Completed Book Work (Castor)

[Tsaba]

4th Summer 513

Grand libraries were nothing new to Tsaba. But that didn't mean she couldn't get lost.

It wasn't the size; after Sahova, the breathtaking height of the ceiling and maze of tall shelves densely stacked with volumes wasn't really overwhelming. Nor was the referencing system overly complicated, although the differences in the collections made it... unusual. Tsaba was more used to a system where books were carefully differentiated based on the age of their language and suspected root of their magical principles than one that apparently couldn't abide boatbuilding and public speaking manuals being too close together, but in principle an organisational system was an organisational system. No, the problem was the complete lack of assistance or information regarding the library's use. Beyond a vague assurance that students had access to the restricted sections, she had no idea what she was and was not allowed to touch, and there wasn't a golem in sight.

Come to think of it, she hadn't seen a golem since coming to Zeltiva. Even the dock work was done my easily-damaged humans. She didn't know why she'd expected the library to be any different. She paused in front of a large shelf devoted entirely to the art of basketweaving when she spotted a young man who seemed to be performing the duties of a golem. Good enough. She walked over and waited patiently for him to notice her.

"Hi. Sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for books on Auristics. Do you know where I might find them?"

[Castor Riley]

It had been an uneventful day at work. He'd come in, as usual, and helped around wherever needed. He'd helped some new students familiarize themselves with the library, now that the new academic season was starting up. All in all a normal day. Then, as he was organizing some books according to the sections they should be returned to, a woman's voice called for his attention and help. He turned around and audibly gasped. The woman, looking to be middle-aged, was pale, very pale. Dark bags were clearly visible under her eyes and she was thinner than he'd consider healthy. "Oh dear Rak'keli! Are you alright ma'am?" he said, his days of caring for his sick father having deeply ingrained a need to rush to the aid of sick people in him. In his worry, he unthinkingly put a hand to her forehead to check for a temperature. Cold. Her skin was icy to the touch. On such a hot day, at the beginning of Summer? She must surely be quite sick! Unless... Click. The truth suddenly dawned on Castor. He had met very few of the undead race, as they had been rather rare in Syliras, but he realized his mistake a bit too late. A sort of horror, birthed from a childhood of folktales of body-snatching and murder, descended upon him. He took his hand away quickly and immediately apologized to the Nuit. He hoped his overreaction hadn't offended the being too deeply.

[Tsaba]

When she'd first arrived in Sunberth, Tsaba had been afraid that she was doing something wrong. But the truth was beginning to become clear.

All pulsers were crazy. All of them.

"I'm fine, thanks," she said in puzzled response to the sudden, drastic concern over her health. The sudden contrition made even less sense. "It's fine. I guess. Are you alright? You seem a little out of sorts." Maybe the young man wasn't right in the head, and that's why he was being put to golem work. Perhaps magic had addled his brain. "Anyway, I'm hoping to catch up on some theory of Auristics. Does this library have a section for it? Common language would be preferred, but my grasp of the Old Tongue is sufficient to make do if I must." It wasn't as if she lacked time, and the university would probably have a translation dictionary somewhere anyway. Speaking very slowly, she added, "I need beginner-to-intermediate level. Do you have any books like that? I'm a new student, I don't know how that affects restricted book access." Not that beginner's Auristics books were likely to be restricted. But you never knew.

[Castor Riley]

"Ah, yes... I'm fine. I just haven't uh... Perhaps I'm coming down with the flu or something." His mind flashed back to one of the childhood games they'd played in Syliras: one child would be the Nuit, and the rest had to play dead so it wouldn't choose them as its next victim. Castor resisted the urge to start giggling madly. The normality and everydayness of the Nuit woman's request, however, started to bring him out of his peculiar frame of mind. As he calmed down and dispelled his childish fears he started to get curious instead. Plus, Auristics research was a subject he was very comfortable with and that further aided him in returning to a more normal state. The way she talked to him was as though he were a simpleton, and Castor guessed that he had not made a very good first impression. Blushing a bit and wanting to show his expertise in the subject, he replied: "The library has an extensive collection of books in Common on Auristics. You know, it is considered the more scholarly of the personal magics and as such has had quite a bit of scholarly attention. It's only the more advanced books that might require knowledge of the Old Tongue. As a student, you have access to most books available in the library, mostly aside from those that are owned by the Wright Estate, which I doubt interest you anyway." "My name is Castor Riley, by the way" he added, almost as an afterthought "and I'm a librarian here at the Wright Memorial Library. If you'll follow me, I'll take you straight to the books you require."

[Tsaba]

Oh, good. The young man... Castor... was at least clever enough to help her. He might still be mad or simple, but it was equally possible that she had done something to upset him. She'd find out, she was sure.

"Thank you, Castor," she said. "I'm Tsaba." She doubted he would remember her name, especially if he had to help a lot of students, but it seemed polite to offer it. And he was being extremely helpful. She fell in step behind him, politely ignoring how nervous he seemed. She'd known one colleague to become terrified of cracks in the walls after overgiving; perhaps Castor was afraid of people? Or older people? Or women? It didn't matter. Putting him to work in the library seemed like a kinder option than what she was used to, which was seeing mad people who became too much of an obstacle simply disappear after awhile. "So, uh, how long have you worked at the library?" she asked in what she hoped was a casual manner. "Do you practise magic yourself? Your knowledge seems extensive," she added, by way of explaining her questions. "I admit I'm not used to dealing with, you know, human librarians. Did it take much training?"

As they walked, the raked the shelves with her eyes, picking out some of the plainer titles. There seemed to be some sort of logic to the organisation; the practical skills manuals were separated from personal memoirs, and she knew that they were getting close when magical titles started jumping out at her. Castor was right, nearly all of them were titled in Common. There were a handful in languages she didn't recognise, but no more. That would be a time-saver, but it did leave the concerning possibility that the library, despite its size, must be extremely basic. Unless of course the pre-Valterrian books were stored elsewhere to prevent theft or something, which might be a problem for people who didn't live on a tiny island. Not that it would matter; if she ever felt the need to become an expert in something, she could return to Sahova. And hope that she had some useful information by then, so that she wouldn't be laughed at for three centuries.

[Castor Riley]

Even though he had calmed down considerably since earlier, he had still been quite nervous and hoped it wasn't noticeable. Tsaba. It was a peculiar name, one he had never heard before. He would definitely remember it; it wasn't every day - at least not for him - that a person met a living, breathi- err existing Nuit. It appeared he had at least one thing in common with her - a thirst for knowledge. "I've been working for the library since I arrived in Zeltiva, about a season ago," he replied to her question, getting more and more comfortable with her presence as he began to see her more as the person rather than the race she was. He turned around to give her a smile at the compliment. "No, I don't practice; I've read one too many accounts of overgiving to risk it. But I have written extensively on some of the theoretical principles behind the basics of Auristics in particular. So you've pretty much happened upon the ideal person to guide you through research on theoretical Auristics," he added with a small chuckle of pride. He thought her next question was a bit strange and actually a bit funny. He suppressed the urge to laugh out loud though; one embarassing faux pas was enough. "I suppose human librarians should be the same as Nuit librarians. You just learn the layout of the library, the referencing system and help out wherever you're needed: organizing books, copying them and familiarizing visitors and students with its workings, where possible." A few more steps down the aisle he slowed, before coming to a stop and turning to face Tsaba fully. He had managed to return to his usual professionalism. "Speaking of which, we have now arrived at the Auristics shelves in the section of Theoretical Magic. The majority of the books in the Library's catalogue are on the subject of magic, so, as a student, I assume, of magic you should find it quite informative." He paused before continuing. "This level of the library is open to the public. The restricted section is found on the second level, wherein practical tomes on different disciplines can be found. As a fellow magic student, I'd like to inform you now, before you experience the same disappointment, provided your interests are as wide as mine, that there are no master-level tomes readily available to the public or students. I don't even know if such are even in evidence within the building. Also, as scholarly interest has been more focused on world, rather than personal magics, you should be able to find much more extensive literature on the former. After you have finished studies with a book, please leave it on the table or at the main desk for the librarians to reshelve; a misplaced book may never be found again in a library the size of Wright Memorial." "Any questions? I would also be happy to suggest some books that have been of particular use to me in my own research, if you'd like," he ended with a smile. He inwardly hoped his professional display might help mitigate the horrible initial impression. OOCEdit: Oops, mixed up which magic was more extensively researched. It's corrected now.

[Tsaba]

Not a victim or overgiving, then. Huh.

"Actually, we don't really have much in the way of librarians," she said conversationally in response to his remark comparing humans to nuit. "Not on Sahova, at least. Most of the library assistance you get there is by golems, which is probably quite frustrating to the Puls-- the non-Nuit people, since they only really listen to us." She was quite impressed that he could keep so much information in his own, presumably human mind. Perhaps he was one of those crazy geniuses she had heard about. But another piece of information had caught her attention. "... wait, copying books? They employ scribes here? Would... would you happen to know whether there are any openings?"

She nodded her way through Castor's explanation of the magical collection. "The lack of master-level tomes doesn't bother me," she assured him. "I have no intention of aiming for that level in the near future. If you do have any book recommendations, that would be very helpful." Despite growing up practically inside what she'd been assured was one of the best libraries in the world, Tsaba hadn't done as much reading as she really should have. In actual fact, she had no idea where to begin. But if Castor would hep her, maybe she wouldn't need to admit that. "I've done some basic Auristics," she added, in case the information was useful. "I grew up with a doctor, and we used Auristics to diagnose injuries. But that's about as far as my experience goes."

[Castor Riley]

'Golems? What are those?' he wondered inwardly, but filed the question away in his mind for after he'd given his introductory speech. Instead he answered her question: "Why yes, of course they employ scribes! Books are very much subject to wear and tear. Also, the djed storm really did a number on some sections of the library, so there's actually quite a bit of scribe work to be done. The head librarian, Lisaelis, has the final word on any new hire, of course, so you'd have to talk to her about it. But if you're dilligent and helpful, I think you should be fine." He then proceeded to induct her into magical research in Wright Memorial Library, a speech he'd given many times, and had memorized fully. Seeing that she had understood the principles behind the arrangement of the library's magic-related tomes, he began to fulfil her request for suggestions. He grabbed the nearest ladder and carried it where he needed it. Going up a few rungs he began to pick books off the shelves, seemingly at random. Some he picked up, checked the title, and replaced with a shake of the head. As he did this, he called down to Tsaba. "A doctor, you say? How fascinating... How did you use auristics for diagnostic purposes? I can't imagine... was he a master aurist? What an intriguing use..." He seemed to only partially be addressing her, while going through some internal process of assimilating the new information into his knowledge of the discipline. It seemed he'd finally gathered all he wanted, for he descended to level ground again and offered the books for Tsaba to take. "Would these be suitable?" He asked the older woman. If she were to read the titles, she'd see the offered books to be: First Glances into New Sights and Sounds by Jolen Firguse Auristics and Djed by Wynne Leocole Introduction to Auristics by University of Zeltiva Press Arcane Analysis: Environmental & Specific Characteristics by Logan Vireul A Thorough Understanding of Physical Characteristics by Magrid Huffledore "Oh, and I was meaning to ask; what are those golems you spoke of earlier?" Castor waited with interest to hear her response. OOCEdit: Grrr, typos!

[Tsaba]

"Most of my guardian's patients were people with mining injuries, broken bones and soforth," Tsaba explained in response to Castor's questions. "We lived among humans then. Well I guess you could say he lived among humans; my sister and I were human at the time. But we'd look for points of damage in the body to find broken bones, internal bleeding, that sort of thing. Craun... my guardian... was a lot better at it than I was, but I don't think he was really a master Aurist; he was just well-practised at a very specific use. His interest was medicine, not magic; Auristics was one of his tools to that end, like his painkillers and splints. I was never the best student for his very narrow, very practical teaching method, but I am hoping that a better theoretical grounding will broaden my understanding." She lapsed into silence, letting Castor concentrate on his search until he spoke again.

"Golems are..." Tsaba paused thoughtfully, trying to find a frame of reference that she would've understood before Sahova. "Golems are like fake people, or... or intelligent furniture, I guess. They can be taught to do various simple tasks, depending on what they were designed to do. A lot of them are cleaners or dock workers on Sahova, and there are some that work in the library. Their job is basically to keep it organised and help people find things. Golems make good administrators, if they're designed for it. It takes a master Animator to make a really good golem like that. I don't get the impression that there are all that many Animators around here, so maybe that's why this library doesn't have them." She ran a finger thoughtfully down the spines of Castor's books and, after a moment, pulled out Auristics and Djed. Keeping to long-ingrained rules of treating library materials with the utmost respect, she didn't want to take out more books than she needed at any one time for fear of putting them at unnecessary risk of damage, so she briefly checked its Table of Contents before adding Introduction to Auristics and First Glances Into New Sights and Sounds. "These look pretty fundamental," she said, in case Castor was waiting for some sort of justification for her decisions like her father always had with medicines. "I can come back for the others once I've mastered them." She looked up from the books to meet Castor's eye. "Thank you very much for your help. Do you know how I might be able to find this Lisaelis?"

[Castor Riley]

Castor considered her explanation of golems carefully. He was always interested in the various applications of the various magical disciplines, and had yet to research into anything about Animation, so the information he was being provided was greatly appreciated. "Perhaps, you're right," he began his response, "however, I think it's also largely due to the fact that a lot of humans are very uncomfortable around magic, and even more so since the Great Djed Storm. A library, such as Wright Memorial, which is incredibly supportive of free learning for all, would avoid the use of such creatures, as it might deter some from using it." He noted Tsaba's care with the books and warmed to her immediately; it was always good to see someone who respected books. "Those ones really helped me with my initial research as well, good choices" he offered in return to her comments. "It was no problem at all. It's my job after all. As for Lisaelis, I think it might be most accurate to say she'll find you. She seems to have the keenest sense of when someone requires her attention. Generally, I'd say you might find her in the main corridor." "Oh, by the way," he began, a bit awkwardly as he readied to make a request of his own, "you seem to come from a place that is much more open about magic use and you're also a student of magic, so perhaps we could meet up in future to exchange ideas. A study group, if you like. I also have some private research notes that I'd be more than willing to share..." He looked at her expectantly, hoping for a positive response. OOCHey, you probably already know this, but if you want a job in the library you should fill out an application and post it in Zeltiva's Storyteller Guide and Requests thread.