The archive was smaller than the one at the academy, but much better maintained. Books were well stocked and had no dust on them, meaning they were either borrowed frequently or just cleaned on the regular. The reason for their visit to the archive was to be able to advance their magic. Tormac had hit a plateau on his mana proficiency and Silas had no time to work on himself so far. The duo browsed through each shelf to find the most relevant ones.
"Magic beasts, mana purification, mana embedding, mana fusion, multicasting theory, mage etiquettes, mana history, mana diffusion, mana implosion, mana manifestation, take your pick. Not sure which one would suit you, Sil" Tormac said eyes glued to the volumes of books before him, trying to pick one as well.
"I most likely won't have records on my magecraft either. I might have to search in the water mana usage section since that's the closest. I'll ask the librarian for books on using water from one's own body." Silas said and walked toward the counter with a young lady behind it, reading a book on runes. Silas approached her and said "Hey, do yo-", but before he could say anything she just pointed her finger at a far of section in the back. "Okay, thanks" Silas said and noted a mark behind her ear. It was rune marking that let her hear better. "So she heard us....." Silas thought, fascinated. Silas moved to the shelf and browsed for a few minutes before picking up 2 books: "Blood and bodily fluid" and "Water mage's guide to body fluids"
Silas took them both and went back to where Tormac was sitting, concentrating on the book in front of him. Silas took out his books as well and opened them simultaneously, each opened to the relevant page so that he could cross-reference information as well.

"Blood contains a large amount of water in it, hence water mage's of the highest caliber are able to manipulate it to a very small extent, enough to redirect blood flow or such matters. Blood, as a fluid also contains a very small amount of mana in the bodies of those with the ability to sense mana or even manipulate it, while in the bodies of mana beasts or mana based-creatures the amount of mana is quite large. According to well researched and proficient mages who specialize in mana based metal manipulations or metal magecraft, blood contains a trace amount of iron as well, perhaps as a chemical or alchemical reagent for bodily functions. Water mages should be wary when drawing fluid from the body for utilization, as draining the body of it's own fluids could impair functions and those without knowledge on the functioning of the body may accidently even tear their own heart apart or may cause other incidents such as blinding or paralysis if the wrong fluid has been drawn. Even the water mages of the highest calibers have only ever worked on the vital fluids of corpses to avoid grievous injury" 
The books said and continued
"Water mages are advised to only use corpses for the experiments states below, harming another individual is punishable by imprisonment or death in many regions. For beginners understanding into fluids of the body must be aware of the following : Bodies contain 3 types of vessels for blood: Arteries, Veins and Capillaries. The functions of an Artery is...." Silas flipped though a few pages till it came to the important bits
"Place the body before you and begin with fingertips, gather mana with your palm to excite your own mana in the blood and hold it slightly apart from the corpse's hand to be able to move the blood as a whole rather than the water in it. Build a pathway through mana to guide the blood outwards from the fingertips, the mages performing this should be advised that there is no need to prick the skin for the blood to move outward as the mana pathway will guide it out by piercing through the skin itself, hence acting like an artery or vein itself. Begin with smaller quantities of blood and maintain the slow speed of guidance to ensure you still have control over the blood."

"Yes! This is it. Capillaries. If i could puncture the ones on my fingertips i can increase the flow of blood. My control is independent of speed of extraction so i got that covered too. I just need to lookout for drain rate of the blood to make sure it is viable but not too draining on the body, otherwise it could mean uncontrolled blood loss." Silas thought, snapping out of his reading trance. He looked to his fingertips and proceeded with the instructions he read and he felt the blood being pushed outward and started leaking his fingertips. This was a huge milestone for him. He quickly let the blood flow all over each of his fingers and then crystallized it. The blood struck itself into shape from formless fluid to rough edged pointed tip originating from his fingertips. He formed his new weapon on command: blood claws. Quick and direct slashes could tear apart even the thickest clothing with it's sharpness and even go so far as to dent and scratch metal armors as well. "*Heh. Not bad.*" Silas thought and noticed Tormac looking too.
"Preparing for close quarters combat eh? Well.....a mage prepares" Tormac said
"Fortuna ad paratos venit" Silas said out loud, making Tormac raise an eyebrow.
"You know you could just use mana as it is just like me. Why not try to learn that as well?" Tormac said
"You mean mana as a force? I could do that but it's inefficient. I would use lesser mana conjuring another spell." Silas reminded.
"Yeah but.....just saying. No harm, no foul in trying or perfecting it." Tormac remarked
Silas contemplated on what Tormac said and if he was able to use mana in more ways then it would be beneficial for him too. If he is able to generate a mana force through his hands enough to propel him forward, he could use it to dodge and dash. He still sat there wondering of the usage when he heard a faint conversation way behind him "Yes, there is a boy here with black hair and black coat....No, i don't know their names". Silas looked at his clothes, he was wearing a white inner shirt and a black coat, he quickly perked up and stood up looking around. He saw two strong looking buff guys glancing from side to side all over by the entrance. He had just heard the lady behind the desk talking to them. Silas signaled Tormac to get up and prepare to leave. Tormac understood and followed Silas through the back shelves hiding from the men, now moving into the library to search for them. Silas devised a plan to distract the guard and make a run for it. He quickly explained to Tormac on the escape plan and executed it. Both of them dashed for the door simultaneously when Tormac pushed over a shelf with mana, effectively diverting attention. Silas was running too fast when he hit the barrier placed on the entrance and felt his nose bleed from the impact. The lady by the desk had placed the rune barrier there, she looked at them and said "You guys are running like criminals, you might be criminals too. You're not getting away on my watch." and yelled to the guards "They're here!".
"What's your problem, lady? We're just avoiding nobles who hate us. What's wrong with that?" Tormac lashed out at the lady
"Well, you must have done something to draw their ire then" The lady retorted
"Fucking psycho" Tormac just yelled back. The two guards came back to the entrance sizing up the duo.
"What do you want from us? Why are you after us?" Silas asked
The guards remained silent and stepped forward, at which both the boys gathered mana for attack. Silas quickly materialized his Sanguine Claws onto his fingers and suspended his Blood bullets, meanwhile Tormac began his whistling to manifest mana. There was pulse of mana distortion that travelled across the room originating from the desk lady. Tormac's gathered mana dissipated and Silas' suspended bullets fell to the floor. "You will not use mana in my domain. Cease and desist." the lady said "You will comply. I don't want my archives destroyed by the two of you fighting."
Silas' looked at his hands, the Claws were still there and he realized that her pulse only rendered mages unable to manipulate mana anymore and did not affect the already manifested element spells. 
"Calm down, Silas Ryd. We are here to summon you to the House Silvaren." one of the guards said
"Not interested" Silas shot back
"This wasn't a request, it was an order by the Count Silvaren himself. Come with us, now" the guard said with his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"You have no authority upon my mind, body and soul. Stop now or forfeit your life, so choose" Silas said grimly.
The guards hesitated to draw their sword but did it nonetheless and pointed to the duo. Silas and Tormac looked at each other and nodded their heads in silent understanding. Silas immediately lunged at one of the guards while Tormac flung a book at the other and dashed to the lady in an attempt to subdue her. Silas clashed the guard's sword against his claws, but he knew in the strength of contest he had no chance, so quickly swiped his claws at the guard's quadriceps. The claws scratched deep and brought the guard to his knee, while the other guard reeled from the book to his head, Silas quickly punched his Solar Plexus and knocked him off his feet. Tormac dashed towards the lady to be able to grab her wrists at least, but she was prepared and dodged backward and out of his reach and started running into the archives. Tormac chased after her with all his might and shoulder bashed her into a shelf.
"Owww, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you hit a woman?" the lady screamed in pain.
"Why? I strike for my survival and my friend's so why would your gender matter to me?" Tormac said smugly "Now listen to me carefully, those are guards of House Silvaren who are out to make us slaves for them after failing to bring us to their side. We are not criminals, we are simply men on the run from them. So please, release the rune. I don't want to become a slave". The librarian looked at the sincere expression Tormac had made and realized the gravity of the situation "Ok, but don't kill anyone in here. It would give them a legitimate reason to chase after you."
"Ok, thanks. Release it and we will make a run for it" Tormac said and ran back to Silas who had just dealt with the guards. Both of them ran out after Silas patched the soldier with the slashed quadriceps and picked his blood bullets back, only to find themselves surrounded all around by more guards and all armored, pointing their spears at the two of them.
The Captain of the band said out loud "Silas Ryd and Tormac Kempo, you have been summoned by the Count Silvaren to Manor Silvaren. Due to the urgency of the issue, your right to refuse has been revoked. Come with us in an orderly fashion or we will bind you to take you back."
Tormac looked over to Silas who was absolutely furious. Silas yelled back "I refuse your revocation of my basic human right. I will choose to fight all of you and will kill as many as i can in my self-defense. So, tell me: How many are willing to lay down your lives just to subdue a man who wants peace? 5 of you? 10 of you? How about all of you? Tell me Captain, are you willing to risk the lives of your entire band just to find out how outmatched all of you are against me?"
"Silas Ryd, please maintain the peace of the neighborhood and follow us quietly. We can and will use force to subdue you, your claims of self-defense fails when you go against the direct orders of Count. This is just a simple summon, why must you escalate this?" The Captain said to Silas
"If this was just a simple summon, why the whole band of guards then? All armored as well, from head to toe. You must either be trying to incite me or assassinate me. What could you possibly have to offer me besides your spears pointing at me?" Silas didn't back down
"Due to the urgency and importance of the matter, I cannot discuss this here, Silas Ryd. This is your last warning. Please, calm down and follow us to the manor" The Captain called out.
"Wait, we're in public, Sil. Let's just follow them for now. They haven't attacked us yet and I think that counts for something" Tormac said putting a hand on Silas's shoulder.
Silas calmed down a little and said to the Captain "I will follow you but if you try to blindfold or bind us, I will retaliate."

Silas and Tormac of the decision they made just then but were wary of the guards around them all the way toward the manor. Tormac was awe-struck by the exterior decor, but Silas was only worried about the people inside.