The Great Library at Celaeno
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:51 am
A few months back I posted some Lovecraftian tomes and books that could be dropped into any Palladium game, but were most appropriate for Rifts, BtS, Nightbane, and PFRPG. One of the books was the Celaeno Fragment, and under its description was mentioned the Great Library at Celaeno. According to the Cthulhu Mythos the Great Library is located on a distant, mist shrouded planet and contains a sample of the mystic and mundane works of every civilization that ever existed! Of course in a game something like that could potenially be unbalancing. So what I presented below is my thought on the Great Library. If you find it interesting I suggest visiting the website http://ryleh.7hunters.net/CTHULHU/ the creator of the website is a much better writer than I and the inspiration for my vision of the Great Library in the Palladium Megaverse.
As before the much of the material relating to the Cthulhu Mysthos is public domain, and is a source of things to add to your Rifts, Nightbane, and Beyond the Supernatural campaigns. Enjoy.
The Great Library of Celaeno
On a cold mist shrouded world lays the Great Library at Celaeno. Erected hundreds of millennia before man’s earliest ancestor walked the Earth, the Library spreads across hundreds of acres. Constructed of black basalt and white marble, its multitude of empty towers rise like skeletal fingers; their heights hidden by the never ending mists. Its vast interior is only broken by shadowed courtyards, with their moldering gardens, long-dry fountains, and lonely marble statues. Only a single, colossal stairway allows access to its enlightening depths, and it is obvious to even the most casual observer that no human hands took part is raising its megalithic walls; each several tones is weight and seamlessly lay together without mortar.
Abandoned by its creators for untold eons, the Great Library is far from uninhabited. Some who walk its halls were intentionally set loose by the Library’s architects or other visitors to serve as watchmen and guardians. Others were drawn to the Library’s eldritch contents and the solitude it provides. Still other entered its halls through rifts (either natural occurring or those intentionally created by other visitors), and now find themselves trapped in its maze-like construction.
Getting lost within the Great Library is a real possibility, fore after one leaves the Grand Courtyard its halls become vast and labyrinthine. There is no known map of its twisted halls, nor would such a map be useful to most visitors as the Library was obviously constructed by beings who did not think or perceive the world the same as most mortals. The “Otherness” of the builders also comes through in the way the Library’s collection is cataloged; no reference or discerning pattern exists to mortal eyes. Furthermore, despite being abandoned for tens-of-thousands of years the Great Library’s collections are continually and constantly updated by some unknown means. New works from the likes of Erin Tarn and Victor Lazlo can be found next to books written by Plato and Sun Tzu (and other, older, unrecognizable works).
All who enter through the front doors cannot help but see the plaque warning them (in their native language) that no volume may be removed from the Great Library (either temporarily or permanently), nor may any copy of material made within its walls leave them. These two rules, along with the sanctity of the Great Library, are enforced by its keeper – the Dweller in the Lake. Fortunately for most would be thieves the Dweller is confined to the Library and the grounds surrounding it, allow those with the ability to teleport, or similar means of transport, to circumvent its reach. Of course the Library seems to know it “own”, and those volumes which leave the Library are “called back” to their rightful place upon its shelves; usually at great cost to its “borrower”.
Therefore, those that do “borrow” are advised to take only what they need and to return it as quickly as possible. Those who do so quickly and of their own freewill, will find that the only punishment they will receive will be closer scrutiny from the Dwell for their next few visits, or a frightenly stern lecture filled with innuendo and veiled threats. Repeat offenders may find themselves temporarily or permanently banned from the Great Library’s grounds, or torn to shreds by the Dwell upon their next visit.
Visitors to the Great Library will need steady nerves and light for safe exploration, as daylight only briefly touches most of its corridors. The light is needed for more reasons than just to see, as there are Other, Dwellers in Darkness, who do not relish the touch of light in any manner. Steady nerves are need due to the feeling of malevolence that has filled and permeated its vast interior over the uncounted eons. There is also the sense that the Library is somehow aware of each visitor and what they seek, and does not appreciate their trespass. This constant, foreboding presence has caused those of weak wills to flee in panic, only to find themselves hopelessly loss when they finally regain their wits. It is also way all but the most malevolent visitors keep their stay within the Great Library short.
In addition to its vast tomes, volumes, and collections, the Great Library also possesses unique and priceless collections of art from throughout the megaverse. Unfortunately for most mortal visitors the nature of the art (whether it be sculpture, painting, carving, etc.) of many of the pieces are unwholesome, shocking, and macabre. The most horrific of these artworks are profoundly nightmarish in their technique and execution, embodying the form and substance of our worst nightmares and thoughts.
Of particular note are several murals which can be found throughout the Great Library, especially in the long, narrow passageways between chamber. In these dimly-lit corridors the murals seem to seethe with an inner life of their own; as if striving to burst forth from there imprisoning walls. It is not only that they display disturbing subject matters, but that they do so with an almost photographic quality and color, and even seem to change over time! Visitors who find themselves traversing such a corridor are advised not to look too closely them and to ignore any hints of movement they may glimpse from their peripheral vision.
A final warning to all who seek this place of eldritch knowledge, such research always comes with a price. For some it is their sanity, others a life (either their own or of someone they hold dear), and for the truly unfortunate, their very soul.
As before the much of the material relating to the Cthulhu Mysthos is public domain, and is a source of things to add to your Rifts, Nightbane, and Beyond the Supernatural campaigns. Enjoy.
The Great Library of Celaeno
On a cold mist shrouded world lays the Great Library at Celaeno. Erected hundreds of millennia before man’s earliest ancestor walked the Earth, the Library spreads across hundreds of acres. Constructed of black basalt and white marble, its multitude of empty towers rise like skeletal fingers; their heights hidden by the never ending mists. Its vast interior is only broken by shadowed courtyards, with their moldering gardens, long-dry fountains, and lonely marble statues. Only a single, colossal stairway allows access to its enlightening depths, and it is obvious to even the most casual observer that no human hands took part is raising its megalithic walls; each several tones is weight and seamlessly lay together without mortar.
Abandoned by its creators for untold eons, the Great Library is far from uninhabited. Some who walk its halls were intentionally set loose by the Library’s architects or other visitors to serve as watchmen and guardians. Others were drawn to the Library’s eldritch contents and the solitude it provides. Still other entered its halls through rifts (either natural occurring or those intentionally created by other visitors), and now find themselves trapped in its maze-like construction.
Getting lost within the Great Library is a real possibility, fore after one leaves the Grand Courtyard its halls become vast and labyrinthine. There is no known map of its twisted halls, nor would such a map be useful to most visitors as the Library was obviously constructed by beings who did not think or perceive the world the same as most mortals. The “Otherness” of the builders also comes through in the way the Library’s collection is cataloged; no reference or discerning pattern exists to mortal eyes. Furthermore, despite being abandoned for tens-of-thousands of years the Great Library’s collections are continually and constantly updated by some unknown means. New works from the likes of Erin Tarn and Victor Lazlo can be found next to books written by Plato and Sun Tzu (and other, older, unrecognizable works).
All who enter through the front doors cannot help but see the plaque warning them (in their native language) that no volume may be removed from the Great Library (either temporarily or permanently), nor may any copy of material made within its walls leave them. These two rules, along with the sanctity of the Great Library, are enforced by its keeper – the Dweller in the Lake. Fortunately for most would be thieves the Dweller is confined to the Library and the grounds surrounding it, allow those with the ability to teleport, or similar means of transport, to circumvent its reach. Of course the Library seems to know it “own”, and those volumes which leave the Library are “called back” to their rightful place upon its shelves; usually at great cost to its “borrower”.
Therefore, those that do “borrow” are advised to take only what they need and to return it as quickly as possible. Those who do so quickly and of their own freewill, will find that the only punishment they will receive will be closer scrutiny from the Dwell for their next few visits, or a frightenly stern lecture filled with innuendo and veiled threats. Repeat offenders may find themselves temporarily or permanently banned from the Great Library’s grounds, or torn to shreds by the Dwell upon their next visit.
Visitors to the Great Library will need steady nerves and light for safe exploration, as daylight only briefly touches most of its corridors. The light is needed for more reasons than just to see, as there are Other, Dwellers in Darkness, who do not relish the touch of light in any manner. Steady nerves are need due to the feeling of malevolence that has filled and permeated its vast interior over the uncounted eons. There is also the sense that the Library is somehow aware of each visitor and what they seek, and does not appreciate their trespass. This constant, foreboding presence has caused those of weak wills to flee in panic, only to find themselves hopelessly loss when they finally regain their wits. It is also way all but the most malevolent visitors keep their stay within the Great Library short.
In addition to its vast tomes, volumes, and collections, the Great Library also possesses unique and priceless collections of art from throughout the megaverse. Unfortunately for most mortal visitors the nature of the art (whether it be sculpture, painting, carving, etc.) of many of the pieces are unwholesome, shocking, and macabre. The most horrific of these artworks are profoundly nightmarish in their technique and execution, embodying the form and substance of our worst nightmares and thoughts.
Of particular note are several murals which can be found throughout the Great Library, especially in the long, narrow passageways between chamber. In these dimly-lit corridors the murals seem to seethe with an inner life of their own; as if striving to burst forth from there imprisoning walls. It is not only that they display disturbing subject matters, but that they do so with an almost photographic quality and color, and even seem to change over time! Visitors who find themselves traversing such a corridor are advised not to look too closely them and to ignore any hints of movement they may glimpse from their peripheral vision.
A final warning to all who seek this place of eldritch knowledge, such research always comes with a price. For some it is their sanity, others a life (either their own or of someone they hold dear), and for the truly unfortunate, their very soul.
A combination Atlantean and Lumerian run dimensional Library would also be cool. I always though the Atlanteans should have a huge library on Alexandria, I always had hoped that something would be mentioned in the UWW that was planned but is now stalled.