Ghyll:Black Hall
The origin of theBlack Hall
When the contruction of the Odlucian Library was finished, it became clear that there would have to be a wing dedicated to more dangerous and controversial books, that didn’t fit in the normal wings. Thwelve shelves were designated for this purpouse,and they called it the Black wing. Many book additions later, around –70 EC a very small, but very important incident happened: the first ever book kidnapping happened. And it happened in the Black wing. The book itself was of little importance (a treaty of some unknown proffesor in an unimportant subject), but it confirmed one of the most feared suspicions the librarians had had: the books were not protected enough. Theodore Aspic, the Master Librarian of that time, consulted the matter for several nights and days. After about three days of deliberation with himslef, he arrived at a controversial solution: he would hire the Deathood to protect the books. Many librarians were furious at him, how could he let such a secretive and despicable group handle such important matters? But Theodore resolve could not be broken; he had taken a decission and would stick by it.
The construction of the Black Hall
The Deathood worked in absolute secret in this new section of the library. The only one with access to it were the most renown Occultologists and the Master Librarian. After one year of secretive and hard labour, the new wing was opened in a fairly secret ceremony, with only the small group that had been able to visit it during the construction. It was renamed the Black Hall because it was situated in a single, long passage, filled to the top with unused shelves(for future books).
The protection of the Black Hall
Very little is known about the secret library security system, or what secret mechanism or spells gurad it. However, there is one known fact about it: the Deathood still keeps it safe. The guards are said to have terrible and unspeakable powers, but it is not known whether this rumours are derived from actual experiences or propaganda spread by the Library itself.
Access to Black Hall
Acess is restricted to one scholar per month, guarded by two Deathood members. This is to ensure the safekeeping of the books, as well as the safety of the public itself, as many books can cause harm directly to the viewers if not properly trained. Also, there are many harmful inventions contained within the books themselves, so the library is not very keen to le these inventions loose in Ghyll.
How to put a book in Black Hall
Any book that can be considered dangerous, or too controversial for Ghyll, can be sent to the Balck Hall committee (formed by the most wise an intelligent Occultologists), which evaluates each individual book, and decrees whwther it is Balck Hall material or not. Though thousands of individual claims are sent each year to the comitee, only about 10% of them are considered reasonable. When a book has becomed Black Hall material. Millions of posters are sent all over Ghyll to anounce it and to get all possible copies of such book. Using very complicated theomancy, all received copies are counted, to see if they match the number of actual copies in Ghyll. If they do not match (which is rare, as the public always tries to avoid too much danger or controversy when it comes to books), special librarians are sent to fetch the remaining copies to ensure the safety of the public. So far, no Black Hall book has ever had a remaining copy on circulation.
Note: This is not the only way a book can become selected, it is just the official medium a book gets selected. Special Deathood agents are always on the search for possible books in all of Ghyll. Second note:Also there are exceptions to the rule. There are several rumoured private book collections that can be browsed outside Black Hall, as long as there is always a copy of every title inside Black Hall. One such rumoured collection is the one held by the Technomancer Crafts Guild.
The release of a book from Black Hall
A yearly committee(formed by the Master Librarian and two Deathood scribes, analyses all of the books contained within the walls of Black Hall. They decide whether the controversy or danger of a book is no longer a threath to Ghyll. They usually give back aboot 20 books each year. This may seem much, but considering the estimated volume of over 10,000 titles accumulated in all the years Black Hall has existed, there are still many books that are dangerous to Ghyll, according to the committee.
The collection of books in Black Hall
Because of the secret surrounding the actual subject and titles of the books contained within Black Hall, it is hard to go beyond speculation (except of the books that were poublicly known and anounced by the Blackh Hall committee) as to what might the books be about. The only well known book contained within this wing is the “Book of pretty things to look at” that contains such a horribly corny illustartions, that it is well known to cause instant death to any untrained eye.
Conclusion Black Hall, while it has a fairly known construction history still holds many enigmas and hazards to the public, waiting to be unleashed when the time is right. Citations: Deathood, Occultologists, Technomancer Crafts Guild.
The Deathood knows what good for you so overlook the black marks.
