The Library

Four hundred years ago, there was a war that encompassed thirteen nations: the War of the Libraries.  Great libraries that had stood for centuries were wiped out. Terrified by the possibility of losing all the knowledge of civilization, the thirteen nations founded a new, neutral city called Moonstone, where there would be a Library to house all the wisdom of the world. Eventually, this neutral city freed itself from its original founders and became self-governing. However, because each of the city’s thirteen districts had its own cultural identity, the district divisions remained, each governed by a prince descended from the city’s founders.  The princes together formed the Council, and the archprince was chosen to rule the whole city.

The Library was built as the most sophisticated and ornate complex in the world, with a vast dome and many halls of shelves, offices, and treasuries. Its walls are wafer-thin marble to let in red light, a light that won’t damage the books. A system of stone channels and carts delivers books from one place to another through the Library’s understory. The Council meets in a chamber at the center of the Library. Every Moonstone archprince is the protector of the Library, and losing the Library is any prine’s greatest fear.

A proud cadre of warriors, descended from long-ago Chaean library protectors, are the Librarians who rule the Library. Their job is to keep the Library and its patrons safe, and most of all, to protect the books. Some Librarians come from Librarian lineages that go back generations.  Others apply after training and a rigorous test. The Librarians are supported in their work by underlibrarians, who manage the books, and bookwardens, who manage daily security. But the warrior librarians are the protectors of the Library, and they carry weapons while at work. Annlynn Jissakhar, one of our protagonists, is a warrior librarian, as are her father, brothers, sister, and many other relatives.  

The Library is a revered place in Moonstone. While our own culture(s) may respect Libraries, it is probably hard to understand how seriously Moonstone citizens take the Library. It could be said that Librarians are a kind of clergy. Library rules are considered sacred, and everyone in the city understands that one who violates Library regulations may receive a punishment from the saints and not only from the Librarians.

—Jill Hammer