Chapter 35

“Tell me about the founding of the Library of Ibados, Elder Dayo,” Danel said. He lay quietly in the stone tub with a blanket thrown over him for warmth. His body ached dully, every pore and orifice. He had no hair anywhere on his body.

“First, explain to me what is a librarian?”

Danel tried to chuckle, but the effort hurt too much. Jabali, sitting on the other side of the stone tub, gently patted his shoulder under the blanket. “A Librarian is the person or persons in charge of keeping order upstairs. All the peoples of the world send their knowledge to the Library of Ibados to be stored here for study and for safekeeping. You have the archives of Master Ibados down here with you and I have the archives of much of the rest of the world with me. I must keep track of books, music, art, medicine, and anything else people have learned and recorded in some way. I even have an archive of musical instruments. We also have suites for different priesthoods and sometimes, the gods themselves visit.”

“You are the master?” Elder Dayo interjected.

Danel licked his dry, cracked lips. “No, I’m a, uh, junior master. Our leader is called The Head Librarian or just Head, because a short title works best, don’t you think?”

Jabali grunted. “Maybe. If you are only a junior master, why didn’t the Head Librarian come to confront Machafuko? Isn’t that his job as the most powerful among you?”

Danel shrugged. “He is too old and, in any case, the Jade god, Yudi, chose me and the goddess Raua confirmed my choosing. Is it cold in here?”

“No, all your hair was burnt off by the holy water. Your face looks funny without eyebrows.”

Danel let the shiver run up and down his body before speaking. “Tell me of Ibados, Elder Dayo.”

“I don’t know the songs, but I know the gist of our history,” she said. He took a deep breath. “When the gods saw what Machafuko had wrought, they convened a High Court of Judgment. They bound Machafuko in unbreakable chains to hold him until a better solution could be found. They scoured the world for a champion and found a young man from the southern continent named Ibados. Some say he was a prince raised with the finest tutors who polished his mind, his body, and his spirit. He never spoke of his early path to us. They say he strode into our last village like a demi-god, clad in the cloak of the great fanged Sabara and carrying a spear the length and thickness of a weaver’s beam. Our ancestors wrote that he cried when he saw what Machafuko had done to our bodies. He swore an oath that he would seek redemption for us.

“The gods brought us to this place, giving us land to till and a roof to shelter under. Ibados trod the land and laid out the markers for the building. The gods taught us how to build great engines that could dig deep into the living earth. We did. The task was too great and thus, the gods sent more peoples and more machines. We dug so deep that the sun disappeared from our sight. Then the gods delivered the foundation stones and one by one, we moved them into place. The great prison of Machafuko was built next. Only after its completion did we return to build upwards.

“As the first generation of Talurie died in their time, Ibados grew old as well. The gods returned with Machafuko in chains. There was a great battle in the chamber as they forced Machafuko into his prison. The gods were diminished that day, but Machafuko was locked away. They siphoned off his essence and used it to power the great mechanisms of the Library of Ibados. The lights, the air circulation and the water pipes, the transportation devices, and the great building machines as well. Even the pumps that move the holy water are powered by its essence.

“When Ibados was stricken with his final illness, all the Talurie returned to the foundation stones. He gave us his final instructions, his blessing, and his soul song before he passed. His grave is just outside this room. Brides and grooms come here, seeking a blessing from the spirit of Ibados before their wedding. With his passing we no longer travel further upstairs. All of the rest of the building was built by the descendants of the other peoples the gods sent.

“Our holy mission is to maintain the foundation and to keep an eye on the prison of the mad god. We cannot enter the prison lest Machafuko snatch us again and make us his tool. I hope you understand.”

“I understand,” Danel said. “The Talurie were cursed by one god but rescued and raised up again by Master Ibados with the blessings of the other gods. Your ancestors created a life for themselves and their descendants that was as meaningful and enduring as their previous life. It is a powerful tale, Elder Dayo.”

“We are shamed by our twisted bodies, Danel.”

“I see no reason for shame, Dayo. You are a strong and noble people in my eyes, and for me, that is the most important trait. All else is merely ornament.”

“Your words sound odd to my ears, but they gladden my heart. Why is that?”

Danel shrugged again. “If I had a choice, I would rather be buried down here among your people than in the niche reserved for the Librarians. Here is only honor and purpose.”

Danel closed his eyes and slept. Someone shook his shoulder and slowly he cranked open his eyelids. He smiled as best he could at the familiar face, but he could not keep his eyes open. He felt himself being lifted and placed on a stretcher. He was jostled many times, but all of it was hazy and disconnected.

Someone held his head and urged him to drink the water pooling at his lips. He drank greedily and then asked for more. A wet cloth began to bathe his body, adding a sense of coolness to his skin. He drank some more before slipping into a comfortable sleep.

Danel drew in a deep breath as he emerged from his slumber. He opened his eyes and looked around with confusion. He did not recognize where he was lying as his view was obscured by the ceiling of a cabana.

“The stricken awakens from his healing,” a voice outside announced. Danel recognized the voice, but figuring out the face that matched it took some time. The goatman sitting on his throne with his fanciful creatures brought a smile to his face.

Another hand cradled his head, and he looked up into the face of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her eyes were large and kind, and her lustrous black hair shimmered in the light. “Sip slowly, my betrothed,” she said.

He did. When he looked back up into her face, he returned her smile. “Who? How? What?”

“I am Aiya, youngest sister of the same mother as Prince Ariq Boke,” she said. “As to how, you paid my bride price when you saved my brother from the plague and guided him to the medicine we use to stop the spread. He said we should play hide-and-seek in the hallways.”

“Hide-and seek?” Danel said, his smile never leaving his face. “You were the wild child in the palace?”

“Much to my parents’ regret, and my governess’s shame, and my brother’s too if I am honest,” she said. “I could find him anywhere, no matter what he was doing. If he was sitting, I would crawl into his lap and settle down before he realized I was there. I was not the favorite of his tutors.”

“You still think hide-and-seek is a good idea?” Danel said, waving his arm around.

“This is a building of wonders and wonders,” she said. “I could never exhaust the secrets here.”

“There you are, already frittering away your time with the women again,” Frage said, stepping into the room. “How do you feel?”

“Better, but still weak,” Danel said. “I need to eat, I suppose. Rahim found you.”

“He did,” she replied with an edge to her voice.