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Ghallve Library

by Jiba

"Why do you ask me where to find this Sangurio Destheme stuff? Do I look like a librarian, huh? Go and annoy someone carring for your dinky problems!"

-Dullum The Apathetic, telling a hopelessly confused stranger off

"What the..."

- Six Radiant Stars, watching one of the moving Artifact pictures.

Presenting itself as an attractive, long, low black building built from materials used in the First Age, Ghallve Library is located on the Ghallve Site, a small park of ever-blooming flowers, soft grass and trees yielding delicious fruits that everyone is welcome to pluck and eat. Its walls are artfully decorated with ornate pictures of popular stories and legends in bright colors. The word LACUNA is displayed prominently in large, ancient letters on the sign above the door, while the word GHALLVE is written under it, much smaller. The whole site is very pleasing and walking through the park creates an idyllic feel in all.

The building stands alone on the park, unlike most of the other First Age constructions, as no one would dare ruin such a beautiful garden by placing another building there. And this is true – even the most cash-hungry building contractors never had even the idea, as if the Library were some holy site, and even the thought of altering the scenery would be outright blasphemous. Nevertheless, some people feel a strong pull, as if the building itself chooses special men and women and invites them to come to the plaza and spend their free time there. So, the park and the rooms inside the Library are often engaged with people having a good time, until they suddenly get the idea of leaving the place and continuing their normal lives. It seems that the Lacuna only holds them in its thrall for a small amount of time and if they have something important to do, it does not even try to lure them to stay with it. On the other hand, there are people who do not even realize that they have entered the plaza, due to a strange loss of orientation and a strong pull towards the Library.

Another effect of the comfortable feeling, which the Library engenders into any visitor's very soul, is that one can feel the pulse of Essence itself while dwelling in here. The spirits that live here are visible for anyone – although you can not touch or interact with them – and a warm sensation surrounds you, which enables all Essence-forming beings to regenerate Essence as if they were resting or meditating.

Inside the Lacuna, which is composed of one large room, furnitured with tables and comfortable, padded chairs and couches. The hundreds and hundreds of ebon, adorned bookshelfs reach to the ceiling and tall ladders enable the quiet and task-devoted librarians, who work in direct service of the Council of Entities, to fetch every book a particular customer could be searching for, intuitively knowing where to find it. A number of strange but comforting glamours lie on the place; one is the white, crystalline roof. As no one would expect, the inside of the Lacuna is always dark. Small crystal lanterns shining white, warm light and tiny, flying will-o-wisps illuminate the Library and enable the customers to read the prose, poems and drama offered here. At nightfall, the will-o-wisps fly towards the ceiling, becoming the perfect replica of the starlit sky outside the building and imitating even the moon. Despite that, there is still enough light to read. As in Kshaha Library, no loud sound is able to reach the ear of any other person, even if a mischievous one is shouting. As if this were not enough, mauled books seem to repair themselves, leaving no trace of damage done to them, but making the wrongdoers aware that such a mistake must never happen again.

As an effect of mighty sorcery, no one is able to use any magical spell or take an action in order to harm another while in the Lacuna – swords stay in their canes, fists are blocked by some kind of magical barrier, summoned weapons never appear and aggressive spells do not take effect. Maybe this ward could be bypassed; it would require powerful Solar Circle Sorcery and even then it may be not worth the effort.

Ghallve Library contains a vast amount of fictional literature from all over Creation (and even beyond). This includes prose like legends or novels and even collections of funny or tragic short stories, written in any possible language on any possible material – it is said that the Lacuna has even a soulsteel plate in its assortment, which reads out the story written on it if asked. The Library also contains a large collection of poetry from every possible age, including poems of long-dead god-kings of the First Age. There are also religious texts, like a complete Old Realm version of the Immaculate Texts. The third great part of the fiction that the Lacuna offers are dramas – tragedies as well as comedies – collected from uncountable sources. The Library offers also acient magical devices for use – small globes that recall stories on touch; pictures of moving images that tell a legend in which the visitor plays the role of the silent watcher; or flowers that, if watered, sing beautiful but forgotten songs are only a few examples of the wonders found in the Lacuna. Some of the functions of the devices have not been found out and the librarians thankfully praise everyone who explores a new form of usage for one of these Artifacts. In addition wonders or books can not be stolen, as they magically teleport back to the Lacuna. In spite of such supernatural abilities as quicker Essence-regeneration, Ghallve Library is no Manse, and every attempt to detect direct magical influence from Dragon Lines has led to no conclusion.

Like Kshaha Library, Ghallve Library is open for the public and financed and administered by the Council of Entities. No books are lent out and there are only small fees to use the Lacuna, so that there is only very little money coming in. However, the Library sells drinks, snacks and writing material, and has a number of scholars and scribes in service to help visitors. It also hosts various public readings, book seminars and discussions. These are, as one might guess, often executed outside, as the silence-granting sorcery makes public events nearly impossible to carry out.

Rumours

• The rumor goes that the park outside is inhabited by a graceful Wood Elemental who is alone and loves to be accompanied by people. He chooses the most virtuous and compassionate and lures them into spending their time in the park and the Lacuna, in order to have company. He grants everyone who stays a little bit of spiritual enlightenment.
• Some say the Ghallve Library once was the home of a Fair Folk noble, in the time that the forces of the Wyld overwhelmed the city of Nexus. The strange magics of the Fair Folk are the source of the otherworldly sorcery and the warm feeling inside and outside the Library. It is dangerous, however, and the soul of anyone who stays there for too long will be absorbed into the books.
• An exceptionally weird rumor states that Ghallve Library is actually the non-fiction containing library, while Kshaha is the fictional one, and a scholar can learn a lot more about the workings in Creation if doing some research in the Lacuna. The information is carefully hidden, though, and it is not easy to find it.
• The will-o-wisps lighting the place are nothing less than the Essences of the people killed by the Razor Light and now cursed to eternally help customers of the Lacuna.
• The Ghallve Library is a feeling and living being, and the eternal lover of Kshaha. How buildings can make love to each other? Well…

Secret

• There is also a secret, powerfully warded and protected section in the Ghallve Library, which contains the collected song and prose that were written about the Councilor of Midnight. Only two librarians are initiated in this fact and they remain silent, as their tongue has been cut. Every piece of literature that was written during the time the Civility prohibiting the composition of such texts was in effect, is transferred from its former domiciles – by force if necessary. Everyone searching literature about the Councilor of Midnight will be told that there is none.

Comments

Dibbs!
--BrilliantRain on 2-28-05 @ 5:38pm central time

Maybe you should finishLady of Dancing Tiger Reeds first?
~ Shataina

Fair enough. I withdraw the dibbs claim, but reserve the right to create another library later. --BrilliantRain

Keep in mind it'll have to be private if this one is taken; SS states that there are only two public libraries.
~ Shataina

Okay, the entry is written. Sorry, Shataina, when I copied much of what you've written concerning Kshaha Library and gave it a slight twist. I liked the idea of the two libraries beeing some kind of opposite. Oh yeah, Lacuna is a latin term for missing letters, words or phrases in texts. I choose it to make clear that the ficitional texts in Ghallve Library could include certain clues necessary to understand some of the information in Kshaha Library - Jiba

I don't mind. It's actually kind of flattering. And I really like what you've done with it, especially some of the rumours, like the one that plays of the Razor Light and the whole lover-building idea. Really neat work! You've put in a lot of intriguing angles.
~ Shataina
PS. Thanks for the Latin tidbit; lacuna also has an English meaning (merely, "a gap") and I wouldn't have realized your intent without your note.