Solo Books Galore

[Jenni Twilight]

x

-- Winter 73rd, 513 AV --

Jenni glanced at the book in her hand, reading over the title and subject. Her work today was simple: shelve books. Though not many people actually checked books out of the library – you had to donate something for that – there were still quite a few lying around that needed to go to their proper places. As one of the lowest ranked in the Seekers, that job was usually given to her, or another one of the Novitiates. Anybody more important, and marked by Eyris, usually worked in more interesting areas. There was even a group that went out to search the Unforgiving for new knowledge… you couldn’t always work off what you had in the library.

The Twilight had a stack of books she was currently working on, none of them magical… so she was able to cut out those floors. She’d arranged the much larger collection by floor, so she wouldn’t have to go up and down the stairs more often than needed. They were pretty stairs, there was no doubt about that… but too many became a pain. She had more than enough exercise walking from the Twilight Tower to the library, at all hours of the day and night. Sayeo had mentioned odd hours, but these were a little stranger than expected. Still, she didn’t regret her living decisions. She couldn’t quite bring herself to ever quite consider… leaving.

The current books in her hand were all on the same general topic: Okomo. She’d searched for all the books on the animals, just so she wouldn’t have to return to this spot twice. Three seemed enough for the size of books she had to shelve, but the morpher couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she’d missed one. Sadly, the only way to know would have been to go back and check again. Yet another waste of time. Instead, she stood by the tall section of shelf that had the Okomo section, easily identifiable not by any kind of label, but rather a very fat book with the bold words of ‘Okomo’ on the spine. With closer inspection, all the books in a general radius held similar titles. ‘How to ride an Okomo,’ ‘The Shinya and the Okomo,’ and so on. She was pretty sure her books had copies, or at least versions that were nearly the same, that she would be able to slip them beside. There was more than enough room, except in one of the shelves.

One book, ‘The Cultural importance of the Okomo’ went beside it’s two other duplicates… it was apparently a common book. This volume looked newer and fresher than the others… probably a re-write. She couldn’t quite tell the age of the others, and if there was any difference, but didn’t want to risk hurting them just for her curiosity. Quite a few of the books in the Bharani library were delicate and aged, from sitting there from the beginning of this era, to even before the Valterrian. That latter section, however, was very, very rare.

The second was about Okomo care, a curious book with an excellent drawing of one of the creatures on the cover. It seemed to be nibbling something on the ground, but it was hard to tell. Though the image was well done, it had been faded from use, and the paint that had been used on the plain leather cover was peeling a little. It didn’t seem to have any sister books on the shelves, though there was a fatter one about a similar topic on the lowest shelf… so this went beside it. Jenni was a little curious about the contents… she knew as much as any Lhavitan on Okomo, but always strived to know a little more than everyone else. Maybe she’d come back to it, when her work was done.

Much to the Twilight’s irritation, the last volume seemed to go on the full shelf. At least, others of the same topic and title were there. However, there was no room at all. Even trying to pry the books apart failed, the wooden space was so stuffed with pages upon pages. Trying to stuff hers in was to no avail, leaving her with a scowl and hurting fingers. She didn’t want to stick it on the shelf above, since it wouldn’t be as close to those of its topic as possible. Instead… she searched the collection for a book that didn’t quite fit, and moved it to the space above. That left her plenty of room to carefully shift some more books around, and stuff the original one next to its copy.

[Jenni Twilight]

Jenni, having finished all of her shelving, found an open moment to sit down and read. Officially, she was working. Realistically… there was little to do. She’d been given this entire shift to shelve, and after that, there was nothing left to ‘work’ on. Except her own projects, of course. There were a few things she was curious about, and had been intending to do a bit of research on such, when she had time. The Bharani library had a myriad of books with all sorts of information… just what she needed to fulfill her goal.

One thing that she’d always been curious about were some of the monstrous races that were despised in Lhavit. She understood the logic. Zith were pure beast and attacked from the air… many of her family fought as birds with them, using their morphing in protection of the city. It was a well talked about feat. The Symenestra stole women, used them to increase their population, and said humans died in the process. Always. Well… almost always. Their attacking, kidnapping, and murdering brought them a bad name in Lhavit. Lastly… the Dhani. Vicious people who could change into giant snakes, or half-snakes. They were cannibalistic and utterly lacking morals, though there were a few trusted ones in the city.

With these hard-set views, most were practically expected to see the races in that way. Jenni, on the other hand, saw them as opinions, not facts, until she could prove them herself. What if it was all simply exaggerated? It was possible. If someone told a story about a far-away people, and called them monsters… who could prove them wrong? She was content not to pick a side until she found out enough information and proof. That need drove her research today, wanting to see what specific records said of the races. Had there been any who lived peacefully in the city? Maybe wrote personal accounts detailing their knowledge of their own race. An anthropologist who managed to sit safely in their society and note down what they saw. It was all possible… and if there was such a book, of all places… it was probably in this library, Eyris’ greatest collection of knowledge in all Mizahar.

She began to wind her way through the library, looking for titles on things such as ‘races’, or anything specific to the trio she was working on. Even something about monsters would help, though it’s reports may have been biased. The morpher had little luck, as few things were written on such topics. Still, after nearly half a bell of constant pacing and searching, she ended up with a few potential books. One, the simplest but possibly most biased, was named The Races of Mizahar, straight to the point. It was thin, bound in soft leather, and the title was worn so it was barely visible. The author’s name was all but gone, and illegible. Still, the pages looked robust, and had only curled and yellowed a little.

The next was interesting as well, and probably the opposite of the first. This one specialized in Lhavit’s racism, and was sure to have some good points. Specifically, it was Some Notes on Racism, by Mae Larth. This one was bound well, with a glued spine and a stiff cover. It was also much, much newer… and probably more relevant to current times. She didn’t quite expect views of the three races to have changed too much over twenty or thirty years… but you could never tell. The last was obviously miss-shelved, and she’d have to eventually replace it in its correct spot when she was done. It was actually several floors up, belonging in the magic section. Probably. It was written by a morpher, and about anatomy… but the title didn’t specifically state it was actually for morphing. Just… anatomy. It was by some relative of hers, Kalvale Twilight, hence the obvious inference about the author being a morpher.

The combination of all three books was hopefully going to provide some interesting information, enough to stem Jenni’s curiosity. Even if the information wasn’t spot on what she wanted… it would be enough. The one on racism looked particularly interesting. However, she wanted to give herself a good base before beginning… which was why she opened the Races of Mizahar first and foremost.

[Jenni Twilight]

x

It took only a quick glance through the table of contents for Jenni to find what she was looking for: the pages for the descriptions of Dhani, Symenestra, and Zith. Since it was alphabetically organized, they were in that order, with the first quite close to the beginning. Quickly, she flipped the pages to find the one she was specifically looking for, but not without the temptation to stop earlier. There were a few races she hadn’t heard of before that looked interesting. For example… what was this ‘Chatakwe’? The sketched image provided showed a person with reddish skin, and raven black hair and eyes. By black eyes… they were really black. No whites at all. It was slightly off-putting. Maybe she’d come back later and read over it.

However, the Dhani page was equally interesting. As with all the earlier pages, the top half was taken up by an inked drawing, color and all. However, rather than being one person, the square was divided into three long, tall rectangles. The first was a normal person, with scrawny black hair and a grumpy expression. From what she could see of their body, it was robust. The next was a tiny bit frightening. A snake’s head, human torso and arms, coupled with a snake tail created a fearsome image. It hissed at the reader, but amusingly, part of the face was rubbed out, diminishing the effect. The last image was that of a full snake, with reddish brown scales. Its tangles filled the entire image, giving no context of proportions.

The words below began describing the race in simple but precise words.

Dhani are a race feared by most, cold-blooded creatures that have three forms. These are human, Dhani (a horrifying mix of human and snake) and snake. They can live upwards of 200 years, though that is rare, as life is dangerous. Their numbers are small, due to slow growth, huge appetites, and general fighting.

There are three sub-races of Dhani, each with a different build and abilities. Most do not get along well, and live in separate areas. First, the Vipers. Vipers are small and fast, usually around 5’ in their human forms. Compared to other Dhani, their snake forms are positively tiny. They have a natural poison which is remarkably effective. Rattlers are more in the middle, stronger than humans or Vipers, but not as fast. They have poison as well, but not as potent. Constrictors are the complete opposite of the first sub-race: big and heavy, with snake forms that can reach forty or so feet. They have no poison at all.

Dhani are known to be heartless and carnivorous, eating prey whole like snakes themselves. They are incredibly predatorial and follow instincts above all else. They follow Siku, the goddess of snakes.

It was a nice description, and luckily, not too biased. Except possibly the third and second last sentences, describing the Dhani’s psychology. Still, physically, they lived up to the stories. Strong people, eating things whole, snakes that could reach forty feet long! It was a little insane. If they were so ‘heartless’ and ‘cruel’ as the book said… no wonder they were feared. How could anyone stand up to such a monster? She was honestly glad for the Shinya’s protection, with those on the loose. And glad she wasn’t risking her life as a Shinya herself.

Sighing quietly, she turned to the page on Symenestra, wondering what to find there, and how the book on racism’s information would compare.

[Jenni Twilight]

This image only had one person in it, a pale and thin looking man with pale hair and vibrant golden eyes. He stared out of the drawing without emotion, looking almost as equally creepy as the Dhani before. Jenni quickly dove into reading the blurb, eyeing the first few lines.

Symenestra are a race that originate from the underground city of Kalinor. They can be seen as quite similar to spiders, with a natural venom and amazing climbing ability. Physically, they are more fragile than the average human, with weaker and lighter bones. However, they have sharp natural ‘claws’ and fangs, the latter possessing a deadly poison. They are generally quite pale, with strange eye colors like red, gold, and purple. They can easily be identified as non-human by anyone with basic knowledge of their race.

Symenestra also possess a strange trait that causes problems with their reproduction. Females with child are often poisoned in the process, and die soon after or during child birth. To protect their own numbers, the race has taken up the horrifying habit of kidnapping non-Symenestran women and using them for reproduction, usually with the surrogate as their called ending up dead at the end of the process.

It is because of this that they are hated in most cities, especially the males. In Lhavit, only a few have managed to find peace and respect from the residents, though are occasionally treated with suspicion. There is always the possibility that a male is in fact looking for a mate, and will carry away an unsuspecting victim.

This explanation had less focus on their mentality, and more on their physical needs… the need for reproduction, causing them to become hostile with other races. There was no mention of their habits otherwise, though it was quite possible – from the mention that they could earn respect – that they were quite normal personality wise. The physical need for reproduction and to keep their race alive simply drove them to the extreme. Overall, they seemed less horrifying (despite the poison) than generally implied, and fact wise… more ‘normal’ than compared to Dhani. There was no predatorial need to eat, at least.

And that brought on the Zith. The race most known for bestial personalities, and attacking in large, massively dangerous groups. They were probably the biggest danger to Lhavit, with regular skirmishes. She didn’t need to read the paragraph on appearance, however, since she’d seen members of her family morphed as Zith. It was one of the ingenious ways of fighting and scouting out the monsters, by pretending to be one of their own.

Zith are incredibly instinctual and beast-like. They hunt and enslave humans and animals alike. They are well-known for flying through the night and attacking cities and travellers, a bane to the more organized and peaceful species. Because of their brutality, and habit of eating whatever comes by, they are despised by almost all races. Only in a few places are they welcomed, though still usually with skepticism and occasionally hostility.

Jenni blinked, a little surprised by the lack of a third paragraph. The other two descriptions had followed that format, but this was different. Was it simply that there was little information on them in general? Possibly. Few people had probably gotten in and out of their settlements, or wherever else they lived, alive… From the description, they certainly seemed as brutal as everyone said. Still, the book focused on racism would probably be more accurate on that subject. Were all Zith so bestial? So without restraint? That seemed to be what was implied.

Almost excited to see another view of the subject, she pushed away Races of Mizahar and pulled up Some Notes on Racism.