The Library of Somae (So-may)

This archive is the most expansive collection of knowledge in the known world. Not only an architectural masterpiece, but thanks to the work of the Crimson Quill, the repository of the most diverse and thorough collection of books anywhere.

Historical Overview

Founding

The early history of House Thewisy, one of the Nine Founders of Anhara, is a story of attempts to survive. Nestled between the burgeoning power of House Oeis, which would grow into Anhara's most expansive house, and the vast, fortified Eastmarches of House Caersea, the Thewisy Trifling Fields are in a delicate position. That early history focused on the growth of soft power: efficient administration, cultural institutions, and an invaluable collection of scholars.
The tales of the Age of Legend tell that Meda, upon seeing Galindaan The Wise labor alone in his meager lands, gifted him a divine quill from the wing of her bird. With this, he and his descendants were allowed to gaze far and wide. Slicing his palm with it, staining it crimson, he swore to use it to impartially record history and pass on knowledge. With his death, his son Galasthion I Far-Seer spent his seventeen-year reign fulfilling that oath.
In 90 of the Age of Rule, Galasthion I founded the Library of Somae with that collection, in a wing of the ancient Thewisy hillfort on Azuretop.

Early Expansion

Academy Somae

While the Academy Somae is best discussed in more detail elsewhere, the founding of this center of higher education in 117AR was a boon to the Library and House Thewisy in general. The Academy has since grown into an entity independent of the Library, but it originally started as an extension of it. Until 130AR, the librarians worked as instructors at the Academy, mostly focusing on giving lectures to noble heirs and spares.
This helped solve House Thewisy's early border crisis by locating many noble heirs at their court. They were educated to the benefit of their houses, but conveniently nearby in the event of conflict. However, it overtaxed the few trained as scribes at the time and necessitated the splitting of the still nascent Academy from the Library.

The Crimson Quill

In 130AR, Merrel I Thewisy split the Academy and Library, creating the Crimson Quill. This order of scholars was to focus entirely on enhancing and maintaining the collection of the library, as well as exploring the world to record history and discover lost tomes. Teaching would be left to the staff of the Academy, which would undergo its own restructing.
While the administrative benefits of the Crimson Quills' founding were clear, Merrel comes with a story fitting for the first lord to reign outside of the Age of Legend. His tale is one of horror at his forefathers' use of the Quill, and his swearing off of its powers. To continue to uphold the oath of his house required an order of scribes to do the work for him.

An Institution Without Identity

After the founding of the Crimson Quill, the order and in turn the Library stayed true to their origins as tutors to the nobility and staff of the Thewisy private archives. The collection of histories was expanding, with Quills traveling across Anhara. However, most of these books served to instruct young nobles. Unlike the Library of the modern day, rigorous academic standards did not yet exist. Most books served as guides: stories of the founders, the early canon of the Romance of Nobility and the nascent Anharan Chivalry, and myths and legends of the gods.
The Library would gain an isolationist reputation in the early Age of Rule, a tower that looked down on the people, recording their goings-on, but not for their benefit. In 317, Our House, or the Noble Family, better known as Tenets of Familial Ways, would be written. Describing a debate between luminaries of the burgeoning Thewisy court, it candidly discusses what it means to be a noble house at the time. This would eventually give rise to the Familial Movement, a powerful ideological faction that would dominate court thinking in much of the Vinelands and Eastmarches. This belief held that the lord was the Patriarch of a family, including all who pledged to him, and ought to raise them best he can.

"The Patriarch sits not just at the head of the noble family, but as a father to all his people. In return for his protection and guiding hand, his children owe him assistance until his dying day, and their utmost love and loyalty." - Tenets of Familial Ways

While it took some time to develop, the Familial Movement played a part in the reforms of Eleric I during the 400s. Until then, the Library filled another important role, as the Chancery of the growing Thewisy administrative state. The Quills and Library granted House Thewisy, coupled with their relatively compact territory, a leg up on everyday governance. This allowed the house to embark on the reforms of the 400s, filling the Library with scroll upon scroll of orders, writs, and correspondence. What was helpful for the Thewisys was not for the Quills, and the institution would struggle to find its own identity until the 430s.

Eleric's Reforms

The 430s saw House Thewisy secure in their few holdings. Their past few centuries had yielded the power they sought: Quills offered advice at courts across Anhara; noble sons studied at the Academy; and their philosophies on rule spread throughout the Eastmarches, Vinelands, and into the cracks in the Oeis domains. The Age of Usurpers left them in a prime position, for they had no web of vassals to rise in revolt. Instead, starting with Eleric I, the Thewisys doubled down on their unique advantage.

"The Rostenvysori shall assemble now each fourth day after Müslaset to hear petitions from each caelist, adjust taxes due, and issue writs in counsel." - Proclamation of Eleric I, 439AR

The Quills, Library, and Academy had given the house an administrative capacity exceeding all but the now-tumbling Oeis. The Thewisys had more land directly under their control, rather than that of vassals, than most houses, as compared to their total holdings. This necessitated a growing Chancelry, until now staffed by Quills. Eleric found that the administrative state had outgrown what the Quills alone could offer, for it took away from their intended purpose. He thus embarked on a reorganization of the Thewisy territories and the Crimson Quills.

Gregory, the First Librarian

The Quills were severed from the lord's household save but a small group, led by the Lord's Quill. The Quills themselves had become riddled with spare sons of houses both minor and major. Eleric appointed Gregory of the Tree, a lowborn Quill to Lord of House Lemon. Named for the lemon groves around the Library under which he sat; Gregory was fundamentally of the order. He and Eleric would remake the group into one entered only by the dedicated.

"There existed in those days a grove of lemon trees, brought south from the Vinelands, atop the hill, growing in the ruins of the old castle." - Narratives of Somae

Sir Gregory would be later recognized as the first true librarian. He took the Thewisy administrative state from one renowned for its ability to produce bulk correspondence and writs, to one able to work efficiently as well - just in time for Eleric's creation of the first Lord's Council. Laws requiring the Library to never suffer a decrease in volumes were rescinded, and many duplicate records were destroyed. A new library was created, as the Thewisys surrendered their former castle to the Quills, expanding their holdings on Azuretop. Items were more thoroughly categorized and organized, and the new library featured cooled, subterranean vaults, and shelves placed to allow air flow - an early method of preservation.
The year 439AR marked when Somae truly got its Library - not just an archive.

Age of Men

Edmyr's Reconstruction

The Library blossomed for the remainder of the Age of Rule. A brief blip occurred during the Threshing, as the Azuretop was occupied by refugees - only underscoring the need for a larger structure. By the Golden Age of Somae in 154AM, the Library was known across the world, with Quills not only embedded at most courts, but clambering over mountains and dunes, and delving into ancient crypts and buried ruins. Edmyr III, the first of the builder lords, began his work by transforming the Library into the jewel of Somae.
A boom in trade and victory in the First Climbing War meant Somae was becoming the cultural and mercantile capital of at least eastern Anhara. House Thewisy needed a palace to match their new stature. Over the preceding centuries, the library grew from a wing, to an annex, to eventually dominate the castle. The Academy began moving downhill - now the Library needed a fitting space.

"What were once narrow passages of leathers and vellum, granting the student a respite in darkness, has been cast open. The sweeping windows of the new Academy are a crown of light atop the city - a cathedral of learning." - History and Descriptions of the Improvement of Somae, By Order of the Lord

With the old castle torn down for the new Thewisy Palace Complex, the Library got a grand new building on the site of the original Thewisy hillfort. Shaped like an M conjoined at the base, the Library is laid out so that the sun comes through the entire building at all hours of the day.
The ceilings are vaulted, and many stories off the ground, with shelves of books filling the height. Spiral staircases are at the edges of the shelves, leading to walkways allowing perusers to pass three abreast. Desks for Crimson Quill archivists are found at every few shelves, allowing requests to be relayed along, as a lone reference librarian walking the entire library would take hours.

"The glare from the reinforced windows makes it difficult to read at some hours, but channels such light upon the inner courtyard so as to grow lemon trees in the garth of this cathedral of knowledge. Their lemonade is said to be quite invigorating." - Narratives of Somae

The architecture of the library is a testament to the city, especially the soaring windows, created of reinforced glass by the glassmakers of the Andiron. The entirety of the library owes much to the collective organism that is Somae, most notably the experts of the Sash.
The library also hosts the Crimson Quill, and all the facilities that entails. The center of the library belongs to them, the stem of the M. It contains a circular scriptorium, the oldest structure, where the library's vaults are. Around that are auditoriums for Quills to copy manuscripts in bulk as they are read aloud to them.

Administrative Expansion

The new Library came with new oversight to manage its vastly expanded collections, distinct from the broader Crimson Quill hierarchy. The Office of the Bibliographer was created, generally held by a member of House Lemon. They oversee the day-to-day administration and organization; the catalogues of books, topics, and summaries; as well as helping visitors and especially researchers.
The Bibliographer is joined by the Office of Inquiry. The Inquirers are in charge of searching vessels docking anywhere in Thewisy territory for books not yet in the collection and making rapid yet meticulous copies. They are also tasked with literary analysis - always searching for the most original copies or discerning scribal errors in old works.

"A vessel from the Twin Isles in the Litorics lodges protests today as their captain's small collection of books was seized. The Searcher will of course provide him with copies, keeping the originals, but the honor of an inclusion amongst the Archives seems lost on him. Or perhaps it's the delay." - Collegian Crier

The investigations of the Inquirers support the small Office of Linguistic Analysis. These Quills translate foreign works, often hosting lengthy debates to discern the best translation of words. They also debate foreign dignitaries and scholars, and liaison with foreign visitors in the Empyrean and Firmament Halls. Because of their frequent consultation with the most ancient scrolls, they are responsible for the Aumbry, the scroll repository at the center of the library - as well as the older and rarer works stored below.

Collection Overview

The Dawn of History

While not on public display, some works have referenced what many believe to be a collection of ancient texts. Most are likely tablets, of the kind occasionally found in the Vestral Downs, dating to a time before recorded history. The subterranean vaults known to exist below the library have led to much speculation as to the contents: the Churus Scrolls, magical texts and formulae, maps of the Southern Seas, histories before history, and much more.
The Era of Legends also saw the start of recorded judicial and administrative decisions, with a few writs, grants, oaths, and other major documents from that time surviving to the present day. Many of these are recorded on delicate scrolls, managed by specialized Quills, and kept in controlled conditions.

The Era of Grace

As House Thewisy transitioned away from legends of their founding and mandate to record history, the rulers of the Era of Grace were caught up in the prestige but not the spirit of their Library. Pelain I Thewisy ordered that the collections never suffer a decrease, and as their institutions developed, many official documents were copied in triplicate or by multiple officers of the lord's household.
This was the era when the Quills lost their way and were subordinated to the noble household. Much of their time was spent compiling the nascent great scrolls - long rolls of parchment used to record the expenses and incomes of the household in chronological columns. Many travelled with what was then an itinerant court, recording the administration of justice, issuing writs on the lord's behalf, the beginning what would become the key Anharran rhetorical practice of official letter writing.

The Era of Usurpers

The reforms of Eleric I saw the Crimson Quill truly create the profession of librarian. No longer were their ranks filled with minor, embezzling nobles, but professionals. Now required to give up their prior surnames (a practice loosely held to) and possessions, serving for life, the order began to be filled by more dedicated second sons and wealthier urban residents.
These new Quills had little regard for those documents and practices that had become valued more as traditional than practical. Their selective destruction of irrelevant or duplicate documents moved the Library from a mere dumping ground for papers to a truly curated archive. This also saw the birth of what would be the Inquirers, analysing manuscripts to find forgeries, earlier editions, and scribal errors.
By the reign of Gaerith II and the end of the Threshing War, the Library had its own dedicated, specialized staff, distinct from the other branches of the Quills, and a meticulously curated collection.

The Era of Upheval

The period after the Crossing Over saw two major trends for the Library, both leading to an influx of visitors. Anhara, now devoid of Vestria and many of the original major houses, was seeking a new identity and traditions. This led to many of the oral histories the Quills had recorded "cleaned up" and standardized. References to the old, Primordial gods of nature and ancient Anharan practices were dropped, and a new, modern Cycle of stories was produced.
In 34AM, the Book of the Courtesan was published in Somae. A fictionalized, semi-biographical accounting of a minor courtesan at the court of Galindaan IV Thewisy, it was the Tenets of Familial Ways of the Age of Men. It would eventually lead to a total restructuring of the curriculum of the Academy Somae, a liberalization of education in the city, and the solidification of House Thewisy as the cultural powerhouse of eastern Anhara.

The Era of Reprieve & the Present Day

As Somae became more recognizable to the modern eye with the construction of the current Library, the collection evolved as well. The expansion of the Academy in this era included the finishing of the Empyrean and Firmament Halls. The former contains the Star Chamber, with a great mechanical depiction of the cosmos, and the latter, temples to each of the gods.
With the addition of hands-on buildings like the Halls, as well as services like free scrivening for the public, the Library began to feature an extensive research collection. More people than ever before were literate and had access to the Library's books, and the growth of the Academy meant Quills were assisting readers just as much as transcribing works.

Architectural Overview

The Library is shaped like an M with a closed bottom, with two circular, domed structures: one in the center of the middle north-south hall, and one in the center of the bottom east-west hall, the latter being the main entrance.

Southern Wing

The southern wing opens from the main entrance hall, with the visitor's immediate view being of a tall room, with vaulted ceilings running to their left and right. Bookshelves stretch up multiple stories, with spiral staircases at their ends and walkways along the shelves. At the foot of each staircase is a catalogue, with a librarian's desk stationed every few shelves. Between each set of shelves are large, long tables for public use, leading away from high windows.

"Men in crimson robes emerged from behind a broad desk, carrying large tomes to waiting patrons, writing down dictated letters, or bringing the rare researcher back to a dark hall hidden behind their station." - Narratives of Somae

This setup is a common one throughout the library, but the southern wing is specifically designed around the general public. It mostly contains books with general topics, and no specific permission is required to access it. These are the least artistically designed volumes, all stacked vertically, spine out, with a simple numeral on the spine corresponding to the catalogue.

Entrance Hall

The entrance hall to the library mirrors the imagaries of so many noble manors. There are busts of all the administrators in alcoves between the wood carving and the painted dome section. Those carvings are the focal point - a depiction of Somae's founding. Stretching around the circumference of the room at eye level, beginning to the west of the door, it shows the founders of House Caersea and Thewisy - brothers in legend - driving out the giants, expelling the mages, and settling the Eastmarches. It is made of a series of wood panels of varying widths, intricately carved.
The hall is domed, with the interior of the dome painted with depictions of the topics held in different sections of the library, on the panel that generally points their direction. The southern fourth of the dome is painted with a stylized map of the city of Somae after the reigns of the three great builder lords.

Western Wing

The Western Wing connects to the Southern Wing and West Bend, and like the Eastern, is characterized by its towering, reinforced windows, illuminating almost the entire library as the sun sets. These windows overlook al-Hisar, a neighborhood of Tahati immigrants and architecture, providing an exotic view for readers here.
Inspired by the view, most of the books in the Western Wing are on locations, divided into the five continents and their geographical regions, as well as the seas. The tables in this section are of varying sizes, given the more specific, academic crowd. They are wooden, with carved maps of locations associated with the shelves nearby,.
The bottom rows of shelves are simple books, vertically stored with their spine out. Higher up are rarer, older books, which are chained to the shelves. Some are foreign, being made in the traditional styles of their regions. The fewer general books in this wing means the bottom, public access shelves are interspersed with display cases of artifacts to break up the space. No specific permission is required for this wing, except to access the staircases leading up to rarer or foreign books.

Central Hall

The central north-south hall of the Library connects the Grand Aumbry to the entrance hall and the administrative facilities in the Northern Wing. It is narrower than the Eastern or Western Wings of the library, but taller, so that its peaked roof can be seen above the others from outside. It has gabled dormer windows to provide light for the librarians' bedrooms located above the hall.
The ceiling of the first floor of the hall is lower than other wings, as the Central Hall is filled to the roof with utility. A warren of hallways on the many floors lead to storage rooms, offices, lavatories and laboratories, and all the other necessities the Quills need to live full-time in the library. The higher-level administrators, of course, live in the Fellowwood.
The main floor of the hall also has a spiral ramp leading underground, just at the M-intersection splitting towards the East and West Bends. This allows carts of food to be moved up and down to the kitchen outbuildings, located between the Bends. It is served entirely by underground tunnels to isolate any potential fires.

Grand Aumbry

The Grand Aumbry is in the exact center of the library, a three-tiered circular structure, topped with the largest dome in the city. Within this are stored the most valuable items in the library. The lower floors, underground, lead to the climate-controlled caverns. The first floor features carved tablets and stele, some reaching up to the ceiling, an ancient form of writing. In the upper levels are those scrolls that can be exposed to daylight, stored in their pigeonhole shelves.
The second tier has auditoriums where Quills labor long hours, copying dictated manuscripts for mass production, and the third tier has offices for library administrators.

Caverns

Deep under the Library labor those poor Quills assigned to the work of diplomatics. Diplomatics, or the work of deriving a document's authority from how it was stored and preserved, posits that documents can be shown to be forgeries or authentic based on their language, preservation, and storage. These Quills are often called upon to validate documents at the heart of legal disputes, for example were a lord to try to enforce a privilege his family had been granted in antiquity, the Quills will check it against their documents.

"Your Humble Author was honored yesterday to witness the unfurling of the great scrolls of state. Stretching from the roof to the floor of the vast vaults under the Library, these scrolls chart everything from expenses and income to grants of land and prisoner transfers from the reign of our earliest Lords." - Collegian Crier

The caverns under the Library function as the official archives of House Thewisy, storing their most valuable and ancient documents. This is where the first attempts at preservation took place, regulating the temperate and humidity to keep frail scrolls in one piece. Conspiracies abound about what is truly stored in these vaults, with a handful of attempted robberies looking to liberate ancient magical scrolls.

Northern Wing

The Northern Wing is really the East and West Bend, the two sides of the M's angles. The East Bend stores books on the sciences, astronomy, music, and the arts. The West Bend has books on myths, legends, and theology not otherwise available in the Southern Wing.

Eastern Wing

The Eastern Wing has the same layout as the Western Wing but faces the Thewisy Palaces. Inspired by this view, it hosts books on Anhara, divided by regions. The tables here are maps as well, and from the ceiling of this hall hangs banners of each noble house of Anhara, big or small, dead or alive, closest to their respective regions. The shelves here follow a similar pattern to the Western Wing but are carved from woods native to their respective regions.

Courtyard

The courtyard between the wings is most famous for being perilously hot during the morning or evening. The unique reinforced glass designed by the Academy for the unusually tall windows of the library has a habit of cooking people in the yard as if a large magnifying glass. However, the conditions are perfect for lemon trees - though the existence of House Lemon shows they have grown there much longer. This allows those who sit and read in the yard to refresh with a glass of lemonade.

Founding Date

90AM

Type

Educational, Library

Ruling Organization

The Crimson Quill

Founders

• Galasthion Far-Seer

Parent Organization

House Thewisy

Location

Somae

Related Historical Events

• 90 AM
  Library of Somae Founded