Perusing Perpetually Permuting Purple Publications

I can do this all day.

The words and letters blended together as he passed spine upon spine of book after book on shelf behind shelf. It astounded him to see so much knowledge in one spot and he immediately understood why some people dedicated their lives to studying the contents. There was just too much. However, he seemed to have quite the opposite idea of a quality life. To be stuck behind a desk for hours every day as the letters swam across the page, taunting him. That sounded more like a nightmare. But Zavien would do anything to help understand the enemy they faced, even if it meant sneaking a peak at what the Collegium's books might have on the Family.

He continued his path down an aisle, looking around to scan the titles. At the slightest brush of his shoulder, a nearby book erupted in a plume of dust that had him clutching his nose to keep from sneezing. Still clamping his nares, he whispered to Koa, "Which section would the information be in?" Zavien didn't want to announce to any nearby ears what they were searching for, yet he had no idea how to navigate this labyrinth of ancient tomes.

Zavien

No better version of me I could pretend to be tonight

"Who knows," Koa groans, sniffing as dust buffets his nose. "'Bad Guys From the Sky for Dummies?'" He takes a step away from Zavien and the unearthed cloud of dust. Hands on his hips, Koa rotates his shoulders, wincing as his back lets out an audible crack that echoes like gunshot through the quiet stacks. 

"I've been going through the ones we already grabbed, but nothing's looking promising." It's been his part of the task: take notes on the books they've found that might have something good. So far, absolutely no dice. It feels like they've been doing this forever, and yet they haven't found a single written word about their foes. "You got anything else?" It's like chasing ghosts, and Koa - never a scholar to begin with - is nearing the end of his limited patience, tired of this fruitless pursuit.

Koa