Red Library

The **Red Library** is an ancient archive of texts and relics situated on the small island of Feronar in the archipelago of Saveria, taking up the entirety of the isle. It is so named because it is made almost entirely out of red marble, with white marble used for highlights. The Red Library is managed and curated by a race of Elfkin endemic to the island who are known by their role; the Librarians.

Strictly speaking, Feronar is an independent monastic republic which is not a part of the Kingdom of Saveria and, consequently, not technically part of the Nesarian Empire. However, it is considered a protectorate of Saveria (and, by extension, the Empire), and Imperial law is considered to be in force on the island. The only area where the Red Library exercises true sovereignty is in border control; setting foot on the land of Feronar without permission is a criminal offence, and only the Emperor himself and the agents of the Imperial Inquisition can come and go as they please.

The Red Library contains works primarily about magic and magical history, specifically those concerning ancient, dangerously powerful or "dark" magic. Although magic is seemingly gone, the keepers of the Red Library will not leave anything to chance; after all, everyone thought magic was well and truly dead until it resurged in the 19th century during the Civil War. Additionally, it is thought that although normal magic is dormant (possibly indefinitely), the dangerous magical knowledge contained within the Red Library may still be active.

Most of the books had magical properties which have now faded away, although some claim the most powerful are still active. Historically, the most magically powerful books were said to almost be conscious, and reading them could have varying psychological effects on the weak and uninitiated; some gave the reader a glimpse of cosmic power of such astronomical and alienating proportions that it drove the reader insane, and the power of others completely destroyed the mind of the reader, leaving them barely conscious for the rest of their lives. However, if the reader was magically strong and highly educated and trained on these matters, these magical books could lend the reader knowledge of extreme power. It is these things that have led the Elves to guard the secrets of the Red Library so fiercely, as its contents invariably either cause massive harm or give an individual the potential to cause massive harm.

## Custodians

Whilst magic was still a force that could be tapped into within this world, the Red Library was guarded by magical machinations known as Custodians, which were quite unlike anything else; suits of metal that moved with a mind of their own, powered by the Magestream and absolutely unyielding in their duty to protect the Library and the Librarians. They did not need to eat, nor drink, nor sleep, and if damaged they could simply be repaired in the forges of the Library. The knowledge of how to make and maintain the Custodians is kept within the most secret recesses of the Library, hidden from the wider world. When magic passed from the world in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Custodians ceased to function, though they spurred back into life during the magical revival of the Civil War - only to fall silent again afterwards. In the absence of magic, the Red Library is guarded by a specialised unit of Librarians trained in weapons and martial arts.

It is known that magic could be used to power contraptions and machines which otherwise should not have worked, but there is no record anywhere else of magic being able to create seemingly self-aware machines which were capable of logical reasoning and tactical thinking. It is unknown how this was possible, and some contemporary magical scholars did indeed label it as impossible, swearing upon all manner of sacred things that such a machine simply could not be created using magic. The prevailing theory amongst contemporary Elvish scholars was that these were not machinations at all, but were living people given magically powered metal bodies. There were numerous hypotheses as to how exactly this was done, but most scholars thought that the life-essence (alternatively labelled life-energy or life-force; the terminology was never clear) of a Librarian was magically extracted from them and transferred to the mechanical body. Some believed that in addition to this, the brain and heart of the Librarian would also be implanted into the mechanical body, as these two organs are typically recognised as being the "centres" of life-essence. The precedent for living creatures transferred into a mago-mechanical body was already there, as the existence of the Constructs is known, and so the consensus of most scholars is that this is what the Custodians were.

In any case, the Librarians have not openly come out and confirmed anything, but their behaviour towards the Custodians - even in their dormant, possibly extinct state - strongly implies that the Custodians are not mere machines at all, but do in fact contain, in some way, a living Librarian. The Librarians revere and venerate the Custodians as they do with their honoured ancestors, and will go to great pains to ensure the Librarians remain functional, clean and undamaged, refusing under any circumstances to destroy them even though they stand silent. This perhaps implies that the Custodians are not merely any Librarians, but are particularly noteworthy Librarians on the brink of death who were transferred to their mechanical bodies to sustain them into immortality.

## Notable Books

Although the contents of the Red Library are largely a mystery, some particular books and their subject matter are known.

Perhaps the most famous surrounds the Flame-Bearer and the incomplete instructions on how to summon him. Colados Yavesa snuck into the library and stole this book after being denied entry due to his inexperience, making him the only known individual to successfully sneak into the library and evade capture, and the only known individual to steal a book from the library. Colados took this book to Draconica and worked with the Dragons there, who pestered the Guardians to let them have access to the Words of the Elder Days, which completed Colados' knowledge and made the ritual to summon the Flame-Bearer possible. Colados returned the book to the Red Library after the War for the World was over, and he was pardoned for his infractions.