Young Writers Society

Few words could accurately describe the Eternian Academy’s library. To say that it was big would be a laughable understatement. Even ‘massive’ and ‘gargantuan’ didn’t seem to encompass the mass of it. I settled on ‘vast’ because it seemed to best describe the immense amount of knowledge stored in the library. Unlike the rest of the Academy, the library felt comfortable and lived in with its smooth wooden shelves and carpeted floor. It wasn’t hard to be more comfortable than the bare stone walls that made up the rest of the building, but the library seemed pleasant by any standards. Clerks and librarians sat at desks and rushed between shelves, trying to keep the books in some semblance of organization while people who I assumed were other recruits of the Eternian Academy sat reading in padded chairs. Shelves lined with books stretched over fifteen meters up and they continued out farther than I could see. I couldn’t even imagine how many books were stored here or how much knowledge was contained in it. I didn’t know there were this many books on Archora.

I my mouth was stuck between gaping and smiling. “This is… incredible!” I said when I regained control of my facial features.

“The library has an area of about one and a half square kilometers and is the most extensive repository books that we know of on any world,” Quint said, appreciating my amazement.

Alsari, on the other hand, didn’t seem concerned with the library’s size or how many books were in it, two features that enraptured me. She had her arms crossed in front of her and her gaze was fixed ahead of her instead of upwards. “Let’s get this over with,” she said.

I noticed that instead of having torches, candles, oil lamps, or any other common method of lighting that I knew of, there was just… light. I couldn’t find a source of origin, but the library was well lit with a cozy yellow glow.

“What do you use for a lighting system?” I asked.

“Well, we couldn’t use a flame for obvious reasons,” Quint said. “In fact, pyromancers are banned from the library unless they wear power dampening cuffs. It’s unfortunate, but a necessity. Instead we employ a type of mage called lumenomancers here. Lumenomancers can create light, which isn’t a terribly useful ability under most circumstances, but it becomes invaluable here. We have twenty four teams of lumenomancers each with ten mages working in one hour shifts so that the library is lit at all hours.”

“Come on,” Alsari said, leading us towards a desk with one of the least stressed librarians. “We need information on Alaran, specifically the elves living in the northern forests and hazards in that region.”

“Just a moment,” she said. “My section of the library covers the history of the goblin tribes of Archora, but I can help you find the section that you’re looking for. You’ll find what you need over with him.” She pointed to a young man five desks away.

“Thank you,” Quint said, leading us towards the librarian. “Each person is assigned to the lending and organization of a few thousand books, usually on a single world or subject. The librarians know where all the subjects are so they probably won’t know where the exact book you’re looking for is, but they can always point you in the right direction.”

When we approached, the librarian looked up and pushed his glasses back on his nose. “Can I help you?”

“I was told that you could,” I said. “We’re looking for books on the northern forests of Alaran, particularly their hazards and the elves who live there.”

“Then I can help you,” he said, rising from his desk. “Follow me. It’s a bit of a walk from here.” He wrote a note saying Back in 15 mins. and left it on his desk.

The librarian lead us between two shelves and farther into the library. As we went by, I stared in awe at the many rows of shelves that stretched above my head. Most of the books were aged and worn, but that was where the similarity ended and even then there were some new books. Some were leather bound while others had cloth covers. Some were slim volumes while others had spines wider than the span of my hand. Not all of them were even books. I saw stone tablets, scrolls, embroidered silk scarves, and more methods of recording information.

“It’s good to see you, Quint,” the librarian said. They exchanged pleasantries for a moment before the librarian looked at Alsari and I. “You two are new here, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Mm.”

“Welcome to the Eternian Academy. Would I be correct in assuming that the two of you have been assigned your first mission?”

“You would,” I said.

“Might I inquire as to what about the elves of Alaran has piqued the Academy’s interest?”

“I’m sorry, that information hasn’t been made public,” Quint interjected.

“The Academy’s existence hasn’t been made public,” I said.

“You know what I mean.”

“That’s true. How much farther until we get to the books?” We had already walked about half a kilometer, which was much farther than I had had to walk in any artificial structure before.

“Not much farther,” the librarian replied, not at all put off by the fact that the Academy was keeping information from him.

We continued in silence for a few moments.

“Here we are,” the librarian said. “Wait just a moment.”

Each shelf had a sliding ladder on it and a device that allowed you to lower books down attached to it. The librarian pulled a ladder over to where we were standing and took several confident steps up the ladder. Almost halfway up the shelf, he stopped and inspected the spine of a book. He pulled it out and four more books, putting them on the platform next to him, and lowered the books down to us.

“That should help you find what you’re looking for,” he said when he’d returned to the floor. “If you need more information, books on similar subjects will be shelved near the ones I gave you. If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to contact me.”

“I’m sure this will be adequate,” Quint replied.

The librarian turned and headed back to his desk.

“Well,” I said, picking up a book. “Let’s get started.”