tables were long, and placed in the center of the room, with chairs placed at intervals along the edges. Some of the chairs were occupied by others wearing the headbands, and stacks of books rested on the table beside them. The only sound was of pages turning and the occasional creak of a chair as someone rose to get a new book from the shelves that lined the walls.
"This is the reading room," Ari whispered. "Those doors we passed earlier were private reading rooms, but almost nobody uses those." She pointed at one of the doors that led out of the large room between the bookshelves. "History," she said, then went around the room pointing out the others. "Mathematics. Magic Theory. Philosophy. Science. Mechanics."
That last one caught my attention. Books on mechanics in Attarnon were about as common as Northmen in Lianti. Anything more than simple mechanisms were regarded with suspicion, and often even hatred. Perhaps that was why the Church was regarded with such derision.
Ari led me to the door she had labeled history, and it opened to her touch on well-oiled hinges. Inside, the lamp seemed to grow brighter. A single torch burned by the door, but other than that, there was no other source of light in the room. Ari led the way between tightly packed shelves of books.
I glanced nervously at the lamp in her hand. "Aren't you afraid of having an open flame near all these books?" I asked.
Ari smiled and lifted the lamp as if to show me something. As she did, the handle slipped from her fingers and the lamp plummeted toward the stone floor.
I watched in horror as the delicate glass hit the stone - and bounced. The flame continued to burn, still enclosed by the glass that had miraculously survived the fall. In relief, I looked back at Ari. Her smile had grown.
"Hardened glass," she said. "We import it from Aridia. Not only is it incredibly strong, but the lamp will burn out before it even gets hot to the touch. Try it."
I bent over to pick up the lamp. Touching it gently, I realized that Ari was right. Even where the flame was licking at the glass, it was still cool. "I've never seen anything like this."
"No, I don't imagine you have. It's very expensive and difficult to come by, especially here." Ari stopped by a shelf of books. "This is a good place to start," she said, pointing. "Osterin Since the Collision will give you a brief summary of events up to about 1250 A.C., and Struggles of the West gives an excellent overview of Attarnon's history up until 1566 A.C., while Effects of the War of Magic is a more modern take on the war that'll take you from 1550 A.C. to about 20 years ago." As she spoke, she plucked the books off the shelf. "If you want more specifics, well that's what all those other shelves are for!"
"Do you have anything on pre-Collision history?" I asked.
"No, of course not. Though I haven't been to the library in the Asylum, I believe that all books pertaining to pre-Collision history were destroyed in the attack on Alston during the War of Magic."
I nodded, having expected as much.
"Is there anything else I can help you find?" Ari asked.
"I think these will be good for now. Thank you."
"No problem," Ari smiled. "You'll find it's best to simply explore the shelves. There's a loose order to the books. For example, political theory is one aisle over, mostly. You'll get the hang of it after a while."
Ari kept talking as we made out way back to the door. "You won't be able to take any of these books with you when you leave, but if you shelve them on the bottom of the bookshelves in the reading room, they'll stay there for two weeks. Every day we move the books up a shelf, so make sure you start at the bottom. If they get to the top shelf, we put them back and you'll have to find them again."
We reached the door and Ari deposited the books in my arms. "Enjoy," she said. "We're open all day, so you can stay as long as you want." With one last smile, she closed the door behind us and made her way back up the stairs.
I found my way to an empty table, set the books down beside me, and began to read.