The Library contains every book that will ever be written, and many that won't. Here are some of our picks from Infinity.
Of the Wanderer's Library:
Stories about the Library, set in the Library, or similar. We delight in the inconsistency of our setting, and patrons are reminded that since the following accounts are to be found on the Shelves of the Library itself, their veracity is far less than guaranteed.
The Gatekeeper's Sketchbook
What appears to be an older, completed sketchbook sits on the table in front of you. The ink stains that tarnish the cover tell you that it's been well loved over the years. A quick flip through of the pages confirms your thoughts - every page is filled to the brim with art. Looks like the artist has written some commentary on each of the pieces as well. Perhaps you take a closer look inside? There's no need to hurry, the artist has to have moved on to a new sketchbook by now.
Memocide
One day, perhaps, you saw someone chewed up by a gear the size of a building, moving too fast to see. And then the next day you saw them at their post again, skin pink and shiny. Oddly wet. They looked at you and smiled blankly, and you left too fast to pack your bags.
Groups of Intrigue
Others have come before, others will come after—doors were meant to be opened.
Notable Wanderers and Characters
The Library is accessible to countless worlds and realities, and that means the clientele are generally as varied and strange as one might expect.
Field Guide to the Shelves, Volume One
Greetings, fellow Wanderer. You've managed to find the Field Guide to the Shelves, Volume One. Congratulations! Whether it was passed to you, picked up by you, or mysteriously found its way into your possession, you are in for a treat.
Volume One of 'Lost Wanderers'
You may, if you wish, contact us again when the inventory is finished. We will be done, by my estimations, around 2431 A.D., using the time scale of your home.
Until then, please let us work.
An Abridged History of Chief Archivists
The final type are Archivists - while all Librarians differ enough to be told apart, whether through color, size, or other distinguishing features, Archivists can take almost any appearance.
Contests and Events:
Stories that were composed as part of (or were happened upon during) our literature based events. Some are winners of their respective events, some are simply memorable from the perspective of those creating this list.
Interstellar Radio Channel 5
Were they really still airing it?
He turned back the knob and, sure enough, tuned into Interstellar Radio Channel 5, his favorite station from his childhood.
Cave Story
Three days yonder, down my rugged depths, large bodies of floodwater sprawled in.
Nebula Pheonix
This is the creature that started my never-ending project of cataloguing every magical bird I can find. It all started on my journey through space…
How the Ocean Came to Burn
The ship sailed to the edge of the world, and found corpses. They stopped, lowered ladders, sent out a launch. They went to each corpse and slowly, one-by-one, loaded them into the boats.
Standard Issue Withstander Field Guide: The Nihl
Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of the Islands prospering. We hold this truth to the highest degree of importance and swear that no entity, no single person, no group of individuals will ever stand in the way of it.
I Cannot Recall My First Thought
But I do remember standing in the presence of a Cairn, no taller than my shoulder.
Aliens In America
I might as well have been an alien on my first day of school here.
I didn't look like one, though. My skin wasn't green and my eyes weren't black. I looked just like them.
Standalone Stories:
Fractions involving infinite numbers aside, tales such as these make up the majority of both the fictional Wanderer's Library and the WL Wiki. These are articles which may be only tangentially related or indeed entirely unrelated to the Library setting.
A Loaf Story
Thoughts of knives ran through his head, knives and cutting boards and cheeses and meats and sandwiches.
The Journal of Aframos Longjourney, Pilgrim
As I read through the journal, I was struck by his sense of wonder in his surroundings. Even the most mundane of the things he saw in the Ravelwoods were fascinating to him… and to me as well, seeing them through his eyes. Everything seemed new to me again.
The Last Will and Testament of Lyle Alan Burnley, Heresiographer
I, Lyle Alan Burnley, presently of the Place Beyond the Wastes, do hereby decree my final will and testament, rendering null and void all previous promises and vows made during death or near-death experiences.
Sludge Thompkins in: The Lair of the Mutant Bubblegum Lizards!
At the bottom of the dusty basin about a half mile away, I can see what the contract meant. Partially, at least. Those are definitely lizards.
The Rise Of The Steam Soul
Alteres was once a land of magic. Now, it is a land of toil, strife, and smog.
Qlippoth and Sefiros
Before, Qlippoth and Sefiros had been alone, singular things from which nothing could be compared. But now, joined within the vast expanse of the Beginning, an awareness fell over them, of things that were and things that weren't.
Eggshells
At the beginning there were seven, and each was given an egg.
How Grandmother Triode Stole Binary From The Sun
a story of people[0xCF36] as told by shaman.Accumulator.Overflows(true)
Verse/Poetry:
It goes almost without saying, we like to celebrate all forms of literature. As such we've collected some of our favorites which follow verse or poetic or metered or any such related style.
Letter
You will not find me in your museums
stocked by murderers
thieves
conquerors
A Death in the Universe
Shattered glass,
Or maybe confetti with a bit of snow,
Flew out of my mouth.
An Inescapable Truth
At night I begin to sag.
My eyes become leaden
And my brain turns cotton.
A Cromwell.
The poems below have been collected by Page Tamto in honor of the 100th Library-sponsored cromwell migration, in which the Library and its patrons encouraged the flocks and reduced obstructions and/or distractions in their path.
Glass Apartments (For Janelle)
Those houses that I pass at evening with keyhole windows
seem as other worlds.
Morenita
Dark is your skin, but I do not see in it the desert's harshness, the sands' unquenchable thirst. Your hand holds not the scimitar, nor does the perfume of incense and saffron surround you.
Collaborative Works:
Rare indeed is the book in the Library which is exempt from the rule of non-alteration. That being said, these are articles said to be "perpetually in progress" and provide readers with the opportunity to contribute to them.
Fifth Elrichian National Party Manifest
Among the pledges and promises of our Party (see section II., On the Various Reasons the King Should Perhaps Consider Legalising The Fourth And Sixth Elrichian National Parties), we wish to make simple, straightforward and reasonable oaths to the lords, aristocrats, monarchs and mages that will be voting for us.
Missed Connections
Simply call our toll-free number, summon our secretarial elemental or emit the proper spectra of radiation at our stellar vector and you too can get in touch with that special entity that caught your notice.
The Green Pages
We know that Ways can be troublesome and hard to remember, so we're providing an easy map of commonly used Ways and Knocks for your convenience.