Day-to-Day: Crossroads Island

The thing we must understand first about The Library Inn is that it is a castle. It is a castle in both its construction and also its operation. If it helps, one might compare it to a university, which is a larger institution composed of smaller colleges or schools. In this formal structure, everything inside the outer wall is considered "the castle" or, more formally, "the castle grounds." Therefore, the most common reference to "the castle" is a general, broad-sweeping reference to everything inside the walls as a homogenous entity.

In general, it is only those closest to, but outside of, the castle that refer to it as "the castle." Those in the town outside the wall, and those to either side of Division River in the towns that grew up as massive suburbs to the capital in the Days of Unity. Those further away, and especially those who have never been to Crossroads Island, tend to simply refer to the entirety of the island as the library or the inn. These colloquial terms tell much about the person who uses them and how they see Library Inn and Crossroads Island. Those who see it as a place of learning call it the library. Those who see it as a place of commerce and trade call it the inn.

Within the walls, the castle grounds are divided into loose groupings based on function. These are the inn, the library, the university, the castle town, the market field, the residences, Astronomy Tower, and the catacombs. Each of these has a unique flavor, like boroughs in a large metropolitan area. Each fills a critical function to the success of the castle as a whole. Likewise, each is fiercely independent in its own ways of expressing shared community culture.

The Inn

After The Division, when the royal court split into East and West and set out to establish new capitals in the new nation-states, those that stayed behind were left in care of themselves. It was agreed that those who chose neither East nor West would remain on Crossroads Island. This made it an island of its own regard, and an independent nation-state which it remains to this day. While this independence serves a critical role in modern times, in the beginning it put the remaining population -- including all the living children of Queen Ellia and King Darian -- in a precarious position.

To begin with, they would be responsible for their own finances. That is, they would recieve no backing from either new government. Instead, the residents of Crossroads Island would have to find a way to sustain themselves within the larger economic structure around themselves. This was made easier by the tolls. For generations untold, ever since the construction of Library Palace, the library had been collecting tolls from those who sought to cross the mighty Division River in the form of copying any and all "forms of public information and communication" that come across as well as (for those who cannot offer new books, manuscripts, papers, news, patterns, designs, etc.) just money and goods. In addition, the traditional markets, festivals, and fairs that were held routinely on Crossroads Island provided a generous tax income.

It was building off of these already strong revenue sources that Shiv Moonsong, the oldest child of Ellia and Darien, decided to renovate and reopen Library Palace as a public house and inn. This was, of course, in addition to its function and purpose as a public library.

If you have ever dreamed of living in a library, free to wander the stacks and take whichever book you wanted to your favorite secret reading spot, then please dear reader, know that you are not alone. And it was with the thought of catering to those people, people like Shiv herself, that drove her passion for the project.

The Library

So where does the inn end and the library begin? The distinction is fuzzy and ome that is argued over more often than Shiv would prefer. In general, anything that deals with Library Inn's collection of books, manuscripts, scrolls, documents, and other media is considered the purvue of the library. Anything dealing with people, rooms, spaces, ammenities, scheduling, or money tends to be the purvue of the inn.

Yes. I know that didn't really clear up much at all. Because anyone using Crossroad Island's bridges for travel must pay the toll, and that toll is often paid with books, manuscripts, and even bad poems... Well, anyone with two braincells to rub together can see how broad is the overlap between those two areas. Hence, the consistent arguing and lack of efficiency that sometimes make Shiv want to pull her hair out by the roots.

It is, however, this millenias-old tradition that has made it possible for Library Inn's collection of media to be unrivaled across Argentii.

Entering The Library Inn

The lobby of The Library Inn is an atrium filled with small fruiting trees in ornamental urns, decorative tabletop topiaries, and a ceiling of creeping vines perfuming the fresh air with their blooms and waving their leaves to circulate the air in a gentle, constant breeze.

A path runs from the main door, where you enter, to a carved wooden archway across the atrium. The stepping stones travel across a bridge that spans a gentle flow of water dancing musically over smooth stones in a soothing babble. Something in the sound of the stream lulls you into a stroll, so what looked like a short distance at first takes you several minutes to fully travel.

The path is cleverly laid out in several curves that artfully display other possible destinations, such as the check-in area for the Inn, and the Librarian's kiosk for the Library. It curves slightly this way, and makes you turn so as to view a lovely statue of an embracing Tige and Talla hidden in a secret alcove.

Another clever turn artfully displays a large, ornamental fruit tree, bearing four different types of cirtus -- limes, lemons, oranges, and grapefruit. Each fruit bears a slight shimmer, like the subtle gleam of a pearl, revealing it's natural enchantment.

You cross the bridge and arrive in a moss and stone grotto just outside the carved wooden arch that leads into the Inn's incomparable Moonsong Tavern, the most famous drinking establishment on all of Argentii.

It is also the only place to see Shiv perform.

The University

The Capitalla University of Arts and Literature predates the Division by thousands of years. It is Argentii's premiere location for extended education, especially in visual arts and media. It is heavily endowed by the United Guild of Scribes, Calligraphers, Illuminators, and Engravers, of which Shiv is the Elected Caretaker, and the guild maintains its headquarters on the University campus.