Chapter 1
I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted to an unknown and rather strange place. Everything looked old, ancient even. Wooden bookshelves, stocked with books varying in size, color and age spanned as far as the eye could see on both sides of the isle I was currently sitting in. These bookshelves extended high above me, but somehow, the ceiling was even higher. No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't make out how high the wooden roof actually was. My head throbbed and I, for the life of me, couldn't recollect how I arrived here.
"May I help you?" That startled me so much my soul almost left my body. A pleseant and friendly, distinctly female voice came from behind me. I quickly stood up and turned to face the source of my fright.
Before me stood a woman in her late thirties, with long chetnut hair and emerald-green eyes. She was wearing a simple brown robe over a white shirt and a long, dark-blue skirt. Her face showed intrigue, probably wondering why there man was just lying on the ground.
"Ehm-" I frantically tried to fix my disheveled looks. I was still wearing black shorts and light-blue shirt with a black tie. I quickly checked my side and felt a wave of relief - I could feel my pistol. The woman silently watched the whole time.
Eventually, I managed to get my thoughts together and asked the most important thing on my mind. "Actually, madam, where exactly are we?"
"Isn't it obvious? You and I are in the Library." She answered, seemingly confused by my question.
"I'm sorry, I have no idea what library you are talking about."
"Ah sorry. I should have realized sooner. You only just arrived in here and by your reaction, you didn't intentionally travel here, correct?" She didn't wait for my answer. "In that case, I should welcome you to the largest collection of knowlege you'll ever have the luck of stumbling across. Almost every book that was or will be written is avaible here. In addition, the Library connects a large number of strange and fascinating worlds you can explore and document."
I was overwhelmed with information and couldn't process it fast enough. This didn't make any sense. A part of me wanted home, but the other was interested in exploring this bizarre place. There is a saying I live by: "Most people regret many things they did, but very few can say they lived a life with zero regrets about the things they didn't do, because they were too scared to take the step into the unknown." And so I made a decision.
"Madam, I have a request."
"I will be glad to assist you, if it is within my power."
"Would you allow me to travel alongside you while I figure out how the Library works?"
A smile rose on the lips. "I will gladly, but there's a great amount of things you will have to learn. Oh my, where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Sabine Elia. And what's yours?"
"My name is-, actually, you can call me… Cassini."