Though it was late in the evening, still people came in and out of Lomedor's great library. The Parmamar was home to many of the world's books, and it was here that questions could be answered. Beings of all races and backgrounds came here to sit in peace and quiet to learn more about the world around them, or simply enjoy a fictional tale. Either way, it was a place of contentment.

Dain Coalfrost sat alone at one of the many tables, his staff leaning against the wooden construction. His head was bent down low, eyes intently scanning the pages of a thick book, and was completely oblivious to the outside world. The spine of the book was labeled Magic: Facts, Theories, and Explanations.

It was written by an alleged expert sage, a master of arcane power. It told of various theories as to how magic existed, and how it was processed and used by sentient creatures. Dain found the book fascinating, but must of the things stated in it were merely assumptions. Nothing about magic could be proved.

Of course, neither could gravity. Yet gravity and magic both surely existed. Actually, so the author of the book stated, the term "magic" was misused. If something existed in the world, it was part of physics, therfore giving it a scientific aspect. "Magic" referred to something that twisted reality, something impossible. The feats performed by mages existed, therefore were a part of reality, and should be included in the idea of science.

As for how man used magic, the writer beleived that magic was an unseen force, like air. It ran rampart in the world, surrounding all. This force was drawn upon by using a specific part of the mind to absorb and shape the force into doing what the caster desired. Magic was simply mental power transferred into physical power. The reason many spellcaster had to use runes, words, or gestures in order to use their power was because the mind had to concentrate a great deal to transfer the power, and therefore, the caster had to do something physically that he associated with the action.

Dain followed all of this, agreeing with most of what the writer said. He had his own theories, but he doubted if magic would ever be understood. The races of Arda would never being able to do anything but guess as to it's many different mysteries.

Dain sighed and leaned back, rubbing his eyes. He had been here the entire day, going through the bookshelves. He doubted there would be anything left that would strike his interest, but it was worth a shot. Standing up, he walked back to the magic section amongst the many bookshelves and began to search for something that might satisfy his appetite for magical knowledge.

((OOC: Gah, short. I am being hasted and distracted. Things will get much better once I start off. Need to get into the swing of things))

That particular evening brought many people to the library, perhaps more than Vor expected to see in that place at that late hour. The prophet found himself once more within the welcoming walls of a library, his senses being caressed and satisfied by the scent of the old books and his mere presence among them. His bluish fingers shivered with excitement, awaiting the time when they will run softly across the yellow pages of some new book.

It was his second visit to Parmamar, another chance was given to the library, since the first one proved to be a little disappointing and unsatisfying, much below his expectations. He was unable to find any book of to catch a glint of his interest, a particular one that revealed new and interesting facts about magic, about philosophy or any law that stays behind the spinning of the whole world. But he came to a sad conclusion, a mere library of that days was not going to satisfy any of his desires, he had to make some efforts, and document himself about the location of some ancient libraries, destroyed by time, or banished from the face of the land even. He should find at least several interesting tomes.

His eyes scanned across the hundreds of shelves containing the thousand of books, he even threw a few glances to the others, present in the library at that time, to see what they were doing and what were the book of their choice. Soon he found the section dedicated to magic and everything about the many arcane arts. He stopped there and turned his attention away from the books, watching an unusual appearance in a place like that. It was that of a young man, instead of being outside to swing a wooden sword or dream of becoming a hero, he was there, browsing through the books with an interest manifested only by the old scholars.

“If I may ask, are you looking for something in particular? I might be able to help, I know pretty much all of these books.” He was an interesting guy, reminding Vor of himself in his teenage years, while he was still human, and not the creature he has become today.

Dain searched for a few moments, hoping that something might pique his interest. There were very few books on the theory of magic, however, that he hadn't already looked at. He sighed, and with a slight shrug to himself, he turned, prepared to walk back to the table and gather up his things so as to leave. However, as he spun about, he encountered a man standing nearby, who spoke to him.

"Anything particular?" he said, answering the man's question. "I'm afraid I wouldn't know where to begin. I could read for years, and yet still there would be so many questions unanswered..." Dain scrutinized the stranger closely, trying to figure him out. The fellow didn't seem altogether...human. Of course, there were plenty of races besides humans, but Dain was familiar with many species of Arda, and he couldn't recognize what he was. His bluish tainted skin was an oddity. It would be rude to ask such personal questions to a complete stranger, however, so he refrained from doing so. Instead, he turned back to the shelves.

"I'm nothing more than a student." Dain continued, speaking sideways to the man without looking at him. "I seem to be having some trouble weaving spells into effect...I've been studying theory for ages, and yet it seems that I have been doing something wrong. I know that I have the ability, due to slight magical success, such as a minor healing spell, yet... more complicated magicks seem to evade my grasp." He slipped a book off of one of the shelves, flipped it open to a random page, and scanned it, before shaking his head and placing back where it had been. Giving up, he sighed and turned back to the man to whom he was speaking.

Realizing that he had been ranting, he grimaced, and said, with an apologetic look on his face, “Forgive me, you didn’t ask to hear all of that. I fear that I haven’t been doing much talking to anyone but myself lately, and so I may be a little too eager to speak every thought that comes to my mind.” An idea came to him as he looked once again at this stranger. Slowly, he said, “Forgive me for making assumptions, but you have the look of a learned magician. Therefore, may I ask, what do you think of my situation? Unfortunately, all that I have learned has come from books. I have not had any living being with real experience to consult on the matter…I would greatly appreciate your opinion, if you would be willing to give it to me.” He looked at the man hopefully, awaiting his answer.

His fingers crossed against each side of the book as he neared the young man a little more, while idly reading the titles and listening to the fellow scholar. The mere sight of the student, brought many memories to Vor, and an almost disturbing feeling. The memories were of his early life, when human he lived with his dad who worked in a crystal mine and his mother who was a mere village woman. It was unknown from what or were came this great gift to him with which he was able to wield and bend the magic to his will. Many years he walked a thin line between sanity and insanity, between the real world and the dream world, not only did he have magical powers but also strange and blurred visions of things not yet happened. Knowledge became his most prized possession and friend once he resorted to it and to self-teaching. He started with the few books from the collection of the eldest villager, learning important things about those things he considered an oddity to him. “Thirsting for knowledge you are, for this seemingly inoffensive concept, and yet do you know the risks of it? The more you learn the more you realize that you know nothing about anything, bigger the confusion is. I made the same mistake when I was young…” And now, he was unable to restrain his inner and consuming desire of learning even more things. As the last word escaped through his lips, he realized that probably he has went too far, by no means he wanted to intimidate the young scholar.

“I apologize, it rarely happens to me to speak before I think.” He nodded slowly, to both empower his words and as an acknowledgement to the student’s words. He was a taught magician, and yet he rarely used his spells at the expense of harming someone or something.

“Knowledge is good” He then continued “I appreciate that you are trying to learn about magic from the books, I did the same when I was of your age, but you should go beyond that, look inside you. You have to give your own definition to magic.”[/COLOR] Then an idea came to his mind, quickly taking pulling out a dagger from beneath his cloak, he made a superficial cut across his forearm, before extending it towards the young man. He said that he knew a spell that could heal minor wounds. “Heal me!” He said, on a demanding and authority-filled tone. Vor needed to locate the essence that gave him the ability to cast that spell, and if he had talent at all.

"I...I understand that already." Dain said, responding to the scholar’s next words. "The last few weeks that I've been in Lomedor, studying from these books, I've realized that there are questions that will never be answered, and yet people still search for them." He shook his head as the wizard apologized. "There is no need for that. Your words are wise."

Dain listened to his next words, and his mind began to think, to consider what he had said. His own definition to magic...? It made sense. So far, he had only abided strictly by the books, not ever giving independent thought to how to work magic. He had followed the author's instructions exactly, attempting to copy their work. However, now that he thought of it, mages had many different ways of using magic; their methods were as diverse as the races of Arda. Maybe if he branched out and developed unique tactics, he would finally be successful? It was certainly a concept worth experimenting with.

His thoughts came back to reality as the scholar withdrew a dagger from his cloak. "Err...what are you doing?" he asked, though he thought he already knew. The man made a light cut along his arm and held it out to Dain. He stepped forward as he was asked to heal, and nodded.

He had used the spell countless times before, so as to practice the little bit of magic that he was capable of. It had mainly been on stray animals and a few people that had accidentally sustained small cuts that he had obliged to help. He felt as though he was quite competent with the spell, so surely using it this time would not be difficult at all. However, he felt as though something was at stake this time, as the scholar watched.

Concentrating, he reached out with his mind, not inside himself, but to the surrounding world. There, subconsciously, he felt a kind of force, a buzzing energy that was everywhere. He drew it inside of him, absorbing it, and felt it fill him, giving him power to do things outside the realm of possibility. He looked intently at the cut on his fellow mage's arm, and raised a single hand to it, muttering in concentration. His head felt fuzzy, as something inside of it combined the force with his own strength, and forced it out of him in its new, refined form. The cut began to seal, becoming a scar, then nothing at all. The flesh that had been bleeding slightly moments before was now perfect, unblemished skin.

He looked up and stepped back, feeling a small amount of energy leave him. It was nothing serious, just barely enough for him to notice his absence. He nodded to blue-skinned man, trying to hide the feeling of satisfaction that he had every time he used magic. It was proof that he had the power, but he knew that it was nothing to be proud of, in this weak, un-practiced stage.