Zero Library

The Zero Library is the vault where the most dangerous and precious books of the Kingdom of Meltor are gathered. Its distinction is that every book here is an original, written by the author's own hand: the knowledge within them long ago spread across the world as duplicates, yet only the originals hold a special power that cannot be copied. Among the volumes are works on primordial magic, ancient lost spells, texts in forgotten tongues, 'grains of wisdom left behind by the greatest wizards of this world.' To mages such books are priceless: they can heighten one's capacity to learn or grant magical protection, and even high mages obtain them only with great difficulty. The volumes are kept in glass cases, and empty display cases remain where books have been lost or borrowed.

In its level of protection the library is equal to the royal palace's secret treasury. Its entrance is barred by a massive door of adamantium alloy — looking like opaque ice, it encircles the entire room, deflects both physical and magical blows and cannot be pierced even by spatial magic; not even a Tower Master could break it in under a day. For the door to open, the one entering must possess sufficient magical power — otherwise not even a keyhole will appear on it. The Master of the White Tower is responsible for the Zero Library's security, though its contents do not interest him. One may enter only by the king's leave and only with the high rank of Chief Mage; even Tower Masters may not take and use the books at their own discretion, and only the very top — such as Theodore's mentor Veronica, Master of the Red Tower — may visit the vault freely.

Deep within the Zero Library hides an even more heavily guarded hall of forbidden books — where the Magic Society concealed its most dangerous holdings, and which only the Society's chairman and the king himself may enter. These tomes are no longer mere paper and ink but a 'fusion of magic and wisdom': they whisper to the reader, try to crush his will and seize his mind for the sake of their own freedom; bound in chains, sheathed in hide, traced with gold, they look sinister. For Theodore the library becomes a treasury: as bearer of the grimoire Gluttony, which turns what is read into power, he first wins by King Kurt III's reward the right to one book ('Battle Song'), and later an unprecedented full right to dispose of the vault's contents — to secure a weapon against a necromancer and keep a demon from rising again.

The entrance is sealed by an adamantium-alloy door that deflects physical and magical attacks and is invulnerable even to spatial magic; without sufficient magical power not even a keyhole will appear on it. The Master of the White Tower oversees its security.

One may enter only by the king's leave and only with the rank of Chief Mage. Even Tower Masters may not take books at will; only the very top, such as Veronica, may visit the vault freely.

Deep within the library hides a separate, even more heavily guarded hall, where the Magic Society concealed its most dangerous tomes. Only the Society's chairman and the king may enter.

These books are a 'fusion of magic and wisdom,' not mere paper: they whisper to the reader, seeking to crush his will and seize his mind for their own freedom. Shielded by Gluttony, Theodore finds here a broken fragment of a mighty grimoire.