Great Library of Spire Albion

Great Library of Spire Albion, aka Temple Library, aka Great Library, aka the Collection — Library located inside the Temple of the Way.

About

The Great Library of Albion is an enormous chamber filled with countless books located in the Temple of the Way. It is guarded and cared for diligently by the saffron-robed monks. The library by itself takes up about three-quarters of the space of the temple—every inch filled with books.

Description

The ground floor contains shelving and workable, every Inh filled with books of every size, shape and color. There were three tiers of shelves around the outer wall above the ground floor, accessed by many staircases and balconies.

Activities / Upkeep

Monks continually dust and tidy the shelves. Monks sat at the workable copying volumes by hand. Younger initiates carried paper and sprinkled sand over the pages to dry the ink and multiple other tasks.

Soul of the Library

Master Efferus Effrenus Ferus says that the Library has a soul—

"Those that write them (the books) do (have souls). They leave bits and pieces behind them when they lay down the words some scraps and smears of their essential nature. Most unity, really—but assemble enough scraps and one might have something approaching a whole."

Details

• The library at the Academy held there thousand volumes and was barely a tenth of the size of the Great Library.

Connections

• Temple of the Way
• The Way
• Brother Vincent
• Team
• Gwen Lancaster
• Academy
• Spire Albion
• Habble Landing
• Surface (for the costly wood)

Events

(Spoiler section)

1. Aeronaut's Windlass

Master Ferus requested that they be allowed to see the "Collection"—the Great Library. Brother Vincent gladly led the Team to the Library. Gwen was awed. Ferus also asked that Folly be allowed to stay in there a while. After some thought, the brother agreed. Ferus tasked her with thinking on what it was she felt there. Later she answered that she had felt "frozen souls" in the Library. He explained that she hadn't felt that before because there needed to be a higher density of books to feel the souls.

Quotes

• "Ladies and gentlemen," he said in a quiet, vibrant tone. "The Great Library of Spire Albion." — Brother Vincent to the Team.