Welcome to Gaia! ::

Time had passed quickly for Aldo. Once dug into his nest of studies, it flowed by like a roaring river, and he took little notice of it. Classes had ended hours ago, and he had decided to take the afternoon studying. The many different representatives from all the kingdoms in one place, and the school had gathered quite the resources in one place, and he was determined to put it to his use. Dwayne had been kind enough to leave him with a key so that he could lock up once he was done. That had been nearly six hours ago now.

A long wooden table had become his workspace. A variety of books on different subjects were open upon it as well as sheets of paper scattered across with notes. The entirety of it looked like a chaotic mess, but a wise set of eyes would see them split into categories with the notes that interconnected different volumes of literature together. The libraries back home were quite extensive, and his own private library contained some of the most detailed notes on the effects of energy sources on natural phenomena. It was a field of study that delighted his mind and put his problem solving to work. It had become his pet project here at Utopia, and there had been met mostly with indifference so long as it did not take time away from teaching his subject.

Of course, that wasn’t to say he would not likely be exhausted the next day. Throwing oneself into academia, although not often physically exerting, was exhausting none the less. But, his courses were something that he could teach without much thought. It was a shame that his work interested the students very little, most had simply had his class because they were sent to it. Nonetheless, he did his best to impart what knowledge he could to those who listened.

As the night rolled on, Aldo could feel his muscles tightening, and thought to get up and take a little stroll through the stacks to stretch his legs. It had been a few hours since last he had gotten up, and it could not hurt to get the blood flowing again. Upon standing he saw how low the light had grown and decided that perhaps he had done enough for the day. He assembled his notes, noted pages and book names. Gathering the arm full of books he moved them to a library cart that no doubt Dwayne would request he return to the shelves himself, even if he intended to dig into them again.

Notes in hand he made his way towards the front door.

A sudden change in air pressure within the library drew his attention. Turning towards the change, he reached out with his senses and detected a strange air flow where one had not been before. Quietly, he approached only to see a young woman disappear into the shadows.
The change in pressure returned to its equilibrium and he knew that the visitor was gone.

How odd, late night booknappings? he pondered to himself.

The sensation gone, the culprit missing, he decided to investigate further and tucked his notes under his arm. He stalked the shelves where he had seen the individual disappear and drew his lantern from the table to the shelves. Finding a shelf with a missing book, he took note of the missing text and those that had flanked it. It took a moment to dig through the catalog to find the title, and he jotted it haphazardly upon his notes.

Quickly moving to the entrance of the library he opened the doors, carefully locked it behind him and set off into the halls.

Aside from the bare minimum of lights that could be seen dotted around the academy, his lantern was the only light near him. Pausing, he set down the lantern and attuned his senses to the passing air and felt for variables that did not belong. For long minutes he reached out, searching for any disturbance, but he did him little good. Whoever had disappeared was not near the library. Taking up his lantern he began to walk while listening to the flow of air currents.

It was several minutes later that he felt air being lightly gobbled by a flame, and he followed the current down another hallway. His light bobbed as he walked, and as he drew nearer he could feel a candle flame burning and felt the gentle breeze as pages were turned.

Strange, he thought, someone had taken up the book and moved into a nearby alcove to read.

He shrugged to himself. This little adventure of his was driven mostly by curiosity. It was not his library, so the book was not his responsibility, but he wondered who was set with insomnia and set out for some evening reading. Quietly he walked forward, his light easily visible.

The young woman appeared to be chatting to herself, although he did sense movement before the book was closed. It was after she closed it that she turned towards his light and spoke to him, clenching the book rightly to her chest.

He continued to approach, and stopped seven feet from her, not wanting to intrude further into her space. As he approached he noticed her still in a night gown and wondered if the poor girl was not cold. Strange to find a student in this weather dressed so lightly. He himself came from a much warmer area and didn’t have any affection for the chill that came with this time of year. Springtime was his favorite, but it would come soon enough. A pleasant thought for later. First he ought to respond to the poor woman whose timid voice seemed concerned.

Speaking up, he responded, “Hello there, Lady… Dumont, is it?” His voice was calm, with a hint of concern in it.

He pondered for only a moment, and then continued, “Ah, then I am not alone in the world curing trouble sleeping with reading then? Though I should comment that borrowing books without checking them out is not something our students should be taking part in.”

Obviously, she was not some rapscalian or thief, merely a young woman exploring the world of the grounds. He could not blame her. Many restless nights had befallen him, and a gingerly stroll through the halls often left his mind to wander until he grew exhausted enough to return to his room and rest. Utopia Academy left many feeling restless. The tight quarters with so many people from so many nations left him struggling to appear polite for fear of risking trampling over some country’s traditions. He did his best to keep up with it, but what he did learn was from conversation or direction of other staff and faculty members.

The realization that the poor girl was sitting on a cold stone bench in a nightgown still concerned him, it was obvious that she had not premeditated her actions, lest she might have dressed more soundly for the weather. Even the air in the hall had a chill to it. He himself was dressed in the same cut of suit he always was. Presentable as always, little ever changed with the professor’s appearance.

“Hmmm, perhaps it would be more comfortable here if the air wasn’t so darned chilly,” he said, before closing his eyes and sweeping his hand through the air.

A gentle breeze formed, barely enough to rustle their hair, but as it moved, the current grew warmer. A chill could be felt, but it warmed enough that perhaps the woman would not be left shivering if they continued to talk. He himself felt the change of temperature and it warded off the chilly breeze that was coming down the hall. A simple trick, but it had kept him and his companions warm during long winters during the war. It was also a fun trick to snuff out candles in a room to spook fellow partygoers, though it had been some time since he had used it in such a fashion.

So, she hadn’t intended to end up in the library. Interesting. Although he was unsure of just what powers had manifested in the young woman, she appeared to be able to travel between places, and not always where she intended. Quite a strange power, but then again, he had seen his fair share. His own powers were rather strange in their own right, so for now he simply dismissed the idea, perhaps later he could inquire more.

As for the book, he sensed no falsehood in her statement, perhaps she had simply surprised herself by ending up in the library, and while there had simply felt compelled to find something to ward away the long night. If anything, he wished to applaud her, instead of attempting to cause mischief, she had simply retreated somewhere she would not bother anyone to pursue assistance to her dilemma.

It was at this point he noticed the strange little creature that nestled against her.

Ah, so that was what I had detected. Curious.

“You are most certainly welcome Lady Dumont. Your manner of dress seems to indicate to me you hadn’t planned much ahead in your little adventure had you?” he said with a warm smile. “A good book does wonders to distract the mind at the expense of the body. I myself had been sitting in the library so long that I began to ache and cramp. That was you I felt in there was it not?”

Pausing, he heard her question and nodded.

“I fear my own academic pursuits decided time was of no consequence, and has left my mind racing. I should think that the material that I chose might put you to sleep, but not in a pleasant way,” he said with a chuckle.

“I am sure we can find something, though perhaps you would be willing to trapeze our way back to the library with the book and we might conjure up something better there.”

Offering the lady his arm, he indicated the direction of the library and said “Perhaps a light walk might warm you up as well if you would join me?”

Many of the students, being adults in their own right, were permitted to travel the grounds at their leisure, but with the recent incident so fresh in his mind, he didn't like the idea of her wandering along. Though perhaps she would not need to. If she could travel one place to another as quickly as he believed, he might be more of a hindrance.

Another wave of his and redirected the warm air current and formed it into a slowly whirling globe, encompassing the fifteen feet around him. Its temperature was maintained through pressure and would be easily maintained until they could make their way somewhere warmer.

He felt his pocket with his free hand, and nodded, recognizing that he had not left the key behind. At least they could gain entrance to the hallowed shelves once more without resorting to any more clever tactics to get inside.

After taking his arm, he gave her a moment and then began to lead her back down the hallway. Her inquiry into how he had discovered her location was an interesting one. Perhaps he could learn more of her powers if she opened up. A quid pro quo of information. Given that his talent wasn’t much of a mystery across the campus, it did seem a curiosity to most who did learn about it. He saw no reason not to reward her curious question so he began.

“You are certainly right, as a matter of fact I cannot say that it had made any sound that I noticed. Perhaps you would indulge me and tell me a little about yours if I explained mine better.”

He paused, thinking about the best way to phrase it. The young woman, as sheltered as she might have been, was still an adult, it was better to treat her that way. It had been his experience that when you treated others as such, they would treat you the same.

“Well, like the change in temperature in this hallway, it has to deal with air pressure and my talent to control it. For this gentle breeze, I simply raised the temperature and kept it moving, allowing it to circulate.

As for finding you, it too involves air pressure and vibration. During the war, I discovered that I could concentrate on the air and feel changes in it, allowing me to send something akin to net outwards and sense movement, sound, objects and the like.

In the library, I cannot say that I knew it to be you, but I felt a change in air pressure near the shelves. It felt suddenly like a rush of air came in, pressing against the volume of air already in the room. By the time I noticed it and chose to investigate, honestly, you were already gone, and aside from the missing book, I might have simply thought it a trick of the time of night in my mind.

For finding you in the hall, it was your candle that gave you away, I could feel something drawing in the air and just followed it to the source. Once I was closer I could feel the air pressed away from the book as the pages were turned.”

It was as simple a response as he could develop. Were he to go into the sciences of his powers, he felt they might be strolling all night as he delved deeper into the subject. Though he supposed a few questions wouldn’t send him too far down the lecturing rabbit hole. It did not take much sometimes. As intelligent as he might be, his common sense could use a little work. A long winded scientific explanation might put her to sleep though. He chuckled inside his mind at the thought.

“Makes it hard to sneak up on me, I discovered, as long as I am actually paying attention. Had I not pulled my nose from my research, you might not have eluded my attention entirely.

A great downfall was his addiction to academia, once he started in, he did not crawl but leapt into it, and for the life of him the outside world disappeared beyond pages of text that filled his mind as he read. It did make a good excuse to miss conversation at family dinners, though his brother saw to it that he did not read at the table when he visited because of that.

He couldn’t help but chuckle as she described herself turning into an ice sculpture. He liked to think she would have noticed before too much longer the chill, but then again he had been at that table for nearly eight hours before getting up to move.


“I assure you, it was a welcome distraction, I had been deep in the books since my class ended. Any longer and I fear I might have turned into a pumpkin, I can only assume there would be questions in the morning about our states,” he joked back.

The interruption had been his own, she had simply given him a curious little mystery to solve. It was a welcome escape from his work. It was not the first night he had been so deep in those books, and it would not be the last he suspected.

As she described her powers, he found them quite curious. The ability to transfer her form through shadows. He could only imagine the devastation something like that could have done on the battlefield. As silent as it was with the ability to slip behind enemy lines, it could have been highly deadly. It also made him wonder if she could bring people with her through the shadows. He himself could levitate more than himself to fly, but he wasn’t sure the science of his powers really applied to her own. If she was limited by the size of the shadow, then perhaps with enough of it she could take a larger group. Such a thought was truly frightening. And all of this in such a tender young woman. He was glad the war had ended so that she had not been subjected to the trials so many others had with their powers as the countries fought.

It was then she described the little shadow creature snuggled within the crook of her arm. Watching it sleep, he smiled and nodded, but in the back of his mind all he could think of was that she could animate shadows into what appeared to be true life. Nothing short of a miracle in his opinion.

“Very curious Lady Dumont. I must say a truly amazing set of powers to possess. I am curious to know if you have ever taken someone through one of these shadow portals of yours, with you. It would be quite a gift to be able to travel around so freely with companions I should say.”

Their conversation and walking had led them to the hall containing the entrance to the library. The scientific part of his mind wanted to experiment with her abilities, but the kind man in him wanted to simply continue the pleasant conversation. He was split on it, but decided to leave it to her. He had put out the idea, but did not wish to press.

“Ah looks like we have found our destination after all. I feel we must have been quite caught up in our conversation,” he commented, giving her a conspiratorial wink. “What do you say to us finding something more suitable to doze off too?”

After they entered, Aldo closed the door behind them. Though doubtful that another student might stumble into the library and cause any mischief, it was Dwayne’s direction. The last thing that poor man needed was some maniac coming in and bringing chaos to his organized system of information and literature. Of course, he was already doing just that he supposed, but it was to return a book that had been taken, so he supposed there was room for argument.

“The dark you say? Is that the place you go to when you travel through? I cannot say I thought too much about the space in between places. Very curious indeed!”

A space between shadows? Perhaps he was over thinking it, but it boggled his mind. There were theories out there, but his focus on the sciences had been more about the natural world. The dark she called it. The name made sense, or perhaps she was simply describing it for what it was. It most certainly sparked his curiosity, but he didn't want to dig too far into the subject or the poor girl might never get to sleep.

“Something less gruesome, I can see the appeal of that before bed, no reason to give the mind any more fuel for nightmares than it already builds on its own.”

He walked back down the stacks towards the Literature section and where she had originally removed the book. He took a lantern from the desk he had been sitting at and walked forward through the shelves. It took him a moment to find the right place, but he stopped there and suggested, “Perhaps let's put that one away now and lets see what else we have here,” before leaning forward to read the titles, holding the lantern up and pushing his glasses up his nose.

“Hmmm… something less gruesome…” muttered to no one in particular.

Poetry was not his strongest education, but he had been fond of a couple of titles that had worked the sciences of nature into flows of words that did reach his heart. He flipped through the titles in his mind, thinking of a couple of smaller books, lighter in nature and then began to search through the titles again, comparing it to the few he had in mind.

The selection in the library was extensive, nothing but the best for the nobility of the world and their education. He appreciated that so much work went into the students' betterment, even if some did not choose to take advantage of it.

“Ah, here we are! This is a good one,” he commented as he slid a green book off the shelf, its title The Wonders of Nature, written by Alfsmen Dale. “Written by Mr. Dale I believe. I remember a poem about the consciousness of the wind I always found particularly whimsical. Care to take a peek? I can't say I remember anything terrible in it.”