The Unfinished Chronicles

CHAPTER 1

 Alasdair Mackenzie is the owner of the world's largest and oldest private library and museum, a legacy that has been in his family for over four hundred years.

This remarkable library resides within the ruins of what is claimed to be Scotland's oldest castle, its original name lost to history but rich with Scottish folklore and myth. The library itself is a towering edifice, built from ancient stone and covered in creeping ivy, appearing almost as if it had naturally sprung from the earth.

On an unusually warm winter's day, Alasdair Mackenzie sat in the garden with his daughter Sarah, celebrating her 18th birthday with cake and a small bottle of champagne.

"Your mother's name was Jacqueline, like your middle name."

"Yes, Father, I know. You've told me many times, silly."

"Yes, I know. I just like to say her name. Are you...Going to the Library tomorrow? it is Sunday after all"

Sunday was The day where Sarah would have the keys to the Library, it was a day where she would lose herself in its history, a day that she cherished above all else.

"Yes... of course!"

"Well it is going to be a very cold and blustery day, so you had better stay warm"

"And I suppose James told you that, one would presume. How does he know all that?"

"I guess you will have to ask him that yourself Sarah?"

"Huh! No thank you I do not have six hours to spare, you know what he's like"

The following morning James knocked on Sarah's door with a cup of tea.

"Come in James"

"Good morning Sarah, it is snowing out and the wind is........"

"Yes, yes, yes Thank you James, thank you ever so much"

An hour and a half later, eager to get to the library, Sarah gave her father a kiss on the cheek, took the library keys from him, and put them in her shoulder bag. With that done, she scurried out the door and headed off to the library.

On this particularly cold Sunday afternoon, Sarah noticed a door slightly ajar at the end of a section she didn't remember spending much time in. A faint light glowed from inside.

Curiosity got the better of her. As she stepped through the half-open, grand, ornately carved wooden door, a sense of awe and wonder enveloped her. The lighting is dim and atmospheric, with pools of golden light highlighting reading alcoves and study tables scattered throughout the library. The lanterns are suspended from the ceiling by delicate chains, their light enhanced by small, glowing crystals embedded within the walls. These crystals emit a soft, pulsating glow, casting an ethereal light that seems to breathe life into the library.

The smell is intoxicating to any bibliophile: a rich blend of aged paper, ink, and leather bindings. This aroma, combined with the subtle scent of ancient wood and the faint traces of long-burnt incense, creates an ambience of timeless serenity. Each breath taken within these walls feels like inhaling history itself.

Sarah turned around, hearing the door close, but it was no longer there—just a huge bookshelf full of books.

She turned back at the sound of another noise, this time of someone briskly walking. The echo revealed a tall figure, a man dressed in a finely woven suit, his silver-tipped cane clicking on the marble floor.

"Aah! Sarah Welcome"

"What? Welcome!!, who are you, oh my giddy Aunt. You stay where you are"

"Yes,yes come with me I will explain"

"No way... What happened to that door?

"I will not harm you Sarah, please follow me and all will be explained,please this way"

Reluctantly, she followed him at a distance. She noticed that at the end of the towering rows of bookshelves, there was a door at the end of each row. The rows seemed to go on forever.

Turning down a narrow passage way and stopping in front of a row of glass cabinets the man said.

"Sarah my name is Salaam Hurston and I am......well lets say the custodial of the lost library"

"The lost?"

"Yes Sarah the lost library, Please sit down here"

Salaam pointing to a table with high back chairs.

Slowly sitting she was looking for words when Salaam said:

"You are in a world that is not like the one you are accustomed to"

"OK Salaam I really need to be going now so if you could just...."

"Listen to me Sarah the door is not there and it will never be there unless you do one of two things but first you must remain silent and hear me out....Please!"

"OK!!!"

"Thank you. Over there on that wall you see the six glass cabinets."

"Yes"

"Each of them contain one book and one ink well all except the last one it contains a book, ink well and a quill, you see that?"

"Yes I see that"

"That quill is for you and you need to hold it and I will explain further."

"You have been chosen as the Herald of Endings, tasked with the noble duty of crafting resolutions for the tales that languish in the purgatory of unfinished narratives and events"

"Take this Quill, Clara. It is no ordinary writing instrument. With it, you possess great power, But beware, for such power comes with great responsibility."

Clara's fingers closed around the quill, and she felt a surge of warmth and an energy . It was as if the quill itself recognised her touch.

Her heart, instead of pounding with anxiety, beat with a steady rhythm of excitement and purpose.

"I need to sit down"

"Sarah you are the last one, the last hope for the lost library, there have been five before you. I told you earlier that there are two ways you can go back through that door. Do you remember that?"

"Yes I remember"

"The first way is the hardest, there are thirty two doors and behind each door there is a realm of chaos, unpredictable danger, confusion.

There are events with no endings as there are countless chronicles You need to weave conclusions to these incomplete sagas, to breathe life into their endings, and bring closure to their restless characters.

If you enter a realm the door behind you will disappear as the first one did if you bring order to the chaotic world and bring the chaos to an end the door will open for you. It must be repeated thirty two times for you to be able to return to your world"

The second way is for you to break the quill in half as all the others before you have "

"And what will that do?"

"The door to your world will open and you can leave the lost library"