Private Strange Ruminations

There was nothing quite so divine as the smell of old books (Or new books, for that matter), mingled with the subdued, muffled ambiance and heavenly air conditioning that one found in the library of Starlight Academy. She’d spent many a happy hour in this place when her neighbors were too loud or she just needed a change of scenery from her cozy little dorm room.

As of late, she’d found herself increasingly productive, as if a wall that had been holding her back had just been ruptured, and suddenly, she could almost literally feel her power and knowledge growing by the day. A year ago, she wouldn’t have been able to defeat Lottie in their duel, but now, she was beginning to come into her own as a full-fledged Wizard. A few more years of schooling, maybe a vacation to the outer realms, and she was very well on her way to becoming the greatest wizard of her age.

Today’s subject of study was a school of magic she hadn’t much experience with. Transmutation. She hadn’t really bothered much with it before, but a viewing of The Sword In The Stone had left her with the urge to turn someone into a rabbit, so she’d picked up an old tome from the library and gotten to work.

She wasn’t wearing her bracelet, which was technically not allowed, but she’d chosen a wing of the library with relatively few pieces of electronic equipment to work in, and was pouring over the pages vigorously, trying to turn an origami crane into a dove.

”...The creature is limited in the actions it can perform by the nature of its new form, and it can’t speak, cast spells, or take any other action that requires hands or speech.” She read aloud under her breath, following along with her finger. ”That’s awesome, but what about turning something that isn’t alive into something that is? Could I make this dove talk?” She muttered, scribbling something into the margins of the book, a possible correction to the formula. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t allowed to do that, but many a book in Starlight Academy’s repertoire hosted some of Tilly’s commentary, and they couldn’t exactly tell it was her doing it. Maybe. Probably. Hopefully.

She snapped her fingers, focusing hard on the origami crane, and in the blink of an eye, the crane’s paper wings became real, and just as fast, they began to beat. She let out a little squeal as the bird took off, slamming into a window, and falling to the ground. Panicked, and a little guilty, Tilly held out a hand and caught it with telekinetic energy, allowing the bird to drift back into her hands.

”Bejabbers!” She squeaked, cradling the little thing in her hands. ”Here, little guy, don’t fly off so quick.” She cooed, setting it down upon the table. Her fingers emitted a glowing white light, and the bird began to stir, recovered from its stunned state. It lay there on the table, seemingly shell-shocked, while she finished reading her entry.

”...If you concentrate on this spell for the full duration, the effects become permanent- Oh, zounds.”

When she glanced back at the dove, it had once again assumed the form of the paper crane.

Tilly very briefly considered the implications of what she’d done. Had she killed that dove? Had it ever been alive to begin with? Did it have a soul? She pondered the very nature of that dove’s life, extinguished in an instant. If she changed it back, would it be the same dove? Why did everything suddenly smell like copper?

”Sorry, little dove.” She sighed, taking the crane in her hands. Her eulogy was cut short by one of her many magical cat-eared peers, exclaiming something in Chinese that she vaguely recognized as “wow.” which was a generally good way for people to be reacting to her powers. She recognized the voice, and was too distraught with the death of this creature to spare him a glance.

”Hey Ganymede.” She said, cradling the crane in her hands. She’d have to memorize the spell again to try this, and that would take her ten minutes at a minimum. Still, it felt disrespectful to discard the corpse of the little guy. ”Yeah, it’s one of those old alchemy books. Lead to gold and all that mambo jumbo.” She explained, offering the book for him to look over, should it interest him. Most mages she’d encountered didn’t use magic like hers, so the runes may or may not have been gibberish. Her particular brand of spell slinging was a lot more prep-time intensive, but it meant that any spells she found were basically plug and play. Once she found them, she could learn them pretty quickly.

”What brings you to this little air-conditioned corner of paradise?” She’d ask, setting the crane gently upon her notebook as if resting it upon a bed.

Oh, right. That made sense. She’d probably made quite a racket with her little buddy’s birth and unbirth. Frowning, she toyed with the wings of the paper crane, as if to stroke the poor creature reassuringly.

”I dunno.” She shrugged, eying the crane. ”I was thinking of making myself a familiar, but this was kind of spontaneous. I was thinking more along the lines of a cat or a raven or something.” She explained, setting down the little dove. ”Turning someone into a bunny would also be pretty funny.” She added, a mischievous glint in her eye.

”Strange things? What kind of things?” She asked, her curiosity piqued. Hey, Tilly was a sucker for a good mystery.