Broken Glass - Taekook

38

The library is almost central to this section of Mavathyr, and doesn't take too long to find. Namjoon still has to ask a few citizens for directions, even so.

The city itself is still waking up, despite the fact that we ended up leaving our lodgings about an hour and a half after dawn. Any nocturnal residents are either heading home or already home resting, so we find ourselves making our way to the library without much issue. The sky is already a pleasant pale blue, as the sun slowly rises just over the wall to shine into my eyes for a moment before moving on. 

The Shimmerstone Library is actually a tower, as it turns out. From a distance, it looks like it's made out of some kind of sandstone. As we move closer, I realise that it's actually built from a similar material with an outer, bright sheen that seems to shift through several different colours as our perspective changes. 

That must be where it got the name from. 

It's circular in shape, and each floor is ever so slightly smaller than the last, creating a step-like effect. Hundreds, maybe thousands of windows are visible throughout, where different rooms or galleries must be, and a long pole extends out of the uppermost floor. From it, a shining circular gem is visible. It's white, but again, the colour shifts through several as we move around. 

A set of double wooden doors make up the entrance, barred with golden reinforcements and guarded by a single official, standing beside the door with a silver spear in one hand. Above that, a great arch stretches round, decorated with a variety of symbols that resemble the ones on my mirror. 

The official is a young woman, dressed in a full set of silver armour. Dark red scales make up the left side of her face and neck, and the other side is smooth brown skin. Her hair is cut short to her head, in tight natural curls. Her eyes are a deep hazel, but the pupils are vertical like a reptile's. She holds the spear in her left hand, which is covered in the same dark red scales, long dragon-like talons replacing nails. The right hand is smooth skin, and rests at her side. 

As I walk towards her with Namjoon and Yoongi, she steps back and taps the door behind her with her right hand. The entrance seems to open on its own, and then she inclines her head towards us, her mouth spreading into a smile, revealing a line of pure white fangs. "Hollyhock is inside. They should be able to ensure you can find what you seek."

Her voice is low, with a hint of gravel, and there is the slightest emphasis on the 's' sounds within the . Namjoon, ever the politest of all of us, just nods and offers a grateful smile. "Thank you. We'll probably be daily visitors for a little while." She tilts her head at us, and then nods slightly. 
"As Her Majesty indicated, yes. You are welcome for as long as you need to be." 

She gestures toward the open entrance, and the three of us make our way through, thanking her as we pass. Just as I make it past the threshold, the door swings shut behind us, slowly and silently. 

We walk into a room that can only be described as a great hall. The ceiling isn't majorly high, only about thirty feet, but it's enough to make me feel small. It's made out of great arches that come to a soft point, latticed carving decorating each section. Where the major lines meet, small carved flowers are just visible, different varieties taking up different sections of the ceiling. 

The space itself seems incredibly light, thanks to a massive chandelier that hangs from the centre of the ceiling. Thousands of tiny candles adorn each layer of the structure, the flames flickering in a yellowish glow that turns the rest of the room into a golden haven. There are three layers, all made up of thin black wire circles, and the entire thing is held to the ceiling with a reinforced black chain. 

Four great tapestries are hung on each wall, depicting scenes from stories that must exist somewhere. I think I recognise the figure of the faery queen in one, the same focused expression and graceful features in a much bigger format across the western wall, in the green dress I met her in. In this, she's holding some golden sceptre, across her torso, in a fighting stance, against an abstract red figure, humanoid in shape. There's a fire and anger in her eyes that reminds me of the moment that I accidentally mentioned the king's name in conversation the first time we met her.