THE ADAMANTINE ARCHIVE
It rises above the rooftops of Fallen Baramir, a
sprawling complex of silvered domes and marbled towers surrounded by green
lawns and carefully maintained gardens.
And although there are no walls separating the Adamantine Archive from
the surrounding city, it is very definitely its own entity, both figuratively
and literally. Because the Adamantine Archive is a living entity.
It was created over five hundred years ago by the decree
of Amhog, the God of Knowledge. The first foundation stones were laid by an
assortment of elven, human and dwarven scholars. This group eventually evolved
into the Order of Archivists and Caretakers who are charged with the
maintenance and preservation of the Archive and all its contents. Describing them as librarian-monks would not
be an overstatement.
As soon as the foundation stones were laid, the God of
Knowledge imbued them with life and sentience.
The Adamantine Archive actually grew into its current state, extruding
new additions and expansions over time, as necessitated by need and, some say,
the Archive’s whims.
As the Archive grew and expanded, Amhog went to each of
his fellow gods and extracted fearsome oaths and promises from them to ensure
that the Archive would enjoy divine protection.
The only deities to refuse were Una, the Goddess of Hate, and Redethal,
the God of Destruction. Still, the
Archive enjoys a level of divine protection that no other structure on the
continent of Nur can claim.
As the Archive grew, its reputation grew with it,
attracting scholars and patrons from across the continent and beyond. Its vaults contain artifacts that are
priceless for their historical and cultural value. Most impressive of all is
the fact that the Archive’s resources are open to everyone, from the lowest
born commoner to the most exalted noble.
Everyone has equal access.
Over time the Adamantine Archive was enveloped and
surrounded by the city of Fallen Baramir. Initially, this caused some conflict
as Fallen Baramir’s leaders sought to formally annex the Archive. The Archive refused and protected its
sovereignty fiercely, culminating in an unpleasant incident known as the
Morning Gate Massacre. A group of
foreign scholars was accosted at the gates to the Archive by ruffians
supposedly employed by the city. Things quickly got out of hand, resulting in
deaths on both sides and almost plunging Fallen Baramir into war with the
cities of the Palatine Peninsula. After this incident, the city and the Archive
came to an agreement wherein Fallen Baramir formally recognized the autonomy of
the Adamantine Archive and the Adamantine Archive acknowledged that Fallen
Baramir exercised complete authority outside the Archive’s territory. Since
then, Archive and city have gotten along quite well.
During the Draconic Invasion, an Imperial Legion was sent
to secure the Adamantine Archive for the Draconic Empire. For the first time in centuries, the
Archive’s divine protections were activated. The Legion was utterly decimated,
the survivors attempting to flee through Fallen Baramir only to be ruthlessly
hunted down and executed by the city militia.
Today, the Adamantine Archive continues to serve as a
repository for knowledge and wisdom, freely available to all. There has been
talk that the Archive may formally censor the Draconic Empire for its recent
invasion, but so far no formal declaration has been made. Some Archivists claim that, since the attack,
the Archive has been acting oddly. New
corridors have appeared and old corridors have vanished. Whole sections are now
sealed away behind locked doors that the Archive refuses to open for anyone.
There are rumblings from under the gardens, suggesting that new vaults are
being created deep beneath the ground.
To what end and for what purpose? No one seems to know.
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