TRANSCENDENCE 4

The library wasn’t Savannah’s element. She stuck out among the shelves of dull brown and mahogany books; she was bright green against their subtle colors. The one or two other people in the building were refined - scholars thirsty for knowledge. But she was just a kid - some scrappy little orphan in tatters and rags. Even if she kept her head low, she still stuck out. The wretched color of Savannah’s hair was visible from all angles, no matter what she did.

As soon as she slid into the doorway, the watchful eye of the librarian was on her. She was no scholar, no noble, no magi in their eyes. She was a punk, a thief, a thug. It showed in the way she tugged at the torn cuffs of her jacket, in the way she kicked her bare feet around and stalked the aisles of books like hawk, searching for prey.

She wouldn’t ask for help, though. That was beyond Savannah. It could take hours, days for her to find the right book, but she’d do it on her own. As long as the old woman behind the desk insisted on staring her down, Savannah would insist on avoiding her.

--
And so she searched. Her dirty fingers trailed past the spines of books as she read their titles.

“Meilin Melym: The Nekomata Queen”, “Eline Sakete’s Conquest”, “A Complete History of Sin Magi”. They were all biographies. Savannah moved to the next aisle - history, then mathematics, science, biology…

She had searched nearly every aisle on the first floor of the library when she peered upwards, towards the extravagant staircase. A sign hung above, pointing to a line of bookshelves that circled the upstairs room.

“Magic Theory A-F”

Savannah practically charged up the stairs, only pausing to walk slower when a cough from the librarian drew her attention. She was drawn to the bookshelves, thumbing past book after book until finally, something drew her attention.

“My Complete Knowledge Of Time Magic: Theory, Application, Mastery”

The author’s name was scratched off the leather bound cover with what appeared to be a knife. The cover pages were scribbled out. Even in the introduction, any references to the author were struck through with pen.

Savannah wrinkled her nose and settled down in a corner where two bookshelves met.
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The book was old and she felt that if she worked it too harshly, it would fall apart. The binding barely stuck together by handsewn thread, and the pages were yellowed and worn. The words inside the book were handwritten, and the author’s handwriting was messy and quickly moving, as if they were afraid to lose the thoughts running through their head.

But Savannah read it nonetheless. She was patient when it came to stuff like this - if she could decipher what the author's babbling meant, she could potentially benefit herself.

Key words caught her attention. A quick glance to and fro were given to make sure no one was watching before she took out from her satchel a half-pencil, underlining points that she needed to remember.

"Time magic cannot be channeled like elemental magic. It cannot be connected to an emotion - it must be channeled through sheer will. The caster must stay unwavering in the face of time, and only then will they be able to control it."

Savannah read this paragraph aloud before underlining it.
(Savannah)
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Time was null as she was absorbed into the book - the sun's movement across the sky was nothing to her. But what Savannah was reading seemed to be a brief introduction. Once she had finished the first chapter, the author's ramblings grew rampant. His handwriting was shaky and blots of ink dotted out some of the words where he paused in thought and his pen dripped.

"If you absorb yourself into the time stream, you can become seperate from the timeline Eternia lies on. Time and space are infinite, the X and Y axes of the world. The Z axis is you. If you seperate yourself from reality, you can control your position on the Z axis, you can control where you are and how you are.

"And if you focus, if you try hard enough, you can even manipulate the graph itself. That is magic. Time magic is the awareness of this measure, time magic is complete and utter sentience.

"Time magic is enlightenment."
(Savannah)

Savannah stopped reading. She stared down at the book, squinting. Was this man crazy? Is this what magic did to you? The corners of the pages began to singe.

Savannah dropped the book with a start. She slammed her palm down on the page, stomping out the fire. It echoed throughout the library, and she sat there, willing herself to become small. Her cheeks were flushed and she dipped her head into her knees, as if she could disappear.

It felt like ages before she finally looked up from her huddle. The library was dark and the sun had set. Had she been here that long? She rose up from her spot and glanced to and fro, checking to make sure the librarian wasn't here...

There was no sight of the fat lady. She slid the book into her jacket's inside pocket, and luckily enough, the thing was big enough to avoid the gaping hole that otherwise rendered the pocket useless.

She slid out of the library unseen. Savannah would have to save this book for later.
(Savannah)