Here Ends Origins (Thank God)

In which Niall discovers some odd things.

"Hello, Dianne," said China. "Who's your friend?"
"I'm Niall." What? I couldn't help it! I did better than most guys. At least I didn't fall to my knees and declare myself unworthy, like some people I know.
Dianne facepalmed at me disobeying her advice so blatantly.
"Niall, come over here."
But get this: I DIDN'T. I didn't even want to.
China looked confused. So did Dianne. I was confused myself. Surely I should be going there, whether I wanted to or not?
"Niall, come here," China said, more insistently. I still didn't want to go.
Dianne was the first to speak for a long while. "Niall, what's the name on your birth certificate?"
I said that it was Niall. Turns out her suspicion was right, and my answer was wrong. My Grandfather is called Jack, but his mail is always adressed to John, and it's on his birth certificate. I thought it was just him. Turns out I'm a John too. So's Dad. Apparently it's a thing. Name your child whatever you want, but he'll be a John.
(OOC: This is awfully convenient, isn't it? =P
Who knew?
Not me. At least not at the time.
"Well," said China, pretending she hadn't just tried to control my mind, and trying to change the subject. "Why are you here, Dianne?"
"Niall here just found out, and we figured this would be the best place to get him to learn more about us."
China smiled at me, and I wanted to die. "Do you want to know about Elemental magic or Adept magic?"
"Both."
"Read the Encyclopedia Magicka, you can find it under "K"."
"Will do. Thank you."
"Thanks, China," said Dianne as we left the clearing.
"No problem!" China half-shouted after us. "Hang on to that one! He's a keeper!"
I felt the blood rush to my face. Apparently "Silence in the Library" doesn't apply if you own the place.
Dianne smacked me in the back of the head the second we were clear of China.
It hurt.

***

I read the Encyclopedia Magicka.
It was awful. I thought that it had a dumb, gimmicky name, and I was right. It was a kids book.
I found the guy that looked like Giles, and asked him where I could find more "in-depth" information, and, to my surprise, he pointed me towards a computer.
The computer had a program open on it called Tome, which looked suspiciously like a wiki. On the front page were several categories, but I hit Random Page, just to see what I'd get.
"Scholarly Magic," read the page, "is a discipline of magic which uses Adept Magic for non-physical purposes. There are three main categories:
Retension
Manipulation
Linguistics"
I clicked retension.
"Retensive Magic is a discipline of Scholarly Magic. Mages who specialise in Retensive Magic can remember details they read or see.
With training of the mind, these Mages can find it very easy to remember details, and can possess a pseudo-photographic memory.
With training of the body, they can gain some Adoptive Muscle Memory, although they cannot exceed the limitations of their own body."
Adoptive Muscle Memory is awesome. I knew about it even before I knew about magic, because I watch Heroes. AMM lets you see somebody do something, and then you can do it too.
Random Page had served me well.
I decided there and then I was going to specialise in Retensive Magic.
Look at me now.

The Library

Note: Last chapter ended just before Niall was given That Speech. This chapter starts just after a car journey to Dublin. Niall was still curious about magic after That Speech, and Finbar suggested they all drive up to see China.)

Chapter Five:

In which we meet China, and which is also in the first person, because it's more fun to write that way.

I stepped out of the car and my legs felt wobbly. You know when you've been sitting down for a few hours and then you forget how to walk? It was like that, but coupled with a strange nervousness. I had no real reason to be afraid, and I'm not entirely sure why I was frightened at all.
Looking back, I suppose it was because I was taking my first steps into a new world; one that I had only found out about on Friday.
I remember thinking that the building we pulled up outside was decidedly ordinary. The windows were cracked and dirty (where they were still present) and the walls were covered in graffiti, most of it profane. Finbar led us into the buildings foyer and up the disgusting staircase.
We walked up the stairs without stopping until we reached the third floor. Unlike the other floors, the level was clean, smelled nice, and actually had lighting. There was a door with the word "Library" written on a plaque.
Dianne stepped forward and knocked on the door, before turning around to face me. "Shut up. Once we get in, you say nothing."
I knew this was because of The Name Thing, but I wasn't dumb enough to tell anyone my name, not even my first name. Why did Dianne feel the need to give me such obvious advice?
The door opened, and a bespectacled guy who looked a lot like a middle-aged me (scary thought) but with Harry Potter glasses and a Rupert Giles suit. (PS, if you're reading this and you don't know who Giles is, shame on you.) He glanced at me and scowled at Finbar, but he smiled at Dianne. "Finbar, I'm afraid you'll have to stay outside, but you two can come in."
"Okey doke," said Finbar, unfazed by the almost-insult.
The man unlocked the door and let us through. I swear to God, I almost cried when I saw the inside.
Books.
So many books it hurt.
I could live there, I really could. Wall to wall bookshelves, wall to wall. I couldn't help staring.
There were people there, too. Most of them were reading, a few were perusing the shelves, and they all looked bookish and simultaneously odd.
My kind of people.
I was taking it all in, inhaling the musty smell of old tomes and following the man, when we came to a clearing in the librarianth. China stood there.
I'm not sure what I think of China. She's TOO perfect, you know? It seems like she can't be nearly all she's cracked up to be.
If she were all she's cracked up to be, she'd be a God.
At the time, I thought she was. I couldn't help myself. I stared. I remember Dianne tapping my chin, closing the mouth that I didn't know was open.

Huzzah!

In which your humble narrator takes time out of his busy Camp NaNo, and which is written in the third person because the same Narrator feels dumb writing in the third person, even though he's doing it now.



As I walked back to Dianne's house, I couldn't stop my mind from drifting back to the old American man who had helped me. Cassidy wasn't really one to "respect thine elders," but he'd walked away from me anyway. The man seemed to have an amazing authority, almost like mind control. I knew that it was dumb to think that, and entirely unrealistic, but I couldn't get the thought out of my head.

You may be wondering why I was walking back to Dianne's house in the first place. The reason was actually impossibly simple. I like Finbar. He's fun. And he makes awesome brownies. As I approached the house, I looked in through their front room window as I passed it, and guess what I saw. The old guy. Wondering what possible connection he could have to the Wrongs, I walked straight into the house, wihout ringing the doorbell. As I reached the sitting room door, however, I felt bad. I was actually being quite rude. These people were my friends, and I just barged into their home uninvited. In order to rectify my behaviour, I did knock on the sitting room door, although I didn't wait for a reply.

Upon entering the room, I was met with several different expressions. The Old Guy looked neutral, but nodded at me when I came in. Dianne looked surprised. Finbar grinned at me.

"T'Sup, Niall-dude?" he asked. "Hey, have you met Candy? He's solid."

"Yeah," I said. "We've met in passing."

Dianne seemed to cringe a little, although I didn't really know why at the time.

"So, Finbar," I asked, as casually as I could. "How do you know Candy?"

"Hmm? Oh, we both know Skul-man." I must have looked confused, because he added, "Y'know? Skulduggery Pleasant? The big SP? He of the epic hat?"

"Dad," said Dianne. "I haven't told Niall about Skulduggery. Or Valkyrie. Or Ghastly or Tanith or Kenspeckle."

"Oh," contiuned Finbar. "Okay then, I'll explain." Dianne was glaring at him, and I don't think that he noticed at all. "Skul-man is one of the coolest guys I know, living or dead. He's this awesome detective-type skeleton thing." I remember wondering whether or not they were serious, or joking, or drunk or high or whatever. Finbar was always a bit eccentric, but he'd never claimed to know a skeleton detective. "He's this super-powerful Elemental Mage, and his apprentice is about your age. She's an Elemental-Necromancer, she knows Dianne."

"Hold up," I said. "Did you say Necromancer? Like, death magic?" I read a lot of fantasy novels as a kid, so I was familiar with the terms.

"Damn it, Dad," said Dianne. "Now we've got to explain EVERYTHING!"

The old man spoke again. "You want me to make him forget?"

Dianne sighed. "No, Candy. He'd have found out sooner or later anyway."