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Even these archivers might not be so forgiving, though, if he accidentally incinerated some of these priceless tomes. Hell, he might not even forgive himself if that happened.

But he’d needed to learn more about this Avar character. And about what it truly meant to become a “vessel” for a supposed Primordial.

Unfortunately, none of what he’d learned had made things any simpler. In a way, it might’ve been better if the stories about Avar had all been terrible, because at least that would have made everything clearer. But no. The tales were wildly varied. In some of them, Avar was a benevolent force for good--a warm, nurturing figure who went to great lengths in order to foster and protect those who’d found themselves in dire straits.

One such story told of how Avar bestowed the Secrets of Fire upon the Aruni--theorized by some to have been the first homo sapiens--teaching them how to wield it safely for warmth, cooking, and warding off deadly monsters. It told of how Avar quarreled with other gods, who thought him too enamored with humanity, too generous with his gifts and teaching.

But other stories were more brutal, telling woeful tales of destruction. Of Avar’s flames becoming all-consuming, razing entire cities in a single night.

Such as the Tale of Vanwa. In it, Vanwa is a fishing village under siege from a larger village to the north. It is being raided constantly and having its goods stolen. And when Avar arrives--named Avarith in this story--he teaches the villagers of Vanwa to wield a magical form of fire so that they might defend themselves from their oppressors and protect what they rightfully own.

Which they do. And so Avarith departs, satisfied with the results.

But he returns many years later and discovers that Vanwa has become the oppressor. Where it was once a humble village, now it is a fortress town, possessed of a powerful military that uses the magic he gave them to subjugate its neighbors.

Incensed, he destroys Vanwa utterly, leaving not a single soul alive, not even the children.

And those were only the extreme examples. There were many others that fell somewhere inbetween, where Avar--or whatever the incarnation of him was being called--did not come across as good or bad, but rather just neutral.

It left Jackson feeling uncertain in all sorts of ways.

This business about “incarnations” was particularly curious, he felt.