[20] The Pentagon Library

I wished Amara had said more. I yearned for much more knowledge than I had received. It was like a raging sea of mystery calling out to me.

After the lecture, Berry and Thomas took us for a tour around the academy to help us to familiarize ourselves with the basic public rooms. The first stop was the library.

“There you can do as much in-depth research on things as you'd like,” said Thomas. “We'll stick around in there a little longer than we will in the other places so you can check some things out. Then we'll go to the main hall. That’s where the full academy meets for important announcements or events. After that, we'll take you around the classes and training grounds so you can see firsthand what goes in the life of students and active Wielders.” He cleared his throat.

Berry and Thomas strolled ahead of us, and I looked through of the glass doors at the other end of the room.

I saw Ethan casually leaning against a wall with a broad smile on his face, talking to a girl. I lagged for a second to observe her. She wasn't much shorter than he was, though she wore a pair of incredibly high heels. She was slender and seemed spirited –as spirited as I could imagine from her body language.

She sported a crop top and a ripped, ocean-blue denim shorts. Her face was narrow and her cheekbones defined, her eyes pulled upwards into two perfect black eyeliner wings, but it was impossible to describe their true colour from my distant view. She was having a laugh with him, and she adjusted her long dyed-blonde hair into a messy bun while Ethan almost died from laughing way too hard over something she said. I felt myself frown.

Was I...being jealous?

“Coming?” Ashley asked, slowing her way beside me.

“...Yea,” I responded, about to walk.

“Do you know him?” she asked.

I turned to her and smiled, “Yea. He's my best friend.”

We quickened our steps to catch up to the others who were now way ahead of us. Thomas had pulled Mason beside him and they were having their own private conversation, Berry was being bombarded with questions from Jeremy and Daphne. Ashley stuck with me, but we didn't talk too much. Josh and Olivar stuck together, having their own laughs.

We entered a side door from the training room into the Academy, and walked through a short narrow hall, covered in graffiti only about five metres long leading us into a large open room.

My heart raced as the smell of books, old and new, crossed my path - and what a beautiful library this had turned out to be. It was nothing like I'd expected; nothing dirty or abandoned, no. It seemed timeless.

There were five walls surrounding the nine of us. Each wall was designed with a completely different style of art; one of abstract, one of semi abstract, one of landscapes and one of human figures. The last wall was painted in black, and over the black were colourful fancy letters spelling out the words, ‘The Pentagon Library.’ There was a staircase near the left wall, leading up to another floor of books and tables, and walls painted with beautiful pieces of art, and then a final staircase there on the right wall leading up to the third floor with the same concept. I looked up at the ceiling. It was painted like a galaxy, in all its detailed glory. My heart leaped when I realised just how many people were here, too, doing whatever they were doing in the presence of millions of books –and for such a strangely large group of people, the library was shockingly silent.

“Welcome to the Pentagon Library of Academy One. Feel free to get lost in here,” Berry suggested, smiling.

“The general rules for the library apply; don't damage the books, furniture, or walls, don't be loud, and don't overuse the computers. If something needs to be done on a computer for an extended period of time, especially if you're going overtime, there's always the I.T lab directly through that door,” Thomas pointed to the metal door at the opposite end of the room from where we stood.

“We'll give you ten minutes to take a look around. I think it should be fairly simple for you to find your way through this place,” Berry offered.

I smiled. Back in the Western Plains I visited the library quite often. I loved just sitting there and reading. I would search through the shelves for all different genres and just get lost in completely different worlds. This library shouldn't have been any different from those –though I did expect a rather more fascinating selection of reads.

Thomas spoke saying, “When your time is up, meet us right back here. We won't go through the Information Technology lab; there's a class in there at the moment.”

Everyone parted ways, dissolving into the sea of people. Berry found me and told me to follow him. He took me to a section of books solely based on Guardianship history, and found a book entitled 'Wonders of the Muse.' He graced his hand over the cover and then handed it to me.

“This is a good one,” he said.

“Huh?” I took it, confused.

“I'm a Psychology Wielder. I didn't tell you much about me Faye, but I can sense people's desires. And I know you wanted to learn more about them.”

I smiled, slightly startled by his open remark on the special ability.

“Thanks,” I said as I turned to go find a table where I could sit. A question popped up in my head that I couldn't help but turn back to ask, “Can the others do that?”

He looked at me and smiled, “You mean if the other psychology wielders can sense people's desires?”

I nodded. He shrugged and laughed. “We all have different abilities. Someone else might be able to read minds. Someone else might be able to sense emotions. Mine is knowing people’s desires.”

“But you all have common abilities, don't you?” I hoped.

“Of course,” he said, resting his hand on my shoulder, “But don't wonder too much over me. Go find out what you really want to know.” He glanced down at the book I hugged across my chest and motioned his head across the room to an empty table. “You better go get that table before someone else claims it. This place is crowded, and you've got about seven minutes.”

I shook my head and walked away with a smile. Maybe I was hearing things, but I could have sworn I heard him whisper to my back -something about me being different.

I sat at the wooden table and opened the book. I flipped through it quickly, trying to get a general idea of what it was about. I'd learnt to speed read a while ago, so I knew how to find my way around a big book in a short space of. This one was about as thick as an inch and a half, and as tall as a ledger sized sheet of paper. The cover was sky blue, and the illustrations showed semi-abstract images of women I assumed were Muses. The title was printed in a calligraphic style near the centre, and the authors’ names to the bottom.

Wonders of the Muse...

There were many pictures and illustrations within the book, and I noticed chapters upon chapters dedicated to multiple aspects of a Muse's life. I returned to the beginning of the book, where I found an explanation of the evolution of the Muses.

“The concept of the immortal Muse has changed over time, from her being a woman of supernatural birth, to a mortal, gifted with supernatural abilities. It has been argued that what gives a Muse the ability to live forever is her exceptionally almost-literal ‘out-of-this-world’ ability to inspire those who follow in her footsteps, her spark of pure original magic, her ability to uphold her position and skill in a realm, and most importantly, her Armadura -or armour.

An Armadura is a mark bestowed to a Muse in her primary moments of discovering her newfound position. When a Guardian discovers a new form of magic and a skill that has never been combined or created before, she receives an Armadura as a means of protection and pride. This preserves her ability to exist, live, and pass on her skill. From then on, her ‘newly formed’ skill becomes a part of the Guardianship, and it can be learnt by others. Armaduras do not appear on one specific part of a Muse’s body; it varies. Armaduras cannot be removed. It is a permanent display of the status of a Muse. With it, a Muse is immortal.

Still so, it does not mean a Muse cannot die. Muses can meet danger and be killed. The Armadura simply gives the assurance of eternal life with the exception of an outright act of danger towards

them.

Because of their flawless abilities, Muses are the best fighters. They are able to protect themselves from danger, without an army behind them. A major threat to their existence, however, is the reduction of Guardians following the trend of their field. If their field is dying, their magic and skill is at risk of dying. This is why it is necessary for them to pass on their skills when they first become a Muse.

Though Muses are immortal, they can be harmed, tortured or murdered just like anybody else. They are at the same risk of dying as ordinary Guardians -with the exception that if they never come in contact with threats or danger, they will live forever, (but the definite inability to meet danger is highly unlikely).

There are specific places where Muses reside. These are places only known to the Muses, as they are given the ability of ‘new sight.’ In these residential areas, they live and work together in peace and harmony as a Muse society. They can watch over their Guardians together and form bonds with their fellow Muses. It is also here that they can work diligently and be assured of their safety. It is also possible -as in the case of the Muse of Dreams, Aislin, (see chapter 18), to put up wards that enable them to be hidden from the eyes of any danger they may be threatened by -including danger from their own kind.”

Before I could go on, a signal was given for the group to head back to the entrance door. I wondered if I could keep the book, but then I realised I would first have to sign up with the library. I left the book on the table, reluctantly, hoping it would remain there when I got back, or that there would be another copy waiting for me. I dragged myself back to the entrance, but Berry stopped me before I reached them.

“Wait, Faye. Go take the book to the Librarian and let her know you want to borrow it so you can keep it for a while. I’ll wait on you,” he said. “Thomas, you can take the others out to the main hall. We'll meet up with you.”

“But I'll have to sign up... that’ll take some time, won't it?” I asked.

“When you registered at the receptionist's desk for an apartment here, she put in your ID number on the system and such. You're already signed up here,” he said.

Excitement filled my system. I looked back at the book on the table in the distance, turned back to Berry and smiled, “Thank you.”

He smiled back as the others evacuated the room.