What is a Library?
It's a lot more than a man-made structure full of books. It can be eclectic collections of all assortment and mannerisms. Arcane knowledge and cookbooks deserve to sit side-by-side, but they are nothing without readers. Without a head to sit in writing is just the pretension of abstract shapes seeking meaning.
Ultimately, libraries are those groups treasuring what little anyone can truly know.
In my younger days, I failed to accomplish my dream. Becoming a library unto myself, seizing all which could be known and fitting it within my own person. Despite my best intentions I've snuffed out the life of more ideas than any Bookburner could ever dream of incinerating.
Unleashing the damnation of fire and forgetting on so many of my fellow patrons is my penultimate regret, before allowing hubris to make me who I am today. So as you browse all the knowledge you could possibly ask for there must always be that voice whispering in your ear to remind you that mortality is a virtue.
Let the Library be the one which keeps all that which cannot be remembered. Else then you may never be able to forget.
— The One Who Knows
Where is the Library?
Well, you're standing in it. Go ahead and gawk. Everyone does, their first time. Don't worry, the shelves aren't going to fall down anytime this century. It just feels like it because they're so high and narrow. The Library is… I suppose the best way to describe it would be a hub. Kind of like this hub, except instead for worlds. The Library is at the root of every world, universe, and timeline that has ever existed, or will ever exist. You guys have that saying, right? "All roads lead to Rome"? Yeah, it's kind of like that. No matter where you are in reality (or sometimes out of it), you can always find a way back here. Get it? A Way?
Oh. Man, they don't even tell you what Ways are anymore? Alright, well, a Way is a kind of wormhole — the labcoated fucks at the Foundation probably have some technojargon name for it, but we call them what they are - Ways. Of course, all Ways have Knocks — a kind of trick to get in. There's one in New York where you have to pour chicken blood over a manhole. This one's easy, though. You just need someone who's been inside to invite you. So long as I'm here, you can get though. Next time, you can let yourself in.
Docents.
Yeah, go ahead. Of course you can read them, don't be stupid. Be a pretty shit library if you couldn't read the books, right? But you won't be able to read all of them, so don't bother trying. I know guys who have spent lifetimes trying to complete just one shelf. And there are countless shelves in the Library — that's not an expression. As far as we know, the place is quite literally infinite, in every direction. At night, try looking up — you can see the stars. Sometimes you come across entire clouds forming at the tops of shelves. Don't ask me where the light comes from — I couldn't tell you. Matter of fact, there's a lot about this place nobody knows. Nobody knows when it was founded; it just seems to have always been here. Nobody knows where the books come from; they just appear. And, of course, nobody knows who created it, if anyone.
Well, nobody who can talk knows. Maybe the Librarians do.
Pages.
Oh, right. See that tall cloaked guy, with the lantern? Don't stare, it's not polite. Yeah, he has no mouth. He's a Docent, one of the guys who works here. If you need to go somewhere, the Docents show you where it's at. They also make sure no one does anything they're not supposed to. They're one of the three major kinds of Librarians — you also have Pages, the spidery-looking fellas who organize all the books — look, there's one now. There are also Archivists, but those are much less common. You can only find them at the front desk - they're the ones without eyes. That doesn't stop them from knowing where every book is at any given time, though. If you want to check out, you'll need this card to show them. Hold onto the card, by the way. It can act as your ID in a lot of places. And if someone else gets ahold of it, they own you. Another thing to remember — always return your books on time. You don't wanna know what happens to overdues.
Archivists.
We're in the main hall right now — it's a bit emptier this hour, only a hundred people or so. It looks cozy, but don't be fooled - space in here is…. weird. It can expand to fit more people without changing dimensions. It's hard to explain, but you'll see. Feel free to grab a desk or seat and just start, y'know, reading. Everything is shared property in here; we're all Wanderers in spirit. I think there's an Orientation happening in a little while, might wanna hit that up.
Well, I won't take up any more of your time. Happy reading, Wanderer.
— L.S.
The Library contains every book that will ever be written, and many that won't. Here are some of our picks from Infinity.
Of the Wanderer's Library:
Stories about the Library, set in the Library, or similar. We delight in the inconsistency of our setting, and patrons are reminded that since the following accounts are to be found on the Shelves of the Library itself, their veracity is far less than guaranteed.
The Gatekeeper's Sketchbook
What appears to be an older, completed sketchbook sits on the table in front of you. The ink stains that tarnish the cover tell you that it's been well loved over the years. A quick flip through of the pages confirms your thoughts - every page is filled to the brim with art. Looks like the artist has written some commentary on each of the pieces as well. Perhaps you take a closer look inside? There's no need to hurry, the artist has to have moved on to a new sketchbook by now.
Memocide
One day, perhaps, you saw someone chewed up by a gear the size of a building, moving too fast to see. And then the next day you saw them at their post again, skin pink and shiny. Oddly wet. They looked at you and smiled blankly, and you left too fast to pack your bags.
Groups of Intrigue
Others have come before, others will come after—doors were meant to be opened.
Notable Wanderers and Characters
The Library is accessible to countless worlds and realities, and that means the clientele are generally as varied and strange as one might expect.
Field Guide to the Shelves, Volume One
Greetings, fellow Wanderer. You've managed to find the Field Guide to the Shelves, Volume One. Congratulations! Whether it was passed to you, picked up by you, or mysteriously found its way into your possession, you are in for a treat.
Volume One of 'Lost Wanderers'
You may, if you wish, contact us again when the inventory is finished. We will be done, by my estimations, around 2431 A.D., using the time scale of your home.
Until then, please let us work.
An Abridged History of Chief Archivists
The final type are Archivists - while all Librarians differ enough to be told apart, whether through color, size, or other distinguishing features, Archivists can take almost any appearance.
Contests and Events:
Stories that were composed as part of (or were happened upon during) our literature based events. Some are winners of their respective events, some are simply memorable from the perspective of those creating this list.
Interstellar Radio Channel 5
Were they really still airing it?
He turned back the knob and, sure enough, tuned into Interstellar Radio Channel 5, his favorite station from his childhood.
Cave Story
Three days yonder, down my rugged depths, large bodies of floodwater sprawled in.
Nebula Pheonix
This is the creature that started my never-ending project of cataloguing every magical bird I can find. It all started on my journey through space…
How the Ocean Came to Burn
The ship sailed to the edge of the world, and found corpses. They stopped, lowered ladders, sent out a launch. They went to each corpse and slowly, one-by-one, loaded them into the boats.
Standard Issue Withstander Field Guide: The Nihl
Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of the Islands prospering. We hold this truth to the highest degree of importance and swear that no entity, no single person, no group of individuals will ever stand in the way of it.
I Cannot Recall My First Thought
But I do remember standing in the presence of a Cairn, no taller than my shoulder.
Aliens In America
I might as well have been an alien on my first day of school here.
I didn't look like one, though. My skin wasn't green and my eyes weren't black. I looked just like them.
Standalone Stories:
Fractions involving infinite numbers aside, tales such as these make up the majority of both the fictional Wanderer's Library and the WL Wiki. These are articles which may be only tangentially related or indeed entirely unrelated to the Library setting.
A Loaf Story
Thoughts of knives ran through his head, knives and cutting boards and cheeses and meats and sandwiches.
The Journal of Aframos Longjourney, Pilgrim
As I read through the journal, I was struck by his sense of wonder in his surroundings. Even the most mundane of the things he saw in the Ravelwoods were fascinating to him… and to me as well, seeing them through his eyes. Everything seemed new to me again.
The Last Will and Testament of Lyle Alan Burnley, Heresiographer
I, Lyle Alan Burnley, presently of the Place Beyond the Wastes, do hereby decree my final will and testament, rendering null and void all previous promises and vows made during death or near-death experiences.
Sludge Thompkins in: The Lair of the Mutant Bubblegum Lizards!
At the bottom of the dusty basin about a half mile away, I can see what the contract meant. Partially, at least. Those are definitely lizards.
The Rise Of The Steam Soul
Alteres was once a land of magic. Now, it is a land of toil, strife, and smog.
Qlippoth and Sefiros
Before, Qlippoth and Sefiros had been alone, singular things from which nothing could be compared. But now, joined within the vast expanse of the Beginning, an awareness fell over them, of things that were and things that weren't.
Eggshells
At the beginning there were seven, and each was given an egg.
How Grandmother Triode Stole Binary From The Sun
a story of people[0xCF36] as told by shaman.Accumulator.Overflows(true)
Verse/Poetry:
It goes almost without saying, we like to celebrate all forms of literature. As such we've collected some of our favorites which follow verse or poetic or metered or any such related style.
Letter
You will not find me in your museums
stocked by murderers
thieves
conquerors
A Death in the Universe
Shattered glass,
Or maybe confetti with a bit of snow,
Flew out of my mouth.
An Inescapable Truth
At night I begin to sag.
My eyes become leaden
And my brain turns cotton.
A Cromwell.
The poems below have been collected by Page Tamto in honor of the 100th Library-sponsored cromwell migration, in which the Library and its patrons encouraged the flocks and reduced obstructions and/or distractions in their path.
Glass Apartments (For Janelle)
Those houses that I pass at evening with keyhole windows
seem as other worlds.
Morenita
Dark is your skin, but I do not see in it the desert's harshness, the sands' unquenchable thirst. Your hand holds not the scimitar, nor does the perfume of incense and saffron surround you.
Collaborative Works:
Rare indeed is the book in the Library which is exempt from the rule of non-alteration. That being said, these are articles said to be "perpetually in progress" and provide readers with the opportunity to contribute to them.
Fifth Elrichian National Party Manifest
Among the pledges and promises of our Party (see section II., On the Various Reasons the King Should Perhaps Consider Legalising The Fourth And Sixth Elrichian National Parties), we wish to make simple, straightforward and reasonable oaths to the lords, aristocrats, monarchs and mages that will be voting for us.
Missed Connections
Simply call our toll-free number, summon our secretarial elemental or emit the proper spectra of radiation at our stellar vector and you too can get in touch with that special entity that caught your notice.
The Green Pages
We know that Ways can be troublesome and hard to remember, so we're providing an easy map of commonly used Ways and Knocks for your convenience.
There are thousands of Wanderers who grace the Library's halls, many of which are also Patrons of the great Library herself. Some Wanderers are more notable than others; however, and some even belong to some well known groups. Regardless, it seems like all of them have something to say about the place many of them now call home.
Pretty good but the management could be better.
— Chief Archivist, Rounderpede
If you've paced enough to callous the bottoms of your callouses even then you would be astonished by the length of these sections. Start a quest through non-fiction and if your lineage persists even the grandchildren of your grandchildren will not have gotten halfway before the suns go out.
— Aframos Longjourney
Leave me alone! These chairs are the best for sleeping off the nastiest hangovers!
— From a post-it note attached to Duke Gathers’ snout
Curling up in a nook to spin yarns long enough to wrap oneself a thousand times. Moments like that are why we come back here.
— Grandmother Triode
An enjoyable comfortable sanctum. However, comfort is not my environment. Too many people getting lost. Overall, 4 stars.
— C. L. Atlas
Seriously, stop asking me for quotes for your damn hub pages.
— Uncertainty
There's too many people! But if you can find some quiet little nook or pocket dimension to study in… then it's okay!
— Sqr'lk
Thus it is the nature of the Library to be unknowable and unfathomable to both sage and madman. None can truly understand it. Believe me: I have tried.
— From a page of Ulak's Chronicle
Better than where I came from.
— Chimaria
He ain't an educated man, but Libraries ain't just for the booklearned. My Cousin Dan met the kindest folk you could ever ask for there, helped him out when he was down. Kept helping even after he was up! I'll be gosh danged if he didn't not ain't never take none of them for granted.
If it's anything like what Dan'll says to ya there's a lot more than dusty ol' books in that Library.
— Unknown, referring to their Cousin Dan
