Reminiscence I

*The wood of the tree rots itself away at his touch. And as it does, he feels more his strength return.*
*This new power, this new "Augmentation", had left him with a way to replenish his strength without rest or high risk. It gave him the power to decay and degrade objects with a touch, to break them down and absorb them as Aria. A gift, or perhaps a curse, that would mitigate his need for long sleep.*
*Now he walks in the night, draining plants and other flora of their life to restore his own.*
*The tree finally collapses into dust and blows away in the wind. The last of its energy courses through him, fueling his very soul with its vitality.*
*As the newest rush of Aria reinvigorates his body, his mind floods with memories of another time.*
*Recent recollection of the events of The Trial, and of their subsequent battle with the Librarian, conjures up fleeting images of a conflict from many decades past. The party he had traveled with had been nothing like the one accompanying him now, and he himself had gained so few of those distinct qualities which would mark his personality over the years. He had been young, with all of the naivete that such youth would entail, and next to none of the experience that would come to him with age.*
*Such a different time that had been...*
*Those he had been following were minds like his own; knowledge-seekers, blessed with talent, aptitude and a passion for their respective studies. They had learned of an ancient library in what remained of an old and withered city, and had managed to track down its location after thorough investigation and research on its origin and whereabouts. Tirelessly, they had sought the place, to uncover its secrets and preserve some of the tomes and other sources held inside. It had been a long journey, but as they had reached that forgotten place with the sun setting behind it, it appeared that their time and efforts might finally bear some fruit.*
*The library was as vast as rumor had told, and though its magnificence had faded, it was a nonetheless a sight to behold. He remembered the shelves upon shelves of books that lined every wall, marked and chiseled with ornate carvings on each and every fixture. He remembered the tables and chairs, each of them made with such apparent and delicate care. He remembered the chandeliers that hung from the high ceilings, radiant with diminished glory even in spite of their long-extinguished light.*
*So many hours they spent there, reading everything they could find that was relevant to their various areas of expertise. There was enough information in that library to last a man two lifetimes. Books on every subject, every field of knowledge, every area one could wish to learn in. Had things worked out differently, they could have stayed in that place for many days, scouring books and gaining knowledges long lost to the civilized world.*
*But events conspired against them. Their leader came upon a lone book bound in a strange and unknown material. It sat on a pedestal some ways into the library, isolated from the rest of the shelves, as though it had been too important to sit anywhere else.*
*When the man who had served as their spearhead reached out to take the book from its pedestal, that was the moment when everything went wrong.*
*Monsters of various shapes and sizes appeared in the library in a swarm, drawn to the place by the man's contact with that strange and significant tome. Ugly beasts of centaurian physiology, man-like monsters with unnatural protrusions, winged creatures bearing fangs and talons in places they didn't belong. All manner of monstrosities and malformed abominations swept through the library, to destroy those who would dare to touch that most sacred book.*
*The group divided itself into two camps, one to fight the beasts while the others collected as many of the library's books as possible. He remembers the magics and projectiles that had filled the air, the darkened halls coming alight with a terrible and deafening exchange, as he and another rushed through the shelves and stole as many books as they could carry. Once they had gathered all they could, the five of them ran for the exit, rushing out of the library and into the city.*
*All around them, terrible sounds echoed in the night air. More abominations appeared in the city around them, tearing through portals from places unknown and unknowable. The man and his coterie worked to clear a path, using every ability at their disposal to drive as many of the monsters and mad things away as they could.*
*And then they ran in the direction from which they had come, fleeing the city as fast as their legs could carry them.*
*He had traveled with those people, with Hans Jakob Gottfried and his circle of like-minds, for many years by that point. They had seen plenty of adventures together, surviving many things and discovering many more. That night had not been the first in which they had put their lives on the line in pursuit of their work, but in hindsight, it would serve to be the most pivotal.*
*Hans Jakob Gottfried. His mood darkens at the memory of that name. It had belonged to one of the last men in this world whom Lazarus had ever trusted in-full, who was responsible for one of the hardest lessons he had ever had to learn.*
*He shakes his head and pushes the memory back. It is never good to spend too much time lingering upon names from days long gone or events long transpired. He learned everything he needed to from those years long ago. To dwell on them further would only waste his time in the present.*
*His attention returns to the wildlife around him. One more tree should be enough to restore him completely...*