Connects to: 01.03, 17.07.02, 17.17.05, 27.18.01, 29.14.12, 29.14.14, 29.14.24, 29.14.29 and 29.14.48.
Constructed in the early days of the supremacy of the Temple Indivisible by the legendary traveling wizard-architect Vilenius Arkhaus (01.03), the Sealed Library is the heavily warded archive housed at the top of the Steeple of Alberon, accessible only by the Matriarch and those she chooses. The entire archive is constructed from a massive hollow cube of enchanted mithril, and is engraved inside and out with millions upon millions of magical seals against not only scrying and unauthorized intrusion, but also to prevent the escape of any magical energies or malign influences contained within the archived tomes. The whole cube is suspended from the roof of the Steeple by winches and chains, so that it can be raised without having to be disassembled whenever the Steeple must be built up. The mirror portal by which the Library is entered can only be reached by the means of a system of scaffolding installed in the shaft housing the Sealed Library.
The inside of the cube is larger than without and, disturbingly, this was not one of the properties which the Library was originally constructed with, and is believed to be the effect of gathering so many powerful texts in a single location. Indeed, the Library appears to expand to accommodate new additions. The Library houses many texts, some heretical, others dangerous, a few embarrassing, but all of them are too useful to destroy. Here is kept the spellbook of the Arch-Lich of Naros (29.14.12), one of the three remaining copies of the Testament of Weneslas Stannev (17.07.02), the only unredacted copy of the Scroll of Seven Shadows (24.19.24), the Contract between the First Matriarch and the High Priestess of the Labyrinth (29.14.14), the Book of Not Being Boiled in Fire (29.14.50) and the blood-scriven Devil’s Bible (29.14.48).
In addition to these storied texts, a selection (in no particular order) of the Sealed Library’s contents is briefly described below:
- The Vedich Manuscript, an alchemical treatise with obscene formulae that would blacken and twist the soul of any man who would dare carry out the profane experiments and operations they describe.
- The Adamantine Scrolls, written in Deep-Dwarf Runes, made from sheets of rolled adamantine. They can only be viewed with use of a special unrolling machine, without which they curl back up again like a spring-loaded trap.
- The Book of a Thousand False Lies, a black book whose words are written not in ink, but formed by the absence of ink upon the otherwise pure black pages.
- The Prophecies of Qin, 11 solid gold tubes or pipes whose interiors are inscribed in an ingenious manner, such that if the correct end is placed against the eye, the ideograms within appear of equal size and oriented towards the viewer, to be read in a spiral pattern.
- The Life of Dod, the contents of this book drive the reader to gibbering, infantile insanity if read directly. As a result, it has been sealed in a box with mechanical levers to turn the pages, and a viewing port that reverses the pages with mirrors so that the reader can safely re-reverse the text in their head.
- An Introductory Primer to Unaided Flight, an unassuming manual that instructs the reader on how to achieve unaided flight.
- Lady Iraeia’s Gown, a gorgeous dress embroidered with the secrets of everlasting beauty.
- The Stone of Ancient Oaths, a diamond the size of a fist, which projects a different oath written in dwarf runes depending on which facet light is shone in to.
- Apotheosis, a book bound in a cover of unbreakable adamantine, secured with nine un-pickable, inset locks whose nine unbreakable adamantine keys have been lost.
- The Book of Perfect Congress, said to be the ultimate coital handbook.
- The Record of Past Heresies, a massive book that is a compilation of the doctrines and theologies of the Alberon cults that were outlasted or eliminated by the Temple Indivisible.
- ‘So You Want To Be A Dragon?’, an instruction manual on becoming a dragon. It includes a helpful index on dragon colors, and is apparently very user-friendly.
- Encyclopædia Angelos, a gnostic encyclopedia detailing the True Names, pictures, sigils, and general description of every angel known to man, and instructions on how to summon and bind them.
- The Commentaries of the Mountains Upon the Mortal Races, apparently written (or, rather, dictated?) by the mountains.
This is, of course, by no means a comprehensive list, and yet even stranger and more powerful tomes lay waiting upon the shelves within the Sealed Library.
Connections:
- The Sealed Library is the holding place of the Contract between the Matriarch of the Temple Indivisible and the High Priestess of the Temple of the Labyrinth (29.14.14).
- The Breath of Alberon is one of the many burned books that are summarized in the Book of a Thousand False Lies (17.17.07).
- One of the texts that the Library holds concerns Asrigh, an imprisoned wind god (27.18.01).
Hooks:
- Who is Vilenius Arkhaus and what else did he build?
- Who wrote these books?
- What secrets do they hold?
- How did the Temple Indivisible come to posses these books, or for that matter, the Library itself? The mithril alone must be worth a fortune!
- Why does the Temple preserve these books, rather than destroy them?
- Has anyone ever attempted to break into the Library? And more importantly, has anyone ever succeeded?