“W-what happened?! I can’t see anything. I can’t feel my body!”

Discord let out a small chuckle at Anon’s fear. “Relax, Anon. I’m linking our minds so you can experience my memories.Technically, you aren’t in your own body right now.”

Anon gave a face of confusion. “Won’t that drive me mad, making me think I actually experienced them? I won’t be able to tell the difference between myself and the me in the memories.”

Discord slapped both his paw and claw onto his face. “No you idiot, that’s not how this works. What’s going to happen is you’ll be experiencing everything I’ve said, thought, and done in my past. You won’t remember anything from the ‘real world’ while in the memories. However,” He materialized a small portable television. “When you return back into your own body, you’ll remember watching a replay of my memories. Like watching a video on this here screen.”

“Ooooh, you mean like the Animus from Assassin’s Creed?”

Discord nodded his head. “Exactly. You catch on quick.”

Anon started to hear faint voices and their vision began to be replaced with colored shapes.

“Everything is starting to getting fuzzy… I feel strange.”

“Just go with it, my little Anonymous friend. I’ll see you in a few minutes. Though for you, it will feel like multiple years,” Discord said with a twisted smile forming on his maw. “Hope you enjoy the sights… heheheh…”

Anon shook their head, waking up standing in a large ornate stone room. They walked forward down an extravagant gold and red carpet, looking for the information center among the sea of bookshelves. Anon stopped in awe of how many books there were. It was like all the knowledge of the world was speaking out to him, begging to be absorbed into his mind.

“Excuse me, child. What are you doing here? This place isn’t somewhere for children to play in,” a gentle female voice asked.

Anon snapped back to reality and turned his head to greet the voice. In front of him was an aged female draconequus with four grey lions legs on a body just a bit longer than a pony, the usual dragon tail with a tuft of fur, and a reptilian-equine head covered in fur. Her mane was long with platinum streaks among its faded black.

Suddenly remembering why he was there, Anon cleared his throat and spoke clearly. “Oh, I’m here with special permission from the Lord’s palace.” Anon pulled out a small golden sigil from the saddlebag he wore. “I’m here to borrow any tombs and scrolls you might have on research in magic and spellcraft.”

The draconequus’ head shot back in absolute shock. She had never expected to see someone so young carry a royal sigil. “W-well then. I don’t know w-what to say about that. Might I inquire as to who you might be?

“I’m Prince Qilin. Well, not really a ‘prince’ yet since the Lord hasn’t decreed it officially, but I will be one in a few months. Until then, I am just a child he welcomed into his home. It’s really an honor to live in the palace.”

The female draconequus listened carefully, taking in all the new information. To her, it was strange that the Lord of the Draconequii would adopt a son, especially one she had not met personally. Puzzled, she asked what Qilin meant by being a prince.

“Prince? T-that’s surprising. I didn’t think Lord Tiber was interested in adopting a child. Even if he was interested in it, you would think he would discuss it with the lead mage.” She felt a tad insulted to not be informed on the new prince.

“Lucky me! I’ve only been here for a few days now and already I’m meeting the head mage in the palace. It’s an honor, miss…”

“Valeria. And what do you mean you’ve only been here for a few days? I’m feeling skeptical of your story.”

“Well, my father was murdered recently…” Tears began to stream down Qilin’s face, making a pained expression. “With him being best friends with Uncle Tiber, he felt he was just as responsible for me as my dad was. ”

Valeria felt like prodding more into the matter to further confirm what Qilin claimed, but couldn’t bring herself to. The story touched her heart.

“I… apologize for making you remember such a sad memory. I was just doing my job and poking into things involving my Lord. I-I didn’t know…”

“I-it’s fine! Really it is. I wasn’t too close with him anyway. But he was real fun the few times we did get to see each other.”

An atmosphere of silence began to form in between the two draconequii, permeating throughout the room. Suddenly the mage spoke up, shifting the topic back to why Qilin was there.

“Sooo, you said you wanted to read up on magic, correct?”

“Yeah. Do you think I could borrow the material? I know it seems a little advanced for someone my age, but I’ve always had a knack for magic. Watch this.”

Qilin takes a step back and begins to focus on his front paws, an aura of magic forming around them and causing his sigil to levitate upwards. It begins to radiate a red glow, forming a small golden bud on its side and splitting into two sigils of the same size.

Valeria shakes her head in disbelief. “WHAT!? That’s incredible! No one your age should be able to perform magic as advanced as duplication. I-it’s unthinkable!”

Qilin giggled with delight, forming a proud smirk on his lips. “I’ve been able to do things like this since I was a baby. Magic just seems to ‘click’ with me. It’s why I want to learn more about it. Now, about those books…”

“Y-yes, yes! I’m so sorry! Follow me this way please.”

Valeria turned around and lead Qilin down the carpet and both turned into a long hallway lines with overflowing bookshelves. Scrolls and papers were formed into neat little piles on the floor, unable to fit on the stuffed shelves. To Qilin it was as if he had struck a gold more pure than sunlight. He started to jump in place with a giddy expression plastered across his face, all four of his paws leaving indents in the floor. Without even saying a word, Qilin rushed forward to an ornate pedestal with a book floating gently above it.

His feelings of excitement faded into pure awe. “Is… this what I think it is?”

“It is. It is the Arcana Chaoti. The book discovered by our ancestors that led to the discovery of magic. Only trained mages and the Lords of the Draconequii are able to read it.”

Qilin’s heart rate began to rise rapidly as he stepped closer to the book of arcane knowledge. He reached out his front paws and took hold of the book, carefully turning it in his hands to get a better look at it. Valeria worried he might find a way to damage it, even though spells were set in place to repair any harm that came across the book.

“I can feel the magic pulsating from inside it. It’s breathtakingly beautiful…” Qilin stopped to look at the slowly shifting cover, noticing it changing texture and colors. He felt he could stare at it for hours on end. “Can I… take a peak inside?”

Valeria nodded. “I don’t see why not. But be forewarned, the book is not to be taken lightly. Many who have looked inside its covers have seen the most horrible nightmares. Not even me, one who’s managed to read just a single page, escaped unscathed.” She shivered with fear at her own words.

Qilin paused for a brief moment, slowly lifting the cover of the book. His eyes glanced around the blank page in front of him. Confused, he turned the page and saw nothing but white paper.

“I-it’s blank?” Qilin said, quickly flipping through the seemingly endless pages.

Valeria looked just as confused. Qilin turned his head to face her and shrugged, not knowing what was going on.

“I’m as confused as you are. I don’t see the runes and arcane diagrams that usually show inside the book. You also didn’t fall on the ground in terror.” She scratched the top of her head.