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gold, and was in some gorgeous scrawling script that she could not decipher.

Saure's heart leapt in an attempt at joy, but the two pieces of her broken heart would not complete the circuit. At one moment she was ecstatic to have found such a lovely book, and at the next she was reminded that she could never share this terrific windfall with her mother or father. She sighed deeply, and her eyes once more welled with tears. A single drop landed on the tome. As the droplet seeped into the embossed lettering, the runes quivered and straightened themselves up like an old man woken from a catnap. The letters crept jerkily into a language Saure could read clearly.

The words read: Manifestus et Magnum Opus de Theaetetulas.

"The Manifesto and Greatest Work of Theaetetulas." she translated.

_______________

Somewhere, far and long from the innocent light of the kirnlands, a searching eye opened.
_______________

Unable to fight curiosity, she opened to the first page. Here was more of that strange and beautiful handwrit script. The ink was of deepest violet, and the spacing of the letters spoke of haste. She could even see where the quill had punctured the parchment in places. As she looked, the letters again began their twitching metamorphoses into legibility. This time, the words were not in Latin, but in her own native tongue.

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"I write this book for the greater general knowledge. I have enchanted it to be readable by any who hunger for its wisdom, and who would use it only for good purposes. Within are important facts about the magical world; incremental instructions to fulfill all the spells, incantations, and magical techniques which I know to the current date. Any with a magical bloodline will find use in all of it, and any with lesser lineage may utilize some of the more general knowledge within. I believe this is the most useful creation I have ever made, and hope that this book will stand as my legacy. My last wish is that this book teach generations, and possibly entire populations. May I be so ambitious as to hope that the world can benefit from my vast knowledge of magic and its uses.
"Let it be known that whoever looks upon my manuscript with the intention of harm or unwillful manipulation, he shall comprehend not one word. Should one begin his journey with good intentions, but fall prey to darker measures, the words will cease to be legible, and his memory of it wiped clean.
"Thank you for finding and reading this. I wish you the best of luck.
The Wizard Theaetetulas"

Saure was stunned after reading this. She closed the tome hastily, looking at the cover again. She smoothed her hands over the strange leather, taking in the texture. It felt smooth, yet somewhat scaly. A velvety sort of lizard skin. She thought, wonderingly, that this must be what dragonleather feels like. She brought it to her nose and whiffed deeply a smoky aroma, with the sharp twinge of brimstone.
It could be none other. The oilskin, then, must be part of the tough membrane that made up a dragon's wing.

She hugged the tome to her chest, eyes brimming with tears of overwhelmed wonder. She hitched a shuddering breath and silently thanked this stranger Theaetetulas for making such a thing, thanked the creek for bringing it to her, and thanked the dragon which had given itself for the creation of this, most wonderful tome.