Library

Now then, to start improving, I needed knowledge. Aside from knowledge, I must investigate. As there was no one that I could ask safely, I must find the information myself. If I could, I should figure out the reason for my planned demise, and what exactly was the thing that was supposed to take my life away. As the princess, I knew of the Great Hand, we basically worship it, our divinity.

But there must be something I was missing, there must be something new to learn aside from what I knew. Therefore, my solo plan for today was to go to the Grand Celestial Library. It was the go-to place for all knowledge. The place where I might learn about the Great Hand in detail.

I guess in this case the Great Hand is my enemy.

Whosoever tries to take my life is my enemy! It was only natural. Although fighting a god was never on my bucket list. Scary, but not like I had any other choice. Fighting a god it is. Not directly, of course. I’d get vaporised otherwise. Hm, wait, thinking about it, not like it was ever completely physically here. Guess the one I’d worry the most would be my grandmother.

I didn’t tell the maids where I was going, just like last time. I’d prefer to keep everyone in the dark about me as much as possible. The less they know, the better.

The library was a couple of floors below my room, so I had to take the elevator. The elevator door was like those classic ones, like a bunch of folding metal bars. Sounds of shifting metal sounded as it opened. After stepping inside, I pressed the button for the floor I was going to. The door closed, and the elevator started going down.

There were also stairs spiraling around this elevator, but there was absolutely no way I was going to use those.

The elevator stopped, and the door opened. I stepped outside, and I was already at the library lobby. I looked around, and there were small, weird creatures floating around. They were a combination of mechanical and biological, fueled by magic. Like little robots intended to maintain the place. They were kind of round and had a pair of arms. We called them the Cleaners. Such a simple name for simple creations, with a simple purpose.

As I moved towards the massive open doors of the library, a cleaner that was holding a broom stopped its work and bowed. Well, more like tilting its head forward. Quite adorable. But with them seeing me, the master of this floor should have already been made aware of my presence.

You see, these cleaners were not completely independent. They needed a guide, a conductor. A hive mind. That was why these creations were not used anywhere else in this palace. Besides, human workers were just more preferable.

I entered the library, and I stopped in place, looking around. My eyes were wide with astonishment. There were numerous tall shelves containing seas of books that I would never get to read in my lifetime. The air was filled with orbs of light that gave illumination to this sealed library, as there were no windows to let sunlight in. Cleaners were all around, cleaning and arranging books — they must be just done cleaning those books.

As with the library, the books had to be cleaned and maintained. They couldn’t let anything, not insects, or fungi, or anything to ruin them.

As I slowly walked in, still mesmerized by the beauty and the cleanliness of this place, a grotesque creature descended from above me. In a way, I might have described that thing to be like an eldritch horror, because it was actually terrifying and ugly as heck. A common man might have run away in fear just at seeing it. However, I was different, of course. I already knew what it was and was expecting it.

“Princess, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Its voice was wavy and growly, its mouth pulsing as it spoke.

The creature was greyish, and around five meters long. Its body was elongated, and had a total of six arms spread out all over it. It had a single large eye on its head, and it was looking straight at me. It was floating in the air.

To be honest, actually seeing it in person was… a bit disturbing.

I subtly took a deep breath. “Librarian, it has been a while.”

The Librarian, it was a non-human creature. And I had no idea how my family got ahold of this thing. But it had been here for a long time, way before I was born, way before my parents were born. I didn’t care about its origin, nor did Avenelle ever.

“Indeed, Your Highness. Do you wish to read once again? Or bring out a book?”

I shifted my gaze and started walking around. Noticing a book on a desk, I picked it up. “A book about cuisines, huh?” I threw it towards the Librarian, and one of its arms stretched and caught the book. “Still having readers, that’s good.”

“It was one of the servants of the palace. Interested in learning new recipes.”

This library was open to anyone from the palace. Which was actually quite nice.

I placed my hands behind me. “Tell me, Librarian, what sort of books do you possess in this endless library.”

“Endless is an overstatement. This place is finite. I have books throughout history, brought by many. Books of recipes, fictional stories, histories, biographies, poems, unfinished texts, cursed books, blessed books, maps of old, scrolls of nonsense. Whatever is brought to be archived, all is kept and preserved here.”

“Then your library encompasses all kinds of knowledge.”

“Yes.”

“Then you will bring me the knowledge I seek.” I turned towards it.

“I am at your service.”

“Bring me something about the Great Hand.”

Its eye blinked. “The Great Hand? Haven’t you studied it already?”

“I wish to review.”

“Our archive encompasses stories of the Great Hand, stories of people blessed by it, people who followed its guidance, which kind would you like to learn in particular?”

“I want factual information about the Great Hand. And it alone.” I had no need to learn the individual stories of the Great Hand that involved people. Nothing was ever certain they were true in the first place. I just wanted what was actually true about it.

“Understood. I have a book in mind. It records the history of the Great Hand, its purpose, its actions, its blessings.”

“I will wait here.” I sat at a desk.

The grotesque librarian left for a while to grab the book I sought. A short while later, the Librarian returned and placed the book in front of me. It didn’t look too old. Likely because of their preservation efforts.

“I believe this will have what you seek.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Librarian.”

“If you need further assistance, do not hesitate to call ‌me.”

With that, the Librarian left.

I read through the book. Some of the information here were things I was already familiar with.

The Great Hand, it was the deity of the night. And the night not only referred to the actual night but also referred to everything celestial. Encompassing the moon, the stars, outer space. In a word, it was the cosmos. However, as the closest celestial object to us, the moon was primarily used to symbolize it.

This deity had existed from the moment the world had existed. Humanity was without a purpose, without guidance. And thus, the deity of the cosmos sent a falling star to the earth. The first light that guided civilization. Eventually, this fallen star turned into the Luminous Tree. It was the same colossal tree that stood nearby.

It was called the Great Hand because it was what guided the ancient humans to prosperity. It spread its teachings, its doctrine, knowledge, in exchange for reverence and worship. Humanity followed its decrees, its wishes. Aside from itself, it even had envoys to assist it.

It was also through the Great Hand that the first magic was learned by humanity. Through the divine’s knowledge, all kinds of magic were born. Only through the divine could a human cast magic. Only in committing your soul to their grace could you possess a class of magic.

These classes of magic changed the world and humanity's way of living. But the Great Hand’s influence only grew. More and more believers came to worship. Thankful for everything it has done.

My ancestors were the first to encounter the Great Hand. Through them, the word of the cosmic god spread like wildfire, and they became the caretakers of its rule. But as humanity matured, and their belief in the cosmic god grew, the less they needed the direct assistance of the Great Hand. And now, the cosmos would only directly intervene when necessary, but would still listen to the prayers.

Commune with it, and it shall grant you its grace.

That was how I got my puppeteering magic, or rather, Avenelle. She communed with the cosmos and picked this path of magic. The path of Control. I had what I had because of the grace of the cosmic god.

That being said, the book didn’t mention the Great Hand needing a sacrifice or anything. Not a mention of a sacrifice. I was wary of asking the librarian about this. In the end, it serves the monarch.

I closed the book. Looks like I’d be needing to read the other books…

“Librarian.”

It approached me. “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Give me the book that tells about people’s direct encounters with the Great Hand.”

“Understood.”

The librarian gave me a book a while later. I immediately started skimming through the pages. But the stories here were just about how people’s problems got solved, how they were saved, asking the Great Hand for directions, and how they had a good life. Not a mention of sacrifice. There was even a part where the Great Hand refused a sacrificial lamb.

This only brought me a bit more headache. No answers in the end. It would seem what my mother mentioned was true, that there were no records about past sacrifices, not common information. This could be something known only to a few, those above.

What is going on here?

Seeing that I couldn’t get any answer, I decided to cast this endeavor aside.

What’s important now is figuring out how to survive.

I stood up and called for the librarian. I threw the books at it, returning them.

“Thank you, Librarian. Please do not mention my visit here to anyone.”