Ryan sat at his desk, looking at the dark oak tree that it was carved from. A light was shining from the top of it. He had finished reading the books the librarian had given him. Next to the books was a week-old news article with a picture of a rock face from The Rumble in Central Park. The article read that a group of teenagers had used illegal fireworks and were placing them in a crack to fire from. It went on to say that one of the faulty fireworks exploded, caused massive damage, and even burned a civilian.
Ryan had gone to the scene to report and see what the police had missed. He looked over the scene and used true sight to examine the incident. He could see that fire was used, but the explosion wasn’t caused by black powder. Instead, it was conjured; he could feel the intensity of the mana surge all around. He focused his mind and used a special technique he had developed from reading the book. He held his hand close and over his nose, and blue emitted from his palms. The senses in his nose began to tingle, and then he could smell the perfume from a woman who was jagging a mile from his location. Then more smells began to overwhelm him, and he focused on slowly breathing. His chest rose and collapsed. He started to smell a familiar scent—his master, and some else, no two. He focused harder, closing his eyes so he could picture a rough image of what he smelled. He could smell a wet dog smell and charred fur. From the rock wall and below, he smelled multiple smells, like a combination of flowers, and right next to him was the familiar scent and the smell of burning cedar. He opened his eyes and continued on his jag.
He reported back to his master what he had seen, smelled, and looked at. He told him the sequence of events and how he thought the battle went. Then John tilted his cup of green tea and drank it.
"Congratulations, apprentice; you know how to make magic your own and how to follow the sequence of events. Tell me, do you want to know why I went?” He said it with a smile.
“Tell me, does it have to do with the creature you showed me?” He replied.
"Yes, it is; I went there for answers and was told a fascinating history.” John said, “Then I had to end an old friendship."
“I see, that couldn’t have been easy." Ryan tried to sympathize: “What did you find out? Was it anything useful?"
"Yes, in fact, I think I might know exactly what curse it might be.” Dee raised another cup up to drink.
“So are you going to let me in or just drink tea all day?” Ryan asked, “Or am I just going to go and continue my chores?"
“Smart decision you have made this morning.” John said, “Now clean the whole house, from the fourth floor to the bottom. I will go and talk to another friend of mine; I’ll be gone for two months; don’t go to the fifth floor.”
He looked at Ryan and finished his tea. He placed the cup on the table and went to his room. He heard a loud banging noise, and John had used a teleportation circle on the far right side of his room. Ryan had become curious and, without thinking, had used his new skills to hear small but muffled sounds.
Ryan sat still in his room. He was staring at the sun rising through the window of his room. A red curtain hung to the right side, and birds were chirping outside in the trees that John Dee had planted. When John first came to the new world, New York City was called New Amsterdam. They had grown to huge trees that covered the sidewalk; he had fought for their right to stay, and now they had grown tall. The shade from then on was nice. He stood up from the chair and walked to the closet. He picked up his shoes from them, put his sneakers on, and pulled the jacket from the closet. He went down the stairs and out the front door. The door closed and locked automatically due to the use of magic. Even if anyone did break in, all they would see was an abandoned building.
Ryan walked to the closest subway entrance and walked down the steps and into the gate. He pulled his wallet out and placed the card on the electronic card reader. He walked through the spinning arms and walked to the far end of the platform. He stood there and waited for the train to come. He could smell the foul smell of stale water, and he saw a few cat-sized rats scurrying around. One managed to touch the third rail and was instantly shocked. It ran to the closest home and died. The smell mingled with the other odors in the air, and the sound of a train rumbling through the subway came.
He looked down the tracks and saw two bright yellow lights. He began to take the shape of the silver boxer car, and then a horn sounded and was moving past his location. He felt the rush of wind pull him close; he was far enough away that he pulled himself back. The train slowed and stopped. A loud ding-dong sounded, and the doors opened. The residents poured out of the carts and now lay empty. The new occupants filled in, as did Ryan. He found an empty seat close to the second-to-last car and sat down. The doors dinged again and closed. The train started up and, in no time, was off.
Ryan sat contemplating whether he was getting used to looking like he'd been in his twenties again. The looks from the girls in the car seemed to bother him slightly. He was, after all, old enough to be their father. He looked the opposite way and looked out the window. The pillars that held up the ceiling zoomed by like if you were watching an old Nineteen Twenty’s movie. This made him chuckle, and the train slowed down. He felt the train stop and got up. He was now in downtown Brooklyn. He walked off the train with the other passengers and walked to the gates. Up the stairs, he said the arch way from the distance and saw the sculpture on top. He walked the sidewalk on the right side and all the way around. He saw the Brooklyn library and walked up its steps and through the decoratively designed doors. He saw that the building had a huge front entrance, reaching about twenty feet tall. Huge wooden pillars helped hold the ceiling in place. Two sky lights could be seen with the clouds over their heads. The sun shined through the glass.
Ryan walked up to the help desk located in the middle of the lobby. He saw a male in his twenties with blonde hair and wireframe glasses. His gray eyes had a shade of blue. He was clean-shaven, in red overalls, and wearing a blue button-down shirt. His brown pants were not visible behind the circular wooden desk. Ryan waited in line and was the next person. The man waved him over, and Ryan was pulling out his wallet to produce an ID. He placed it on the table and slid it forward.
“Yes, I was curious about opening an account here.” Ryan said.
"Oh, yes, I can help. I see you have your I.D. And do you have a piece of mail with your name on it? Asked the man.
"Yes, I do.” Ryan said as he pulled out the letter from his right pants pocket.
"Ok, and here you go. Just sign here and initial there.” Said the man, “This is your library card; you can rent 10 books at a time and 5 DVDs, and these numbers here will allow you to get on the internet.”
“And the computers are where?” Asked Ryan.
“They are right behind you.” Pointing in the direction of the computers.
Walking to the white, semi-updated computer monitors. He sat in front of computer number fourteen. He entered his name and password and was logged in. Using the black mouse, he went to the internet icon and clicked. The webpage was brought up, and he entered the web address. He entered https://www.grandlibrarian.org. The website popped up, and anyone who had a spell of magic or was even just tripping on acid could see what it looked like. The site was holographic around the border, and an incantation was written. The center images were like a sunken 3D-like library in Alexandria. To everyone who wasn’t tripping balls on acid, it looked like he was looking at pictures of my little pony. The library had grown its own consciousness, and since the Renaissance age, it had grown a sense of humor of sorts.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Ryan placed both hands on the keyboard, looked up at the monitor, and read the incantation. His eyes looked in, and his body went into a sort of automated mode. His consciousness, on the other hand, was now traveling through the infinite space of what people call the internet. He was dressed in a white tunic with a blue sash and a symbol of Pisces on a gold circular pin on his left shoulder. He had on Roman sandals that were laced up to his knees. He walked up the steps that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. He could smell the sea; the ocean mist was hitting his cheeks. He felt the sun shining on him as he got to the bottom platform of what is now an updated version of the Library of Alexandria. He paid his tribute to the library by leaving two gold coins next to the nine goddesses.
The glass doors slid open, and he walked through. Inside, he saw a vast collection of books, scrolls, artwork, forests, and many others scattered across an almost endless landscape. He walked in and walked down the stone ramp. He got to the bottom, where wizards, feys, and anyone from any dimension and from every earth in the multiverse were able to access the library. Just like Earth itself, the library also lived throughout the multiverse as a single entity. It always blew Ryan’s mind when he accessed the library. He walked up to the help desk and asked for books on transfiguration and anything on curses. Particularly from cursing animals to cursed creatures. The humanoid elemental who was helping Ryan was a wind sprite. She was translucent, but her physical appearance was still very noticeable. She had silvery white hair that was braided and was overseas in silver and gold hair accessories. Her braided hair came down past her breasts. She had on a pink and purple tunic swirling like mist. She quickly looked at a scroll, and a list written in pink and purple was beginning to write itself down.
The two of them walked through the massive building. He thought to himself and wondered if this was what it was like to travel with the doctor. The both of them walked to the section of the library where massive 25-foot shelves were filled with bonded books. Some books were five feet tall and took up a good portion of the section. She floated to the biggest book and began to pull the book from itself.
The book stood fifteen feet tall and was purple, with four burgundy squares on each corner of the face and back of the book. Once she pulled the book from herself, she let the book fall.
"Look, sir, this book can stop the shockwave.” She shouted from up high.
She let the book drop with a roaring swoosh. Then, with a loud bang, the book slammed and created a shockwave that made Ryan feel like his body was vibrating to its very atoms. He felt his body begin to stop vibrating. He got up, shook his head, and felt that all his senses were back.
"Wow, you weren’t joking; that’s way worse than I thought.” Ryan said, “My mind was just shackling to its core.”
"Yes, that’s the connection that book makes to your mind.” The spirit said, “This book will act as your search history. Any books you wish to checkout will show up here and be sent virtually to your tablet that the physical library gave you on Earth. Just remember that all books, scrolls, and artifacts that you check out will be cataloged and returned within three weeks of initial checkout.”
“Really, so I always wanted to know how this place and the libraries on other earths work?” Ryan asked.
"Well, look at it like this: this place can be accessed in one of two ways; the first, which many people know and do, is to go to a computer and access it through their subconscious." The wind spirit floated down and continued, “The second, which requires a significant amount of mana and requires you to be a high-ranking magic user, you can shift through dimensions and physically come to this place.”
“So how do the physical libraries work? Are they also connected?” Asked Ryan.
"Yes, they are. When the original library burned in your world, eighty percent of all knowledge throughout the universe was lost. So many beings came together to create a self-sustaining library. They collected all the remaining knowledge and resources they could save with small portions of the old building. Multiple wizards, sorcerers, witches, and even beings that lived in other higher plains of existence all came together to create this one single organism. The small branches are its auxiliaries; they are physically and magically connected in their earths and in between.” She thought for a long moment, “In a way, you can say the small branches are like its children. They'll eventually grow up and become a museum, where the earth will be encapsulated after all life is gone.”
"Yes, I heard about that section of the library being only accessible to gods, I believe.” He said.
“You are correct, but a more accessible model of the universe is on display next to the extinct species exhibit.” She added before turning and leaving, “Now then, let’s make this book a bit smaller."
She held both arms out with her hands and fingers extended. Then she chanted a mantra, and pink and purple lights flashed instantaneously, and the book shrank to the size of a small mini iPad. He took the book, and a list of appropriate books that are suitable for his needs appeared on the pages. He closed the book and thanked the wind spirit.
He went to the first book on the list, and it told him that the book would be in the ancient Egyptian section of the library. Once there, he saw that anything related to the ancient dynasty was stored here. He saw shelves of books, papers, and scrolls that were floating to their correct placement on the shelf. He looked at the book and told him that it was a scroll in a chest located on the bottom shelf of row three. He spotted the chest and opened the lid. A message appeared on the book, and the scroll texts were stored in his book catalog. He continued to the old Mayan exhibit and told his friend Albert.
Albert was a very old wizard, but he was more of an archeologist than a wizard. He wore a white shirt with khaki pants and overalls, and his brown glasses covered his brown eyes. Ryan waved at him when he was looking in his direction.
“Albert over here; I just logged on and tried to look for you at the library back home.” Ryan said, “So how have you been?”
"Ryan, well, it looks like you managed to make your first trip here just fine.” Albert said as he wiped sweat from his brow.
"Yes, first time too; I didn’t have to try over and over.” Ryan said, “Although I believe the library did display a website of me looking at Barbie toys and my little pony.”
"Yeah, that sounds like the old girl.” Said Albert, “Try reading a news paper for hours on the first page.”
Ryan raised a brow when he saw that Albert was with an apprentice. The apprentice was a female who was six feet, six inches, and had freckles on her cheeks and nose. They had their faces hidden with their dark auburn hair. He did see they had silver-looking eyes. They were dominant on Albert’s earth. They had a more traditional outfit from their world. They wore earth tones and neutral colors. Ryan walked to Albert, and the two men clasped and held each other’s forearms. In a Roman handshake. Ryan then waved and introduced himself to them.
"Hello, my name is Ryan, and your name is?” Ryan asked.
“We are flowers; we come from Earth Seventy-Eight.” They said, “Albert, we are going to the break room so we can rest; we also have to practice for exams.”
“Of course, Flower, I’m just going to speak with Ryan for a bit.” Albert said that Flower left the exhibit and walked to the employee hallway. “So I read your message on my desk back at the office. How was sorting three bays full of artifacts?”
“Hmm, lime is always long and monotonous, but did you find anything?” Ryan asked, looking at the Mayan history on Earth-Seventy-Eight. “It’s really important; I have to be able to undo a curse that has plagued a family line for centuries.”
"Yes, I did; in fact, on Earth-Forty-Two, we found a similar curse that they were able to undo, but the flower is extinct now on that earth.” Albert said, “But that’s not to say it doesn’t exist on a different planet, so I did a little research and found that on almost every single planet, the flower is completely destroyed, went extinct, or just didn’t grow. So I continued to look, and I found something on earth that still exists.”
"Really, where is the flower located? Is this the only thing that I’m missing, or is there more?” Asked Ryan.
"There are at least two things that went extinct that are on the list.” Replied Albert, “That is not even the hard part.”
"Wait, what’s the hard part!?” Said Ryan with bewildered eyes.
"Well, there seems to be only one unique plant that grows on an earth that’s no longer a part of our library system.” Albert said in a low, hush tone as he got really close to Ryan, “It’s in a prohibited zone; this means only someone that is on the council is allowed to travel there.”
"Wait, there's a prohibited zone?" Asked Ryan, “Are there other earths where I can’t go? I never knew this.”
"Anyway, that’s all I can tell you, but if it’s anything, at least you tried.” Albert placed his left hand on Ryan’s shoulder and squeezed. “But if you do, I may know someone who can help.”
Albert held his right hand to his mouth while having four fingers and his thumb tucked in. His index finger was extended to his lips. Then, with his eyes, he looked all around. Ryan caught the meaning, and with that, he bowed and thanked him, then left. The door, which was covered in camouflage to match the surrounding exhibit, opened. Albert’s apprentice opened it and had the magical books in their backpack. They walked to Albert and handed him a book called Philosophy and Magical Science.
"Ok, let’s go and find a room, so we can test you.” Albert explained to them, “After this, you will be able to travel between worlds.”
"Yes, we know; that’s why we’re so excited,” Flower said so excitedly. "Not only that, but we are also at the Main Library; if we pass, we can go directly to get my license.”
They walked down the hall and disappeared out of sight.