The Library With No Books - The Keepers: Part 1

The Library With No Books
The Keepers: Part 1

   After having spent amazing time with the Depthstriders, it took Cailu quite some effort to convince Meline to move on. The Tyrian was ecstatic over the overwhelmingly positive feedback she received for her mural, trying to remain modest and honorably giving credit to Aethone and Cailu for their parts in it. Aethone was glad to see how much of an ego boost this was for Meline as she still fully hadn’t got over the sour taste in her mouth from the encounter with the Brutes. The joyful Depthstriders helped her to get over it by showing how kind hosts some Haedians can be.

   Ornaax gave them all tight hugs and the farewells with the clan took ages before Cailu could guide the two girls further ahead. To their surprise, a familiar friendly face rejoined their party - the scholar from Vitalus they met near the Tranquil territory, Caelan. His polished silver spectacles reflected the light from the glowing crystals and in addition to a light travel bag, he was carrying extra satchels with something heavy in them. Still positively charged Meline gave Caelan a hug, while Aethone also seemed to be glad to bump into an old acquaintance.

“Hi Caelan! Good to see you again! Are you lost again, by chance? Did you meet Hesfedira already?”

   Meline couldn’t help but joke light-heartedly and ask about the Vayron all of them knew of. Cailu peeked into the tunnel where Caelan had emerged to check if he’s alone or not.

“Meline! Aethone… and Cailu! Wonderful seeing you again!”

   Caelan exchanged polite nods with Aethone and Cailu. He then chuckled at Meline’s comment before responding, a warm smile across his face.

“Believe it or not, this time I know where I’m going. There was a Keeper visiting the Tranquil and she expressed interest in me sharing the knowledge I possess. I sent a couple young Runners to fetch a few books of mine before heading here. And yes, thank you so much for informing my wife about my whereabouts! We saw each other and agreed to rendezvous at the Tranquil again, she stayed behind to learn from them while I’m heading to meet the head of the Keepers, Khaldor. I assume you’re also on your way there?”

   Cailu nodded to the question and continued walking on, while Meline and Caelan were busy chattering, exchanging their experiences with the clans. Aethone participated in the conversation with intermittent involvement, she mostly enjoyed feeling so great after a little workout in the water and still having the paintings from Depthstriders decorating her coat.

   The structures in the caves around them started to change as they reached closer to the Keepers’ territory. The walls were mostly displaying hypnotizing marble patterns, mixed with flowstone between them. The corridors grew more spacious and the damp warm air from the Depthstriders turned into a pleasant refreshing breeze. Reaching the outskirts of the Crystal Mind - as Cailu called them - the corridors were neatly shaped and carved, giving everything a fine polished look.

   Having reached the end of the elegant corridor, the cavern opened up to a prestigious finely detailed gateway that towered in front of the enormous library of the Keepers. The atmosphere was thick of finer taste and erudition, which made Caelan feel almost at home. Meline had deep respect towards this place already and Aethone felt small in front of the entrance, which was a very rare occasion for her.

   Cailu went first, greeting the Haedians that crossed their path. Their glances towards the visitors reflected suspicion, but seeing Cailu escorting them they gave Cailu the directions before continuing their own business. The three topsiders needed some time to realize that the organized crystals on the endless marble shelves were the “books” in this library as there was no scent of paper and parchment in the air. Still letting that sink in, they stopped in front of closed stone doors. Cailu used the Haedian-shaped knocker to announce his presence, to which soon the door opened and a green Haedian with golden glistening markings stuck its head out. Seeing Cailu, its face lost the wrinkles from the frown.

“Ah, Cailu! Greetings, old friend, what brings you to these parts of the Beneath?”

   Cailu greeted the new Haedian in return, calling him Khaldor, and introduced the topsiders. Seeing the Vayrons and the Empyrian, Khaldor’s eyes lit up.

“Topsiders? Oh, wonderful! I would love to chat with you about the life above our caves. Please, come in!”

   Meline, Aethone and Caelan found themselves in a spacious yet cozy study. In addition to numerous storage crystals on the shelves, there were even some withered tomes and organized piles of loose papers of all shapes, ages and sizes. Khaldor gestured to the visitors to have a seat on the comfortable cushions before his eyes stopped at Caelan’s carriage. Caelan noticed it, smiled and opened his satchels to show Khaldor what he had brought. Khaldor stepped closer and was fully enchanted by the selection from Caelan’s collection, but before he could get fully lost in it, Cailu cleared his throat and politely reminded about Meline and Aethone.

“Khmm, right, yes, everything is just too exciting. Uhh, please, simply tell me about the life up there.”

   Khaldor grabbed one of the crystals, holding it in anticipation of fresh information. Cailu lied down, curling up in a comfortable ball to listen to the stories. Meline started to tell how she’s also from Vitalus, the enormous island right above the Beneath. She then pointed towards Aethone with her head, explaining how she was from a different land called Warrenfall, where she herself used to live in her youth. Then she had to explain the concept of seas, sailing, trading routes, Roenden and Thedale before she also remembered to describe the sky, the Sun, the Moons and the stars. When she took a little break to think further, Aethone took over and described the parts of Warrenfall she had been in, the variety of nature and weather, the change in seasons, how a strong thunderstorm feels like when you happen to be in the middle of it and how Stainberry Potion tastes like. She then stuck out her bright green tongue for Khaldor to witness, who was recording it all in the crystal chunk he was holding, etching patterns and sigils in it with magic. Caelan used the pause from Aethone to inquire about the method Khaldor was using to inscribe info in the crystal, to what the esteemed scholar promised to tell about it later as now he was hungry for more knowledge. Meline continued, sharing how she had found passion in shamanic rituals and medicine, combining magic and science into one. She then remembered about the small notebook she had with her and pulled it out, quickly showing Khaldor some of the notes she had taken and quick sketches of various plants she had in there. Meline left it on Khaldor’s desk, agreeing to lend it to the Crystal Mind to study while they were staying here. Khaldor thanked Meline for the kind move, after which he turned to Caelan with the same request of borrowing the books to copy them over to crystals so they can study them without rush. Caelan gladly agreed, and with that, Khaldor stopped the tiny bright dot from moving inside the crystal in his hands. For some reason, this was the change in the room that made half-asleep Cailu open his eyes as he tried to recall where exactly he was.

“This was wonderful, thank you all for the extremely interesting and valuable information. Please feel free to walk around our open halls and see if something catches your interest, the Keepers will gladly help you to read the crystals. I would love to continue our conversation later on, I’ll search for you at some point. Now, please excuse me, I need to find some colleagues of mine to help me with the books and sort the info I just recorded.”

   Khaldor had a bit of trouble carrying the crystal, Meline’s notebook and Caelan’s satchels, so Aethone offered help carrying the satchels to the required destination. Khaldor thanked for the help and headed to the doors, everyone else following him.

   Their path led them through numerous corridors and passages, all stuffed with the faintly glowing storage crystals. Khaldor stopped in one study room and instructed the books to be left there. While Aethone waited till Caelan and Meline lifted the load off her, Khaldor approached her.

“Aethone, would you mind telling me if the paint on your coat has some meaning? Something traditional or indigenous, perhaps?”

   Aethone smirked slightly, didn’t Khaldor really recognize the work of his neighboring clan?

“Not sure, you’ll have to ask the Depthstriders as they painted me.”

“Ah… I see…”

   With clear embarrassment, Khaldor excused himself and rushed off to find the helpers for the work ahead, while the three topsiders and Cailu had free reign to explore possibly the biggest and most magical library in the known world.