How to Find your Way in the Incomplete Archives

Two

They arrived at a tall gateway. Archaea was a woman who prided herself on her height but the sight of the rising metal-carved doors made her shudder.

"Did they build this for giants?"

'It fits the aesthetics of The Library.' The Librarian's tone conveyed the capitalisation on the word.

"The Library?" she repeated, "Is that not the same as your Valley of Words?"

'You catch on quick, wild one. The Library is the parent that houses both the Valley of Words and the Incomplete Archives.' They pulled out a tiny key from under their cloak.

"Is that going to open this huge door?"

'It is not the size that matters but the extent of its ability,' came the gruff response.

"Indeed, I don't disagree with you there,"

A keyhole appeared on one of the door panels as they approached the gate. The Librarian pressed the key into that slot and turned.

A rumble of invisible gears resounded in a well-orchestrated symphony. After the mysterious mechanisms settled, the doors parted to a slight crack.

'Now, before we proceed any deeper, there are some ground rules I must explain to you. You have to follow these at all costs if you want to leave this place in one piece.'

"I'm listening,"

'I will only guide you till we find your story. If we exhaust all relevant records without finding anything, you must return to your main story, no questions asked. Is that clear?'

She had no idea how to 'return' but decided against pointing that out for the time being, "Yes, O' wise and mighty Librarian,"

The listener blushed at the elaborate address. There was no way to see it but their words made it clear, 'Librarian will do. And you do not need to address me at all, it is only the two of us here,'

Archaea grinned, "As you wish, Librarian,"

'Alright. Second rule. Only I can look through the stories of the Archive. You are forbidden from touching any books, scrolls or even scraps of the texts while we are inside.'

The barbarian nodded, "I don't really care much for the other books. I only want to find how my life turns out,"

'And third, most important rule.'

"More important than not touching?"

'Yes! You must not interact with anyone other than me once we are on the other side. Is that clear?'

"There are other people?"

'That is besides the point. If we meet them, you must not engage with them in any way. Is the third rule clear?'

"Yes, I will follow your rules. Can we enter now?"

She felt a deep sigh in her thoughts, 'I suppose we can, follow me,'

The Librarian pushed open the door revealing an identical space on the other side filled with large bookshelves much like the Valley of Words.

"That was rather anticlimactic. With all your rules just now, I thought this part of the Library must be vastly different from the other side,"

The bookkeeper sounded hurt, 'Well, it is all part of the Library. Of course they are bound to share a common design.'

They walked in silence until they arrived at the first shelf. It was huge, with thousands of records stretching all the way up into the darkness above. It also spanned quite a distance on the ground.