Caleb stumbled through the abandoned tower, dust swirling with every step. He had followed rumors of a powerful grimoire, filled with spells forgotten by time.
Entering a cluttered chamber, his eyes fell upon an ancient book lying open on a table. Intricate illustrations covered the pages - symbols twisting in on themselves, beasts rendered in alarming detail.
As Caleb picked up the grimoire, he felt a stillness come over the room. Lifting the heavy cover, he was met with rows of spidery script written in a language long forgotten.
Caleb slowly turned the pages. With each new illustration, fragments of half-remembered dreams came drifting back - memories of someone else's life, experienced through the grimoire's spells.
The images seemed both frightening and wondrous - of cities built from glass, of sunken ships where jewels lay forgotten, of creatures that shifted shape with every glance.
Yet shadows lurked in the margins, hinting at magics best left alone. Caleb paused at an illustration of a man looking into the eyes of a basilisk, his form twisting into that of a grotesque toad.
Shutting the grimoire, Caleb walked to the window. Outside, the world bustled on in utter ignorance of the dark secrets concealed within these walls. How much have we lost, he thought, by letting knowledge slip through time's sieve?
But some truths, he realized, are best left forgotten. For wisdom comes not just from what is revealed - but what remains unseen.
Within these dusty walls
Remnants of old magic lay,
Forgotten yet powerful.
The carefully traced lines
Of spells once cast in rash haste
Now slowly fade away.
Half-dreamed visions return
Of wonders and horrors untold
Seen through another's eyes.
Shadows lurk in corners
Warning of magics best left sealed,
Knowledge not easily earned.
Some secrets, though tempting,
Are best left lost to darkness deep
Beyond memory's reach.
For wisdom comes too
From that which remains unseen,
Undisturbed by time.
The light of this age
Shines brightest through ignorance
Of magic's faded past.
What good are powers to twist
Flesh and stone when hearts remain
Unpierced by truest light?
The grimoire closes,
Lost again to dust and silence,
Its secrets kept safe.