The Chronicles of Breiamhbéo
What follows is one of the last surviving pamphlets the Phoenix Wizards handed out to their students, produced shortly before the Heir War. While the human wizards lacked perspective, some of them obviously knew how to expand their rather limited horizons.
The Chronicles of Breiamhbéo are a collection of histories, compiled by the Librarians of Breiamhbéo from the histories gathered over the past two thousand years. It’s an attempt to create an encompassing history of the world. By Imperial decree, every visitor to the Library must relinquish control of the books and scrolls in their possession. These scrolls and books are then copied and returned to their owners. From this, the Library’s sages compile the Chronicles. Of course not everything recorded survives – over the millennia much knowledge has been lost to war, carelessness, forgetfulness, or catastrophe. Libraries, like any other temple to the gods, are merely buildings, and knowledge left unattended can be forgotten. While the Grand Library in Ma’tallon sports an impressive amount of Old Gathran’s lore, contact with peoples from other continents from both hemispheres is limited to trade, and Kalduuhn, being landlocked, lacks the means, and probably interest, to acquire more books.
Thus, when Gathran contracted, withdrawing from the land bridge between Taogh and Comhara, whatever records existed beyond Gathran’s sphere of influence would have remained out of reach if not for the dedicated Librarians of the Empire that rose from the remains of Gathran’s provinces there.
It’s not just the Chronicles that are housed in Breiamhbéo’s Library, but also treatises on a multitude of topics. Those with a yearning for knowledge are well advised to pay the place a visit. Though I doubt many will. (The author is prescient. ~K) (Especially for a human. ~F) (Not all humans are idiots. ~D)
In the Library of Breiamhbéo, scholars, philosophers, and Traghnalach’s Librarians work side by side. Sometimes – oftentimes, really, especially where scholars and philosophers are concerned – that work consists of healthy debate. Such debates can turn into physical altercations if one side views the other as pig-headed. The fact that most of the Library’s sages are elves, as proud as they are stubborn, has by no means tarnished the building’s reputation.
Most treatises here were written by elves. This is hardly surprising, given the gods only seeding humans into the world some nine hundred years ago. As such you will find many insightful documents compiled by the keenest minds the world has ever known. (Some, few humans have begun to contribute as well. ~K) (Very few, unfortunately. Damn fools are too preoccupied with their shortsighted goals. ~D)
Elven philosophers are universal scholars, versed in many different subjects. They don’t subscribe to specialization, regarding knowledge as a body, and as such frown upon anyone picking and choosing a proverbial finger over the entire body. If you are in Breiamhbéo, I urge you to visit the Library, and if you are there, attend one of the many lectures or debates. Any one of them will broaden your understanding of our world.
The Library’s crown jewels are, of course, the Chronicles of Breiamhbéo: the most complete record of the northern hemisphere’s history. There have been attempts at compiling similar Chronicles of the Dragonlands, but it usually remains with an attempt. While the dragons have no problem sharing stories and scientific discoveries, they are beyond stingy with their own histories. Much of the knowledge concerning Firelings is conjecture and guesswork, as even Dragonlander traders and travelers are tightlipped. Though how much they know about the true history of Firelingkind is up for debate.
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