Golding Library

The Golding Library was built to house all the greatest secrets in known magical history and technology, hiding them from the world in the interest of preserving the status quo and hindering the development of technologies deemed too disruptive to permit, beginning with the studies of Arthur Golding, the Father of Modern Technology.   Those who controlled the Library controlled access to this knowledge, limiting the ways in which the understanding of Magic could alter the world. Only those deemed worthy and prestigious enough were permitted to partake of its mysteries, and only if also considered loyal enough to learn the power wielded by the Library and its Librarians.

While the surviving details of its appearance are contradictory, all agree the Golding Library was a monstrous, awe-inspiring construction. Magic permeated the entire space, protecting its books and records while allowing those permitted entry to move easily throughout its countless floors and shelves.   Some records claim the Library towered over the entire nation built in its shadow, blocking the entire sky. Others write the structure stretched deep underground, with countless magical protections against those who would seek to steal its secrets. A few claim the Library was positioned within a sprawling salt mine, the mineral wicking away any moisture which would threaten the precious papers within.   Regardless of the account, all agree the Archives were vast, well-organized, and heavily guarded.

In addition to extensive magical protections, the Golding Library also employed a vast army of powerful Librarians, trained in the arts of warfare and fully capable of overpowering the most skilled Battle Mages. While the exact nature of their powers has been lost to time, historians have uncovered fantastical accounts of martial artists completely immune to the effects of Magic, implying an advanced mastery of Antimagic well beyond the more limited uses available today.   During The War for Enlightenment, allies of the Librarians flocked to the Library to defend against incursion, fearful of the impact to their comfortable lives should the secrets contained be released to the public, even as its opponents gathered their own forces to continue their assault.

Constructed in 382 EFT as a repository for all potentially dangerous or destabilizing knowledge, the Golding Library cast a long shadow over not only its founding nation but the entire world of Fillimet. New discoveries which would significantly alter the use or understanding of Magic were locked away, tightly controlling the rate of scientific advancement.   Over time, certain organizations across the world began to resent this stranglehold n progress, demanding the Library open its knowledge to the public.   They refused. Repeatedly.   The Library's detractors refused to be deterred. After many rounds and years of petitions, threats, and underhanded dealings – all readily repelled by the Librarians and their rulers – the Library was placed under siege, launching the eight-year War for Enlightenment that would eventually breach the Library, releasing its secret treasures into the public domain.   The universe would never be the same.