Daydream Athenaeum
The only public library developed in the city at the bequest of the adventurers and new middle-class, it was designed to hold just as much knowledge as the Grand Royal Library within Castle Visilar. Three stories tall and encompassing an entire city block, the inside of the building has not been touched since the city itself befell disaster. Made of the same unknown concrete material as the rest of the newer portions of the city, it has not been damaged and seems to show no sign of wear from time itself.
Purpose / Function
Location by which the entire city of Visilargyian had access to copies of all the knowledge within the city without have to make a request to visit the Grand Royal Library. It is within the walls of this building that a large portion of the advancement of knowledge and research was done.
Design
Three levels that are included in the design are roughly 20' in height. Two staircases lead all the way up to the third floor and are made of gleaming alabaster. Floor I of the building included all the mundane information of the city: fables, works of fiction, geographical/topographical tomes, and books on the local and exotic flora & fauna. Floor II of the building contains the bulk of the scientific and alchemical knowledge within the city in originals/copies of the various tomes and books on the subjects; this floor also has all the religious and historical text/documents that they had knowledge on. Floor III was the location in which the arcane and forbidden knowledge were contained; two-thirds of the level is restricted from the general public unless granted access by the various groups/organizations that existed in Visilargyian that were able to grant access.
Sensory & Appearance
Within the building, natural sunlight is amplified by the windows during the day and at night the same windows allow for the outside to be seen while preventing the interior lighting from bleeding out. The building itself is designed in a way that all sound is dampened and you must be within 5 feet of the person in order to be heard by them; yelling will be heard within 10 feet.
Contents & Furnishings
- The main floor consisted of roughly one hundred separate research stations and desk
- Each floor contained several couches and other seating arrangements so that people would be able to relax in the building while reading
- Frescoes cover the walls of the interior and depict the history of Visilargyian city
Valuables
Unknown quantity of tomes,scrolls, and books that cover nearly every subject known to existence as the city was a prime place of learning & research.
Special Properties
The shelves are enchanted to prevent the decay and destruction of the books on the shelves. Furthermore, various enchantments exist in the building to make sure it is not damaged easily and that what is contained inside has extra protection from being destroyed intently.
Architecture
Though made of the unknown concrete, the outside of the building was decorated with filigrees of gold, silver, copper, and Mithral. This was was also repeated on the inside of the building as well with the interior having marble columns and exotic redwood flooring on all the three levels. The stairways are beautiful spirals that are lined with brass in the center of each step itself.
History
Built near the beginning of Helios 300 (by the Post Godfall Calendar of the Kratocracy Empire), it was quickly filled with copies of all the books it was allowed to record from the Grand Royal Library. As each floor was built, they were enchanted with the books being placed within as well. Even while under construction, the populace was able to enter the building to they could enjoy the wealth of knowledge within and not be limited by the Castle's library access. Taking several years to be filled up completely, all the possible copies were finally included about 25 years later.
Tourism
The building was visited by all the citizenry of Visilargyian city due to the massive amount of knowledge and information that was contained within its walls. No one was prevented from coming into the building to learn and indulge perusing the books. It as also occasionally visited by Giants from the Giant Kingdoms from the North in the hopes of furthering their understanding what changes had occurred in the world outside of their kingdoms after the GodFall.
RUINED STRUCTURE
500
500
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