path of study. If you seek deeper magic, greater power, or the authority of immortality, then devote yourselves to research before your mortal lifespans run out. Strive to win the favour of the Tower Lord, and look forward to the day you become immortal Disciples, open classrooms of your own, and pass your knowledge down to generations without end."
"Then I'll join too." Stars lit up in Hermione's eyes—pure childhood dreams and expectations.
Harry and Neville had no objections either. They, too, were drawn in by the future Skyl described and began to feel a faint yearning.
Together they walked to the central ventilation shaft of the hexagonal gallery and looked up into the depths where the galleries stretched away without end, a phantom sun faintly visible above.
"Wow…" the young wizards breathed in unison.
"Is he a god?" Harry murmured.
Skyl shook his head with a soft laugh. "Try not to ask questions like that again. All right, pray with me."
The young wizards repeated after Skyl word by word, praising the Master of the Tower of Tomes.
The Tower Lord remained silent and unfathomable. From the phantom sun descended four bronze keys, which floated in front of the young wizards.
"Take your keys—and take these phones as well. From today on, you're Tower apprentices. Now, go pick a study room you like. From now on, we're neighbours."
To the four of them, the Tower of Tomes didn't seem all that different from Hogwarts—just another place to study. They had yet to realise that the Tower of Tomes and a school of magic were two entirely different systems.
Harry and the others excitedly chose a section of the hexagonal gallery. They visited one another through the doors set into the walls. Within the Tower of Tomes' space-time, all "doors" were interconnected—or rather, they were all projections of a single door.
This allowed Tower members to step through a doorway to any gallery they wished, so long as they silently named their destination in their hearts.
Unclaimed galleries could be visited at will, but classrooms and study rooms that already had owners could only be entered with the owner's permission.
"It's a bit like the Room of Requirement," Harry and the others soon discovered. A study room could change its layout according to the user's wishes, though the magic needed to reshape things had to be supplied by the user themselves. The young wizards played to their hearts' content and only stopped once they had run their magic reserves dry.
Their excitement was likely to last another two or three days.
Whenever Hermione came to a new environment she always tried to broaden her social circle. She submitted visit requests to every other Tower member's gallery. At first, language was a huge problem—but that, too, was quickly solved.
After finishing the welcome ceremony, Skyl put in a bit of overtime and enabled a hidden function for the Tower of Tomes—the Language Library.
The Language Library recorded the linguistic abilities of everyone who stayed in the Tower of Tomes—once a god had heard your words, He already knew your thoughts, and the mysteries of language had nowhere left to hide.
As long as a Tower member learned a particular divine spell, [Comprehend Languages], they could converse with anyone without barriers—but its effect worked only within the Tower of Tomes. Truly mastering a language still required learning it on your own.
Skyl sent the instructions for learning [Comprehend Languages] to every member's phone. Before long, Hermione could use the language of the continent of Tamriel with ease. When Skyl had first arrived in World II, he had had to spend more than half a month in Riverwood just to scrape together a bit of everyday speech. Thinking back on that now felt like looking at another lifetime.
The mages of the College of Winterhold were rather reclusive and not much interested in socialising. They busied themselves with research in the Tower of Tomes and rarely spoke to anyone; even when other members applied to visit, they often turned them away.
Hermione's first new friend was Tolfdir, a kindly old mage. Then she got to know Brelyna Maryon, Faralda, Nirya and other elven mages. They all grew fond of this quick-witted little girl and felt she had the potential to become a senior mage.
Hermione, for her part, was full of enthusiasm for the magic of The Elder Scrolls world. She quickly discovered that this kind of magic had much in common with the scientific education she had received.
She had always been a fast learner, and this time was no exception—though the more advanced the magic theory became, the longer it would take to study.
"You should seek a mentor," Mirabelle Ervine advised her. "The Tower of Tomes currently has four classrooms. Joining any one of them would greatly help you on your path as a mage."
The four Hogwarts children all wanted to join Skyl's classroom; the teaching ability of this transfer student was obvious to anyone. But the answer they received was a polite refusal.
Skyl fully intended to enjoy his holiday. Harry and his friends had excellent magical talent, but not to a degree that truly excited him.
"At the moment I have no plans to take on apprentices. However, I'll open my classroom to you. If there's anything you want to learn, go look it up yourselves. My servant Gally will take care of you."
By 20 December, Harry and the others had been members of the Tower of Tomes for a week. Their initial excitement had gradually ebbed away, and they had returned to a more normal rhythm of study.
That day, while Skyl was resting in his own classroom, Harry finally plucked up the courage to ask him for help.
"Mr. de Lin, I've been having strange dreams lately. Could you check what's wrong with me?"
"Oh? Is that so? Let me take a look."
Skyl hadn't thought much of it at first, but once he looked, he was surprised.
Harry's soul seemed to have undergone a strange transformation. Compared to ordinary young wizards, his soul was stronger and deeper—far beyond what many adult wizards could match.
"How odd. Wait… I think I know why."
"Mr. de Lin, is there something wrong with me?"
"There is. A fragment of Voldemort's soul has fused with you."
Harry Potter slowly typed out a single "?" in his mind.
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