Explorations in Chronomancy

24 July - A clear day, and pleasantly warm.

I find myself wanting more time to get everything done. Life continues its juggling act, forcing me to choose which priority doesn't get done in a day. I tire of the choices, as all of them leave something important behind. I find myself regretting every choice, and sleep loses as often as not. I should check the library and see what the great masters have to say on the subject of manipulating time.

25 July - A few clouds. Hot.

Last night's reading may have borne fruit. I found an old tome with an incantation to "Extende tyme beyonde this daye". Here's a time-saving tip: each extra "e" takes time to write. It's probably nothing, but I'll take a closer look this afternoon.

24 July - Cloudy, but a perfect temperature.

I feel somehow relieved. I have vague memories of a dream, wherein I have been granted a wish for more time. This has put me in far better temper than yesterday. It may be just a dream, but I feel relieved, like I can tackle my entire list of tasks. We'll see if this feeling persists past the morrow.

25 July - Rain and an almost raw feeling to the air.

Breakthrough! I may have uncovered evidence for "particles" of time. If I can distill these particles into useful form, perhaps we can control time as we have harnessed fire and trained metal. I need more power, but I may have a workaround for that particular hurdle. Perhaps dreams can illuminate the way to the future, as I never would have found this path if I didn't awaken this morning with an inkling of it in my head.

24 July - Unseasonably cold. High winds and threat of snow.

I have dreamed of a theory that will not exactly cheat death, but rather trick life into giving us all the time we want. It seems reasonable on the surface, but I have yet to expose the idea to the rigors of experimentation. The distillation of components will take some doing, but I have tomorrow to worry about that.

25 July - I thought tornadoes usually happen in hot weather.

The process seems to work. I shall test the first potion tonight and see if I notice any effects.

24 July - Frost this morning, and a gale blows in off the water.

This weather has me worried. As if nature herself is angry. I can't escape the feeling that I've been through this day before. My dreams have been painfully clear, as if my subconscious has been working for weeks on the problem of controlling time. I have a clearly-defined experiment to try this evening, and my workroom is uncharacteristically well-stocked with exactly what I need. I'll have to pay Anita extra for anticipating my needs before the weekend. Things are falling into place.

25 July - Volcanic eruption started a few miles distant. Smoke stains the sky, and a cinder rain falls.

I have lived a day in an hour. The potion works. With this power, we can research everything our heart desires in the span of a week or two. The leap forward in our knowledge will change the world in a decade at most.

24 July - A sinkhole has opened next to my house. On the bright side, it gives the hail somewhere to gather.

I can no longer escape this feeling of deja vu. This morning I am dizzy with the ideas swarming in my head, and jittery with the feeling that I have been awake for days. I have the ominous feeling of a bargain about to come due. I may need to update my work journals and tuck them into a pocket dimension for safekeeping.

25 July - Earthquakes. Divination magics have failed us. Odd.

Something lives in the pit, though it may be these incessant dreams. My head is so full of overlapping realities and theories about the way the universe works that it feels like I am dreaming while awake. I commit these notes to the ether and I will go investigate the pit later.

Lack of power limits mankind from tinkering with the universe too much. Perhaps that is for the best. I feel like I have overstepped, discovering something wonderful, but probably something we are not prepared to handle yet.

Or perhaps this is just self-deprecating hubris. In any case, we shall see what the being in the pit wants of me.

These entries are transcribed from a battered journal found in an extradimensional space. Testing the ink indicates each entry was written at a different time, but in seemingly random order. The ink on the last entry predates the first by 150 years.

Notes: All images in this post are in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Completed on the train this morning in roughly 35 minutes. Unedited. 753 words.