Child of the Gryphon

by David Lugsden

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  LIBRARY OF THE ANCIENTS

  On Sunday morning, Gabriel awoke at nine o’clock as he had made plans to meet Seth and Tamera at the library so that they could work on their homework assignments together. He sat in bed for several moments before he got up, thinking over the dream that had plagued him over and over again throughout the night; those cold, slit-like reptilian eyes, that maniacal cackling laugh. However by the time he had showered, dressed and eaten a delicious bacon and fried egg sandwich with four plump sausages on the side, nightmares about evil snake-men were once again the furthest thing from his mind.

  As it was Gabriel’s first time visiting the library, once again Seth and Tamera had graciously offered to show him the way. The Library of the Ancients was one of the oldest sections of Sanctuary. It was quite a long walk along the twisting and turning stairwells and gangways of the Suburban Caverns which gave Gabriel ample time to fill in his two friends on the goings on and happenings of the day before. Seth paid particular interest to the part about Marina and repeatedly nudged and winked at Gabriel as he spoke. Tamera instead opted to carefully check on and meticulously count the stationary supplies in her bag and only paid attention when Gabriel talked about his discussion with Omari.

  They climbed a final set of stairs cut into the rock and reached the western point of the Suburban Caverns where a large field of cave grass stretched out before them. As it was a Sunday, several families had come to the field with their picnic baskets. Parents chatted whilst youngsters chased and played with one another. The suspended chandeliers high above doused the field in a warm golden glow. If it weren’t for the knowledge of being hundreds of metres beneath the surface, one could be fooled into thinking this was a typical sunny day in a park on the surface, Gabriel thought as they crossed the stony path cut into the grass.

  On the opposite side of the field was a wide arched doorway cut into the rock, housing two heavy wooden doors. Quite a common feature in Sanctuary, Gabriel noted. Just inside the doors was the librarian’s desk which looked every bit as ancient as the two librarians who sat behind it. Morris and Doris Nibbler of Muris had been the only librarians for decades, not trusting anyone else to be efficient enough to work there. They both took such pride in their work that they were even apprehensive to lend books to anyone, the Elders included. They both lived for and adored order and routine, which made running the library the perfect job for them.

  The three friends approached the desk and the elderly married couple eyed them with great suspicion. The pair looked remarkably similar, Gabriel thought to himself. In fact, apart from their clothing, one of the only noticeable differences was their hair: Mr Nibbler was mostly bald, whereas Mrs Nibbler’s grey hair was bound tightly into a bun. Each of them wore a pair of horn-rimmed glasses with lenses as thick as a man’s finger that magnified their eyes to the size of tennis balls. Their long pointed noses hung over a pair of protruding front teeth, which bit down on their bottom lip when they were unsettled. Now at the desk, Gabriel realised that the pair were not seated as he had first thought; they were in fact so short that they were both stood on their stools just to see over the desk. Their long rope-like tails hung down behind them and trailed onto the floor.

  ‘Yes? What do you want?’ squeaked Mr Nibbler.

  ‘This is Gabriel of Gry- Millar. Gabriel Millar,’ said Tamera, ‘he’s new here and needs a library card.’

  Mr Nibbler eyed him warily, ‘Who did you say he was?’

  Mrs Nibbler, not taking her eyes off of the three, leant over and whispered to her husband, ‘It’s the Gryphon boy, Morris.’

  ‘Who? The Gryphon boy?’ he leant forward to scrutinise Gabriel even more closely, eyes squinting. ‘Ah! So it is, Omari’s grandson. So what’s all this “Milly” nonsense then?’

  ‘Millar,’ Gabriel stated, ‘it’s my name. Gabriel Millar.’

  ‘Never heard of that one before. Strangest order I’ve ever heard of! Youngsters these days!’ he shook his head. Mr Nibbler opened a drawer and sifted rapidly through the thousands of precisely ordered cards until he reached the one he was looking for.

  ‘Here we are,’ Mr Nibbler continued, ‘We have a complete record of your family history right here dating back centuries. I’ll add you to the same grouping as your father and grandfather before you, it’s only your order that will differ slightly. Your card will read – Family: Highwing, Order: Gryphus, otherwise it’ll confuse the system.’

  ‘What system?’

  ‘The system we’ve had in place for nearly sixty years now, I’ll have you know, young sir! People can’t just go giving us any old name they feel like.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Why? WHY?’ Mr Nibbler spluttered, ‘Because that’s the first step on the road to chaos and anarchy, don’t you know! What’s the matter with you youngsters nowadays? Are you ashamed of your lineage or something? Embarrassed by your family name? Milly indeed!’

  ‘It’s MILLAR! And that is my family name!’ Gabriel insisted.

  ‘Well, really!’ exclaimed Mrs Nibbler, ‘What a temper! There’s no need for such an outburst!’

  Mr Nibbler was just as taken aback. ‘Well here, you’re known as Highwing; Gryphus so that’s what it will read on your card.’

  ‘Fine. Can I have the card now? Please?’

  The Nibblers reluctantly filled in the necessary details on the library card and passed it to Gabriel. The three friends left the desk, with Mr and Mrs Nibbler looking rather disgruntled and muttering under their breath about the disrespectful young people of today.

  Out of earshot, Seth said, ‘Rigid, ratty old bu-’

  ‘They were only doing their job,’ Tamera cut in, ‘but I don’t suppose they had to be quite so awkward in the way they went about it. Never mind, we’re here now so let’s just focus on the tasks at hand. Now, I’ve formulated a timetable for the day based on which assignments are more pressing, as well as which ones will probably take the longest to complete. As it is, we have our Habitat Geology and Ancient Creatures papers due on Tuesday, Species Awareness due on Thursday and Advancement Theory for Friday, but before that we-’

  ‘Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Will you let us step into the library before you start bossing us around? Gabriel has never even been here before. Don’t you think we should show him around first?’

  Affronted, Tamera said tetchily, ‘I suppose so. But we can’t take too long. It’s half past ten now and the library shuts at nine o’clock on a Sunday, remember?’

  ‘And if you think we’ll still be in here until anywhere near that time, then you need your head examined,’ Seth said incredulously.

  They stepped out of the entrance hall and into what was the third floor of the main library. Tamera and Seth showed Gabriel around, explaining the different sections of the library and where things were located. The Library of the Ancients was so named as it had been built during the time of Sanctuary’s first inhabitants. The library was a finely crafted and hand carved masterpiece; the central study hall was carved into a perfect cylinder; five storeys high, with each individual floor over five metres in height. The diameter was almost equal to the height. Walkways spiralled round the interior with ladders connecting each floor.

  Over the course of its life and as the quantity of books increased, separate circular corridors, following the perimeter of the main hall, had been excavated into the surrounding rock. In its present state, the main body of the library now contained General Interest reading material, whereas the five additional sections housed everything else. The fifth and uppermost outer tier contained Ancient History in one half, Modern History in the other; the fourth contained Technological and Biological Sciences; the third Language and Art and Architecture; the second Human History and the bottom floor Myth, Legend and the Occult. A basement annex had been added early in the last century and now housed blueprints, plans and schematics for all of Sanctuary and some of the other Colony habitats. After an influx of merfolk to Sanctuary over the cours
e of the last few centuries, the basement had been expanded further to house an underwater library. Study tables in the main hall were positioned around the edge of a glass floor, allowing patrons to observe the merfolk swimming around beneath them.

  ‘This is unbelievable!’ Gabriel said.

  ‘It’s nothing much really,’ Tamera contradicted, ‘There have actually been several complaints. Considering this is the public library, the underwater section isn’t nearly as fully stocked as the one at Wingtail.’

  ‘There’s another library like this at school?’

  ‘Oh yes, only much more modern and better equipped. There the wet library equals the dry and both have much more relevant material. Here, I find the collections are sometimes a little vague. I’d much prefer to use the school library, unfortunately the Boatman doesn’t always operate at the weekends and it’s a treacherous and tirelessly long walk around the outskirts of the lake.’

  ‘But what do they read? I mean what’s everything printed on?’

  ‘Water-proof papyrus, of course,’ Tamera replied matter-of-factly.

  Gabriel continued to look down into the depths in awe. ‘Hey, you don’t suppose that...’

  ‘You’re wondering if a certain somebody might be down there?’ Seth winked. ‘Nah, my guess is she’s probably using the one at school.’

  ‘Oh, for the love of-... look, we’re here to study! Do either of you intend to do any of that today? I’ve set up this plan to help us! I could quite easily work by myself you know!’ Tamera snapped, then added, ‘Are you two even listening to me? Would it help if I dyed my hair blue and paraded around in wet clothes like a shameless hussy?’

  ‘It might,’ Seth grinned.

  Tamera’s eyes flashed fury and Seth immediately relented. ‘OK, OK, I’m just joking. Don’t get your whiskers in a twist. Right what do we need to do first?’

  Tamera said through gritted teeth, ‘Like I was saying before, our Anthropology paper on the uses of the automobile, and our Sumerian translation assignment are the most pressing tasks as they are both due tomorrow. I have my school textbook here for guidance but I think I can translate the passage we’ve been given with little problem. This automobile-thingy though has me completely confused. I think if we begin researching in the Ancient Human History section-’

  ‘Don’t worry about that,’ said Gabriel, ‘I can help us with that.’

  ‘Alright then, after we’ve gotten these two out of the way we can move onto Habitat Geology and Ancient Creatures.’

  In less than an hour their Ancient Languages homework was completed. Most of the translation work had been done by Tamera, with Seth and Gabriel sitting there dumbfounded and confused, however they had managed to contribute some, thanks to her tuition. Towards the end of the assignment, Gabriel even thought he had begun to see the patterns in the use of the symbols that Tamera continued to point out. His pronunciation continued to leave a lot to be desired, however. The passage turned out to be a story told thousands of years ago about a valiant warrior who defeated a terrible monster from the sea.

  Anthropology was dealt with equally as quickly. Seth had a basic knowledge of automobiles and their function of transporting people around, but to begin with Tamera was completely bewildered, ‘I don’t understand,’ she would repeat, ‘why can’t they just walk?’ She had a similarly difficult time comprehending the need for so many different varieties and how the movement of so many was coordinated with so few accidents. Eventually however, after much deliberating, exasperating and procrastinating, she managed to write almost two pages, Seth managed three and Gabriel four and a half.

  ‘Thank the Zodiac that’s done!’ Tamera said when she finished. ‘What shall we do next... we still have Ancient Creatures and Habita-’

  ‘Ancient Creatures!’ the boys both interrupted.

  ‘Come on, Tam!’ pleaded Seth, ‘if we do Habitat Geology next, there’s no way I’ll be able to revive myself enough to do anything afterwards other than to go home and sleep!’

  ‘You know, that’s the closest to my actual name I think you have ever called me, Seth.’

  ‘That’s ‘cos I’m throwing myself at your mercy here!’

  ‘OK. Ancient Creatures it is. So our assignment is four and half pages separating the myth from reality of the gorgons.’

  ‘I suppose it’s too much to hope for that we could just Google it?’ Gabriel said.

  Seth and Tamera looked at him quizzically.

  ‘Do you mean to just forget about it?’ Seth said. ‘Because I’ve tried that excuse before and it doesn’t go down well with the Masters...’

  ‘I hope you are not suggesting that!’ Tamera said haughtily.

  Gabriel shook his head. ‘Never mind.’

  ‘Very well...’ Tamera continued, ‘What I suggest is that if one of us scours the Biological Sciences section for factual information, the other two of us could check through the Myths, Legends and the Occult section. As MLO covers an entire floor I think we will need two people on that. So, who would like to check which section?’

  ‘Why don’t you check the Biological Science section, Whiskers, we all know that’s what you’d prefer, right?’

  She gave a coy smile, ‘You do know me so well. Alright, so you two take MLO and we’ll meet back here in say, an hour?’

  ‘That was nice of you,’ Gabriel said, as Seth watched Tamera climb the nearest ladder and head for the Biological Science section.

  ‘Well yes and no,’ he replied. ‘She does love working with facts, but it also makes it easier for us – the myth part is the easy bit.’

  The Myth, Legend and the Occult section of the library was very befitting of the sinister image that the subject matter implied, Gabriel thought. Several of the hanging lanterns had burned out, which resulted in the few remaining ones casting long, spooky shadows. It circled around the entire exterior perimeter of the main library and was filled with towering stacks of books on both sides. Because of the sheer number of books there was only one entrance to the MLO section, which meant even less light entered the chamber. At times it almost felt that one was trapped in a room with no exit. The entire chamber had a dry, musty smell to it emanating from the timeworn manuscripts. As creepy as the place was, it seemed to Gabriel that it did not bother Seth, so he chose to say nothing.

  Seth was reading aloud through the labels on the ends of each bookcase, ‘Goblin... Gog... Gorgades... Ah! Here we are – Gorgon.’

  The two of them stared up towards the ceiling at the lofty bookcase. Every book on it seemed to contain the word “Gorgon” in the title.

  Gabriel let out a groan, ‘What did you say about this being easy?’

  Seth dismissed his comment, ‘I’m sure it’s just a lot of repetition. How many different interpretations can there be of one species?’

  A lot, as it turned out. Over fifty minutes later, between them they had skimmed through seventeen different books, each of which revealed something new about gorgons. So far they had ascertained that, according to myth, the gorgons began with Medusa, the infamous snake-haired woman who could turn anyone to stone just by looking at them. Other accounts stated that she had two older sisters, Stheno (the eldest and more vicious than the other two put together) and Euryale, both of whom shared the same abilities and were similar in appearance. Although they each had serpentine bodies their parents had in fact been merfolk, Phorcys and Ceto. Medusa had been slain by Perseus as she was the only sister not to be immortal. Yet another account stated that Medusa had once been a beautiful woman who had been given her monstrous appearance as a punishment by the goddess Athena. They also discovered that some legends believed the gorgons to live at the end of the world and guard the entrance to the Underworld. Then in contrast to everything they had already read, the pair stumbled across another account that claimed that the gorgons did not have the bodies of serpents; instead they had huge golden wings, deadly claws and boar tusks. Their heads were swimming from information overload.

  ‘
Stupid gorgons!’ Seth cursed, ‘This is ridiculous! If I never see a gorgon in my lifetime, it will be too soon! What does any of this have to do with anything that matters anyway?’

  ‘Why don’t we take a break?’ suggested Gabriel, ‘We can go and see how Tamera is getting on. We must have covered most things by now anyway.’

  ‘Whether we have or not, I can’t take it anymore! We were supposed to have the easy job!’

  They returned to the desk to find Tamera already sitting waiting for them, looking polished and calm. Her silky black hair flowed neatly down her back, not one strand out of place. Her brilliant green eyes lit up as she saw them approach. Seth collapsed onto the bench, his head hit the desk. Gabriel felt just as mentally exhausted.

  ‘Hi guys!’ she said brightly, ‘Shall I take it from your outwardly appearances that you’ve both had a rather trying time?’

  ‘You don’t know the half of it!’ Seth moaned, ‘You wouldn’t believe just how much people have written about the gorgons over the years, only for someone else to come along and write something completely different!’

  ‘That’s the trouble with myth and legend; you really don’t know who or what to believe. And in most cases there’s only limited truth to the whole thing. Would you like to hear what I’ve discovered?’

  Seth grunted in response.

  ‘I’ll take that as a “yes.” OK, now although the gorgons evolved from reptiles, they followed a different path to that of those other Reptilians that I’d rather not speak of. The gorgons developed a greater intelligence much sooner than their counterparts and have for thousands of years, preferred to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. As well as being intellectual, they are also naturally gifted artisans and blacksmiths, particularly in the fields of masonry (that whole idea of turning people to stone is complete rubbish) and weaponry. In terms of appearance, they have a snake’s tail from the waist down. Their upper bodies are very similar to ours with a few minor exceptions: they typically have crimson eyes with the reptilian slit-like pupil, sharp backwards facing teeth, pronounced fangs and a forked tongue. They do in fact have hair, but it commonly clumps together into dreadlocks as they age. Initially quite a widespread species, they now are thought to be predominantly located on a solitary island far off of the northwest coast of Scotland, towards Iceland, but nobody is overly sure where. Quite an unusual location you might think considering the fact that they are coldblooded. However, they too live deep underground, much deeper even than Sanctuary, where they enjoy the geothermal heat given off by the Earth’s mantle.’