Realms of the Arcane - Brian M. Thomsen [101]
Wes looked surprised at this news.
"Wait a moment. You can see the future? Tell me more of my life in this world, should I choose to stay here and take my vows."
The apparition just smiled.
"No, I can't see the future. I can see into your heart, and I know that you have the qualities needed to make a fine scholar."
"But what are you? I know you are not undead, and you are not a god either. I just don't know what you are. Why do you need to choose a successor from time to time?"
"Please, stop. So many questions. In time, I will answer them all, and others you may have. But, let me answer those you have already asked first. I am the entity of the Candlekeep library. I was not the first, nor will I be the last, to bear that honor and responsibility. The library is more than stone and mortar, more than the works held within its strong walls. It is a symbol for the future. It holds the hopes of generations to come, and each generation, those hopes grow stronger as more and more works are added to the collection."
Wes looked puzzled. "But why have so many young probationers disappeared from here?"
"The library is, as I said, more than the buildings and works held within them. But buildings do not last forever, and parchment and vellum suffer the privations of age and vermin. Have you never wondered why the monks spend so little time maintaining the old buildings and instead devote more time to expanding the library? Have you never wondered why so few tomes are in poor repair, despite the use they get?"
"Well, I guess not."
"It is my job to guard the library from all forms of attack, be it a siege by a selfish lord who wants to hoard the knowledge in here, or a silverfish looking for a place to lay her eggs. I protect the library against all this, and more. But such protection comes at a cost. I do not have limitless power. As you rightly stated, I am not a god. I could perhaps live forever in this form, if I did not take my responsibilities seriously, but my life is tied to the library, and if the library falls, I will cease to be."
"So, you need my life-force to replace the power you have used in protecting the library?"
"That's almost right. If you agree to become the new guardian, it is your mind that will be in control here, not mine. Niles, and all the others, are still here as a part of me. But it is me, Jeffrey, who has control. I will relinquish that to you in turn, when the time comes."
"Will it hurt?"
Again, the entity smiled. "No. You will feel a brief tug as you make the change, but no pain."
Wes looked relieved.
"How do you know when it's time for a new guardian?"
"When my energies are low, it is time. I visit the abbot in his dreams and inform him it is time to choose a successor. Sometimes I chat with the abbot in the dream, and we discuss who it will be. Sometimes, the choice is clear."
"So, the abbot sending me here was no chance event. Was I a clear choice?"
"You will know the answer to that question only if you accept the offer."
"Has anyone ever refused?"
"Oh, yes. Several times the chosen one has not been willing to make the necessary sacrifice. One even went on to become abbot a few centuries ago."
Wes relaxed a little. He wasn't trapped then. There was still a way out, if he chose to take it.
"Tell me about those who refused."
"I will tell you of only two. The first was Jamel, and he was an early choice, made when we were not so sure about what qualities were needed to be worthy of this task. He came to this room and was approached by one of our aspects. The meeting did not go well. Jamel was too headstrong and set in his own ways to be able to do what was right for the library. At the end of the meeting, even though he had been chosen, he was not offered the guardianship.