Chapter One Hundred And Sixty - The City Of Grand Central Library

The Grand Central Library was the central pillar of the whole of society for it contained the one thing that the people felt was the most important aspect of their lives; knowledge.  The backbone of their knowledge constituted of their history.  Whether it was the history of a most important person or of the evolution of their people or even a small tale in the life of an average man, it did not matter.  If it was recorded, it was important and if it was important, it could be found in the Grand Central Library.  This is not to say that other words of knowledge could not be found within the library, for within history, there have been times when a herbalist might have found out the importance of a herb or a fisherman might have documented the types of fish he had caught.  Or an old woman spoke a few wise words that someone thought great and recorded so he wouldn't forget them.

Every book that ever existed could be found in the Grand Central Library, but only a few copies of those books could be found in town libraries, so though the latter were still important, it was the dream of every person to at least once visit the Grand Central Library.  It was not something one could do on a whim either, for to enter the Grand Central Library, one needed to pay a donation of Clay tokens.  This fee covered the costs of the librarians, their assistants, new books to replace old, the scribes that needed to write them, the book makers needed to make them and so on and so forth.  The entry fees were not large, but they were not small and happened to increase if a respected Teacher came to offer words of wisdom within the Library halls to eager ears.

As with every central pillar, a town or in this case a city, had grown up around it.  And for the privilege of living in the shadow of the Grand Central Library, naturally fees would also be paid.  The city consisted of many shops run by trader families, Inns and taverns, estates of minor branches of families who lived a distance away and the Five Elite Families, whose greatest fortune happened to be due to the fact that the Grand Central Library grew within a location close to all of them.  From these five families, most of the Grand Central Libraries librarians and assistants were born from.

Two of the five families also ran paper mills and it was to the one east of the city that K'tai-tul headed to, simply as it was the nearest.

P'nun-gu was sceptical at first, but then impressed by the quality of the wood K'tai-tul showed him. The farmer was also very earnest and open about why he had to travel all of this way from dawn to late afternoon in an attempt to trade his wares. P'nun-gu was stunned and felt anger on his behalf that the farmer's neighbour could be quite so dictatorial in an attempt to grab his land from him. He decided that he definitely wanted to do business with this man, but he needed approval from the family head, even though he was responsible for this side of their businesses.

As it happened, P'nun-gu need not have worried. The Gu family head approved and the men could shake hands tentatively. P'nun-gu would still need to visit the farm and inspect the trees before all was sealed, but for now he would claim the wood K'tai-tul had with him. The farmer was then invited to stay for dinner and for the night.

"Are you sure there is space," K'tai-tul worried. He knew that the five families were reputed to be large and numerous.

P'nun-gu eased his worries. "Yes, there is room," his words were almost disheartened, but as K'tai-tul expressed concern, he decided to be as honest as the farmer. "Just as your family has met with a downturn in numbers, as has ours. Not quite so dramatically, I might add. I must say, you are certainly working hard to keep your family from being lost. It is most admirable."

"Thank you," K'tai-tul replied. "My family is not the only one to have suffered in recent generations, I thought it might be just bad luck in our region, but it seems to be wider spread then."

"Yes," P'nan-gu agreed. "I have heard other families whisper worriedly about the lack of children being born. How will we all hand down our trades if such continues?" K'tai-tul sighed, but felt there was little he could do. Nature could be as cruel as it could kind. Maybe this had happened before, in their history. Likely it was recorded in the Library if that was so.

*****

The following day, K'tai-tul went into the city to try his luck in trading the assortment of jars and bottles and their varying contents.

It was said that the Grand Central Library was once a small mountain range, the main building was carved from the tallest peak. If it was true, it was an undeniable feat. What was more, K'tai-tul felt as he glanced at the towering building from the road, with the suns light shimmering on the face of it, he could well believe it. From the main tower with its small, shimmering windows embedded in the walls of stone poured great arched bridges leading into smaller towers, also seeming to have been carved from stone. Beneath these bridges lie stone and brick houses, cobbled roads weaving between them. More properties were located in other areas scattered about in areas that the bridges did not shadow. The closer together these clusters, the more assuredly that they belonged to family estates.

K'tai-tul easily found shops and stalls in amongst these clusters and shadowed buildings and with a handful of traders, he created tentative connections. For sure there were several that were especially interested in his mother's apple cider vinegar.  He traded for tokens where he could, unable to ensure that certain produce he needed would survive the journey home otherwise.

Overall, he enjoyed this trip into the city and planned to grab as much as he could in the early hours of the next day before making the journey home.  In the meantime, he chose an inn close to the shops he wished to visit tomorrow and stabled his lightened wagon there.  As he was about to make his way back in and to his room, a familiar face appeared before him and he felt the corners of his mouth rise and his face flush.

"Hullo," he greeted, softly.

O'vel-win was just as surprised.  He had been in the city for three days and nights now, having accompanied his Masters.  However, their business was yet to be concluded; the Grand Librarian wanted them to relocate the Machine close to the City, feeling it would be better situated there, but his Masters disagreed.  It was the Grand Librarian's argument that the Machine's purpose was to memorise the materials within the Library, so it would be more beneficial to have it nearby.  The Masters felt that having it so close to the place that was sacred in most people's hearts was inviting disaster.  Many people still considered the Machine a threat to this place after all.

O'vel-win was of two minds.  Naturally he understood where his Masters were coming from, though he agreed with the Grand Librarian's point of view as well.  He worried, though, he had thought that the Grand Librarian was also against the Machine and couldn't quite assimilate the change of heart.  That and he would either need to change his path or relocate away from his family, from his friends and from the man he had yet to confess to should the Machine move to the city.

Feeling that his point of view was unhelpful in the scheme of things, he dwelled mostly on his own problems and was still deep in his thoughts when the face his heart beat for appeared in front of him.  He could not help the beaming smile that appeared upon his lips and curved his warm eyes as well.

"K'tai-tul," he said, trying to retain his excitement within his chest.  "I did not expect to see you here, in the city."

"Well some things happened," K'tai-tul replied, feeling slightly shy and unsure of himself.  Just as had happened before, his heart was racing in his chest.  He did not understand himself.  O'vel-win was a man, surely he shouldn't feel so happy being in his presence this way.  But he did.  O'vel-win was like a fourth sun shining its light specifically for him.

O'vel-win looked immediately concerned.  "Do you want to talk about it?"

K'tai-tul felt flutters within him and nodded.  Both men without a word turned to walk down the street.  They walked with only a breath of air between them, not quite touching, but able to sense the others warmth.  K'tai-tul slowly explained everything that had happened the past few months and about the real reason that pushed him into taking apprentices, breaking traditions.  O'vel-win listened, his heart aching and growing anger in his chest when he heard that the neighbour T'chu-gon tried to force his... K'tai-tul into marrying his daughter and stealing his home.  His anger increased further as he heard that T'chu-gon had turned to oppress them when the Tul family decided to reject his proposals.

"And that's about it," K'tai-tul concluded, glancing to his side to see O'vel-win's reaction. Seeing his unhappy expression, K'tai-tul suddenly felt guilty at burdening him so and placed his hand upon the man's crossed arms stating; "I am always placing my worries upon you. I am sorry!"

The burning flames of ire within him fizzled to wisps of smoke as he felt K'tai-tul's touch and was replaced by embers of a different kind. "Never feel ashamed about sharing with me," he found his tone was gruff and filled with emotion. "I want to be there for you."

"Really?" His eye's met K'tai-tul's pale orbs that seemed to glisten with joy and could that be hope? Or was it his own wishful thinking he saw reflected. He glanced about them, the crowds had already thinned as the smallest sun began to set beyond the horizon, but still he began to guide them to a quieter place for his heart could not take witnesses to his rejection.

"K'tai-tul," he said, nervously. "I want to always be a part of your life, to listen to your concerns, to share your joy. I... this may sound strange, but please here me out. I've feelings for you. K'tai-tul, I love you." He steeled himself for the harsh reply, but could not do so against the soft lips that shyly brushed against his own. His eyes blinked and focused upon the taller man, whose sun kissed skin was flushed pink and whose hand was touching his mouth in wonder.

O'vel-win reached for that hand, that man and pressed their bodies together, before claiming a kiss much deeper than the first. His heart soared as K'tai-tul returned it without any hesitation.