The Great Library of Alexandria

**The Great Library of Alexandria** is a dominant world power in its own right. It is located in Alexandria, Egypt. Unlike the royal library of Alexandria in our world, this one never burned down. The Great Library has grown, expanded, and now controls the knowledge of the world.

## Description

The Great Library of Alexandria contains all knowledge ever recorded, although only some of it is made available to the public. The Library is upheld as a beacon of knowledge and progress, but it has a secret and unknown dark side. The higher-ranking officials seek to exert control over everything the Library influences, and are willing to violently stamp out anything that might threaten their control. They use tactics ranging from veiled threats to outright murder. The Library is ancient, famous, and conspires to keep all countries and citizens subject to it. Branches of the Great Library of Alexandria are Serapeums, which are located throughout the world. The Great Library is a vast and dangerous enemy to have.

The Great Library is led and controlled by the Archivist Magister. The position is arguably the most powerful in the world. The Curia is the group that's made up of the heads of each branch of study within the Great Library. The Artifex division is responsible for engineering, mechanical invention, and practical arts, and is led by the Artifex Magnus. The Medica division is responsible for medical and healing knowledge and provides it to the members of the Library, and is led by the Medica Magnus. The head of the Literature division is the Lingua Magnus. The head of the Historia division is the Historia Magnus. The Library's personal army is the High Garda, which is led by the Garda Magnus. The Obscurists are the mysterious group of alchemists that perform all the essential functions of the library. They are led by the Obscurist Magnus, the second highest leader of the Library. The average employees of the Library are the Scholars and librarians. Postulants are those training to become Scholars. Buying a placement to Library training is expensive. It's a privilege for the very rich and the noble. Those who are part of the Library are supposed to leave their home countries behind, they're the Library now and are supposed to be neutral.

The Great Library controls the spread of knowledge and destroys anyone or anything that threatens it. The Library places the value of books above human lives. The Serapeums function like bases, and are staffed by librarians and contingents of the High Garda. The Library utilizes propaganda to maintain their image as benevolent protectors of knowledge. An example of their propaganda is the saying, "When you steal a book, you steal from the world." The motto of the Library is "*Tota est scientia*," or "Knowledge is all." Since the beginnings of the Library, it has been the rule that the Library owns all knowledge and then shares it freely with others. The idea that "books come first" is the hollow core of the Library's training. The Library even controls technological progress. Inventors can apply for a Library patent. The Library gets most of the money, but the inventor can still become quite rich.

People are taught that in war, both sides accept Library neutrality and give protection to the Library's parties. Librarians also have diplomatic immunity. This is not usually the case on the ground though, despite the fact that if anything happens to Library personnel, both sides will share the blame. The total destruction of Austria, and the fact it's no longer a country, is an example of what happens when countries don't protect Library personnel.

## History

The first Archivist Magister was Callimachus during the days of Pharaoh Ptolemy II. Without Callimachus the Great Library would not be what it is today, for better or worse. He began was the archivist for the Pharaoh, his one true loyalty was to knowledge itself. All information about him comes from transcribed letters between himself and his contemporaries. Callimachus made the Great Library independent from the Egyptian government to ensure that the knowledge collected would be preserved. He refused to allow Ptolemy to exclude women from being admitted to the Library, saying such ignorance would blind and hobble half the world. He had a daughter, and she would be free to learn. From Callimachus, the Great Library went on to become a world power unto itself, and an institution that was perfectly willing to sacrifice human lives in the name of collecting, preserving, and controlling knowledge.

The Great Library of Alexandria was saved by a common accord between the first Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, who agreed that it should be always sacred, even in war, as a great resource to all nations. The Great Library gains immense power. An example showcasing their power is the fate of the country of Austria. When the Austrian government violated the Library's neutrality and took Scholar Padma Dahwan and her fellow staff members prisoner before ultimately executing them and destroying the Milan Serapeum, the Library retaliated by completely destroying the country. Another example of the Library's power is when it destroyed the kingdom of France, razing it to the ground and forcing its people to flee to exile in other lands after their failed rebellion. The Library now owns the territory of France. They "turned four million people out of Paris to starve, those they didn't kill outright" according to Aristede Danton.

In 1029 the Serrapeum of Ryy in Persia is destroyed, including more than fifty thousand original texts. This event leads to major changes in the Great Library.

In 1455, Scholar Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press. He is killed by the Archivist Magister and his existence and works are erased.

The Iron Tower is built in 1789. The Archivist orders all Obscurists be sent to the Iron Tower and the High Garda are given orders to stop anyone who tries to enter, even Curators. Obscurists have gold collars locked around their necks. The Archivist also decrees that no Obscurist may leave the Iron Tower. He claims this will only last a year, saying the Obscurists are under special threat from Burners, but the Obscurists are never allowed to leave and the breeding program begins.

The Library stopped moving forward about 200 years ago. It couldn't move forward because it needed Obscurists to do its work, and as fewer were found, it had to hold increasingly tighter to each one.

After Scholar Christopher Wolfe's arrest and imprisonment, part of the new interdictions includes the addition of ranks of automata in the Iron Tower reading ever word as it's written in every personal journal. The Library does not let the public know, so people continue to believe their personal diary is secret until their death. This allows the Library to spy on essentially every person in the world.

## Known Locations

* Serapeums
* The Lighthouse at Alexandria
* The Great Archive
* The Iron Tower
* The Black Archives
* High Garda Compound
* Alexander's Tomb
* Heron's Tomb

## Trivia

* Greek is the common language of the Library.
* The old Library script was designed to be attractive and ornate, but reading it is half the battle.
* The Library's banner is their symbol in reflective gold on a black background.
* It appears that the East-West Schism and the Reformation didn't take place due to the Library's influence. All characters mentioned to be Christian are Catholic as well, including Jess who is English.