Kunifā Mūtān (Kunifā Mūtān)
The Kunifā Mūtān, better known as the Ninth Archive, is a part of the Gwāsa, the academy of the Chiyu nu Tami in the city of Eien. It is the branch of the library that contains secrets and hidden knowledge, and is rumored to include the records of a dozen worlds previously inhabited by various cultures of the Kitsunejin that predate the current iteration.
The librarians of the Kunifā Mūtān have long been affiliated with organizations seeking to protect and improve the world. They are members of the O le Feagaiga, and have alliances with the Order of the Lightkeepers and the god Väinädin. But it wasn't until a few hundred years ago, when the Hleemeentreezee appeared in the Rasrathnii Islands, that the Kunifā Mūtān felt the need to take a more active role in preserving this world from alien corruption.
The Succession of Worlds
The Chiyu nu Tami believe that this world is one among multitudes, all connected by the Dream. Worlds are born, live, and die in their time, and the thoughts and ideas of their inhabitants become the underlying foundations of the worlds yet to come. They believe that this process can be influenced, and by living "brightly" and encouraging others to do the same, the overall trend of worlds will eventually produce the "Tinkanna yona Haiyuruyachi", or The Brightest World. The Tinkanna yona Haiyuruyachi is believed to be a paradise, the best of all worlds, where all of the heroes and saints of all the worlds will find their ultimate iterations.
But there are other forces in the Dream besides the Chiyu nu Tami. The librarians of the Kunifā Mūtān have long observed the phenomenon of The Silence, a region within the Dream where whole universes are extinguished as if they had never been. There is also the looming threat of the Mennmannā yona Haiyuruyachi, or the Nightmare World - this is a counterpart to the Tinkanna yona Haiyuruyachi, and represents another direction the procession of worlds could take, one that ends in a realm dominated by fear, contempt, and hatred.
In the records of the Kunifā Mūtān can be found accounts of worlds under assault by forces attempting to drive the evolution of worlds in particular directions. The ultimate sources of these attacks appear to be vast entities from deep within the Dream, but they keep their distance from the worlds, instead sending agents to live inside them and work to shift the history and nature of their target. The Hleemeentreezee are described there as agents of a power known as Hleeheeha, or "The Long Cold Dark". Their appearance in the Rasrathnii Islands alarmed the librarians, as it meant that the world was under active attack from beyond.
A Call to Action
With agents of an alien power in the world, the librarians of the Kunifā Mūtān could not allow the world to fight without the knowledge they guarded. While previously the attempts to foster a brighter and better world had been personal and haphazard, that would no longer suffice in the face of a dangerous and organized foe that sought to undermine everything they held dear. Instead, the Kunifā Mūtān has become a force dedicated to defeating the corrupting influence of the Hleemeentreezee and their patron, and actively protecting the Great Ring from other alien threats.
The battle they wage is a slow one. Both the Kitsunejin and the Hleemeentreezee are ageless species (although neither is immortal), and they can spend decades or centuries quietly setting plans in motion before they come to fruition. The agents of the Ninth Archive spend much of their time gathering information and resources, and denying the same to their opponents. When they do come into violent contact, both sides will employ magical abilities potent enough to scour islands clean of life. Both sides need the power of living minds to achieve their goals, so these events are rare. Instead, the Kunifā Mūtān seeks to block and stymie the Hleemeentreezee, keeping them from carrying out their plans. Recently, the Kunifā Mūtān has suffered a setback as a Hleemeentreezee has embedded itself as an advisor to Nabijač, the Kar of Vlast, and looks to be guiding her on a course towards war and devastation. The librarians have not yet been able to remove this baleful influence, but it is imperative that they continue to try.
Structure
The Kunifā Mūtān is led by a group of senior librarians, who make decisions collectively. Each of these librarians is among the oldest of the Kitsunejin, and it is rumored that only those with at least three tails can even be considered to join the committee. They give directives and missions to individual departments within the Kunifā Mūtān, who carry out whatever plans the committee devises.
Public Agenda
Publicly, the Kunifā Mūtān is an organization dedicated to acquiring and preserving knowledge. They have ties to the other libraries in the world, and also with organizations that deal in secrets, such as the Lorekeepers of Foxbridge or the Empty Office of the Kendari Couriers. Only those people connected to organizations like the O le Feagaiga have any idea about their quieter mission to protect the world.
Assets
The Kunifā Mūtān has records of secrets that span the entire history of the Kitsunejin, across all the worlds they have lived on. This includes magics and technologies that are not found in the current world, that they will deploy to counter their enemies. Use of these otherworldly assets is dangerous; since each one is fundamentally connected to other realities, they can invite Invasive Narratives when they are utilized.
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