1. Tomes scattered across the towns' private homes. Volumes are crumbling, dry, and weathered, so they are to be presented and perused only with silken gloves. Membership requires a donated book to the library.
2. Twelve stories of impeccable architecture. Floors, shelves, and furniture made of glass. Clockwork automatons make sure there's not a single speck of dust. To be admitted and become a lifelong member you have to present a handful of gemstones.
3. Interconnected network of underground tunnels, filled with pipes and tubes. Whistling sounds resembling marimba. Music sheets, vinyl, and records of all music exists here. Mandatory silence in the premise, or the librarians will dispose of you. Free admittance, but the network is tricky to find.
4. Entrance through a forgotten closet with rejected tomes. Pocket dimension space behind it is infinite, full of rows of packed shelves. The first tome contains a thousand empty pages. The second just a single letter "A" on the first page. This continues on until all permutations have been reached. All works are here. Admittance and membership are free, but good luck finding the exit.
5. Inside the hollow of an enormous oak tree. Ran by a family of yellow dragons. Any book read is immediately scorched after consumption. No exceptions. No memberships, to be admitted you have to bring twice the number of tomes you are going to read in that particular visit.
6. Inside a citadel's bunker, under siege. Place is being destroyed by the detonations. Fine tomes and relics on demonology and astrology, could help bring any angel or demon forth. To enter you have to find a way past enemy lines.
7. A throne reaching the skies. A tower made of books, tomes, and stacked paper. The library is the collection. Hanging from their thumbs, for all to see, suffer thiefs, textbook scribblers, and loud rascals. Atop the throne sits The Despot, overseeing their collection. Membership requires an offered infant.
8. An archipelago amidst a restless sea, with the aquatic god-duo of ignorance and envy sluggishly pounding the land. On each island, a colony of gnomes resides within a mirror palace. Each gnome has memorized works, in alphabetical order, which they can recite. Trade goods, fuel, food, and tools will be taken in exchange. There are ancient feuds between the colonies. And there are the gods.
9. A collection of walled gardens. Admittance is completely free. Visitors are treated to tea, pastries, and the most exquisite cigars. The collections are writings, thoughts, and musings of other members, which can discuss under the most strict supervision, censoring, monitoring, and excessive advertising. Once you enter, you can't leave. If you leave, everything you ever did, said, or thought will be part of the gardens. Forever.
10. The lighthouse at the end of the Universe. The lone guardian gladly journals all happenstances that she oversees or cross her mind, as she pets her companion frog. She loves the quiet and reflective nature of her existence, but welcomes visitors to converse about history, ethics, and philosophy. Admittance is free, pastries encouraged. Good luck getting there, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment