The Bibliorynth of Zhao Zweh
Lost to the mysts of time and catastrophe, the fabled Zhao Zwehian Library has reappeared. Or at least, part of it has...
History
The Library of Zhao Zweh was a massive, sprawling location. Located in the capital city Zhao Zweh, the library was a center of learning and study. The main building was no less than four levels high, and extended far underground. There were also a number of research labs (magical and mundane) immediately nearby to facilitate the experiments that drive forward progress. However, the library was lost along with the capital city in a night of catastrophe. Whether through sabotage or miscalculation, the city was consumed in an expanding sphere of Null Space, and with it the Library.
Reappearance
Now, millenia later, the Library has reappeared. A flickering, shimmering vision from a distance, it solidifies as one draws closer. Standing before the structure, however, it is obvious that something went horribly wrong. Portions of the building jut out in ways that should be physically impossible, and entire sections appear to be simply missing, though the adjacent areas are perfectly fine, including those that should by completely unsupported thanks to the missing material.
Interior
The interior of the Library is a veritable maze. In its prime the building was hard to navigate, requiring a full staff of librarians to keep track of its ever-expanding contents. With the staff long dead, any visitors will now have to search blindly and hope to find some sort of index document that lists where they might find the information they're looking for.
Dangers
For all its vast potential, the Library is quite dangerous. While it has temporarily reappeared from Null Space, sections of it are still submerged within the seething chaos of that anti-plane. Entire wings of the building are simply missing, replaced with a headache-inducing cornucopia of non-colors and unlight. Anything falling into the depths of Null Space is unrecoverable, so visitors had best be watchful of their step. Numerous hallways are blocked, either by structural collapse or Null Space rifts, forcing visitors to continually find alternate routes to reach their destinations.
Some of the research wings are also still accessible, including at least one biomancy lab. Over two millenia have passed since the catastrophe, thousands of years for the unmaintained experiments to flourish and become far more than their creators ever intended or imagined. The results are likely to be volatile, in every sense of the word.
Disappearance
While the Library has reappeared, there is no telling when it might vanish back into the depths of Null Space. Discovering an ancient, forgotten tome within the labyrinthine depths of the Library could be the find of a lifetime, but the risk of being lost forever rises the longer and deeper one delves.
The Bibliorynth of Zhao Zweh is now accepting visitors. Caution is advised.
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? Responses (11)
A quick oekaki submission to get the juices flowing again. This was inspired by a comment Dozus made somewhere, reproduced below:
'*Bibliorynth - noun, a maze-like library. Origin: Me, like five minutes ago. Combination of the Greek biblio (book) and labyrinth (labyrinth).'
It's cool, and i would love to read more on it. A bestiary of biomancy mutants and animated book-beasts and such will be a nice addition, should you ever choose fo expand this.
If its an oekaki, it should have the oekaki freetext. So that people know going in what to expect. Other than that, a good idea. I agree with SE on the bestiary of dangers within the bibliorynth bit.
And thus was the freetext added.
Fun stuff!
This gives a whole new meaning to 'a little learning is a dangeeous thing.'
Ah, an Oekaki. well, I guess in that case, i can't say, 'This needs more!' (But it does).
Nice setting though for adventure. I always wondered if we'd ever get that Bibliorynth sub after Dozus coined the term. :)
This gives a whole new meaning to 'a little learning is a dangerous thing.'
Very interesting!
When locations as lethal as this are brought up, I have to wonder about how they would be used in play? Complete obliteration from one wrong move? Lost, sure, but unrecoverable? Of course it is easy for a GM to change to suit their own game.
A fair point. I consider places with massively-lethal environments to be, frankly, realistic. We DO have places on the planet where one wrong move will kill you dead. However, they should be rare, as such places are in real life. And, unlike in real life, you should probably let your players observe the deadliness first-hand before subjecting them to it. That seems like the best compromise between not coddling your players while still preventing them from stumbling into something their PCs would have known not to do.