Ancora Jay, the Lore Librarian Aether Caelum, the archivist

Disoriented and aching, Ancora’s eyes slowly opened, laying in a hammock of strange red thread. “You’re finally awake… Are you feeling well?” Asked the voices faintly beside him. One was low, raspy, and weak. One was high and soft, quieter than the rest. The last was low and full. Ancora turned and came face to face with the source of the voices, something that for a split second barely resembled a human. He hardly got a chance to look at the hoofed digitigrade legs and the empty eyes in front of him before the creature let out a quiet hum at Ancora’s startled expression. It twisted and contorted into something passable as human; a man with medium-length thick white hair kept up in a claw clip, the front pushed out of his face and messily hanging to the sides of his head. He was lanky, smiling through worry with small angel wings on his back fluttering slightly. “Who are you?” Ancora asked, the man pausing before letting out a small gasp as he processed the question. “Oh- yes. I’m Gabriel. I’ve been taking care of you since you arrived here… You’ve been unconscious, with terrible injuries, I gave you your stitches. You might not remember me.” He explained, causing Ancora to pause as Gabriel motioned towards his arms. Ancora rolled up one sleeve, paling at the sight of bright red stitches in his arm. They were the same thread that the web was made out of. He had never had stitches to his memory, but these looked wrong. “Oh… I… How did I—“ Ancora began as he tried to stand, struggling with the feeling of increased gravity likely caused by his injuries. He opened his mouth to continue, but paused as he looked up and noticed Gabriel’s back turned to him. Gabriel gently tugged at the web of threads Ancora had been resting in, and the threads seemed to decay from the furthest edges up to Gabriel’s fingertips. “Now that you’re awake, why don’t we run some tests?” He chirped, turning to Ancora with a small excited flutter of his wings. “Oh, I um… I guess?” Ancora replied. He was still tired and disoriented, so maybe he’d remember things as they worked. He did vaguely remember, Gabriel was his friend… This place still didn’t make much sense though. Gabriel smiled and began walking, though paused when he noticed Ancora’s slow pace and shaky feet. “Hmm… We’ll try something that allows you to sit, your walking will be to and from.” He explained, offering Ancora a hand for support as he caught up. Ancora gently took his hand, then walked along with him.

Walking through the strange void, they found a door. Gabriel opened it and took Ancora through, briefly passing through what seemed like the entrance hall of some sort of library before passing through another door into a small room resembling a log cabin. There was a vase of fresh assorted flowers, Begonias, white hyacinths, and common sage. Ancora sat on a couch near the center of the room quietly, eyes on the flowers until Gabriel sat across from him. Gabriel held his hand out, and the threads that had decayed before shot out across the room from his fingertips, stringing from wall to wall. “I want you to try to focus on these threads, think of a story you’ve written or told… Change it to make them move without touching them.” Gabriel said. Ancora stared at him for a moment, so confused by the request he considered he’d misheard. “I’m sorry, what-?” He asked, awkwardly grinning. “I know, I sound nonsensical. Just try it, okay?” Gabriel waved his hand dismissively as he spoke through a chuckle, smiling. Ancora awkwardly nodded, turning his attention to the threads in front of him. As soon as he saw them up close, an old story of his came to mind; A forest spirit named Dei, a queen of the fae type character. It had been years since he wrote about her, but… He remembered her best friend, another fae that protected her no matter what named Demetria. I guess… He thought to himself, it might have been cute if they were dating. I could write that down sometime. As the thought crossed his mind, the threads in front of him began to move, weaving together into a small braid. Ancora tensed up, turning to Gabriel for an explanation. His wings were fluttering slightly as he hunched forward in his seat and watched Ancora. “These aren’t just threads, my friend. They’re Fates. Tangible forces that represent the creations of an author… Your creations, specifically.” He explained. Ancora was confused and clearly didn’t believe it. Gabriel sighed, chuckling again. “Look, how about I show, and stop telling?”

Something happened, the memories from after that moment couldn’t be recalled even with hours of thought…

“No matter what you do, don’t go into the library. If you get lost in there, I won’t be able to find you.”

…Where did that phrase come from in Ancora’s memory? It came with the feeling of somebody pushing down on his throat, of being strangled. image

Ancora felt exhausted, prying his eyes open inside a small cabin living room where he was laying on the couch. Across from him, he saw a vase of flowers, they appeared to be old, wilting begonias and other assorted flowers he didn’t quite remember the names of. As Ancora sat up, he rubbed his forehead. What a strange dream… The feeling of eyes on him however prompted Ancora to look to his left, pausing when he spotted Gabriel on the couch. “Good morning, you sleep alright?” He asked as he offered Ancora a glass of water. Ancora hummed and took a sip, he felt awful. His throat was sore like he’d tried to sing screamo or something. “I feel super tired, and I might be sick… my throat hurts.” Ancora explained, prompting a sad expression from Gabriel. “I’m sorry about that, try to avoid overworking your voice today.” He muttered, patting Ancora on the head. “I have to head out for a bit, but you rest here okay? I made you breakfast, and I’ll only be out for a minute.” He spoke softly, smiling. Ancora opened his mouth to speak, but struggled to find any words. “…Alright, be safe.” Ancora muttered. Gabriel nodded and walked to the door, waving. “Bye-bye!” He chirped, walking out and closing the door behind him. Ancora looked over at a small tray with some scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. It didn’t look half bad, but he didn’t feel hungry just yet. He stood up, stretching. What… What exactly am I doing here? Ancora paused mid-motion and began to think. His memory had always been shotty, but the blackouts in his memory were too glaring to ignore. Had it been getting worse? Maybe Gabriel knew? Ancora turned to the door and began to head over. Maybe I can catch him before he’s gone and ask him. As he opened the door and stepped out, he paused as he found himself at the entrance to a library. He vaguely recalled that dream again. Don’t go into the library. He cautiously began to walk down the short hall, poking his head through an open door into the large library. There were so many books in this one section, he couldn’t see the end of the room. Just with that, he found himself drawn in despite the warning. He began to glance over the titles. Maybe they have a comic or something… After a moment, he noticed a confusing theme. Every book was titled with a name. At least, he thought they were names. Some were too strange for him to guess how to read. They were alphabetical, he was at the start of A. Curious, he started to browse. AA… AB… eventually, he found the section, and with further searching, he was surprised to find it; Ancora Jay. He plucked the book from its shelf and flipped it open. He found himself on a blank page, and he tilted his head and began to flip backward. Eventually, he found a half-finished page… He stopped suddenly, staring at the twisting ink on the paper in front of him. Pages crammed into the book that didn’t belong. “What the…”

Humming, Gabriel walked down the hall towards Ancora’s room. He tapped the hall floating above his head and watched his hand transform into a pale human one and his halo disappear from view. He inhaled, coughing and humming to ensure his voice sounded right. Then opened the door “Ancora? I’m back! Did you enjoy your food?” Gabriel chirped, entering the cabin room with a grin. He paused suddenly as he noticed the tray, untouched. Not only that… Where was Ancora? Gabriel’s grin immediately dropped, and he felt anger bubbling up to the surface. “Oh come on.” He spun around, hurrying down the hall in search of Ancora through any of the other doors. He exhausted every other option from bathrooms to storage closets and cursed under his breath. Was he made to forget his warning, too? How long has he just been waltzing around?! Gabriel snapped his head towards the library, scowling as he hurried in and began scanning every aisle in search of the boy. Nowhere in the entrance… Where the hell was he? Gabriel walked through the next open door and paused. The study. Every note ever written by a lorekeeper… “shit.” He rushed through, eyes scanning quickly over the scattered notes and journals. He screeched to a halt as he spotted Ancora in the center of a pile of various notes. Ancora seemed to take a moment to notice him, turning to face him, tears welling up in his eyes. “Gabriel… What’s going on?” He held a book tight to his chest, not daring to take his eyes off Gabriel even to blink. Gabriel chuckled shakily, approaching slowly like he was trying to approach a skittish animal. “Ancora… What are you doing here? You could get lost—” “You tricked me.” Ancora interjected. “…What?” Gabriel whispered. “All of this was some sick experiment!” Ancora cried, backing away as Gabriel tried to come close. “Ancora, please…” he muttered, speaking softly as he slowly inched closer. “Don’t you come any closer, Gabriel.” Ancora snapped, backing away. “Tell me exactly what this project is.” He demanded, hands shaking as he gripped the book close to his chest. “Ancora… I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Gabriel muttered shakily as he reached a hand to grab the book from Ancora, who flinched and turned to cover the book. Gabriel paused at the motion, sighing as his halo flickered. “Ancora… Come on now, don’t be like that.” He sighed, grabbing Ancora’s wrist and attempting to pry the book away with his free hand. “I just want to talk, so put down the book. I’m worried about you!” He began, stopping as Ancora screeched and swung his right hand out at Gabriel. He missed his intended target but managed to smack something… A halo he had never seen before, which flew to the floor and cracked at the point it hit the floor. The damaged halo continuously flickered like a dying lightbulb as Gabriel took a step back, a hand scooping up a small shard of the cracked halo. “You…” he muttered. Ancora paused as he noticed Gabriel’s skin crack underneath his eye, like glass ready to shatter. As Gabriel muttered under his breath, his voice became distorted. “You.” With that, his voice split, three different voices hissed at Ancora from one mouth. The three voices spoke again, but they no longer synchronized; they were fighting to be heard and drowning each other out as the human form Ancora had come to know began to distort.

The unnatural twisting and stretching revealed deer-like legs, six empty, fully black eyes that never lost focus on Ancora even as the figure staggered backward from the unnatural shift and struggled to stay upright. The voices all grumbled, one clawed hand covering all but one eye as they steadied themselves before speaking, one after the other; “neo deudneun cheogdo moshae?” The first voice growled out. “What?” Ancora asked, not daring to blink and take his eyes off the creature for even a second. “Você rezou naquele dia. Você se lembra do que disse?” The second voice mocked as the figure began to steady themselves, hand falling to their side. “Tu as supplié ce jour là, 'laisse-moi me reposer'.” The third voice muttered. “I gave you the chance to be something great.” Gabriel’s voice said through a tired chuckle, straightening their posture and revealing the full height of this form that towered over Ancora. The voices came together; finally reunited as they growled in unison. “Ohinkahreve eshueli.” They spat. Something about the final words hurt Ancora’s head; like some strange spell more than a human language. He flinched and steadied his vision just in time to see the creature lunge at him. He yelped and tumbled back, screaming as one of the creature's claws grabbed him and dug into his chest, pinning him down. “Let me go!” He screamed, trying to swing at the halo on the creature’s head. He managed to grab it and began trying to pull it away from the creature. The voices all screamed in unison and lifted Ancora from the floor to slam him back down, knocking the wind out of him. He refused to release the halo, even as their other hand grabbed his arm and tore into it. He yanked the halo away like ripping away a powerful magnet as it snapped in two, so suddenly he had no time to slow his hands as the halo was yanked down and stabbed into the floor beside him. He cried out as the creature dropped him, watching them tumbling back as they gripped at their head in pain. Ancora reached and grabbed the curved shard in the floor, yanking it out even as the edges cut into his hand. He got to his feet and ran before the creature could come to their senses, bursting through the first door he could find. He was in some sort of hallway that stretched on as far as he could see, yet he ran. He heard the creature come through behind him, screaming at him, a language that dizzied him to hear. As he ran through the hall Ancora came to a realization the further he went without seeing any exit; This was an endurance test, and he wouldn’t win a foot race. Dizzy and running on adrenaline, Ancora spun around just in time to see the creature lunging at him, and in a panic, he raised the halo shard and stabbed it into the creature's forehead before ripping the blade out. A splatter of something like blood, jet black, came out as the creature screamed. The hole in their forehead dripped the black blood onto the floor, The creature covered their forehead, screaming and slicing at Ancora with their claws as Ancora dodged as best he could. He kept slicing with the halo at any hand that got too close. Despite his best efforts one of the creature’s slices landed on his side, Ancora crying out as he felt the jagged claws digging into his hip. He stabbed the halo into the arm in his side, and as he ripped out the blade the hand retreated. The pain in his side was burning, as though hot coal chips were scattered in his flesh. He tumbled back, head pounding and vision blurring as the creature continued to mutter to themself. As Ancora turned, he saw it; a door to that strange void he remembered only as a dream. He didn’t know how, but it was here now. He forced himself to move and tumbled forward as he began running. The creature scrambled after him, and as they approached the door Ancora spun around and grabbed the creature by the throat before they had time to slow down. The two stumbled back, wrestling back and forth until the creature's back was turned to the open door. Ancora focused on the threads behind them, cursing under his breath as the story he’d written invaded his mind; an old story, one about angels and devils. Suddenly, the threads shot forward and wrapped around the creature's limbs. Even as it clawed into the floor, then the doorframe, it was being pulled away. Ancora felt dizzy, and his vision was blurring again. “You won’t last a day here without me!” The creature snarled, Ancora couldn’t help but laugh shakily. He was so exhausted he couldn’t muster much more. “I won’t last another day with you.” He sobbed, focusing on the threads and the dozens of written words flooding back to him. Carefully watching as the threads pulled harder, cutting into the glowing skin of the creature's limbs and dripping more black blood out as they thrashed and screamed. Their thrashing caused them to lose hold of the door, and just like that, they disappeared from Ancora’s blurry vision before he ran over and slammed the door behind them. Ancora gave some semblance of a crooked grin, chuckling as he slid down to sit on the floor, back against the door. Looking at his wounds, Ancora lifted his sweater to survey the damage. He watched with mild disgust as threads tugged at his injuries, stitching them shut before disappearing. Slowly lowering his sweater to for the time being ignore that sight.

Coming back out to the study, Ancora sat on the desk, dropped the halo shard on it and looked up at the ceiling, small abstract designs carved into it that his eyes followed. He closed his eyes and sighed, finally feeling the exhaustion and weight that had been pushed away by his panic. He hadn’t killed a man, but he’d gotten close… The notes said that place would be able to hold anything, in theory. He slid off the desk, grabbing a damaged book that must have fallen somewhere in the panic. It was damaged- a story that seemed to be slowly decaying due to damage sustained in the fight- making Ancora's heart sink. He grabbed a pen frantically began writing- something, anything, to try to save it. How many stories had been damaged? Was it just this one? How could he even help?

Months of nonstop work, sorting- saving the stories damaged by his fight... Ancora felt exhausted, unable to properly think most days as he performed his work absentmindedly. He needed help, what little time he had to journal for his own sake was proof of that. He grabbed a book, damaged- stories already broken down... He needed help, maybe inside one of these stories he could find it.