Katzaniel Posted July 17, 2006 Report Posted July 17, 2006 If you're looking for the poll for the Library of Lang-thii, you're in the right place. Rules are here if you need them. The descriptions follow.
Katzaniel Posted July 17, 2006 Author Report Posted July 17, 2006 Bamboo waves softly in the wind, and in between their whisper a soft whistle can be heard as the wind catches a half-open sprout. Water babbles calmly under the wooden bridges, and the high trees cast long shades on this late autumn afternoon in the library of Lang-Thii. Clouds roll through the open skies and alternately the library is bathing in clear sunlight or darkening slightly under the white shapes passing through the otherwise clear blue sky. The air carries a faint scent of freshly mowed grass and lavender and, although the sun is warm, it gently kisses the faces of those around. Birds chatter merrily, and their songs mix with the whispering of turned pages. Scriptors and students can be seen studying the texts of the ancient tomes on the grass, on one of the many terraces, or simply standing at the immense archive in the centre of the library. Since its creation this place has served as a library for the spirit world. The spirits of men and women of all races and cultures meet each other to discuss the ancient wisdom of the gods. Here they find the peace to finally learn about accepting each other regardless of who they were, or what they believed during their lives. Not only adults are seen reading books on the soft grass of the meadows, also the enlightened spirits of children rest here to enjoy this haven of knowledge. Close by a butterfly can be seen landing on a little girl’s nose, and she turns her eyes inwards to look at it. A woman smiles at the child’s expression, and the butterfly takes flight again, followed by the girl’s melodious laughter. Around the central archive runes light up as a spirit enters a new request and the book appears from thin air for him to read. The sun slowly hides her face, and the night shimmers in. Fireflies gather to let the visitors obtain their knowledge, and on the watersides small fairy lights start to shine with a soft blue glow. The runes light up a clearer blue with each new spirit entering. Time is lost in this place, and each spirit waits patiently until they will be returning to their new task. Eternity is captured in one moment, and forever is merely a word around here. In the blink of an eye a soft orange glow lights up in the shimmer of the falling night, and a spirit smiles as he slowly dissolves. The book he was reading disappears back into the archives, and the spirit accepts his new task with a smile. No mortal has ever set foot in this place, none but one. Lang–Thii. She was a bright and kind person. With her good deeds she enlightened many children, and gave their lives meaning and their young minds the strength to carry the tasks they were given during their earthly presence. This woman understood her presence and given task, and gave back what she had been given herself, knowledge. She knew that half the spirits sent down from the heavens were not ready to carry their responsibilities, simply due to a lack of education. Lang-Thii spent half her life trying to teach the uneducated on earth, but then realized that it were the heavens where they had to be taught first. She humbly asked the gods if she could create a place where the spirits could be prepared for their stay on earth, and finally they granted her her wish. They made her promise that no mortals would ever be allowed into the spirit world, and then gave her the powers to create her library. After creation she herself was banned from her peaceful haven, and not allowed back in until she passed over to spend her learning period in between lives herself. Lang-Thii, however was judged by the gods, and when her experiences were placed on the scales, a different task was placed on her shoulders. She would be the teacher to those spirits passing too early, and she would be educating them in the short moment before they were sent back to finish their life on earth. These spirits are the spirits of people experiencing near-death experiences, and one could say that this would be the only way to enter the Library of Lang-Thii while still alive…
Katzaniel Posted July 17, 2006 Author Report Posted July 17, 2006 The suction through the sandy floor tugs on your body with all the gravity of a second planet; it's easier to lie down than to walk and disturb the entries in the Library of Lang-thi. Lie down, and all your hair and loose adornments slide down into the sand, along with any sweat and scent. You will feel cleaner than you did after the pre-entry bath and change of clothes and not even mind that the suction has already erased your footsteps from the sand. Look up once you become comfortable, and already one transparent crane will be unfolding its joints and lowering to you an oval suspended on a thread of spider silk. Perhaps it is large, perhaps small, if your mouth is not shaped like mine, but you will take the sensor into your mouth and think of your subject; the subconscious motion of your tongue, the flow and content of your saliva, will tell the Librarian what it needs to know. The Librarian tugs on the thread when it has enough information, and when you let go of the sensor, it spools back up into the ceiling and the confusion of glassy, jointed limbs. Another will descend; take that into your mouth, and it will flood your mouth with taste. No other reference in all the worlds has such a taste library as Lang-thi. Lang-thi had no native, intelligent life; it was a planet of giant reptiles. Interstellar speculators turned the planet into an exotic safari tour and imported primitive intelligent life for versimilitude. While the rich hunted dinosaurs, the imported tribes fanned out into the wilderness and fought against the non-dinosaur populations. Some tribes died out when a species of venomous spider began to prey on them exclusively; another set of tribes ate cocoons of those spiders, and learned from the taste which other meats were available in the area. In time, the dinosaurs were hunted to extinction, and Lang-thi's ecosystem began to unravel. Devoid of minerals, too distant for factories, empty of promising farm land--the interstellar speculators wondered what could entice people to travel to Lang-thi. They decided upon knowledge, and enticed researchers to the planet with rumors. Most of the speculators didn't care for the anthropology reports, but one unfortunate researcher coined the phrase "taste library" for the cocoon-eating habit; the speculators detained him for thirty years, until the cultured spider population had been conditioned to produce cocoons on demand. The Library was open.
Katzaniel Posted July 25, 2006 Author Report Posted July 25, 2006 And the winner is choice #1. Thanks go to: 1: Sweetcherrie 2: Quincunx In the interest of conserving space, I'll do the auctions in the same thread this year. So... 10 geld for the Library, anyone?
Katzaniel Posted August 13, 2006 Author Report Posted August 13, 2006 ... I wonder if starting these in the same thread as the poll was actually a *bad* idea. Well anyway, the winner is Tamaranis for 10 geld. Enjoy!
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