When Bona entered the Warp, he was met neither by its raging tides nor by a sudden attack, but by a remarkably tranquil stretch of the Warp.
Somewhat surprised, he lowered his weapon and headed farther in.
But after only a few steps, he caught the scent of books. In the blink of an eye, he found himself inside an immense museum.
In the dim candlelight, row upon row of shelves were heaped with dust and books. Even when he looked up, he saw an ocean of books piled overhead, squeezing the narrow sky into a single slit.
Bona looked at a book beside him. Its cover bore writing he did not recognize, and dust lay so thick upon it that the book was almost buried.
"Don't bother looking. What that book records has long since passed beyond the world's knowledge."
Bona looked up and saw a scholar in blue robes standing on the library's second floor. Beneath a gold-rimmed monocle was a deep, mysterious eye.
"False."
"True."
The Two-Headed Parrot perched on the scholar's shoulder squawked.
"Where is this?"
"The Land Forgotten by Time. It is also a little... sanctuary I built."
The scholar closed the book in his hands and walked back inside.
He had vanished from sight for only a moment before his voice sounded beside Bona.
He picked up the book, gently blew the dust from it, and opened it.
The unfamiliar language on the book rearranged itself into High Gothic, which Bona could read. It said, "Surda Civilization."
"Every book here represents something that existed in the past or will exist in the future."
"This civilization arose before your humanity and was destroyed by a celestial shift. Its star moved out of position, tearing open the surface of the entire planet."
"That is why no