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Chapter 217: The Sphinx Hall
🕑 Added 2025-03-20 12:59:59 +0000 UTCAlthough Lynd was dressed in the style of the people of Pentos, his overall demeanor and attire didn’t quite match. Fortunately, in the city, many foreign merchants, mercenaries, and travelers wore similar clothing, so he did not stand out too much as he moved through the streets.
He spent a day at Illyrio’s manor before heading to the Sphinx Academy to get a firsthand look at its condition.
Though Illyrio had already described the Sphinx Academy to him, hearing about it from someone else could never compare to seeing it for himself. He also needed to examine the books within the academy—one of his key objectives.
It was unclear whether it was due to Pentos being built on coastal hills or simply the habits of its people, but the streets were notably narrow, just wide enough for two sedan chairs to pass side by side. The layout was chaotic and labyrinthine, with twisting alleys and abrupt turns. Tall, straight-walled buildings flanked the streets, creating an environment where those unfamiliar with the city could easily lose their way.
Lynd found himself trapped in this vast urban maze. After walking for a while, he realized he no longer knew where he was. Judging by the surrounding architecture, he had wandered into the district where the nobility of Pentos resided.
"I should have hired a guide," Lynd muttered to himself.
Luckily, he didn’t stay lost for long. Soon, he followed a procession of merchants’ sedan chairs out of the district and onto a broader road where he could see the rooftops of the Sphinx Academy in the distance.
Following this road to the end, he decided to learn from his mistake and hired a local child as a guide. Led through a maze of alleyways, he finally arrived at the gates of the Sphinx Academy.
The Magister of Pentos who had built the Sphinx Academy must have held an extraordinary reverence for the Citadel. Not only had he replicated the pair of sphinx statues in exact detail, but he had also modeled the entrance gates entirely after those of the Citadel, with only minor differences in scale.
However, years of neglect had taken their toll. Much of the gate had corroded, and the bronze surface was covered in verdigris.
Outside the entrance, there was a square reminiscent of the Scribe’s Hearth in the Citadel. Clearly, the academy’s founders had envisioned a similar practice, allowing students to earn money by copying books.
But while the concept was sound, reality proved otherwise.
The noble families of Pentos had their own servants for such work, and the lower-class citizens, many of whom were illiterate, had no interest in books. As a result, the square had turned into a bustling marketplace, with various stalls selling goods. Locals thronged the area, making it lively and crowded.
Lynd didn’t enter the academy right away. Instead, he wandered through the square, browsing the stalls and picking up a few items that piqued his interest.
"Hm?" His gaze landed on an old-looking ceramic jar at a stall specializing in antiques. He was immediately drawn to it.
It wasn’t the jar itself that intrigued him, but the patterns carved into its surface. At first glance, they seemed ordinary, but upon closer inspection, they were a fragmented arrangement of ancient runes.
The way they had been reassembled stripped them of any inherent meaning, yet the design gave the jar an aesthetically pleasing look.
While Lynd’s knowledge of magic wasn’t as deep as Malora’s, he had extensively studied runes due to his connection with dragon runes. His research had included the symbols on the Hightower in Oldtown and those carved into the sacrificial stones of the White Walkers.
Because of this, he recognized immediately that among the scattered engravings on the jar were runes from both the Hightower and the Wall. However, since they had been broken apart and rearranged, they no longer held any supernatural power.
Curious, Lynd picked up the jar and examined it closely. After confirming his suspicions, he turned to the stall owner and asked, "Where did this jar come from?"
The vendor, who had been lounging against the wall, straightened up at the prospect of making a sale. "I went to great lengths to bring this all the way from Yi Ti..." he began.
Before he could finish, Lynd cut him off. "I’m not interested in the jar itself. I just want to know where it came from. Tell me..." As he spoke, he took out a Pentos gold coin and held it up. "And this is yours."
The vendor’s eyes lit up at the sight of the coin, though he hesitated for a moment, clearly hoping Lynd might offer more.
Seeing this, Lynd pocketed the coin and stood up, preparing to leave.
Realizing that his customer wasn’t going to raise the price, the vendor quickly stood as well. "Wait, wait! I’ll tell you where it’s from."
He extended his hand eagerly, and after Lynd placed the coin in his palm, he gestured for him to lean in. In a hushed voice, he said, "This was made right here, in the Sphinx Academy. If you want more details, find Maester Hugh—he’s the one in charge of making these."
Lynd was momentarily surprised but, upon reflection, found it unsurprising. Even a silver Maester like Hugh was resorting to crafting fake antiques for sale. This only reinforced what Illyrio had told him—Sphinx Academy was well and truly in decline.
The door to the Sphinx Academy was half-open, left unguarded. Outside, a few students had set up stalls, offering letter-writing or reading services for the citizens of Pentos. Some books were also displayed for sale on their tables, but judging by their worn covers, it was evident that they had been sitting there for a long time without buyers.
The students at the entrance did not stop Lynd from entering the academy. As far as they were concerned, apart from the books inside, which held some value, there was nothing else worth stealing. There was no reason to post guards.
Upon stepping inside, Lynd found himself in a vast, empty hall. In the center stood a slightly out-of-place stone platform, where a silver-robed Maester sat. The setup resembled the Citadel’s Seneschal’s Court—this Maester likely served as the academy's receptionist.
However, the Maester appeared utterly listless, propping his head up with one hand as he dozed behind the platform.
Lynd approached and knocked on the desk, rousing the Maester from his drowsy state.
"What do you need?" the Maester asked, rubbing his half-open eyes before turning his gaze to Lynd.
"I want to see Maester Hugh," Lynd replied.
The Maester shook his head. "I'm afraid Maester Hugh was invited to Magister Pemo’s estate early this morning to appraise antiquities. He likely won't return until the afternoon."
Lynd acknowledged the bad timing but didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he continued, "I heard the Sphinx Academy has a collection of very old books. I'd like to take a look. What procedures do I need to follow?"
"No procedures—just money," the Maester replied, clearly accustomed to dealing with visitors like Lynd. He picked up a sheet of paper from the table and placed it before him. "All books are categorized by the time period they were written. You can check the prices yourself."
Lynd took the price list and skimmed through it. The cheapest books cost only a single Pentos copper coin, but the more valuable ones—such as the ancient civilization texts he was interested in—required two Pentos gold coins. Moreover, access to these books wasn’t unlimited. Reading time was restricted, and each session lasted only as long as it took for an hourglass to run out; once it did, another payment was required.
Lynd shook his head at the absurdity of the system. No wonder so few people came to the Sphinx Academy to borrow books. The cost was prohibitively high, not only for common folk but even for the wealthy elite. For those with poor reading skills or slow comprehension, finishing a book could cost a small fortune.
The academy was well aware of the flaws in its reading system, but because these rules had been established from the very beginning and were deeply intertwined with other academic regulations, changing them would have wider consequences. Over the years, successive leaders of the academy had chosen to uphold the status quo, following the principle of "better to leave things as they are" rather than risk disrupting existing structures. As a result, no one had ever taken the initiative to revise the reading policies.
While these rules were an obstacle for most, they meant little to Lynd. His memory was excellent—he only needed to read through something once to remember it completely.
Without hesitation, he placed a pouch of Pentos gold coins on the table and requested that the Maester behind the platform take him to the shelves where the oldest books were stored. Once there, he began reading, starting with the outermost books on the shelf.
Despite the steep costs, the books were worth the price. The collection not only contained original ancient texts but also included extensive research conducted by Sphinx Academy’s scholars and Maesters over the years—studies on the languages used in the books, analyses of their content, and various academic commentaries.
In other words, as Lynd read through each ancient text, he was also learning the language in which it was written.
Lynd wasn’t reading these books to learn a new language or script—his interest lay in the ancient texts that spoke of long-lost civilizations and their mysteries.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much information on these enigmatic societies. The most extensively covered topic was the Giant Labyrinth of Lorath. Nearly half of the ancient stone tablet records had been discovered there by adventurers, and because of the physical evidence available, research on the labyrinth was well-documented and abundant.
Among all the research materials, one set of notes caught Lynd’s attention—the writings of a golden scholar named Gubete. This scholar appeared to have been both a traveler and an adventurer, having journeyed to Asshai, Yi Ti, and Sothoryos, as well as venturing beyond the Wall.
During his travels, Gubete noticed that many of the world’s ancient structures seemed to share a common connection. From Asshai in the far east to Oldtown in the west, from the distant Five Forts and K’Dath to Lorath’s Giant Labyrinth and the Wall in Westeros—these monumental constructions bore strikingly similar architectural styles and were built using the same black stone.
His notes contained detailed records of mysterious runes. Some were the hidden magical symbols carved into the surface of the Hightower, while others were the runes embedded in the Wall. Clearly, Gubete had been no ordinary scholar. Like Lynd, he likely possessed a unique form of sight, one that allowed him to perceive traces of magic.
Unfortunately, the notes ended abruptly. It was unclear whether Gubete had met some misfortune, whether his later writings had been lost, or if someone who recognized their value had deliberately hidden them.
"Where can I find more books and notes from this scholar, Gubete?" Rather than searching the library shelves aimlessly, Lynd went straight to the Maester at the high platform and inquired directly.
"Maester Hugh would be the one to ask. All of Gubete’s works are with him," the Maester responded without hesitation. To him, Lynd was a rare and valuable visitor, so he answered readily.
Having gotten the information he needed, Lynd lost interest in continuing his reading. Eventually, everything in the Sphinx Academy would be transported to Summerhall. When that time came, he would have access to all the books he wanted without having to waste money or time now.
Casually, he picked up a book on the history of the Free Cities, sat down on a stone bench at the side of the hall, and flipped through its pages to pass the time.
Not long after midday, Lynd spotted Maester Hugh—the man he had briefly encountered outside the city—walking in, panting and holding a thick book in his arms. From the look on his face, things had not gone well for him.
"Maester Hugh, how was your trip today?" The Maester at the platform immediately stood up, hurried over, and took the book from Hugh’s hands with a look of concern.
"Next time, don’t send me to deal with fools. You can never explain the authenticity of an object to an idiot," Maester Hugh grumbled, taking deep breaths to steady himself.
The other Maester gave an awkward chuckle, then seemed to remember something. He pointed toward Lynd, who was seated nearby. "By the way, this gentleman has been waiting for you all morning."
Hugh hesitated, then turned to look at Lynd, scanning him quickly. It was clear he didn’t recognize him at first.
Lynd stood and approached. "Hello, Maester Hugh."
The moment Lynd spoke, Hugh froze as if something had clicked in his mind. He hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, "Lord Ornstein?"
"You recognize my voice?" Lynd was slightly surprised. Though he hadn’t deliberately altered his voice while wearing the lion armor, the helmet naturally distorted it to some extent.
"I'm particularly sensitive to sounds," Maester Hugh said with a small smile. Then, regaining his composure, he added, "Since you're here, I’ll give you the tour I promised! The academy isn’t very large, but there are still a few places worth seeing."
Lynd didn’t refuse and allowed Maester Hugh to lead the way. After about half an hour of exploring the Sphinx Academy, they made their way to Hugh’s study and personal quarters.
