Harapwati Teshut

The Great Library

Saleh'Alire » Religious Libraries ⭲ Tolara ⭲ Talaina'Vao ⭲ Baruti / Sotep-Shiran

With this final stone laid to rest, it is our greatest wish that this building facilitate peace, unity, and understanding between all those who enter these halls.

— 18 Sarnathi 5893

Originally proposed in 5876 by the newly formed Priest’s Guild, who sought to set up several such caches in all major cities across Tolara, the newly established city of Baruti in Tolara's Chisisi Desert was the only one who had accepted the program by late 5879. The buildings would later be called the Harapwati Teshut; over time what started as a single great library developed into a two pronged library system, with one branch located in the city of Baruti, and a second opened in Sotep-Shiran after its founding in 5906.

Construction & Legacy

As a dual branch library, construction of the Harapwati Teshut took place over the course of nearly half a century; the first branch was constructed in Baruti between 5879 and 5891- while the branch in Sotep-Shiran was constructed later between 5907 and 5921.

Baruti

Construction Start
5879
Partial Destruction
5883
Construction End
5891

First Opening
5893
Complete Destruction
5896
Re-Opening
5904

Plans for the first branch of Harapwati Teshut were approved in late 5879 after city organizers in Baruti were approached by Mai-Aman Padmari and Phaetia Vao'haira- representatives of the Priest's Guild that was formed in Tolara after the events that led to the Great Migration. Contruction began on the building by Dariven the same year.
Unfortunately construction was set back numerous times by repeated raids by the region's native Khenra. One such raid resulted in the razing of over half the city in 5883- including the partial destruction of the Harapwati Teshut. After several small additional setbacks, it was finally completed in 5891; Yisaed e'Caelenn and Arinel Nasazi, the two Humans heading the project, as well as Phaetia Vao'haira, were present to bless and christen the building when it opened two years later in 5893.

Founders

• Yisaed e'Caelenn
• Arinel Nasazi

• Phaetia Vao'haira

Later political instability and rising tension between the Ileri and the newly forming Enethian subcultural group resulted in the Priest's Guild relinquishing control of the building in 5895, turning it over to the Ilerian People's Government. By 5896 tensions between the two groups came to a head, resulting in the Red Schism; the riots initially began over the Enethian occupation of the Harapwati Teshut, during which half of the building and several thousands of Ilerian scrolls were destroyed.
The Ileri offered the Enethi assylum if they relinquished control of the Harapwati Teshut and left the city. The Enethi complied- but not before setting fire to the rest of the building. It’s suspected that the Harapwati Teshut was empty at this point, however- with the Enethi believed to have taken the remaining scrolls with them when leaving Baruti. Still, the cultural impact of the loss of those texts was undeniable.
Unable to salvage the building, the Harapwati Teshut was razed by the Ileri and rebuilt in another, more fortified part of the city- opening once more in 5904 after rushed construction. When Sotep-Shiran was founded just two years later in 5906, the decision to build a second branch in the city, in an effort to safeguard against such extreeme losses in the future, was unanimous.

Current Grand Archivists

• Rohiel Ben-Ashai

• Mitra Dvir

Additional Staff

• 03 Senior Archivists
• 62 Lesser Archivists
• 04 Administrators

• 08 Research Assistants
• 02 Stewards
• 05 Groundskeepers

The Baruti branch of the Harapwati Teshut (along with the Se-Hesmiya) was originally part of the Abara-Netamesphut as a grand compound dedicated to the ilerian Goddess Netamesphut. After its reconstruction, however, it was moved to the New Barti Sept as a separate and more easily defensible building.
The interior is comprised a covered walk leading to an Exedra with a benches where people may converse. Past that is a grand Portico that leads visitors into a great hall where they may converse with staff and access the rest of the library; a Triclinium is located on the second story, off limits to guests, where learned members of the library take their daily meals in common.

Sotep-Shiran

Construction Start
5907

Construction End
5921

Christening / Opening
5921

Founders

• Mai-Aman Padmari
• Rashida Busar

• Phaetia Vao'haira

Current Grand Archivists

• Adonica Hale

• Dilara Iben-Barak

Additional Staff

• 03 Senior Archivists
• 62 Lesser Archivists
• 04 Administrators

• 08 Research Assistants
• 02 Stewards
• 05 Groundskeepers

The history of the buildings, however, has been frought with strife since their inception; Khenra raids, political instability, cultural tensions, and more, have led to both partial and complete destruction of the branches several times over the course of their history, with Baruti taking the brunt of such a history.

Type
Great Library
Function
Religious / Cultural Learning

Location
Chisisi Desert, Talaina'Vao, Tolara

Current Owners
Ilerian Peoples' Government
Priest's Founders

• Mai-Aman Padmari
• Phaetia Vao'haira

Purpose

Mosque by Fahrul Azmi

The system that birthed the Harapwati Teshut was initially conceived of by Tolara's Priest's Guild- formed after religious persecution of Humans in Eris'ka led to the Great Migration; hoping to prevent similar events in the future, the purpose of the Priest's Guild's original library system has always been to help foster religious and spiritually based arts and sciences; record and preserve the religious history and practices of the world; and foster spiritual understanding and tolerence between differing religious communities who may otherwise be at conflict with one another.
Since control of the Harapwati Teshut in particular was relinquished to the Ileri, the Library has maintained this purpose, along with a diverse collection of texts on various cultures and religions- accessible to anyone who wishes to enter. Its original purpose has expanded, however, to focus on recording and preserving (and preserve the intgrity of) both their religious and cultural beliefs and practices- not just the religious elements originally intended.
Since 6200 both branches of the Harapwati Teshut have opperated more stably thanks to the political stabilization of the region. To aid in its mission and prevent the further loss of texts to events like those that have already led to the Harapwati's destruction several times in Baruti... In 6393 the Grand Archivists and Ilerian Priests in control of the libraries once again voted unanimously to split functions between the two branches- with each branch specializing in a particular topic.

The main branch in Baruti predominantly deals in religious subjects- containing the largest cache of religious writing in the world by 6432. In line with its secondary purpose, this collection focuses on Ilerian mythology. However, it also houses materials on all world faiths and pantheons- as well as the history of material religion in general, and several of Saleh'Alire's religious conflicts... The secondary branch in Sotep-Shiran, however, has been given over to the arts, philosophy, history, and the sciences. By 6440 it maintains the largest cahce of these materials in Tolara- rivaled only by the collection of scientific texts held in the Narji'ialos Cache located in Noshunn.

Internal Structure

Considered the Lorekeepers of Ilerian culture, the Harapwati Teshut is one of the few Ilerian religious institutions staffed entirely by women. All such Lorekeepers are expected to be experts in their field of religious studies, and are obligated to teach at least one public class monthly at their home branch.
Unlike the Saya Unal, Lrekeepers are considered Priestesses of the Ilerian faith. However, they're also expected to remain unmarried and childless during their tenure, due to the belief that the Ilerian people should collectively act as both their spouse and children. Vows of obligation therefore resemble a marriage ceremony of sorts in which the Lorekeeper is married to the library, and to their people by extension; those who mary or conceive at any point they're affiliated with the library lose their position and are barred from holding any other religious positions for the rest of their life.
While the library is open to the public, though, the caches and their access is controlled entirely by the Ileri. And while foreigners are welcome to study unimpeded, Enethian access is still heavily restricted after the evens of the Red Schism. Books may not be removed from the library by anyone under any circumstances, however, under pain of death if caught- though visitors may request a copy of any book in the Harapwati Teshut's collection be made for them.