Yurei

Yurei
Scribe of Knowledge and Geography

In the center of the valley, reaching up to the heavens above, is an immense bamboo stalk. Your journey through the valley has lead you to its base. The stalk can be seen from any place in the valley, except, of course, from some of the denser groves. But even if it cannot be seen, you can always hear it… An imperceptibly slow, ponderous creak. It is so slow that once you register it as a sound that it is being made, you never really hear it again. The stalk is in the middle of a vast deep basin, and you find yourself wondering… If the stalk stretches as high as it seem to, how far does it go down? As your thoughts are consumed by the curiosity of the natural tower, your eye is drawn to a bridge across the reservoir. The only way across on foot. It seems sturdy enough, as the path is probably meant for ground-based dragons, such as snappers… and hatchlings. Suddenly, barrelling past you towards the bridge, are a score of hatchlings! The group seems mainly comprised of Fae, and a small blue one stops beside you for a moment. “Hurry,” she says, her monotone saying the opposite of urgency, but her rapidly flicking crests betraying her excitement. “It’s time for class.” The hatchling, having delivered this information, rushes off across the bridge to join her nest-mates. You cross the bridge, which has colorful fabric screens lining it, at a much more sedate pace than the gaggle of hatchlings, now far ahead of you. Upon closer inspection the bridge, which is made of bamboo lashed together in a thick solid mat, is less a bridge then a chain of rafts… You realize you are on what is in fact, a form of defense. A dragon at the end merely has to cut a few vines… and the bridge would fall into boats, to be blown at the wind’s mercy. The screens were in fact sails. The Scribes were not blind to the evils in the world… You cross the rest of the bridge to the platforms surrounding the stalk, wondering which of the peaceful scribes thought of this ingenious device. You soon get your answer, as you approach a set of platforms set in a half-circle that the hatchlings have seated themselves on, all facing a speaker positioned by a large map and surrounded by various books and scrolls.
“... so one, after learning the history of the Icewarden and other denizens of the Southern Icefield, and examining the effects of the power of Ice, can conclude that not only is one able to reach a hibernal near-death state when frozen, but with the proper procedure one can REMAIN in this state INDEFINITELY.” The white Tundra who was making this speech adjusted his glasses and looked expectantly at his listeners, who were making a valiant attempt at showing they could comprehend what he was saying. “Which means,” The Tundra went on doggedly, ignoring the age of his audience, “That the powers of ICE could possibly grant, under the right circumstances, ETERNAL LIFE!” He finished his speech and faced his audience triumphantly. The hatchlings looked back at him in awe, most likely at his strident, powerful speech, rather than the revelations of the content of said speech. The Tundra looked satisfied with this. “Alright, I think that’s enough for right now. A quick break, and when you come back we will talk of the history of clouds, and the major players in their formation, namely Lightweaver and The Tidelord, and why they are under The Windsinger’s charge now…” The hatchlings had already scattered, but you were still there as the verbose Tundra finished delineating the next subject. The Tundra perked up at seeing an older guest come to his lecture. “My name is Yurei, and I am the Scribe of Knowledge and Geography,” Yurei nodded towards the bridge. “Which usually can include a fair bit of tactics, if you noticed the bridge.” His fur noticeably fluffed up in pride. “My design.” he explained. Before he could go into detail about said bridge, you ask about his work. “Ah, yes! My work. Well, as you can see, it is my duty to insure that the young have KNOWLEDGE instilled in them!” Yurei gestured towards the teaching area, where a Dunewind Manticore has silently begun to collect the books and take them through an opening in the giant bamboo stalk. “Don’t mind Ronay, he is my assistant… He helps me in the library. This way.” Yurei followed Ronay through the opening in the bamboo. As you enter the bamboo, you first notice the chimes in the center, tolling their clear, strident tones. The next thing you notice is a giant map of Sornieth, in amazing detail, with revisions planned for new information, obviously an ongoing work. Then you notice the Library itself. Shelf upon shelf, scroll nook upon scroll nook… Stretching high above you, the inside of the bamboo was lined with tightly-rolled scrolls, mysterious codexes, heavy tomes, and even tiny leaflets and messages.“It would take several lifetimes to read all of this,” remarked Yurei. “It’s certainly taken them to write it!” He laughed at the probably old Library joke. He turned back outside, where his class was waiting. “Take your time,” he advised. “There is a lot of magic on Sornieth. This place… can contain all of it.”