The War of Knowledge

((Here is a bit lengthy history lesson on the state of the world that Librarians exist in. This is the beginning of the chain of events leading up to the start of A Librarian. ))

In the beginning existed only man and his knowledge. The people knew, and they learned; all that they learned, they recorded in books. These books quickly became their most valuable of things, treasured above all other possessions. These books held the secret keys to life, codes that contained truth, will, existence, and other secrets beyond number.

Selfless members of this society made it their mission to gather all of the books, each and every story, so that everyone could have access to the knowledge. To this end, they created a place where they could keep all of these ideas. This place became known as the First Library. It stood in the center of the people’s society, an offering of knowledge to all who sought it.

Other members of society did not agree with this course of action. They argued that the books and the information that they contained, information born of personal experiences, were to be shared at the sole discretion of their owners. They, out of respect for themselves refused to submit their texts to the First Library, and in respect to those who had given their stories (freely or otherwise) abstained from using that collection of knowledge.

The time came where the people began to become divided by these two separate ideals. Those who believed in the sharing of all knowledge came to be known as ‘The Collaboration.’ Collaborators quickly took to acquiring the stories of other individuals. In some cases, they merely asked for the records they sought. However, where this failed, they gained possession of the tomes  by coercion or other, more forceful methods.

For those who believed in individual choice in sharing their stories, this could not be tolerated. Calling themselves ‘The Selection’, they withdrew from the society, traveling some distance away to erect their own. These Selectors  lived true to their name, deciding to share only what they wished, with whom they wished.  In their society, they established a place known as the Second Library, a keeping grounds for information given only willingly, and shared only with a chosen few, even among members of the Selection.

For a time, there was a truce; the Collaboration would retain control of the knowledge it currently possessed, while the Selection would neither seek to destroy it, nor be forced into further contributions. However, there were those among the Selection who could not abide by this outcome. Chief among them were individuals whom had already lost their own personal records of knowledge at the hands of the Collaboration. These resentful people quickly found support among their brethren, and together, returned to the Collaboration’s society with the intent to claim the First Library’s knowledge for themselves. In the ensuing skirmish, many lives were lost, and even worse, much of the First Library’s most precious information.

The Collaboration, of course retaliated. No longer content to let members of the Selection live in peace, they gathered their armies and swept across the land, capturing Selectors wherever they could be found and extracting all of their knowledge from them. The Collaborators also took to destroying Selection settlements without regard to the displaced populace that remained.

Having been pressed into a corner, members of the Selection came forward proposing another truce- they would share even their most secret information with the First Library and rejoin society as equals, and neither side would engage in harming the other. At this time, the Selectors rallied behind the twins Pelomect: Cagneidu and Oddriser. It was at their command that the Selectors returned to make peace with the Collaboration.

As was true to their custom, and as demonstration of their good will, the Collaboration shared all of the information that yet remained in the First Library. However, when the time came for the Selection to share its information, they refused. Instead, loyalists following Pelomect Oddriser lashed out with the knowledge they had created, combined with the knowledge they had so recently attained. With this combined power, the selectors tore the very foundations of the Collaboration apart, inflicting casualties far greater than previously witnessed by either side.

Seeing what his brother had done, Pelomect Cagneidu whispered just enough secrets of the Selectors to a trusted Collaborator called Counsel so that the Collaboration might have a fighting chance. This war between the Collaboration and the Selection that lasted for many generations, longer than even the previous skirmishes, came to be known as the War of Knowledge.

The War of Knowledge came to an end only when both the Collaborators and the Selectors took notice of the world around them, and how much their fighting had ruined it. While their philosophies differed and hatred from old wounds still burned on both sides, the leaders of both societies came to agree that even if their grudges could not be settled, a war could not take place on a planet that no longer existed. With this in mind, they managed to establish an uneasy peace, one where they agreed only that they would no longer oppose one another in the open or with direct force. To this end, each side sealed away their most potent knowledge. The Collaborators sealed their knowledge within Counsel, and the Selectors placed theirs within the twins Pelomect. Together, they removed themselves from their societies and disappeared into obscurity.

Without the most precious of their information, both sides began to rebuild the world they had so carelessly destroyed. They came to agree that the secrets of the past should remain buried, and to that end, continued to avoid direct conflicts with one another. However, beneath the surface of the world, amidst the generations of humanity that matured without knowledge of their true potential, a select few of the old societies remained, sharing what little ideals they still possessed with any who might unknowingly listen...