LORE: Iso-Dial
LORE: Iso-Dial
What would YOU do if you had access to all the time in the world to study and do your research?
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The greatest wonder of the Great Library is its ability to step ‘out’ of time.
I realize how this may sound, but the Librarian, at one’s request, can cause the combined intelligences of the Great Library to, for lack of a better term…sidestep the flow of time.
Understanding Intelligences
To grasp the possibilities of this enchanted artifact, one must have a basic grasp of its core source of power.
In the ancient tongue, they are ällyämä [ah-LOO-ah-mah], roughly translated being ‘intelligent life’ or ‘living’ intelligence. ‘Intelligences’ is the common tongue term, spoken of in religious circles of the Brotherhood. There is a uniting belief that all things are alive. That all things comprise these intelligences. Even in the gnome religion, TGII teaches that all things, even machines, are alive.
You. Me. Birds. Bees. Rocks, plants, and even that chair you now sit upon.
The next principle in this belief is if you hold any two things together, there will always be a greater and a lesser. This is not to be mistaken about ‘better’ or ‘worse’. A person can be stronger, faster, healthier, more wise, or more talented in many ways.
When there is a collection of intelligences, there will always be a single, greatest intelligence of them all. This directs and persuades all to work in harmony, guiding the whole to fulfill its purpose. This is the identity of the whole. Something we each have, and for sentient beings, rests on the crown of our head.
This is the I AM.
It is your identity and what makes you unique.
A Union Of I AM
When I first stepped into the Great Library, it left me dumbfounded. To be allowed to walk the endless halls of the greatest collection of knowledge in our world was a dream.
It was then I learned why this domain was entitled the ‘Great’ Library.
The last Hero, using his connection with the Ithari, combined with his own intimate understanding of intelligences, called upon them.
Pulling from every stone, book, table, chair, window, and every formation of individuality directly connected to the Great Library, the last Hero collected every I AM. Binding them to a shell of light, he maintained their connection to their individuality. Though each I AM now lived within a communal setting, they fully kept their influence and control over their own identity.
This enchanted artifact is known as the Iso-Dial.
The Hero then placed the artifact and its contents under the stewardship of the greatest I AM within the Library.
The Librarian.
The Iso-Dial
When entering the Great Library, the doors will close, and the Librarian will ask for your purpose and the time you wish to spend within its walls. These are critical questions to answer. The Librarian will apply the Iso-Dial based on your needs and desires.
Should you desire to study without missing an obligation, the Iso-Dial allows the Library to step out of time with society. When you open the doors to leave, not a heartbeat will have passed since you entered. The Library will sustain you and protect you from time within its walls.
I tried to extract details from Morphiophelius, but he had no clue how the artifact actually worked. When I approached the greatest professors at the University of Magic, only one even knew the artifact existed. The records that might explain the form and function of the Iso-Dial are within the Great Library itself…but the Librarian has denied me access to that specific knowledge.
She insists that only the maker should have access to such information.
That leaves me with my limited personal experience and experimentation, along with Chuck’s willingness to share his own experiences when the last Hero was still alive.
“The Hero shaped the artifact to resemble an hourglass. What kooks to be ‘sand’ is the abundance of intelligences kept within. When I asked, who knows how many ages ago, the last Hero revealed to me he used the rarest of materials to construct it.
One of those key components is the very molten stone from the Lanthya herself. Taken from the very spot where Päjumää sent her to Elämä. The Hero also shared that many of the material required a connection to this world, and the ability to move without moving.
Sounded to me a great deal like a Prime Gate.”
- Morphiophelius Smith (a.k.a. Chuck)
Leave a comment or ask a question. I love talking worldbuilding!
Paid subscribers can comment, access the archive of this site, along with other stories, art, and any article I’ve ever written. If you aren’t a paid subscriber, you can access the archive for free with a 7-day trial OR earn a paid membership by joining the referral program! Contact me if you need our ‘hardship scholarships’ — used for military, first responders, homeschoolers and those in countries with horrible exchange rates — we have a deeeep discount for you.
Where is the great library located? Because just the ability of (step out of time.) is extremely powerful in many situations.
Imagine “you’re under attack they break down the wall. You have everyone retreat to the library. And just freeze the enemy. Now you can take as long as you need to prepare. If needed you could Stay long enough to raise an entire generation of new soldiers.
Which would kind of be hilarious in its own right. You chase 300 people into a room they close the door and moments later there an additional 700 people. That come out you could have sworn weren’t there before.