The Great War Prologue (6): A Quiet Library
It's a place that's supposed to feel safe
Every being knows about the little librarian in the Great Library of Mirage that sits in the back corner and reads atop a mound of cushions, protected by a variety of traps. Why does he care about that one specific corner? And why doesn’t he do his job?
Ezra twists atop his soft purple mountain, flipping onto his back and setting aside the book he was reading. The rumors are, for a lack of better words, blown out of proportion. He does his job, just infrequently. It’s not traps he surrounds himself with, but “deterrents”; little pranks just for whoever happens to walk by. And as for the corner itself…
Clang! Ssssssssss…
“Ezra!”
Ezra sits up and turns to face the direction of the noise. His older sister stands between the bookcases, a bucket rolling on the sandstone floor and her hair and clothes covered in orange sand, with even more of it pooled around her feet.
“Hi, Ishtar!” Ezra beams.
“Ezie, what did we say about your pranks?” she sighs.
“Don’t set them up in the library?”
“So then why in Astria do I have sand all over me?”
Ezra lets out a sharp laugh. “Because you weren’t careful enough!” Ishtar scowls and folds her arms across her white dress, orange trim accenting little symbols that line its hems. Ezra is also dressed in an orange t-shirt and baggy white pants. His sandals rest at the foot of his cushion throne.
He runs a hand through his messy orange hair. “What do you want?”
Ishtar sighs, her shoulders sagging. She’s not upset, he knows, just a little disappointed.
“I need your help organizing some books,” she replies. “A big stack of them just got returned and…” she rubs her arms uncomfortably, “the Guardians are back again.”
Ezra’s expressions turns sympathetic, understanding her discomfort. They both love the library, but it’s certainly not a place where they can be themselves like other beings can.
“Can I set the bucket back up?” he asks.
“Ezra…”
“C’mon, Ish. It keeps them away.”
“Just this one bucket?”
Ezra cracks a cheeky grin. “That and ten others.”
“Ezra!” Ishtar exasperates, but she doesn’t protest further. Ezra climbs down from his perch, slipping on his sandals as he goes, as Ishtar kindly straightens the bucket on the ground for him.
He’s right, and she knows it. His little “pranks” keep the Guardians out of his corner of the library for the most part. He can only imagine how annoying the sand grains get when they manage to slip under their armor.
“Stand in front of me, please,” he says. Ishtar nods and does as he asks, hiding him as best she can. He doesn’t want any Guardians appearing out of thin air right now.
He waves a hand at the sand pile on the floor. The magic inside him ebbs and flows with the gesture, instilling a sense of calm and ease. The sand slowly begins to rise into the air, a flying orange serpent under his control. He brings his hand over the rim of the bucket, which the sand follows with a few soft rustles. Once over the bucket, the sand falls, his magic no longer supporting its weight. Once all the sand is back in the bucket, he places it back up on the bookshelf where it rested before Ishtar came and triggered it. Thought it may seem stable where it is right now, there’s a couple of hidden runes that sets his little trap into motion. He’s pretty proud of his work.
With his little prank set back up again, he joins Ishtar in walking to the front desk of the Grand Library of Mirage.
“How many this time?” he asks.
“Only three,” Ishtar replies.
“Guess they’re not here to sign out some books,” Ezra mutters. His sister shakes her head.
“They were here at first light as well.”
“First light?”
“They seem to be getting more agitated, like they’re looking for something. And it wasn’t books that time, either.” Ishtar turns and gives Ezra a weak smile. “I don’t want you to worry too much about them, Ezie. It’s just-”
“Of course I’m going to worry about them if they make you uncomfortable,” Ezra replies firmly. No being is allowed to make his family feel unsafe in their own home city.
They finally reach the front of the library, greeted by two enormous stacks of books of a variety of colors and thicknesses. Other beings mill about as well, chatting in hushed whispers as others read or sign books in or out.
It’s not hard to spot the Guardians Ishtar mentioned. The three stand in their shining white armor, two with swords and one with a spear, standing near the entrance in a tight cluster. They eye the beings around them from under their helmets that cast their faces in shadow, the only indication of any face they may have are their mouths and glowing white eyes, two little pinpricks of light peering from the darkness. They’re always an eerie bunch to behold. Even Ezra can’t help but feel unnerved with them around.
“Don’t stare,” Ishtar hisses. “Help me with these books.”
He doesn’t really want to handle the books, but if it makes Ishtar feel a little safer. Ezra picks up a few books out of the two stacks, with Ishtar taking on her own load. The siblings exchange flat expressions, neither happy nor nervous. Then, without another word, they walk away.
With all the books now away for the time being, Ezra and Ishtar make themselves comfortable in Ezra’s little corner fort atop his cushions.
Ishtar quietly fiddles with her dress, her expression dark and troubled. Ezra picks up the book he had been reading before, contemplating returning to the pages, but can’t help thinking about his sister’s distress.
“Is everything alright?” Ezra asks her, putting the book aside yet again.
Ishtar attempts to smile, but she’s not the best at faking her expressions. It turns into a quivery half-grin, half-frown. “It’s not something I think ma and pa want you to hear about, Ez-”
Ezra shakes his head. “I’ll know eventually, won’t I?” His sister only lets out a reluctant sigh. In the distance, pages ruffle and turn. A laugh rises and dies. Another being coughs twice.
“The disappearances have gotten worse,” Ishtar finally cracks. Ezra nods. He’s known about them for a long time now.
“How much worse?” he inquires gently.
“One every other cycle?” his sister speculates. “An entire family went missing the other cycle, but no being is willing to investigate. They’re probably just going to let it sit like all the others.”
Ezra sits a little straighter. “Which family?”
“Some healers that were pretty notable within the infirmary. The Guardians are doing their best in keeping the other healers from discussing their sudden disappearance, so I heard. They had a kid not much younger than you…” she trails off.
“Ah…” No wonder she’s been so concerned about him and the Guardians.
“And now they’ve been stalking the library and I’m worried somethings going to happen again,” Ishtar continues. “Missing books, missing beings…”
“We’ve not had missing books for a long time now,” Ezra reassures her. It’s probably the only thing he can reassure her on.
“We’ve not, no, but-”
“Ishtar, calm down,” he urges her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ishtar takes a few deep breaths in an attempt to get her emotions under control, though all it sounds like she’s doing is hyperventilating.
“Ishtar,” Ezra speaks slowly, “I’m not letting them steal any more books.”
“How?” she asks.
“What kind of books used to go missing?”
“It was… history books.”
“And what section of the library are we in right now?”
Ishtar’s expression quickly becomes confused, and her head whips to the bookshelves around them. She’s quiet for a long time as she scans the spines closest to her. Ezra can’t help but smile proudly the longer she studies their surroundings.
Finally, she looks back at him, a new hope burning in her eyes.
“The history section,” she finally answers under her breath.
Ezra nods, standing up and proclaiming confidently, “As long as I’m here, Ish, none of these books will go missing ever again.”