Forae Logos
The Forae Logos stands in the center of the Wise Quarter as a monument to the acquisition of knowledge. This massive structure bears a flat roof and sharp angles common in Azlanti architecture. The building’s front side is supported by a dozen 50-foot-tall telamon columns that depict the 12 guises of Aroden. Thirty-three steps lead to the front entrance, which opens to depictions of the Artist and Scholar guises that flank it. During Tar-Baphon’s most recent siege of Absalom, several of the guise columns came to life and defended the library, including the Warrior, who smashed undead and demon-stitched abominations while the library staff sheltered scores of frightened citizens.
For almost as long as Absalom has stood, the Forae Logos has been at its heart collecting and sharing knowledge and enlightenment to its people. Aroden himself ensured that maintenance of the Library of Kortos, as it is sometimes called, was written into the Founding Laws of Absalom. This makes the Forae Logos, and all of the art and knowledge within, property of Absalom itself. This institution is so important to the city that the Founding Laws prohibit even a single page from being removed without the unanimous consent of the Grand Council’s high seats. To collect new books, the original Grand Council also passed the Scholar’s Law, which requires every book brought into the city to be considered for inclusion in the Forae Logos’s vast collection. Scriveners’ Guild examiners stationed at the city gates and on Pilot Island inspect books brought into the city, comparing them against a master list of titles already in the archive. Those tomes not on the list (or those suspected to be intentionally mislabeled or glamered as part of a smuggling effort) are confiscated, catalogued, and copied. Such books are always available to be reclaimed—always in exactly the same condition—a week after their confiscation, at the public desk of the Forae Logos. Personal spellbooks, diaries, and financial ledgers are exempted from the Scholar’s Law, but nearly everything else might fall under its broad purview, depending upon the vicissitudes (or willingness to take a bribe) of the deciding guild inspector. Those who refuse to turn over a desired book incur a steep tax of one silver piece per page, often called “paying silver letters.”
The Scriveners’ Guild is commissioned with maintaining the Forae Logos in exchange for free use of the building. They manage and protect the Grand Library with help from the Learned Guard, which was originally commissioned as a military unit to guard the Forae Logos. The Learned Guard’s duties have since extended to the entire Wise Quarter, though the Grand Library remains their top priority. They manage their affairs from a group of buildings just outside the library referred to as the Protectorate Anthology, which connect to each other and the library itself via a series of tunnels. Access to these passages is restricted to senior members of the Learned Guard and Scriveners’ Guild.
The library is a particularly useful resource for adventurers researching odd bits of knowledge or hidden lore that might solve an otherwise impossible puzzle, a boon that has saved Absalom from destruction multiple times. Others find value in the large collection of Azlanti writings and artifacts, and political historians enjoy comparing versions of Chelaxian history to find inaccuracies, though this often leads to debates on to the validity of various editions. Scholars, priests, and magic users also use this space as neutral territory for settling debates.
For almost as long as Absalom has stood, the Forae Logos has been at its heart collecting and sharing knowledge and enlightenment to its people. Aroden himself ensured that maintenance of the Library of Kortos, as it is sometimes called, was written into the Founding Laws of Absalom. This makes the Forae Logos, and all of the art and knowledge within, property of Absalom itself. This institution is so important to the city that the Founding Laws prohibit even a single page from being removed without the unanimous consent of the Grand Council’s high seats. To collect new books, the original Grand Council also passed the Scholar’s Law, which requires every book brought into the city to be considered for inclusion in the Forae Logos’s vast collection. Scriveners’ Guild examiners stationed at the city gates and on Pilot Island inspect books brought into the city, comparing them against a master list of titles already in the archive. Those tomes not on the list (or those suspected to be intentionally mislabeled or glamered as part of a smuggling effort) are confiscated, catalogued, and copied. Such books are always available to be reclaimed—always in exactly the same condition—a week after their confiscation, at the public desk of the Forae Logos. Personal spellbooks, diaries, and financial ledgers are exempted from the Scholar’s Law, but nearly everything else might fall under its broad purview, depending upon the vicissitudes (or willingness to take a bribe) of the deciding guild inspector. Those who refuse to turn over a desired book incur a steep tax of one silver piece per page, often called “paying silver letters.”
The Scriveners’ Guild is commissioned with maintaining the Forae Logos in exchange for free use of the building. They manage and protect the Grand Library with help from the Learned Guard, which was originally commissioned as a military unit to guard the Forae Logos. The Learned Guard’s duties have since extended to the entire Wise Quarter, though the Grand Library remains their top priority. They manage their affairs from a group of buildings just outside the library referred to as the Protectorate Anthology, which connect to each other and the library itself via a series of tunnels. Access to these passages is restricted to senior members of the Learned Guard and Scriveners’ Guild.
The library is a particularly useful resource for adventurers researching odd bits of knowledge or hidden lore that might solve an otherwise impossible puzzle, a boon that has saved Absalom from destruction multiple times. Others find value in the large collection of Azlanti writings and artifacts, and political historians enjoy comparing versions of Chelaxian history to find inaccuracies, though this often leads to debates on to the validity of various editions. Scholars, priests, and magic users also use this space as neutral territory for settling debates.
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