The Master's Library was a temple of Deneir on Iron Dragon Mountain in the Earthfast Mountains between Impiltur and the Vast in north Faerûn. It was the greatest depository of books on Toril and the site where the Metatext was pieced together.[1]
History[]
Iron Dragon Mountain was once the lair of the mist dragon Ouranalathra the Mistmaiden, but later became the site of the Master's Library.[1][2]
Inhabitants[]
The Master's Library was home to about sixty High Librarians, the highest ranking and most ancient members of the Deneirrath clergy. In the late 1360s and 1370s DR, they were led by Librarian Supreme Haliduth Orspriir. He and the other High Librarians could read any known written language.
The greatest number of truenamers devoted to Deneir could also be found here. Many of them worked on the Metatext.[3]
Defense[]
The location of both Iron Dragon Mountain and the Master's Library was generally unknown. It was supported by the Reading Room, a small stronghold far to the south that most pilgrims visited.
For defense of the temple, Haliduth called upon eight mist dragons that dwelled in neighboring mountains, ranging in age from mature adult to great wyrm.[1]
Activities[]
The Master's Library held more books than any other library in the world, including Candlekeep, the Library of Curna, and the biggest libraries of Shou Lung. It included samples of every known written language, even draconic languages.[1]
The Metatext, the mythical ideal text sought by Deneir and his faithful, was recorded and pieced together at the Master's Library. The most likely fragments of text discovered by Deneir's clerics were sent to the Library to be included. It was continually growing but incomplete, and kept by the Librarian Supreme himself.[4]
At least once in their lives, every devout follower of Deneir made a pilgrimage to the Master's Library, though few got past the Reading Room. A nonliving matter–only gate spell allowed notes and texts to be passed between the two, so that copies of texts could be lent to visitors.[1]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
An unpublished, non-canonical article by George Krashos, titled Ouranalathra, "the Mistmaiden", tells about Ouranalathra and the foundation of the Master's Library.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Julia Martin, Eric L. Boyd (March 1996). Faiths & Avatars. (TSR, Inc.), p. 55. ISBN 978-0786903849.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Bernstein (August 2006). Dragons of Faerûn. Edited by Beth Griese, Cindi Rice, Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 144. ISBN 0-7869-3923-0.
- ↑ Eytan Bernstein (2007-08-01). Truenamers. Class Chronicles. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016-10-31. Retrieved on 2016-05-21.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons. Edited by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 92–93. ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.