Okay, it's another idea that started swimming around my head a couple days ago. So, here are the first couple opening pages of a story that I typed out tonight. Certain details will be revealed later, but it's still hardly even a first draft. Therefore, I give full permission to break out the red pens and tear it apart as you see fit.
        Father, I dont want to!
        Please, Celeste, weve already talked about this.
        I dont want to spend the rest of my life surrounded by some musty old books!
        The girls father stopped dragging his daughter through the streets of the capital. She pulled her hand free as he turned around and knelt on one knee to level his eyes with hers. She pouted as he put his hands on her shoulders. Celeste, he said, youre all I have left. I just want you to be safe.
        Then let me train to be a warrior priestess, and you wont have to worry because Id be able to defend myself!
        Her father smiled. It was the sad smile hed taken to wearing more often since her mother died. Youre too young, he said frankly.
        The girl crossed her arms. I can wait. Itd be better than being a librarian.
        Your Uncle Derek has already agreed to take you in.
        The girl snorted and looked away.
        Her father looked around them. They were near the outskirts of the capital, in one of the seasonal trade centers. There were not many people about, and none of them really seemed interested in an argument between a parent and his offspring, for which he was quite grateful. Finally, he sighed and said, One year.
        His daughter looked at him quizzically.
        Give it one year. Youll be twelve then, and old enough to apprentice as a warrior priestess. If you decide to leave the Library then, I wont say anything.
        His daughter pouted again, not really believing him. Promise? she asked after a moment.
        He nodded. Promise.
        The girl shifted her feet in the dust, thinking it over. A minute later, she sighed and nodded. Okay, Ill stay in the Library for a year. When I leave to become a warrior priestess, I expect you to be here to take me to the Temple.
        Her father smiled. Agreed.
        Once again taking her hand in his, he led her out beyond the capital walls, towards the mountains that rose sharply just to the east of the city. For an hour, they followed the empty road as it circled Mount Braocos, a jagged tower of rock that spiked from the ground at the ranges outermost point. As they reached its southern face, the girl got her first look at the Imperial Library, and she couldnt help but be awed. A massive stone wall surrounded it on three sides, with the mountain serving as a natural fourth barrier. She could see the very tops of several buildings peeking from over the edge of the wall, while the main library itself far above them, its towers melting into the mountainside, as if it had been carved from the mountain itself. This, she thought, may not have been very far from the truth. The early morning light gleamed off several tall stained-glass windows, making her blink as they followed the road further to face the main gate.
        The giant wooden doors of the gate were open, and outside of them stood two men, who were speaking lively to each other until they noticed the pairs approach. One of them, obviously a guard of some sort in a thick, deep blue tunic and holding a javelin, resumed his position with a smile and wave as the other man started to walk towards the girl and her father. The man was relatively young, not quite to middle age, with a shock of rust colored hair sticking out from under a burgundy beret, worn to match the burgundy and maroon robes that flowed around him as he walked.
        Celestes father began to pick up his pace as he and the other man drew closer to each other. When at last they met, they took each other in a tight embrace, clapping their backs. Robert, the man greeted.
        Derek, Celestes father said. Its been far too long.
        Indeed, the Librarian answered.
        Her father stepped aside, revealing Celestewho had hidden herself behind his backto the man before her. Celeste, he said with a smile, this is your mothers baby brother, your Uncle Derek.
        Derek crouched down and smiled. Hello, Celeste, he said. You probably dont remember me. You were still a toddler the last time we saw each other.
        It took a little urging from her father for Celeste to say hello to her uncle, but he just chuckled in response, ruffling her short, pale yellow hair as he stood up. His smile never faltering, he led them down into the walls of the Imperial Library. The walls were several meters thick, and up close, Celeste could see that they were not solid, but instead, the outer face was lined with arrow slits, and several tunnels just large enough for a man to stand straight in snaked off into the darkness from the entrance arch. The entrance itself seemed to also have at least three gates that she could count, plus two other almost undetectable imperfections in the arch that she guessed were traps of some sort. It sent a slight shiver down her spine. The Library seemed more like a fortress than a place to just store books. If her father or uncle noticed her reaction, neither gave any indication.
        Celeste blinked as they stepped back out into the sunlight shining down into a sprawling courtyard. People of all ages were wandering around, several of them carrying at least one book. Celeste saw that many of them were regular people from the capital, commoners and nobles both, a couple of which she had even seen around town. The rest each wore vests or robes of various colors. These had to be the librarians themselves. Celeste figured that the different colors meant something, but decided not to ask since she would probably find out soon, anyway. Instead, she passed the time looking around at the walls that would be her homefor a year, at least. She noticed a group of children about her age playing in one corner, all of them wearing gray vests. Celeste almost smiled; at least the Library wasnt entirely made up of wrinkly geriatrics who smelled of moldy old paper. Then again, she thought, looking at her uncles back, Uncle Derek certainly doesnt look like a librarian at all.
        She glanced upward towards the tall windows of the Library just as a cloud passed over. The gleam of the sun disappeared from the windows, and she could see a bit inside. Celeste froze, gasping slightly at what she saw. In the top-most window stood a man observing the courtyard far below him. She couldnt make out too many details from this far away, but he seemed to be tall, with a shaggy white beard that shot out every which way from his face. But what struck her most were his clothes.
        Her father and uncle both turned around when she had stopped. What is it? Uncle Derek asked.
        That man up there, Celeste answered. Heshes wearing purple robes.
        The color purple was hardly restricted from clothing. People went around in purple tunics and trousers of all shades. But purple robes.
        Derek followed his nieces line of sight until he saw the man in the window. He grinned as he turned back to her. Purple robes, he said. Something that can only be worn by two people in the Empire. The Emperor himself he turned his gaze back to the window, and the Grand Master Librarian.
        At that moment, the cloud moved on, and the gleam returned to the windows. But Celeste would have sworn that she felt, more than saw, the Grand Masters eyes meet her own for the briefest instant before he disappeared behind the light. Only after a slight nudge from her uncle did she look down and start to walk again towards the Librarys doors.
Have fun, and expect more to come.
