Chapter 2

Ashur woke in an unfamiliar room with an unfamiliar weight on his chest. The room part wasn’t unusual. He hadn’t quite gotten used to his own room in this timeless place yet, but the feeling of a warm body pressed against his left side was mildly startling until he remembered the previous night.

After his first explosive climax, they had subsumed themselves in each other’s bodies; holding on to one another tightly as they each came again and again. Every peak had been a cathartic release of the loss they had both experienced and they weathered the ebbs and tides of passionate sorrow together.

Eventually, spent both physically and emotionally, the two had curled up with Mera tucked under Ashur’s chin. She had buried her face into his chest and softly cried one more time as he held her. His own final few tears wet the pillow of her bed and they had fallen into dreamless slumber like that.

He looked down at the top of her head where it rested on his chest and saw the moment that his change in breathing woke her.

“Good morning,” he rumbled. Her head jerked slightly as her own sleepy brain caught up with their present circumstances.

Ashur chuckled when her head tilted up to him and her cerulean eyes flashed a deep royal purple and then back again; a soft pink settling into the changing centers of her irises. Slowly, as if she was afraid that this was a dream, Mera raised her hand to his face and touched his cheek and lips. Caressing them, she regarded him as though trying to find something. Whatever it was, she found it with a small nod and climbed on top of him. With her hips straddling his waist, she leaned down and kissed him.

“Thank you for last night,” she told him. “I don’t think I ever really took the chance to properly mourn for them. I guess I thought that if I did, it would be the first step to madness.”

She moved down a few inches and rested her head against his chest once more. He breathed in deeply to watch her rise and fall and, as he did, her soft floral scent entered his nostrils. Inhaling a second time to draw more of her in, he wrapped his arms around her.

They must have slept again because he was startled to feel her sit up. She brushed hair from her eyes and leaned back to stretch. With her arms reaching to the ceiling he could see her body fully now. In their feverish lovemaking the night before, they had not taken the time to explore each other in the darkened room. Sliding from one position to another, each had been focused on their own pain and release for much else.

Now, Ashur marveled at the velvet of her azure skin. Raised markings that looked suspiciously like the writing on the bookcases and platform above them ran along her ribs and sides.

Putting his curiosity aside, he reached for her hips. Unwilling to interrupt her stretch but unable to stop himself, he caressed the tops of her thighs before reaching around behind her to cup the firm globes of her ass. He waited until she had released the stretch before giving each cheek a squeeze.

Mera smiled down at him and wriggled her hips. She slid down and rubbed the lips of her sex against his rapidly hardening cock. Slowly, she gyrated on him, coating him in her fluids.

“It’s been so long,” she purred. Raising her hands up through her hair, she worked herself back and forth along his length and then, with a tilt of her hips, nudged the head of his penis inside her. She slid downwards toward his feet and he felt himself slide into her. She went slowly; every inch teasing her own body. When she felt the entirety of his length filling her, she stopped.

“Ohh ... That’s nice... , “ Mera groaned. At first, it looked as though she was going to start moving, but when she brought her arms down, she placed them on either side of his head, leaned forward and kissed him.

It was leisurely. Having spent so much of themselves the night before, he was as happy as she was to take it slow. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing one hand up to cup the back of her head. The other made light strokes up and down her bare back. She moaned into his mouth with the caress and settled more of her weight upon him.

Soon the stimulation was too much for them and Ashur began to clench is hips in a miniscule thrusting motion. Mera took the hint and started gyrating once more. As her speed increased, she sat upright and he slid his hands along her body to cup her breasts. Using his thumbs to brush her nipples, he gently kneaded them until she covered his hands with hers and directed him to squeeze harder. He did and she made a sound that was between a growl and a grunt.

By now her skin and eyes had more pink than blue and he watched, fascinated, as waves of the two colors washed back and forth across her body. By the rapidity of the changes, he thought she must be getting close so he grabbed her waist and thrust up into her; lifting her from the bed.

“More,” she demanded. “I need more!”

Tucking her right leg, she shifted her weight to that side. Rolling onto her back, she pulled him with her; doing her best to keep him inside her soaking slit. He settled onto his knees between her thighs and pumped in and out of her. She raised her legs and hooked them around his hips to draw him deeper.

Ashur grunted as his balls slapped her ass time and again. Feeling the familiar tingle in his scrotum, he knew that he was going to come soon and increased his rhythm. She must have felt his cock swelling because she grabbed the back of his neck with both hands and pulled her body up into him without disrupting the pace.

“Yes! Yes! Oh, please! Yes! Cum in me! Fill me!” she cried in his ear. Her arms locked up and her body shook uncontrollably as orgasm after orgasm crashed through her as fast as the shifting colors in her skin.

Her pleading voice and the sudden vibrating clench of her around his manhood were all it took to set Ashur off. His pelvis stuttered for a moment before shoving hers into the bed as he came. His cock swelled repeatedly which set Mera off into another series of climaxes.

When they finally released her, her arms let loose and she fell back to the bed. With her legs still wrapped around him, he collapsed; leaning most of his weight on one arm in a last-second effort not to crush her.

While their breathing slowed, his softening member retreated from her vagina and lay along her lips. The final drips from the end of his cock mixed with the combined fluids slipping from her folds.

Resting his head on the softness of her breast, he finally regained the energy to push himself up.

“That ... was amazing,” he told her.

She reached up to pull strands of sweat-soaked hair from her face. With her other hand, she held his face. Her look was unreadable, but she nodded and replied, “Yes.”

When he had rested enough to pull himself from between her legs, he rolled over onto his back and she resumed her position on his side with her head on his chest. He held the hand she laid there and stroked her back with the other until they both fell asleep again.

...

The need to empty his bladder woke him up and he wondered how long they had slept this time. Mera was still asleep so he did his best to slide out from under her without disturbing the slumbering woman.

Ashur slipped into the bathroom and, after taking care of necessary business, sat on the edge of the tub to start the water shower. While the water was warming, he began to wonder what their night of passion meant for each of them. Obviously, they had both needed the emotional release and mutual comfort, but what about this morning? She had initiated the sex when they woke up, but he knew better than to assume her bed would be open to him whenever he wanted. He was certain that this morning’s session was a natural follow up to last night’s intimacy and so wouldn’t press for more unless she gave him a clear go-ahead to do so. He had seen a hint of her powers and anything that seemed like pressure without her consent might just well end up with him back in a dirt cave ... or worse.

Once Ashur had cleaned up, he returned to Mera’s bedroom. He didn’t think it would be wise to have her wake up alone if he wanted to stay in her good graces. Rather than lying down beside her again, he sat on the edge of the bed and watched her sleep. Her face was serene and calm and he enjoyed looking at it, but his earlier mental conundrums kept his own brow furrowed.

His movement must have disturbed her sleep. Less than two minutes after he had taken a seat, she rolled onto her back and languidly stretched. When she was done, she turned onto her side facing him.

“Stop thinking so hard,” she said with a smile. Realizing his face was still a mask of introspection, he immediately smoothed his features into something more positive. His problem could wait and he remembered his promise to make her as happy as possible before she sent him back. Ashur smiled back at her.

“I was going to ask what you want for breakfast, but I think it’s a bit too late for that.” He was still trying to puzzle out how to keep track of time when the primary illumination of this place was the glow from the walls, but he knew that right now, they were at their brightest meaning that it had to be past noon.

She chuckled a bit and started to rise. Suddenly her eyes opened wide and she jumped from the bed and raced for the bathroom. Standing and heading for the common area, he laughed to himself. There was nothing worse than a full bladder telling you that you had waited too long.

Confident that she would not be taking him anywhere else today on the “Library Tour”, he started to put together a simple ploughman’s lunch on one platter. After last night, separate plates seemed a little silly for a meal like this.

The simple unheated fare proved to be a good plan when Ashur heard shower sounds in the bathroom. He sat quietly, nibbling occasionally, and read the book he had tried to start twice now. After half an hour, his hostess joined him; clothed in a different cream-colored dress. Her eyes lit up at the food and she sat down across from him at the table.

“Thank you,” she hummed. Wanting to let her enjoy the first few bites, Ashur held off until it seemed she had sated the worst of her hunger before eating himself. They both proved to be hungry and the plate was emptied in short order.

Once they both sat back in their chairs, Ashur decided he had better get everything out in the open to head off any misunderstandings.

“About last night,” he started, “I just wanted you to know that I really enjoyed and appreciated it.” He trailed off, not really knowing where to go next. Mera looked at him with a small smile. It appeared she was going to let him flounder a bit.

“I’m not the sort to expect a woman to let me into her bed just because we had one tumble. I learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago. I just ... uh ... umm ... well, shit.” He looked at her helplessly. What was it about this woman that threw him off so?

Laughing cobalt eyes pinned him down for several moments before she took pity on him and responded.

“Barbarian, I don’t expect anything from and will cede nothing to you. If longevity teaches you one thing, it’s that sex is wonderful for a great many things, but expectations of that sort are not among them. I thoroughly enjoyed last night and this morning and, if the mood strikes me, may ask for more. As it stands, I think we can return you to your own room for the foreseeable future.”

The soldier breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. Her reaction was better than some he had faced over the years. Picking up the dirty plate, he stood and headed into the kitchen. Her good mood gave him the courage to ask about something that he had noticed earlier.

“Can I ask about the markings? On your skin?” The runes along her ribs and side had not been the only ones on her. Running along her spine and around her ankles, more of the writing was evident as raised bumps and ridges.

Mera’s eyes widened a little and then narrowed at him in concentration as if trying to solve a puzzle that only she could see. He wasn’t sure what the puzzle might be but waited patiently until she stood up and held out her hand to him.

“I think I can answer that question better upstairs.” Taking his hand, she led him out to the platform that had brought them down from the main level.

“The writing you see on the lift,” she began, pointing down at the floor,” is the language of the first peoples. When the first five races were created, we were separated across the globe. It was speculated that this was so we could grow and develop in our own ways, though that has never been confirmed. Eventually our cultures grew large enough in population and technology that we encountered one another.”

The lift reached the main floor and Ashur followed his blue guide as she started walking between the shelves. He looked to either side and saw rows upon rows of books. Some were bound in leather; others were tied at the spine. Still more had the signatures adhered together by some kind of hard adhesive. His attention was brought back to Mera as she continued.

“As with many of the subsequent cultures who interact, a common tongue developed so that we could trade, make treaties, and all of the other relations that happen between peoples. The only difference was that the gods took interest in ours and codified part of it. We called that part “The Lexicon”.”

She made a sharp turn so fast that he had to grab the corner of a bookcase to use as a pivot point in order to follow her.

“We had our common tongue vernacular that was used for day to day usage, however, being the “first peoples”, our words had power and the gods didn’t want subsequent races and offshoots of ours to have that kind of power.”

Now he could see what looked to be some kind of central hub. Mera had made many turns and even doubled back down a different row from time to time. He knew that he was completely lost and resolved to not look away from her until they stopped moving.

“We were the only long-lived peoples; with lifespans of five to seven thousand years. That gave us the time to mature so that we could use the power of those words responsibly. The gods believed that if the short-lived races had that kind of access, they would tear the world apart in conflict and errors.”

They were close to the center now and Ashur saw a giant sculpture of a man and woman standing together facing opposite directions. Clothed in short robes, they were obviously carved from some sort of iridescent marble. The man held a staff in one hand and the woman held a globe. As Mera walked them around the statue, he could see that the figures’ free hands reached behind them and clasped the other’s. They had a look of determination and wisdom that almost seemed to radiate outward.

“The magic that helped to create and sustain the Great Libraries was born of these Words and the markings you see are those ... or at least part of them.”

She had stopped before the giant woman and gestured upwards. The soldier gaped when he saw the same markings raised on the stone ribs where the robe did not cover her skin. He moved from side to side. As close as he could tell, they were identical to what he had felt under his fingers this morning.

Finally turning to look at the man, he could see more of the writing as the robes left his right shoulder and chest exposed. Ashur knew there was some significance there but turned to Mera as she started speaking once more. She waved up at the towering statue.

“The Words of Power you see on them are those given to the caretakers of the Libraries. These were created from the Lexicon and rewritten in several different planes for protection. With the Libraries being accessible to anyone who chose to enter, we needed a way to keep random visitors and those with untoward motives from being able study them too closely. The Libraries were the only places where the general public could see a part of The Lexicon. All other records or uses of it were closely guarded by our practitioners. I think your culture would call them mages.”

Mera unlaced the front of her dress and let it drop open. She pulled the material to her waist so that he could see what was written on her skin. Instead, all he could focus on was her chest. Her breasts bounced and wobbled distractingly while she moved.

She snapped her fingers in front of his face and he jumped. Caught again, he wondered once more what it was about her that made him so bumbling. She laughed a little at him which caused more movement and he fought to keep his eyes on the markings adorning her sides.

“Now I definitely know how to get your attention,” she quipped. Turning back up to the statue, she waved her hand. Almost as though he could see through the marble robe, glowing ribbons of light showed themselves along what would have been the statue’s skin had the robe not been there. Mera pointed at the matching patterns on her own skin.

“The Words you see are the power given to the two caretakers of each Library. Within the walls of our homes, we are basically gods, but that power extends to any of the Great Libraries we visit and, to some extent, beyond.”

The still topless woman wandered over to the towering stone man and laid her hand on his bare foot.

“Colphon was the male half and my partner. When he gave himself to the protection of this pla

ce, much of my own power disappeared. Since there are no visitors or criminals to worry about, this has not been much of a worry for me, but there are definitely times where it could have been useful.” Wistfully, she looked up at the statue and sighed heavily.

“I miss him. Not as much as I used to, but it still hits from time to time.” Mera turned back to Ashur and dropped her shoulders. “One of the other lessons of longevity is that memories fade and we move on; whether we want to or not.”

Wandering around to stand beside her, he placed a hand on her shoulder and joined her in looking up.

“So, is your Chosen One supposed to replace him? Or take up some other position?” It felt a little callous to suggest that someone Mera held so dear could be supplanted, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

“Honestly,” she said, placing her own hand on his,” I don’t know.” She stood for a moment more before giving his hand a pat and replaced her top while walking towards the bookcases closest to them. “I don’t think that even Eshava knew. To the best of my knowledge, whoever it is may be a man or a woman, but they will have the power to bring the Library back to the world.” Reaching the end of a bookcase, Mera spun and leaned back against it; folding her arms under her breasts.

“It would be nice to be able to walk out in the world again but, to tell you the truth, I’m scared.” Uncrossing her arms, she ran her hands up and down them; shivering slightly.

“Firstly, the world has changed so much that I’m not entirely certain that I would be able to fit into it again. The cataclysm took away so much that I don’t even recognize cities and towns that I used to walk daily.

“But more importantly, even with the use of the viewer, I have never been able to ascertain what caused the cataclysm in the first place. I know it wasn’t natural and nothing like it has happened since, but I still can’t rule out that whatever was behind it is still out there ... waiting for the Library. For me.”

Mera shivered again and Ashur stepped up to her. She pressed against him as his arms went around the frightened woman. Her body quivered against him, but not in the passionate throws of the previous night. The unknown source of the cataclysm had unwittingly embedded great fear in this lonely woman and her solitary years had given that fear the opportunity to worm itself deep into her psyche.

“I dream that whoever does come will be so strong that they can keep ... the Library safe from whatever comes; no matter what it is.”

Ashur caught the stutter and knew that she had meant to say something else. He held her tighter for a second and then let go when she made to move away from him. She shook her head as though trying to clear it and smiled up at him.

“That was quite a lot! I’m not usually this open, but when you haven’t had anyone to talk to for so long, it all sort of spills out. Anyway,” she chirped brightly while placing her hand on the end of the bookcase,” the markings you can see here tell you what area, section, and row of the Library you are in.”

Her hand traced a line under engraved lettering at a little below her shoulder height. Set around two feet above them was another set of writing that glowed faintly, but she didn’t explain that it was special or different from the engraved characters, so he assumed she meant all of it.

“The areas are broken up into the geographical kingdoms and countries that donated the material, the sections are by topic, and the rows are author and title. We used to hand out maps to anyone entering the building, but there are stands that have replacements should a patron lose theirs.” As if to emphasize her point, she gestured to a wooden stand that held folded papers with more of the ancient writing on the front.

“That must be a full-time job,” he mused. At her quizzical look, he elaborated. “Well, I imagine you have to replace those every few years when the paper breaks down and starts to fall apart, though I don’t know why you would spend the time to replace them before your Chosen One arrives.”

After a puzzled moment, Mera gave a laugh and walked over to one of the stands. She picked up one of the folded papers, brought it back, and handed it to him. He unfolded it and started to turn it this way and that as he attempted to decipher the picture on the page. Without understanding the language, he knew there was only so much he would be able to figure out.

“Those aren’t replacements,” his guide told him. “Those are still the originals from the day we submerged this place.”

Ashur stared at her in shock then looked back down at the paper in his hands. Original? How?

As if hearing him ask out loud, the azure woman patted his arm and started walking back along the route to her house. Realizing that he was in danger of being left behind, he jumped after her. When he caught up, she began to explain.

“Remember that I told you the viewing mechanism uses some of the power of time itself? The Library taps into that as well, but in a different way. Where the viewer moves back and forth along a determined temporal pathway, the Library is held in a sort of bubble. We are moving alongside the world in time, but everything in the bubble is held outside of it. Nothing here ages. Food is kept fresh and material,” she swept a hand at the paper he still held, “is preserved. Without that, we would have had to employ an entire army of scribes just to keep up with replacing manuscripts that wore out.”

Ashur pondered that as he followed her and then stopped when he came to a jarring realization. Mera had halted when she no longer heard his footsteps behind her and had turned to see what was wrong. Ashur’s face had paled as insight ripped through his mind.

Mera was stuck here forever.

Part of him had assumed that eventually, prediction or not, the caretaker would grow old and pass away if the prophesied “Chosen One” didn’t appear in time. She had told him that the Libraries had been built sometime during her second millennium and she had been here for three more. For a race that lived five to seven thousand years, she had to be getting close to the end of her lifespan.

Now, with this revelation, his face paled in understanding. There was no end for her; no reprieve until Eshava’s foretelling came true. Ashur looked to see that Mera’s face had turned to stone and her mouth had set into a thin line.

“I’m so sorry,” he croaked at last. Not knowing how she had guessed the path that his thoughts had taken, he knew without a doubt that she had.

“Another of those lessons of longevity,” she murmured. “I came to grips with the idea before the cataclysm even started. When we were chosen to be caretakers, time ceased to affect us just like the Library. It took a bit of getting used to, but it’s for the best. Learning the craft of caring for this place isn’t something that can be done in a few weeks ... or years. As a matter of fact, I still didn’t feel like I had a grip on it until a century after the cataclysm.”

She sniggered at his look. “There’s a lot more to keeping this place going than you think,” she said and resumed their trek. Shaking his head at her resiliency, he followed along behind.

The walls had begun to dim noticeably by the time they had reached the “lift”. The name she gave the platform that transported them up and down seemed appropriate to him and he resolved to use the term in the future. She had shown him where to place his hand and push to start the elevating mechanism and, after a few practice runs, felt comfortable with the procedure; even if his stomach didn’t feel the same way from the up and down motion. Mera had grinned at his greenish complexion and suggested he wait for a few minutes before trying to go the other direction.

Leaving him to begin dinner preparations, she had returned to the Library without him for nearly an hour. When she appeared in the doorway, he rushed to help her with the rather large pile of books in her arms. At his questioning look, she had merely headed for his room and set them on the dresser in front of the bed.

“It’s still going to be some time before your return journey is ready, so I thought that it might be good for you to be able to navigate upstairs.” He picked up the top few books from one of the piles. They were thin and had brightly colored pictures of small animals on the cover. He raised an eyebrow at her and she fell onto his bed laughing uproariously at his expression. The soldier waited patiently until she finally got herself under control and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“It’s the best way I could think of to teach you the language,” she explained through her diminishing giggles. With a resigned sigh and a chuckle of his own, he turned away from the children’s primers and returned to the kitchen to finish making dinner.

The next morning, Mera was gone when he came out of his room. She had warned him that he would be on his own for the next day or so as she had Library business to attend to. What that might be, he couldn’t fathom, but he spent the time reading through the children’s primers and textbooks. By the time she had returned on the first evening, he was ready to ask her for some sort of pen and ink so he could start practicing writing.

The pen she provided him with was not the turkey feather he was expecting, but a cylindrical affair with a brass point. He still had to dip the pen in an inkwell, but it felt odd not to be required to re-sharpen the nib every few pages.

Her “day or so” extended to almost a week with the blue-skinned custodian returning every evening; sometimes long after he had eaten and once while he was sleeping. After a few of these trips, she had been haggard and worn; eating the meals he prepared with gusto before heading off to a shower and bed. On one frightening occasion, she had returned with tears in the skirt of her dress that resembled nothing more than claw marks from a large animal. When he commented on them, she had shaken her head at him and said, “It’s not all books and fun.” She had refused to elaborate further and had gone straight to bed.

As he became more proficient with the language, he felt comfortable enough to venture out into local areas of the library. Knowing better than to stray far, he had asked his hostess for a few more copies of the map; three of which he kept on his person at all times.

At first, he had explored in small jaunts; keeping his map out and referencing it often. As he grew more familiar with the territory and expanded his travels, he became aware of something amazing built into the map itself. The images and descriptions changed with the section he was in! Fascinated, he watched as the map on the paper followed his movements. As he approached the end of a row or section, the edges of the map would label what bordered his location. Even better, if he turned to face another direction, the map would shift to match his perspective!

What confused him, however, were the glowing characters that were emblazoned on the ends of each bookcase. Try as he might, he could not read them. He spent several hours one day trying to figure them out, but eventually admitted defeat. Just as he thought he could read a word, it turned blurry and his eyes would water; forcing him to close them or turn away. When he turned back, it was as though he was seeing them for the first time. On the fourth day of trying, he resolved to ask Mera about them when she returned for dinner.

But she didn’t.

For two days, he waited; assuming she was still off on whatever duties kept her far from her home. After nearly two weeks of living there, he was starting to think of it as his home too but shied away from the connection. Soon enough, he would be leaving this marvelous place and returned to his world with no memory of what had happened here.