(Ursa) In the Library of Shadows~ Part 01

Several long moments passed.

Several long seemingly endless moments while Ursa pondered life, reality, and the question of her very existence as well as the likelihood of its end. That was until she realized that she wasn’t dead … or perhaps she was never alive to begin with.

It was at this point that Ursa finally opened her eyes again to discover that she was no longer in the dark empty maze of Greyhaven but rather in a well appointed and well lit circular room adorned with bookshelves that covered seemingly spiraled upwards further than she could hope to see.

“ Holy Mother of ...” Ursa managed to say aloud.

No sooner had the words escaped her lips did she find herself staring face to face with yet another of the countless undead horror’s that could be found in the maze staring down at her with a disapproving air. .

For the briefest of moments she almost mistook the undead horror floating above her for the very same being that had once declared that she shared its bloodline and was its granddaughter.

This creature however was not that one and as it lowered itself eye level with her so that its empty and eyeless socks could stare directly into hers. She watched in mild amazement as it raised a single rotting digit to its lipless mouth and uttered an all too familiar sound heard in almost every library the world over.

“Shhhhhhh …”

Ursa nodded her understanding at once. The skeletal being nodding its approval in turn before floating away to attend to other matters. No, not a Lich after all, she mused softly. A lesser kin of undead horror known as a crypt keeper she suspected though she had to admit she had never met one herself.

The crypt keeper wasn't the only inhabitant of the library. Floating skulls drifted about the grand library, or more so floating skull-look alikes. They would have passed as skulls if it wasn't for the tiny spine-like tendrils attached to the base of the skull, working as limbs. Each tendril ended with three small digits, a strange semblance of hands that they use to complete their tasks.

The odd undead silently floated around, organizing and reorganizing the books, cleaning the shelves, washing the floors and carrying around lanterns to alight the dark corners of the library. They seem to become active in the presence of Ursa, as if the library hadn't had a visitor for centuries. The library quickly changed from looking a bit unkempt to looking brand new, as if it was built moments ago.

A few of the floating skulls approached the crypt keeper, holding up a quill with a bottle of ink, while also holding a piece of parchment on a small flat white stone. Big enough for it to write on the parchment without worry of tearing through it.

One of these skulls than floated towards Ursa in turn, in its tendrils were an inked quill, a thin board of wood that was easy to hold in one hand, and a piece of parchment, a check in sheet of the library, the last visitor seen to sighed the parchment was someone named Zachary Sainte, the date in the time column stated it was 2 YBTR, over one hundred years ago.

Ursa smiled politely and nodded, collecting the quill from the odd little creation and dipping it in the inkwell. Writing out her name on the parchment followed after by the date as she knew it before offering the quill back to the messenger.

“ When in Zatar ... “ She mused softly to herself.

The skull scanned the paper before flying off with the quill and parchment, allowing Ursa to freely roam this mysterious library. Soon all the corners of the library were brightly lit, all except a dark corridor, where a faint green glow peered at the end, far on the other end of the corridor.

Ursa gave a quick backwards glance, worried however briefly that the Dark Elves she had encountered before might come storming into the library behind her.

Only there was no doorway, nor any sign that there had ever been one. Just another wall of books seemingly no different than any other that extended ever upwards. The moment of worry having passed, Ursa then turned her attention again to the Library itself.
To say that she was amazed would perhaps be an understatement.

In the entire time she had been bound or some might even venture to say cursed to exist within the memory of the Fortress of Grey Haven. Ursa had never once chanced upon anything even remotely resembling this place and yet here it was. The very thought that this place had been here the whole damned time and somehow she had missed or overlooked it was almost soul crushing.

Ursa could only shake her head in disbelief at the thought of it as her finger traced over the titles of a row of books cursing softly under her breath. How many years, decades even, had she wasted.

It was at this point that her eyes caught sight of the dark opening in the far wall. A passageway leading to an unseen door with a faint green glow outlining the outer edge. A voice somehow distant and yet familiar calling to her.

...

Joint Post - D2wintr & Enderslayer