Atzi pushed her way through a large oak door, into the library.

  Row after row of books lay on high wooden shelves, interrupted by tables at which students sat, engrossed in their reading and study. Each table had an enclosed lantern atop it, a quill, and ink. A spiral staircase led up to a second floor that seemingly floated without support, to Atzi's amazement.

  She looked to the left, seeing a long desk at which a librarian sat, evident by the sign in front of her. She had short grey hair, and wore a black robe with frills. She paid Atzi no mind, tracing a finger glowing with soft light over an open book.

  Atzi approached her, leaning on the desk. She put on a slightly posh voice, trying to sound like she belonged. "I'm looking for a beginner's book on magic theory."

  The glow of her finger ceased and she looked up. Her eyes had a milky film, telling Atzi she was blind. "There are two hundred and seventy such titles. Could you narrow what you're looking for, further?"

  "Uh." Atzi tapped the desk. "A good one?"

  "Modern theory?" the librarian offered.

  "Sure."

  "Floor one, row eight, thirteenth shelf from the front, fifth shelf from the bottom, title 'A Practical Guide to Magical Theory'," the librarian rattled off.

  "Gotcha." Atzi immediately turned around and began wandering. She quickly found a row labeled 'seven', so she went to the next one up, but it was labeled 'nine.'

  She turned to a nearby student with a pile of books next to him. "Hey, is row eight missing or something?"

  The student looked up from his book and pinched his nose. Atzi heard him mutter something. Then he said to her, "On the other side of the library."

  Well that's stupid, why wouldn't they be in order? "Thanks." She slinked that way.

  Once she was at the shelf, she easily found what she was looking for. Book on magical theory in hand, she made for the exit of the library.

  "Halt," the librarian said, as Atzi was passing by her desk.

  "Huh?" Atzi looked over to her. "What?"

  "I will need your student or faculty token to allow you to leave the library with a book," the librarian said.

  "Uhhh... I have this." Atzi held out her silver disc.

  The librarian reached forward and grabbed it. She ran a hand over it and it glowed pink.

  She handed the disc back to Atzi. "As a guest you may not take books from the library. You will need to read it here."

  "Great." Why are they so fussy! It's just a beginner's book! "Alright, alright. How late's this place stay open anyway?"

  "We are open until midnight."

  Atzi nodded and went to look for an open desk. There wasn't one, so she took a chair across from another student - the one who had given her directions.

  He looked up at her and cleared his throat.

  "Yeah?" Atzi asked.

  "This is my spot," he said.

  "Got two chairs, don't it?"

  He was silent at that. After a moment, with multiple loud thumps, he gathered up his books. He took them with him, leaving Atzi to a table by herself. Score!

  She cracked open the book and began to read.

  ===

  A Practical Guide to Magical Theory

  "Magic is divided into Elemental Magic and Sorcerous Magic, of which there are four types each.

  The four types of Elemental Magic are Fire, Air, Water, and Earth.

  The four types of Sorcerous Magic are Nature, Astral, Death, and Blood."

  -

  "What is the difference between Elemental Magic and Sorcerous Magic?

  Put simply, elemental magic deals with manipulating the basic elements that make up reality, while sorcerous magic deals with complex essences."

  -

  "Nature magic is the most common of the sorcerous magics, as it generates its essence from the cycling of the elements. Some refer to nature magic as a fifth element as a result, but this is largely believed to be incorrect. See the pentagram of magic [page 46]."

  -

  "Blood magic is the easiest to explain of the remaining three, as it derives from residual essence in the bodies of living magical beings.

  Due to the physicality of magic [page 80], it is theorized this residue comes directly from bodies processing magical essence."

  -

  "Death magic derives from nature magic. Through the cyclical operations of the elements, nature magic ebbs and flows. When it ebbs, deaths of plants and animals occur, and undergo a process of decomposition which releases trace essences of death magic.

  Over time these trace essences grow over one another, producing areas thick in Death magic if not washed away by other magics."

  -

  "Astral magic is the least naturally occurring of all types of magic. Rather than forming through any process in our world, it is generated through essences beamed to our realm from the heavens.

  Artificial Astral magic can also be created through refining any other type of magic - other than blood magic - and stripping down to the essence itself. Thus, astral magic is sometimes called ‘pure magic’."

  -

  "There are four pairs, three triangles, and one pentagram of magic.

  The pairs of magic are known as the opposition pairs, describing magic which can be used to interfere with its counterpart more easily than other types of magic could.

  The oppositional pairs are Fire-Water, Air-Earth, Nature-Death, and Astral-Blood.

  The triangles of magic, also known as the power three, describe a grouping of three types of magic which have highly synergistic effects when used in conjunction.

  The three triangles of magic are Nature-Blood-Death, Nature-Water-Air, and Earth-Fire-Astral. The center magic of each trio is known as the pivot, and key to balancing the essence between the other two to their maximum potential.

  The pentagram of magic describes a theory from the people of Dyme who regard Nature as a fifth element, and is not favored elsewhere. Important to this theory is the ‘order’ of the elements. Air to Fire, Fire to Nature, Nature to Earth, Earth to Water, Water to Air. Death and Astral magic are not directly part of the pentagram, but are thought to accentuate it.

  The Dymish people also consider Death and Astral to be opposites."

  -

  "The physicality of magic is one of the fundamental laws of magic. The physicality principle states there is no magic which can operate on any level other than physical objects. One’s body is considered a physical object, and magic can produce many seemingly ethereal effects through affecting one’s body, but feats of magic such as altering or destroying the soul, or reading/influencing thoughts, beyond those emotions which influence thoughts, is impossible.

  There does exist magic to sever the body’s connection to the soul, just as there exists magic to destroy brains and thus untether minds. The mind and the soul are thus described as nonvolatile to magic."

  -

  "Divine magic is not considered a proper form of magic in the modern sense. This is for two reasons. First, there are no known divine gems. Secondly, divine powers are thought to operate primarily through harnessing latent essence directly in complex fashions similar to how spells are constructed.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  In fact, divine magic is thought to be the origin of the concept of spells according to some historians of magic."

  ===

  Atzi rubbed her eyes. She took a moment to lean back, looking up at the ceiling. Is this going to actually teach me how to use magic, or what? Classes back home were not just a lot of reading, but a lot of meditation too. She had just wanted to skip straight to learning cool spells, so she'd rarely stuck to doing either.

  For whatever reason, she found sitting down to read a little easier recently. She remembered what she just read without having to go back to read it several times.

  She looked back down and continued the book.

  ===

  "What defines a type of magic is the presence of ‘gems’ of that type. Gems are highly concentrated, crystalized storages of pure energy of the associated type.

  The type of gems are as follows:

  Fire: Rubies

  Air: Diamonds

  Water: Sapphires

  Earth: Moonstones

  Nature: Emeralds

  Astral: Pearls

  Death: Amethysts

  Blood: Concentrated Blood Stone

  While not found forming within sites of magical power, residual blood essence still behaves like any other magic gem when collected in a great enough quantity. However, it is the only type of gem that can be found in portions and combined to create full gems.

  Gems are found in areas with high concentrations of magic, and thus are very likely to be in the same area as elemental catastrophes, sorcerous anomalies, and magical creatures.

  Gems are valued for their applications in forging, rituals, and strengthening of spells. However, use caution when searching for and securing them. Any naturally occurring source of gems has almost assuredly attracted magical beasts. Blood gems, of course, are most often harvested from such beasts."

  -

  "Magic is separated into circles based upon shared complexity. If a mage can cast a spell of a particular circle, they can call all spells of that circle, assuming they know the appropriate spells and have the minimum ranks needed for these spells.

  Circles used to be further subdivided into ‘schools’ of magic around five hundred years ago, but this practice fell out of favor when uncovered to lack practical implications.

  Some still use schools of magic to describe the difficulty of learning new spells if they differ significantly in effect from the ones they already know. However, this is modernly considered to be an issue of skill."

  -

  "The primary division still considered practical is between the casting of magic and the forging of magic items, as the processes differ to a significant degree.

  Most magical items, beyond simple or temporary constructs, necessitate the power found in magical gems to construct.

  For more on the topic of forging magic items, please read the companion book 'Forging Ahead: The History of Magic Items.'"

  -

  "Besides these divisions, one can divide spells between traditional casting and ritual casting. Traditional casting involves what most think of when they consider spells: A mage utilizing their essence to cast a spell in seconds.

  Ritual casting is for extremely complex or powerful spells which utilize time and resource intensive processes to create greater effects than would otherwise be possible.

  As rituals are often multi-day affairs, many times stretching into weeks, it is important to prepare mundane considerations for a lengthy casting.

  Ritual casting always requires either gems or a site of high magical power, and possibly both."

  ===

  Atzi looked up from the book when she heard some kind of commotion. Everyone in the library jumped up and began looking out the window or running outside.

  She tried to get a look through the windows, but it was dark out and all she could see were students running across the grass.

  Atzi ran out too, curious what was going on to have everyone so worked up.

  Everything doesn't happen until tomorrow, so what's happening today?

  Outside, students lined the gates of the academy, looking out into the streets. Atzi pushed her way to the fence.

  What she saw was… carnage. A mass grave in the streets. Thousands of bones lay scattered throughout Sostra, along with hundreds of bodies of the recently deceased. The limestone streets looked shattered and melted in places. Guards and temple priests pulled survivors on stretchers.

  Some students vomited.

  "Oh, shit." Atzi took a step back, away from the fence. None of the devastation had reached inside the academy. The grass felt safe. She looked around for someone who wasn't crying or vomiting and approached them. "What the hells is going on out there?"

  "It looks like necromancers attacked the city," the student replied, her voice distant.

  Atzi's tail curled around her leg. "Pomarian ones...?"

  She glanced at Atzi, her expression sad. "I… don't know. I just recognized this magic from class. Th-these bones were animated recently."

  "Something destroyed them?" Atzi asked.

  Councilor Justina approached the academy gates, from the streets of the dead. Her red and brown robes seemed to move on their own, despite a lack of wind. "Return to your dorms, students!" she shouted. "The wards have been set to keep you safe inside." Her voice carried a heavy weight of authority that everyone present scrambled to obey.

  Atzi wasn't a student, but she didn't want to stick around there any longer. She joined everyone else in going back. She first checked if Terra was in her office, but there was no response, so she went back to her room. She climbed into bed, fearful.

  It's happening again. Just like Pomaria… And Artaxta, too, from what I heard. What in the hells is going on?

  She did not dream. She had just witnessed a waking nightmare.

  ===

  When she woke up the next day, the day of the godscouncil, she was quickly roped into an announcement at the amphitheater. It was for all students and faculty, and she wasn't about to correct anyone when she wanted to learn what was going on.

  In the amphitheater, she recognized one of the chefs from the cafeteria quietly sobbing.

  The announcement was brief and simple. Everyone was forbidden from leaving the academy grounds until further notice, per a city-wide decree. And if anyone saw anything suspicious, they were to report it directly to Councilor Justina.

  After the announcement, she rushed for Terra's office.

  Terra opened the door to Atzi's frantic knocking. She looked energetic, and Atzi wondered if she was on another type of drug.

  Atzi spoke quickly, "I didn't know the undead army stuff happened so soon here. I wasn't there when it happened!"

  Terra waved her hand. "A necromantic attack on the entire city. It was dealt with, however."

  Atzi shook her head. "It's not properly dealt with. Or... this is, but the stuff in other parts of the empire aren't. Pomaria gets overwhelmed, I know that. I was there."

  "If you know anything else, I should know it now. Otherwise, I need to go repair what damage was done to the wards," Terra said simply.

  "About the city, no."

  "Then I must go."

  Terra stepped out, closed the door to her office, and walked away. Once she was gone, Atzi tested the doorknob. Locked, and no keyhole.

  Didn’t she use a key before?

  An ear splitting roar sounded.

  Atzi dropped to the ground in abject terror. At first she thought it was some kind of alarm on the door, but then realized the noise had come from outside.

  She lifted herself up and ran down the hall, peeking up and out the window.

  She saw the wingbeats of a massive dragon - the Dragon itself, scales black - as it flew away from Sostra, towards the north. It had flown away from the temple district, which she could see the peak of from here.

  Are the gods abandoning us? Is that how this happened?

  Atzi couldn't focus on anything else, continuing to stare out the window, her nerves on edge as she waited for something to happen.

  Time passed, and her nerves sagged and frayed. She began turning circles in the hall, pacing while wondering what was happening. Whenever a student passed by, she asked them if they knew what was going on. None of them did. She returned to the window several times throughout, glancing out at the streets of the city, broken and empty and still.

  Several hours passed like this, and then the sun began to set. Even in Atzi's nervous state, she grew tired of the repeated checking and worrying. She wondered if she should get something to eat as she looked through the window once more.

  All of a sudden it felt as though her entire body was screaming at her. Her heart raced. A wave of terror - one to make the fear she felt from the Dragon's roar feel pitiful - enveloped her. She gripped her claws around her arms so tight she cracked her own scales, drawing blood. Poison flowed out of her mouth as she hyperventilated.

  "I'm scared!" The goddess's voice cried out in her head.

  And then Atzi saw it. From beneath the ruined limestone streets, skeletal hands bursting from below. All over the city, as far as she could see.

  Thousands? Tens of thousands? She couldn't count them, she only knew that it was far more than she'd seen in Pomaria.

  A flash of red caught her eye. She looked up to the temple district. A massive ring of fire hung over the central temple, burning so bright that it looked like a second sun.

  Atzi could barely make out the figure below it, but she knew it was Malus.

  Malus... blew up the city to contain this. It makes sense now. Oh gods.

  The ring of fire exploded out, washing over the entire city. The skeletons burned to a crisp, and buildings melted and toppled. The explosion accelerated towards the university, only to smash against an invisible wall. Then the wall was no longer invisible, drawn with countless lines and symbols in a harsh blue glow, before shattering like glass.

  The ward had stopped the flames, but had broken in the process.

  Fear still gripped Atzi's heart as she looked over the destruction. Every building she could see was destroyed, either melted or simply gone, save for the central temple. Nothing moved but the settling of ash.

  Then cracks formed in the slagged streets of Sostra. Bony hands emerged. Skeletons continued to climb out, walking through the academy fence without challenge.

  "Nooo... no no no no, not again, not again..." Atzi went running for Terra. Maybe she can do something, She's the only person here I have any faith in against this.

  Atzi sprinted towards the stairs, even as she noticed smoke rising from below. As soon as her clawed foot hit the steps, the stair collapsed from under her. One of her legs fell through.

  How is this place falling apart already?! She twisted her leg around, trying to free herself from the hole.

  Something cold gripped her from below.

  Atzi yelped and pulled herself up with all of her strength, flying forward in a tangle of limbs and splinters. She tumbled down the staircase. The steps slammed into her, each dizzying impact seeming to come from a new direction. Finally she hit the bottom, vision blurred in pain.

  Her eyes focused in time to see dozens of skeletons surrounding her. Just past them mages were fighting mages - some clearly dead, yet trying to kill their living counterparts.

  The skeletons reached their boney hands and claws forward. Atzi curled into the corner. "No!" she screamed.

  She struggled when they grabbed hold of her. She tried to escape as they tore off her scales.

  Eventually, Atzi stopped struggling as her blood stained the floor.