Library of Biblia
The Library of Biblia is a library complex on the Isle of Ornath. Familiarity with the word stemmed from the town guard Quin Telaren, who claims to not be a scholar of Biblia when asked strange questions, and says the following: "Surely you've heard of the library of Biblia! Why, it's the only worthwhile reason for wanting to visit the Isle of Ornath that I can think of." There was also a more buried reference to Biblia in the "official seal" object on the manuscript in the crypt of the Graveyard. The seal was modernized to read: "Property of the Library of Biblia, Reference Department. Do Not Remove."
These were references to the Library of Nomikos in the Shadow World setting. In the modern history of Elanthia the Library of Biblia has been retconned to be an installation of the Chronomages, who are themselves the modernized form of the Navigators. The library has been seen modernly through a portal with one of their obelisks in the courtyard just as there is one at the Library of Nomikos.
Library
Little is known so far about the workings of the library itself. The known staff members appear to be drawn from a variety of races and cultures.
The library has been seen through a portal having a courtyard with a tall obelisk belonging to the Chronomages.
Staff
(1) Guards
Guards of the library are present to prevent thieves from stealing library property. The guard appears to be an unarmed combat master and made to resemble the appearance of the Changramai.
You see Grungenar the Library of Biblia Guard. He appears to be a Dwarf of the Kazunel Clan. He is average height. He appears to be hoary with age. He has clouded ale-brown eyes and nut brown skin. He has very long, wiry steel grey hair with a large bald spot. He has a wrinkled face, a red nose and a long braided beard. He has an outward-pointed bronze-edged pyramid tattooed under his left eye. He is in good shape. He is wearing a crystal amulet, a long white robe cut for ease of fluid motion, some thin electrum wristbands, a pyramid-etched sheath, a pair of white pants, and some sturdy footwraps.
(2) Chronomages
Chronomages were seen pursuing a halfling thief who had stolen a restricted book from the Library of Biblia in Olaesta 5118.
You see Chronomage Aepoch the Timeless. He appears to be a Sylvankind of the Tyesteron D'ahranal. He is average height. He appears to be stricken in years. He has tired milky white eyes and golden brown skin. He has a bald head. He has a gaunt face, a broken nose and stooped shoulders. It is difficult to get a good look at him, as his form seems to grow more obscure the longer you look at it. He has a glimmering Chronomage Guild tattoo covering the top of his head, and a shifting pattern tattoo on his wrist. He is in good shape. He is holding an extremely long witchwood runestaff crisscrossed in tally marks in his right hand. He is wearing a tiny silver crown on a platinum chain, a sand-filled crystalline amulet, a gold-edged taupe silk robe with wide belled sleeves, a wide rune-etched gold bracelet, a miniature hourglass on a vibrant purple thread, an exquisite glowing gold ring, a braided copper sash dangling a cluster of gold rings, an expanding and shrinking pouch, and some wide-curled beige leather poulaines. Kelvhan put an opalescent glass jar containing pink sapphires in his ebony sack. Flames dance around Amexis wreathing her in a torrent of violent energy. You see Chronomage Amexis. She appears to be an Elf. She is average height. She appears to be in the meridian of life. She has large steel grey eyes and milky white skin. She has long, wavy silver blonde hair swept back from the temples into an intricate cluster of sapphire-beaded braids. She has a delicate face and angular pointed ears. She is in good shape. She is holding a rune-marked illthorn runestaff crowned with an elaborate cluster of gold rings in her right hand. She is wearing a crystal and gold hourglass amulet filled with glittering silver sand, a deeply hooded slate silk mantle woven with complex geometric patterns, some iridescent teal silk robes edged with maze-like gold embroidery, a collection of numerous enruned gold and brass rings, and a pair of slate grey suede boots fastened with toroidal gold buttons.
Incidents
Time Magic Book
There have been incidents of significant thefts from the library. One took place in Olaesta 5118 when a book on time magic was stolen by a halfling named Twiddley. This was around the same time continent wide temporal warping was spilling over from Goblyn's lair next to Lich's Landing. The Chronomages chased the thief across the continent, including the boot to River's Rest from Wehnimer's Landing, which was newly returned. The Chronomage Amexis claimed the boot as one of their objects in the event. There was similar drama occurring in Icemule with his heist associate peddling forgeries to Daukera.
The thief claimed to have seduced the desk clerk at the library and then took the opportunity to steal the book. Twiddley turned over the dark cerise book, but only after copies had been made and spread around. His burghal gnome associate Erecia had been killed by Queen Daukhera in Icemule earlier. They did not admit who they were working for, only claiming the spread of proprietary knowledge.
The Incident Itself:
Time slows down around you, causing everything to move with an excruciatingly comatose lethargy, and a faint, shadowy haze fills the air. As it fades out of sight, time advances rapidly until it catches up to the present -- but something feels... off, changed, wrong. Your head aches with blinding pain! And then suddenly you can't really tell the difference anymore anyway; everything seems -- maybe -- the way it was before. Time seems to shift in an unnatural manner one last time, bending and warping in a way that is almost painful to you, as Erecia very suddenly appears in the center of the dais, the residual faint image of a library's courtyard and a tall obelisk behind, both of which fade from sight as Erecia steps forward.
The Book:
Forgery: >look book The book's outer binding is a dark cerise color stained into a leather material textured to look like pebbled skin accented with tiny burrs. Real: >inspect book You look closely at Amexis, examining a dark cerise book. The book's outer binding is a dark cerise color stained into a pebbled leather-like skin with occasional tiny, sharp burrs embedded in it. Looking at it makes your skin crawl, though you aren't sure whether the sensation is real or imagined.
Erecia ultimately admitted she had used their obelisk, and the time tunnels, redirecting blame to the Chronomages for leaving them open. The end result of the incident was the various teleportation spells extending in range if they made use of the time tunnels. The Chronomage Amexis warned everyone that there would be a price to pay if anyone was caught using their time tunnels without authorization.
Bandur Etrevion
In the I.C.E. Age version with the Library of Nomikos, Bandur Etrevion stole books and artifacts from the Library, until he was eventually caught by the guards. In this instance he was attempting to steal a very rare speaking crystal from over a hundred thousand years ago. He had previously stolen a similarly ancient manuscript of Empress Kadaena that was property of the library. This manuscript is located in the crypt of the Graveyard with a library seal on it. The counterfeit copies of the dark cerise book from the Olaesta 5118 incident include the same label claiming they are property of the library.
Behind the Scenes
The Library of Biblia is the modern term for the I.C.E. Age Library of Nomikos, which was located on the Isle of Ormian off the southern coast of Jaiman. There has been no modern lore for the Isle of Ornath and the Library of Biblia for decades, but it is beginning to be developed starting with the Rings of Lumnis paid event. Very old stories referencing the library are actually referring to Nomikos. Shortly before Rings of Lumnis on April 10th 2018, the second teleportation review was released with a continent spanning story, where a thief stole a time magic book from the Library. This ended up causing the changes to the teleportation spells from the impact on the Chronomage "time tunnels." It was preceded by continent wide temporal distortions that were amped up and apparently spilling over from Goblyn's lair.