The door, large and solid wood, opened easily and silently when pushed. What lay behind it, however, was far more breathtaking.

The library.

It wasn't its size, which was neither too small nor too large, matching what I had seen of the library outside that made me gape in awe. Nor was it the style resembling those centuries-old libraries on Earth, maybe a little closer to a fantasy depiction of those given the magical crystals lighting up the aisles between the bookshelves that blew my mind.

No. What took my breath away was the silence prevailing in the library. No shouts of people assaulting my ears, no noise of hundreds of feet on the cobblestones thundering in my skull. Even the nagging feeling at the back of my neck was gone. It was as if the door was a portal to a whole other world, an oasis of silence.

"I have not seen anyone enter my library with such astonishment on their face for a long time." The words, spoken with deliberate care, and having a slight tremor, hinting at the many years spent sharing stories and wisdom, belonged to an old man sitting in the leather chair with the book in his hand under the light of a magic lamp not far from the entrance.

[Librarian: 71 sigils]

Of a gentle figure, with silver-white hair and a neatly trimmed beard framing a face etched with time and countless smiles, he bore warm, knowing hazel eyes framed by round glasses perched on his sharp-nose. No doubt, the librarian knew I was looking at his Lattice info. Yet all he did was put down a bookmark between the pages he was reading, closed the book, and set it down on the table beside the chair. When I finally came out of my daze and moved to help him up, he raised his hand to stop me.

"I may not have the sigils to cheat death, but I'm not yet old enough to need help from a lady as lovely as you," the old librarian said as he stood up and straightened, his voice, soft and soothing, wrapping around me like a comforting story, filled with wisdom and kindness. "I've been simply sitting for far too long. Sometimes I get too immersed in books and lose track of time. Bad habit of mine. But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I'm librarian Alfred Sandoval. What can I do for you, Miss?"

Dressed in simple, earth-toned robes, carrying the scent of old parchment with him, he gave me a slight polite nod of his head.

"H-hello, Mr. Sandoval. My name is Korra Grey. I came here to... I came looking for knowledge." A bit of strange phrasing, but after hearing him speak I couldn't help being swept away by his demeanor and the ambiance of the place.

Mr. Sandoval nodded, approvingly. "Well-mannered and with the right intentions to come here, that is rarely seen nowadays. All the more sorry to see what a fate has fallen upon you, miss. That by no means implies that I dare claim I know what happened to you, but in my eyes, no one with a Slave array deserved it. Everyone, no matter what fate they were born into, should have the right to choose who they want to be, even though sixteen years is, the way I see it, too early to have a clear idea about our future life. Ah... my apologies, Miss Grey. What a rude words to say when we have just met. However, you caught me reading The Birth of the Sahal Empire written by Elowen Quillshade, and those times weren't particularly kind to people like yourself. But while something that in my opinion everyone should know, I'm sure not the knowledge you've come to seek. You're looking for a book, I suppose, something in particular?"

"N-no. I m-mean, I don't know the specific book, nor whether you'll have one I'm looking for."

"We won't know until you tell me what knowledge you want to enrich your mind with, will we?"

'Enrich my mind with?' That was one way of putting it.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Well, I came to see if I could find books that would help me understand Eleaden Standard. See I... I use a weave."

"Indeed, I noticed. [Eleaden Standard Language], [Standard: Language of Eleaden], or [Standard: Eleaden Language], if I may ask? Not that it matters much. There's not that big a difference between the three."

'Gold mine!' I sure have stumbled upon a gold mine of knowledge.

"T-the first," I stammered, seeing no reason to hide when I was here looking for help. "How... how is it different from the other two?" I just couldn't help wondering if I didn't get a worse version of another weave.

"Like I said, not big. It would be like saying that one will let you use Standard to speak, while the other will allow you to speak Standard. The same thing you could say, yet it is not. You see, while things happen as they do, you'd be hard-pressed to find two pairs of eyes that saw it happen the same way. Some deemed the warlord Urus as a bloodthirsty conqueror, others as a liberator, and some as a great leader," the librarian tried to explain something I failed to see. And he didn't miss my confusion. "Take this library and you, Miss Grey, for example. Most of the Castianians don't even know where it lies, hailing it as pointless while others, like young Lord Egerton, would tear it down in a heartbeat, but you - and I don't mean to be presumptuous - but you like it, don't you?"

That I liked the library was an understatement.

"You don't even know how much I love the quiet here. These ears are just a nuisance out there," I beamed, pointing to the sails on my head while I enjoyed the silence. "So much better than the morgue, too." It really was. First of all, I wasn't surrounded by corpses. Second, the silence there was downright eerie, but here... the silence caressed the soul.

"The morgue?" The old librarian asked, stroking his beard, his brows furrowed. "My library has been compared to many things, worse things, mind you, but not to the morgue."

'Shit! No. No, no, no.' I finally found one place in this city I felt actually at peace and I immediately screwed up.

"T-that's not what I meant, Mr. Sandoval. That place was awful. This library, on the other hand, is... I can't find the right words."

"Sometimes words aren't even necessary - neither is your distress," said the old man, smiling kindly. "I saw how much you fell in love with my library as soon as you entered. The way your ears dropped, your wings and tail fell dead, while you stared with your mouth open warmed my heart. Besides, if I took offense every time someone called my library - pardon my words - a bookworm-infested shithole, I would have died of a heart attack a long time ago. No, I'm more interested in how you got to know the morgue?" He asked, stopping short as realization crossed his eyes. "Apologies, I didn't mean to veer into a painful subject."

'Painful subject?' It certainly wasn't anything fun to talk about, but why would… OH.

"No. No, it's nothing painful to talk about. It's... it's a long story."

"Ah, I love stories and certainly wouldn't mind listening to this one, Miss Grey. Of course, if you are willing to share it with me."

'Telling him how I got into the morgue?'

"I don't mean to be rude, but I don't know if I have that much time." Besides, I didn't feel comfortable talking about it with someone I'd just met. Not with the threat of the mind mages on my tail.

"I think there's always time for a cup of jartine tea."

'Huh? Jartine tea? Never had one, and never even heard of it, either.'

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Sandoval. I came by today just to see if you had any books that would help me learn Standard." It didn't feel right to refuse the old man, but...

"So you said, Miss Grey. But did you know that you already have the best tool for learning the language?"

"I d-do?"

'Did he mean the weave?'

"I think you're on the right track. Would you be willing to hear more?" he asked after seeing my apparently blatant mannerisms, clearing his throat. "Apologies. People with manners and an open mind to listening don't come here often."

"I-I see. I would love to but..."

"Of course, you cannot have tea without cookies."

My ears perked up. 'Did he say cookies?'