S1E7 - The Ivory Library

“The Ivory Library…”
Cordelia walked between the rows of tomes. Each binding varied from canvas dyed burgundy with simple silver corners to dark tobacco leather a sunburst of oiled colors leading to bronze and pewter rounded caps showing a lion and a bear on the front.
She lost herself in the blue cover drifting on a memory not too long ago when they entered the great port city on Bemil in the nation of Bells. A giant statue greeted them from smoothed granite, depicting a Knight standing straight a sword in his hands pointing downward. He was to the left of the ship’s bow. She smiled “ Port. It was the port side” She pictured zorins smile in approval of her memory of that particular lesson.

“The knight watches over Bemil.” Zorin read the large plaque at the statues feet. “Benedict, your knight lord watches the platinum city. That has to be good right?”
“Absolutely” Benedict ignoring the sarcasm bowed his head in reverence to the holy statue. “And you my friend.” zorin laughed as he shook his head.
“This.” Cordelia smiled as she saw the book was a recounting of the time during the Bloodwood and veridian wars 30 years ago. She was given access to the rows of tomes soon after arriving in the Ivory Library 120 miles to the north west of bemil. They had come on foot traveling just over a refreshing uneventful week on the well travelled road.

She ran her hand down the deep tones of the books ornate spine remembering the tall bald man in the white robes. “Welcome Cordelia Shepherd of the flames.” He stood slightly smiling in the onyx and quartz hall beyond the dark oaken doors between the milky white towers outside. Tell us of what do you seek?”
“Lord Pallus.” His eyes glinted as he nodded. “All in the past is written. Though the one known as Pallus wrote his tale over many years, not many have dared to help record it..”
The librarians sought one thing. Knowledge. And the knowledge collected was traded for other knowledge. She nodded “ I can speak of of his attack on Ooellanahkhan”. They began to whisper. One woman with fresh spun gold for hair pulled back her hood revealing one pale sightless eye paired with a dark brown one next to it. It flared defiantly. “No one survived that how is it…. “
“I did.” They burst into discussion amongst themselves. The tall man though stood silent, almost smiling and nodding in acknowledgment.
Zorin looked at her questioningly. If they needed information and that was the only price why not let him discuss his whole life? “Isn’t that worth so much more?” He mumbled to himself, but she almost hearing the plea looked determined staring him in the eye. Shaking her head slightly indicating silence.
“Very well. You do know the ritual known as the telling is often fatal?”
She nodded. She felt Zorin tense up. The rest of her friends would never let her get this far. Zorin knowing even could jeopardize things. Though she had left the risk out they had to trust her. She would look for What they needed, and hopefully get it back to them before she entered the test.
The tall man bowed. “Enter Cordelia. You have been accepted as a librarian. Tomorrow your true test begins. Use this time wisely. Research what you need to face reliving your tale for it to be recorded.”
He smiled and waved her by into the next room. She began walking towards the double doors opening before her showing rows and rows of books winding the central tower fading in the tall expanse until they were only a blur. Sunlight slipped in at regular intervals casting into large prisms that focused the light into the central crystals setting them afire with a white light, bathing the entire room. “Wait? But what do I do?” She turned to see the guards holding Zorin back a thin iridescent force field erected between them blocking him from entering. She smiled “go back to the others. Tell them I will be testing tomorrow to join this order as a librarian. For now I guess I will need to study.”
He nodded and left the room. She watched him go before returning to the task at hand.

She closed the book. It spoke of only one passage of note, “3 warriors Pallus, Ash Delarosa and Maldros the Dark had been mercenaries for hire during this time. Great. It tells me he wasn’t always the pompous justice we knew him as. But I don’t know these other two. What of the dark Cleric? “ Slightly discouraged at the fact it was the only verse in the pile of recent tomes she could find anything on him.
She sighed and moved the unlit brass candlestick to the right of the table to make room for a large book with the 6 pointed star familiar to herself and the old country. If all else recent didn’t help maybe the recounting of the worlds dawn would. At least to liven up her bored brain a bit.
The tome was dusty but the leather creaked as it opened for her curious hands. Trembling. She took a deep breath and began…
When the world was new, The elements themselves comprised of four: Earth Air Fire and Water.
These 4 built the ground to stand on and the sky above. Overtime elements worked together and created mixed para-elements between them. Magma, lightning, mud and steam.
They were happy but they needed help with this great new world. From creation itself they found a clay that they were able to work with. They formed gods to help them control their new world and bring life to it. These were the lion, the bear, the stone, the thorn, and the skull.
Each of these new deities was to harness control of nature’s personality. The lion was proud, just and good. The bear was good but yet follows no rules finding what is needed for the good of all. The stone was solid in it’s duty regardless of good or evil intention. The thorn aims to try and find its own power no matter who gets in the way. And finally the skull represents the chaotic free will of those dark entities required for balance.
For many moons they worked to build their world together. The 8 elements collected what was left of the clay of creation and made both the plants and animals. Soon they brought their children in to help, bringing their own special balance of gifts to the individual creations.
The stone helped these masters build their forms. Like the Anvil at a forge. The Bear helped the fire, heat and harden the clay, while the Thorn gave it desire. The Lion gave it courage while the Skull made sure it paid its toll with mortality.
Soon the Fey and many other creatures were born to help populate the land.
The Elements pondered about the last bit of clay they held, and how best to build creatures to help keep the balance and protect the land they all built together. They were opposed again. Soon younger para-elements began bickering with each other. Lightning struck out at the Mud in anger, the hot steam tried to cool the magma all to no avail. The elements retreated to think.
The first borns, as that is what we call the deities who were born to the elements first and above all else, thought as well. The bear and the lion thought they could make beings too. After all they had watched the elements closely and were sure they could repeat those same holy actions with the intention to help. The thorn and the skull said they too would help make these creatures, as they were also part of the balance.
The Stone said it would not be any part of it. This changed everything. The great forge was crucial to what they knew of the process.
So the remaining first borns had to improvise without the anvil as they had seen before. They fought over what elements to include, and what form should be that they would take. they wanted to honor their makers so the form took the shape of wings represent the air, fire within the belly itself, while water and earth combined together to make a fluid form that can fly. It looked fierce and frightening as much as graceful and thus came the first dragons.
Their forms were like great opalescent reptiles with shimmering metallic and rainbow hues glinting off their scales. A rainbow of colors not owning one over another.
The master elements were furious. They looked at the clay and there was only enough for one more creature. They turned to the faithful stone and offered it to them. They looked over the gift and judged. They too would make a dragon but not like their siblings.
They would make a stone, not a serpent. They would use water for a blanket not the air as a tool to fly. They had no need for wings, they handed the extra clay back and made a Dragon Turtle.
The elements nodded in approval.
The elements went on to use the clay to make “the people” as they came to be called. The people when placed in their regions adapted and took on forms to assist in the lands they were sworn to protect and serve. The first born as before, placed their gifts into each one of them.
Those in the mountains seeking treasures in the earth became the Dwarves.
Those in the swamps slowly became the Orcs immune to the harsh poisons
Those in the plains became humans
Those in the forest became the elves dancing with the fey
Those in the desert became the halflings, hiding in the smallest of shade
Those in the oceans became the merfolk.
And those in the tundra became The Lost Ones
The elements and the first born looked and were happy at what they created.

Cordelia closed the book in thought. Taking in a deep breath she pulled out the next tome. This one was a brown leather with a gold leaf on the edges.
It creaked and fell to the first page.
The Great Sunder as told by Aechelus VII Chief Historian of the Ivory Library
The personalities of the deities had grown much over time and became the entities we, the civilized West have come to know as such. The Knight using the might of righteous war to drive peace while the Prince applied the selfish war for his own aims. The Maiden in her flighty youthful imperfections was still good at heart, while the Hag was the first, therefore the foremost power of the elements themselves. The Judge used the gavel and the scales to ensure fair justice regardless of right or wrong while the ferryman waits for us all on his river of death.
We were their children, as were the dragons.
While all 6 of the holy pantheon stood a question came up. Some say it was the Ferryman whispering something to the Maiden that she turned away revulsed while he snickered at her reaction into his dark musty sleeve.
Whatever it was it has been lost to time. What is more important is the outcome.
The Gods shouted at each other and began splitting away from each other the knight and maiden on one side and the Prince and Ferryman on the other of their great hall. The judge watched on looking for balance. The Hag worried about her children stepped back as well.
The gods called to their children the dragons to take their side to assist in the judgement. But to their surprise the dragons split perfectly even, to each of their parents.
The children of The knight were judged half to be strong bastions of valor and good. The other half were found guilty of enslaving the people of the desert (and possibly some halflings we suppose.) As the gavel struck the dragons split into Gold and Blue. Blue as a mockery to the color’s indication of honor.
The Children of the Maiden were judged as well. The evil ones had enslaved a dark race of elves corrupting them both races becoming in love with the art of poisoning. She drew tears as she banished both of them underground. Their scales becoming green to remind them of the forest they now left. She gave the good dragons a hue of brightest silver like the moon.
The Ferryman’s children had corrupted the swamps with acid and poison much to his delight. But there were the other half that had tried to not corrupt the land and instead tended it to grow and over grow protecting itself. The Ferryman made them bright copper knowing when it tarnished in death it would show a sickly green. His loyal dragons becoming jet black.
Finally the Prince stepped forward positive his dragons were all on his side. When the gavel struck he found they had already been waging a war in the northlands and some dragons had been experimenting on the Lost People. The people had split into smaller dragons in some cases, snow white in color but smaller than all the others. And for other had grown in size immensely becoming ogres and giants. Proud of their ingenuity he laughed joyously until he saw that exactly half were in fact not guilty, choosing to stay in their homes in the sand. Furious he made the corruptors Red to show his favor. The others turned into brass as he wanted them to be weaker than the steel of war.

Cordelia sat back and thought with a smile. There was the answer. They needed the good dragons to join them in the fight against the hordes of Pallus. Her smile faded as she remembered noone had seen one in hundreds of years. She stood up determination spreading across her young face. “we will find you. We will I know it.”

Cast Links:

David S. Dear

Cheyenne Bramwell