Somnus had awoken that morning to crisp air and frost upon the window glass. Fall had swept into Novus seemingly overnight and settled in the bones of the earth, the world beginning its preparations for the oncoming winter. It would be his first change of season within Novus, but hopefully it would be the first of many more to come.
From his chambers he departed, hooves creating a lazy cadence along the stone floors as he traipsed the hallways of the citadel, wings furled close to hold in body warmth and fight off the lingering morning chill. His pace was slow and leisurely, for he truly had nowhere to be nor any pressing matters to attend to. The golden tactician had half the mind to seek out Ulric and spend the morning lazing about with his dear companion or engaging him in the art of friendly debate, but decided against it. Ulric had become quite busy as of late, and the last thing that Somnus wished to do was divert his friend's attention from something incredibly important.
So, that was how the dunalino found himself in the Dawn Court's impressive library. He felt at home there, amidst the tomes and pages and manuscripts, relishing in the wizened atmosphere. Vast knowledge was housed within these halls, and he wanted nothing more than to memorize every piece of wisdom provided before him.
The silence was music to his ears, undisturbed and non-distracting. He would deftly pull old books from their designated places with great care and reverence, grasping every tome within dark lips as though they were made of delicate glass. From there, he would tuck himself into a corner, flipping each page as intelligent verdant eyes skimmed every line, absorbing every word with quick wit and remarkable efficiency. After completion, Somnus replaced the novel with just as much care as he had removed it with, before moving on to the next, and that was how the strategist spent his morning. Pouring over novels, over documents, over books nearly the size of his head, he focused on nothing else save the words written down on pages.
Noon arrived, but still the dunalino was not bored nor discouraged, bogged down by reading book after glorious book. The only troublesome realization, however, was that the rows were growing higher and in turn, becoming more and more troublesome to read. There, Somnus stood, tail flicking in irritation as a thick tome lay just out of reach, hanging above his head like a savory treat and he, a starving, insatiable knave.
Oh, certainly, he had wings, but the simple thought of attempting to take flight within such an enclosed, precious space was positively asinine. What if he knocked the books from the shelves, sending them into disarray? Truly, he wanted to read them, to know what secrets were tucked amidst countless pages, but Somnus was not a creature who would abuse inanimate objects for his own satisfaction. So, instead, he stood there, indignant and thoughtful. How could he possibly hope to reach it...?
Verdant eyes narrowed, focusing entirely on the dusty tome just overhead. He focused, brows furrowing, lips taut in a deep, disdainful frown. How in blazes did the other members of the Court reach?!
Abruptly, there was a shift. So focused as he was, focused on the red-spined tome still so far out of reach, Somnus was unaware of the changes, of the subtle thrum of something in the air. In one moment, the innocent book remained situated between its parchment companions, and in the next, it twitched, unceremoniously yanking itself free and shooting across the room as though thrown.
There was a clatter of hooves as the dunalino practically jumped in surprise, in wonder, as the book soared through the air and landed with a muffled smack! against the rump of none other than the Dawn King himself, Kasil. For a moment all Somnus could do was stare, mouth partially agape, emerald eyes wide as saucers in surprise. "Ah! Erm..." Truthfully, he hadn't even been aware that his King was in his presence, so focused on his reading as he was. Normally so swift of tongue, the tactician found he was at a loss of what to say. "Apologies, Majesty. I... Was quite unaware that the books within these halls could fly."
@Kasil and anyone else that would like to see this disaster unfold. xD This is legitimately just a self-indulgent thread of Somnus discovering that he has limited telekinesis.
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self."
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10-01-2017, 07:48 PM - This post was last modified: 10-01-2017, 08:17 PM by Somnus
Coraline didn’t know what a library was. She didn’t understand written word, or books. She had seen a strange man (a friend, perhaps) doing something irrational. He was painting on the walls, saying it was relaxing, or something of the sort. What in the world was painting? He was creating complex designs on the walls of a cave. She found it amusing, but not something she was inclined to try. It would probably blow her mind to discover that horses could find things like books and keep them, too. In a library no less! But I digress. The filly has not even come to this library yet!
Until she arrives here.
Exploring the lands she calls home, the silver girl finds a new path and follows it. There are no smells of danger, nothing that screams to her that she should flee. True, her little heart is pounding in her chest because she fears the unknown…but she is curious, too. Noises echo down the hallways, half of them are her hooves, and half are something she hasn’t heard before. Rustling sounds, perhaps. The soft whump of a book as it opens its secrets on a table to prying eyes. She knows not what the sound is until she comes to an opening. A room, of sorts, with strange objects lined up neatly. But how to describe it? Her button eyes widen in surprise. What sort of magical world had she come to? She stands and simply watches the strange winged male with his strange objects, carrying them like Pandora would carry her kits, if she ever had any. The filly felt a pang of loneliness as she thought of Pandora. The stuffed fox had been taken away from her by the magic of this place. Her heart ached for her companion, and she wondered how she could get her friend back.
Before long, the male speaks, and Coraline starts. Majesty? Her? She giggled, having no idea there were others anywhere near her. She had seen the square thing fly and heard it land behind her, but was completely unaware Kasil was there, too. ”No, silly, I’m not a Majesty. I’m Coraline!” Her young voice was warm, full of childish wonder, and amusement. ”Why are you throwing those things? Do they not taste good?” She moved forward to a table in which a book had been left out, sticking out her tongue and licking the binding. ”BLEUGH!” She wrinkled her nose. ”No wonder you threw it! These taste horrible!”
There was something comforting about the company of books, he found. They offered no scorn or condemnation, desired nothing of him but his time to spend lovingly flipping the pages and soaking in the knowledge that they possessed. He spent quite a great deal of time in the library, deep in the endless sea of books and scrolls. He was more likely to be found there than in his own bed at night, using the hours when everyone slept as his personal study time. He often fell asleep there, as well, waking to a burned out candle and the smell of singed hair. As a boy, Kasil had been drawn to the page -- and now he clung to it like a child to his mother’s skirts.
The king took a deep breath, the musky scent of ink and paper a comfort to him, but he was feeling unsettled and a little troubled. He was not looking for anything in particular, instead following his fancy and reading about the previous rulers of Delumine. It was quite interested to him to see how differently that everyone ruled. Delumine had it’s fair share of scholars that lead, but there had been others. A warrior had once led them, a strong and defiant woman who held a tactician’s mind. Her rule had been quite something else, well before Kasil’s time -- but it was a curious thing to read about her many adventures and decrees. She seemed to be well admired, if forgotten with the passage of time.
It only took the space of a breath for his peace to be shattered, something striking him from behind with quite a bit of force as if someone had been concentrating very hard. He bellowed in surprise, leaping forward to send his table of books clattering to the floor and one poorly aimed kick in retaliation to send another stack of the books to the floor. Attacked from behind?! The winged bay spread his wings and turned about, fully intent on defending himself from further attack, the library’s books scattering around him like dominoes pushed over where his wings battered against them. It was quite the commotion, the silence shattered as though a gun shot had gone off. Yanking his head upright, his amulet of gold upon his head was disheveled, but his eyes were sharp with displeasure as he turned them upon his assailant.
Somnus? He thought, confused at the betrayal -- until he could hear again, the thudding of books dying down as the volumes of history settled upon the floor in disarray. Surrounded by hundreds of books on the floor, he hesitated in the middle of the mess -- only to feel his stomach drop as a child appeared seemingly from thin air and proclaimed Somnus’ guilt once more and then…licked one of his precious books along the spine. It was like a chill had gone up the king’s back, as if he were having some kind of out of body experience.
”Don’t do that!” He shouted, unnecessarily loud in the now eerie quiet. The bay’s wings lowered, the feeling of threat diminished -- although the adrenaline was still pumping strong. His eyes fell to his scattered books, his lips pursing into a frown as he tried to process all of the events that had just occurred. He placed a hand on his head, and sank back on his haunches in an unusual fashion until he sat fully on his rump.
”What in the bloody hell is going on?” He asked finally, looking up.
