The Other Place

You’re an addiction pulling me to a grave end

You’re an enemy who I’m keen to defend

Down the black hole of my lust I descend

It’s wrong but I want you tonight

—

Fear and Delight

All the way through the night

With a little derring-do

I’ll fall in love with you

There are multiple libraries in Eskaria - probably more than there are on Earth tbh, but there are libraries, and there are Libraries.

The official largest Library in the world is the Royal Library of Maedir, built by King Robert and his daughter Ophelia.

The main building is larger than the royal castle, and the inside is actually a mixture of physical rooms and hundreds of interdimensional portals leading to small pocket dimensions created to conserve space.

Due to its labyrinthine nature, the librarians utilise a simple but endearing spell which consists of writing titles/topics of interest on a page, folding it into an origami creature, and animating it so that it would guide the patron to the relevant books and sections.

Another trick they employ is writing the due return date on the patron’s wrist with enchanted ink which causes the writing to itch as the return date nears. Overdue dates burn.

The Library is also, to put it plainly, indestructible. Even a direct meteor strike wouldn’t move it.

But it isn’t THE largest library in Eskaria.

That title belongs to Shar Nabaad, which technically isn’t in Eskaria, but then again, nobody is sure where it actually is.

Rumours say that it’s been around since the world was created, perhaps even before that. Some say that it predates the gods. It’s more difficult to access, but that’s reasonable given that it contains every single scrap of information to ever come into existence.

Those who enter the Shar Nabaad must first gain the approval of Rada Sher’tali, or the Council of Whispers: thirteen hooded beings of immeasurable power. Nobody knows what they look like or what exactly they’re capable of, but there are theories.

Some say that they are the very first shadows, older than entire civilisations and having long surpassed the powers of their hosts. Perhaps they finally gained enough power to shed their old shapes and forget the fear of sunlight. Perhaps not, for why would they bother with hooded cloaks if light was no longer deadly to them?

Others say that they’re gods who have little interest with “godly” duties and prefer reigning over knowledge rather than mortals. Perhaps Aennor, the deity of knowledge is one of them, perhaps they’re their most privileged of disciples.

Perhaps they’re something else entirely.

Thousands of rumours, questions, speculations. Only one answer: an amused whisper from within the hood: “No spoilers.”

Their and the library’s existence is an enigma, as those who had the honour of being allowed into Shar Nabaad are forbidden to speak of it, the Council, and the Librarians.

The beings native to this strange place have a language of their own, unlike any other spoken across the dimensions; no outsider has ever managed to decipher it.

There are rumours that the Council has spies in every corner of the world and that’s how they keep their precious collection up to date. That’s ridiculous, though; there’s no way they can see everything that happens everywhere, peer into every stronghold, watch every move, note down every word you say, thought you think, dream which leaves you shuddering in the dead of the night, alone yet definitely not alone.

That would be simply ridiculous, right?

…Right?

Perhaps, but the Council knows everything about those who seen entrance into their domain, so often the newcomer doesn’t even have to introduce themselves or state the purpose of their visit. They already know. Perhaps They knew even before their journey even began.

The Library itself is endless. Literally. There are corridors which take years to cross, rooms capable of putting entire countries to shame. You could die and be reborn a million times and still barely glimpse the surface of that bottomless pool of information. That’s why there are Librarians.

For some reason, one is never sure what a Librarian looks like even when they’re looking directly at him? Her? Them? It? Come to think of it, the Council spreads a very similar aura, except their overwhelming aura makes the memory of them literally burn itself into the visitor’s mind.

Anyway, the Librarians are eerie, quiet beings (for noise is forbidden in The Library) who would be delighted to guide you through their precious domain, leading you through halls which would take you weeks to cross on your own. Again, they do not speak, but if you think of a question, a voice deep inside your mind will provide an answer. Don’t ask about whether they know the past, present and future of every being to ever come into existence, the time of their birth and death down to the millisecond. The only answer you will receive is “no spoilers.”

It is said that all librarians in the multiverse are Librarians, working to spread knowledge they already know and collect that which they do not, but no Librarian will deny or confirm the rumours, because that would be “spoilers.”

Fire is forbidden in The Library, so the patrons read by the light of glowing orbs of pure magical energy. The light intensity and colour can be adjusted if one so desires. If a reader is blind or otherwise incapable of interacting with the writing, they will either be given a copy written in Braille, or a Librarian will sit by them and make the words appear directly in their mind. Or They could just cure the blindness, because nobody is sure what exactly are the limitations of Their abilities (or if said limitations exist in the first place.) If a reader isn’t able to read due to a language barrier, they are supplied with either a translation, or the means to learn said language (even if it has been dead for millennia.)

No book can ever leave Shar Nabaad - The Council and The Librarians guard their hoard of knowledge possessively. Copies can be made, of course, but the originals stay within The Library. Should one be foolish enough to damage them, whether intentionally or not, the punishment is terrible indeed.

The culprit’s eyes are gouged out, their eardrums popped, their nerves damaged beyond repair. They are mutilated and maimed until one can barely identify them as living beings. They are then suspended in endless pain and darkness for the rest of eternity, unable to see, hear, or otherwise obtain knowledge of their surroundings. All they know is pain. Apparently their memories, all the knowledge they ever possessed, are erased too, but there is no way to confirm these rumours for sure because “no spoilers.”

Also, no food or drink is allowed in The Library, but anyone who visits may notice that the longer they stay there, the less they crave it. The Librarians joke that one feeds on knowledge. Curiously, the need for sleep seems to follow the same principle, as does time and the process of aging. One can feel like they have spent a decade in Shar Nabaad, but leave only to find that only an hour has passed since they entered.

Oh yeah, they’ll notice that the entrance is gone too, because it’s never in the same place twice. How many entrances are there? How do they change location? How does the Council judge the visitor as worthy of passing through? Hells, the entrance doesn’t even look the same twice! Sometimes it’s a towering gate of black stone with intricate designs which will make your head ache and your eyes bleed. Sometimes it’s just a regular door at the back of a small dusty bookshop you’re pretty sure wasn’t on that street before, and which will disappear as soon as you step out on the street. Sometimes it’s an ornate archway deep in the woods, or a portal shimmering with colours. Chances are you’ll spend months searching for it, give up, return home and find it at 3am  because you mistook it for the door to your kitchen.

Also I just want to say that fanfiction qualifies as writing/knowledge/information, so they have that shit too.

Bartimaeus watching the life slowly drain from Nathaniel, growing frail and weak as if he’s aged 50 years in a few days

Nathaniel breaking down into tears and meekly choking out how sorry he is for keeping Bartimaeus there with him, but he’s so, so scared and he can’t bear the thought of being alone, and he has no one else to be with him, no one he trusts

It seems like Nathaniel is having a good day, he’s coughing less, his skin has more color to it—but it’s only a temporary existence, as that very night he hacks up blood and mucus

Bartimaeus transforming into a cat to curl up at Nathaniel’s side, keeping constant vigil over him, and offering the meager comfort he can bring himself to bear, because watching Nathaniel like that is so hard

second time ever I’m trying to colour a sketch digitally and WHERE HAS THIS OPTION BEEN MY ENTIRE LIFE

Inspired by this post by @shadowy-dumbo-octopus

Poor bartimaeus though, stuck having to clean up their messes and worry like a mother hen because sTOP PUTTING THINGS IN THE MICROWAVE and YOURE ON FIRE AGAIN O MH GOD—

Small vengeful AoS Nat with nothing to his name after the Underwoods have perished, the only thing driving him being the need to make things right (which can, by the way, easily be twisted into something darker, more misguided and evil.)

Powerful but insecure GE Nat who needs guidance in this scary world of cutthroat politicians, and who’s a better advisor than a marid who saw empires crumble and guided his previous master from being a lowly servant to a soon-to-be power behind the throne before he even hit adulthood?

Cold and mature PG Nat. Without the influence of Kitty and Bartimaeus (who wouldn’t survive even a minute with Ammet around, let’s face it) would be so easy to steer onto a darker path. You want power, child? Plot. Poison. Intrigue. Learn to become a cunning puppeteer always hiding in the shadows, for they have accepted you as one of their own.

Despite being a gay mess, Ammet is still an ancient evil entity, terrifying in his power and milennia of experience.

Ultimate Bad Idea™: the trilogy but with Ammet taking Bart’s place.

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03/04 July 2018 (it’s just past midnight as I’m posting this.)

“I hate Mondays.”

Faquarl, Kitty and Asmira are gonna end up in the same room for an extended period of time, and we’re talking post-PG because Faquarl is so much of an idiot that he can’t even die properly.

And now, poll time!

Should Kitty and Asmira beat him up before they start getting along like two badasses and their weird knife uncle who refuses to acknowledge how attached he got to them?