The Gallerean Library

Gili crossed the courtyard. Today was going to be her day, she could feel it. She had received a summons from the Stair of Enlightenment! It could only mean one thing: today she was going to be Inked. Finally she would gain access to the higher levels of the Stair of Enlightenment! She could only dream of all the knowledge that was stored there. As usual, the courtyard was abuzz with other people milling about, some carrying stack of scrolls or books larger than themselves. Though as a gnome, that wasn't too difficult. Before her the slim form of the Stair came into sight. The pair of guards at the door recognized her and one of the two led her to the appointed room. Located on the third floor, the room was as high as she had ever been. As she was early she walked towards the windows to gaze outside. The familiar sight of the Library never failed to calm her nerves. She stared at the central tower, a pearly building predating even the founding of the library. The Tower of All Wisdom was ancient and well respected. Some spoke of it reverently, believing it to be the house of Lyslanna on Tiarnan, others cared little for the structure itself and valued the contents more. For her, it was simply home. A cough behind her broke her reverie. Torn scrolls! Her nerves were back, with a vengeance. Full of ill-concealed excitement she turned to face her destiny.
The Gallerean Library is one of the most important locations on the continent of Meridon. It was founded by the elf Elasian Sartorin, a Quill of Lyslanna in the highlands of Gallerea and functions as her main temple besides its obvious function as a centre of knowledge. Yet, despite being founded in the name of Lyslanna and its prominence in her church, the Library is also used as a centre of worship for other deities of knowledge like Krissandoral. Moreover, the Library serves as a safehaven for those who seek protection from evil and as a neutral ground in conflicts.

Functions

Because of its great significance the founding year of the Gallerean Library is used by most people across the continents of Meridon and Eciclis as the year 0 of the Gallerean Reckoning . The actual compound itself has several functions.

Fond of knowledge

The Gallerean Library is first and foremost a library. It is home to hundreds of thousands of books, scrolls and other works and visiting it is widely considered to be the dream of every scholar. The clerics of Lyslanna stand at the ready to help those who seek help and, if the question at hand is sufficiently pressing or interesting, the Elasian's sentience might take an interest in your work.

Temple Complex

The Gallerean Library is the largest temple of Lyslanna on Tiarnan. The complex also houses temples to Krissandoral and Aemairi, among others. Worship of every god is allowed here but those serving the gods of evil and destruction will find themselves restricted heavily in their worship.

A Place of Peace

The Library's rules forbid violent and evil acts on its grounds and it isn't entirely toothless in enforcing this. Although the Library houses several contigents of Gallerean Spearmen and monks of multiple, more militant religions, its most important protections are of a mystical nature. The Tower functions as the centre of a mighty web of magic that blocks summoning and transportation spells, keeps out evil-natured monsters and dampens the abilities of people who tend towards evil. This makes the Library a perfect place for those people who seek refuge from evil.
Although the Library technically is part of Gallerea, in practice it is outside of the policies of the country. As such, the Library has time and again been used as a meeting place for the negotiation of peace treaties.

Architecture

The Gallerean Library is an elegant structure with several spires rising up into the skies. Several smaller towers surround the Tower of All Wisdom, the central structure.

The Tower of All Wisdom

The Tower of All Wisdom stands at the core of all activity in the library compound. It houses the majority of all the books, scrolls and manuscripts kept in the compound as well as living quarters for those who serve Lyslanna. It is a immeasurably tall¹ pearly white structure. The library is very much a living building, run by a combination of divine power and Elasian's sentience. Laws of space are less relevant inside of the Tower and Elasian is capable of changing distance to either help or hinder people, though he rarely does this. His sentience does make sure that there is always enough food and water as well as rooms for the permanent scholars.

The Stair of Enlightenment

Besides the Tower of All Wisdom, the other most significant building is the Stair of Enlightenment. This tower is accessible only to Lyslanna's clergy and their guests and is divided in several levels of Enlightenment. Despite the humble appearance of a typical stone tower, the Stair houses those documents deemed to powerful or dangerous to be kept in a public space. It is also home to several artifacts, ranging from holy objects like the Staff of Elasian to the weapons of history's greatest killers, like the Bloodlust, the sword of Irdrigran. Access to the Stair has to be earned. When a Quill of Lyslanna deems a cleric is worthy to enter their ranks, they sponsor this cleric. In a process called the Inking, a prospective Quill takes a test that determines both character and knowledge before being able to rise a rank. If a cleric passes, he receives a magical tattoo of a Quill on one of his arms. For each rank the cleric rises, the tattoo gets more intricate and bestows more magical abilities on the wearer. The Stair is home to the Quills, with the highest ranking of them Cillon Naville, the Grand Quill of Lyslanna.

The Workshops

On the far side of the Library compound are the Workshops. Home to the alchemists, blacksmiths and engineers, this is the place where the knowledge stored in the Tower is put to (good) use. Whether it's new methods of working metals or of making perfumes, a lot is discovered here. Unfortunately, this does not always happen without accidents: explosions and fires are almost a facet of daily life here².

The Catacombs

A remnant of the old ruins, the catacombs are the only part of the original compound that is outside of the control of Elasian. Because they are so extensive, they still are largely unexplored. Plenty rumors persist about these catacombs with the most prominent among them being is that in the catacombs lies a portal to the plane of Latiran where Krissandoral guards the Well of Wisdom.

The Gardens

Located on the eastern side of the Tower of All Wisdom, the gardens are an extensive area of nature. Although it is not wild nature anymore, it is the closest thing to it in the compound and druids prefer to spend their time here. A large part of the gardens is made up by a small forest. This forest grew out of the copse of trees that originally stood on the highlands and is home to several Dryads.

History

In the year -215 GR Elasian Sartorin, Quill of Lyslanna, dreamt of a grand, pearly white tower standing on the heights. Realizing it was a sign from his goddess, Elasian set of on a journey to find the tower from his dreams. His journeys lead him all over the world but Elasian could not find the faintest trace of its existence. When he started his journey, Elasian was aging already but now, after almost two centuries of searching, his body was close to giving up. It was at this moment that he received his second vision: a dark and depressing tower stood towering above a copse of trees in the highlands. He was shown the way to get there and, together with his companions, so he did.
Once he arrived, the bleak image of his second vision turned out to be all too true. The tower was a ruin, walls sagging and ceilings broken open. Believing his goddess had deserted him and that it was all a cruel prank, Elasian broke at the sight. His work of centuries seemed to be for nothing. Exhausted from the emotions and his travels, Elasian's age finally caught up with him and he died in the midst of the ruins. It was then that Lyslanna revealed to him her final goal: he was to become the library! As a final act of faith in her, Lyslanna asked Elasian to sacrifice his mortality so that he could be her presence on this world. When Elasian accepted, a torrent of magic took his mind and soul from his failing body and infused them with the ruins of the tower. The dark atmosphere was replaced by the joviality and curiousness that had marked Elasian's life and the tower turned its current pearly hue. Empty, it did not remain for long. Elasian's knowledge was put in books and scrolls, as if penned down by a thousand divine quills to fill the rooms of the new building. So it was that the Gallerean Library was founded.

1. Gnome engineers have tried countless times to establish the height of the tower but have never reached a uniform lenth because of magical interference. Despite these setbacks, they staunchly continue their attempts.
2. Kender tend to gravitate towards the workshops precisely because of this as they deem it more interesting than the rest of the Library. Scholars have not reached any consent yet on the question of whether the explosions cause the presence of kender or whether the kender cause the presence of explosions.

Type

Library

Parent Location

The Snowmist mountains

Owner

Elasian Sartorin