Mantis Anthology

Located in the Elektren captal, Stósála, the Mantis Anthology is oftentimes accidentally overlooked by tourists who don't realize it isn't a private residence. Built in an old home which was due to be torn down by the city, the house was purchased and restored by members of the church of Boltun into the fourth of seven buildings they call anthologies. As followers of the deity of writing, storytelling, and oration, the operators filled the building with built-in bookshelves, comfortable seating, and research nooks, all specifically designed to be in keeping with the building's original architectural style.

Purpose / Function

As with the rest of the anthologies, the Mantis's purpose is to make knowledge and stories as accessible as possible. All books they receive, either through donations or purchases, are processed by one of the anthology's workers. Books which they already possess may be kept if the new book is of another edition, in better condition than their current copy, or is in particularly high demand, otherwise it may be sent another of the anthologies where it may be of use, or donated to a local school. If the book is new to the anthology, it will be set aside for indexing, copying, and translating into Brailles and other languages, some of which will be kept, and others to sent to other anthologies.

Special Collections

The Mantis Anthology is known in particular for their extensive collections on entomology, including pinned specimens from the mantodea and coleoptera orders. It was for the mantodea collection, as well as the original color of the building, for which the Mantis was named.
The Mantis has also been the subject of controversy within Elektrenai in recent years. As the Mantis has documented the political rise of current Elektren Prime Minister Annemie Woudman and her Arcadian Ascendency movement, some have alleged that the Mantis shows clear bias in that their collections include far more pieces advocating against the Ascendency than neutral or favorable reporting, and that those pieces they do have that are in favor are more likely to be indexed as political propaganda. The Mantis has declined to publicly comment other than stating that incoming items to their collects are typically donations, and so are subject to the whims of the public.

Mantis Anthology Building by illumiinae with Midjourney

Associated location(s)
Amaranthine Anthology

Type

Archive