The Great Library of Perpetual (Tax) Exemption

Abbreviated to Perpetua, the great library is a traveling building that periodically moves to seek greater knowledge. Identified by a single tower piercing the surface, the library is an enormous, buried structure stretching miles below the ground. The library has amassed its gargantuan collection of texts through fraud, deceit, and thievery. With the caretaker using the library’s traveling capabilities to flee towns and cities once they become aware to the army of magical foxes strip mining them for knowledge.

For thousands of years the great library was only home to non-fictional texts such histories, maps, scientific journals, manuals and philosophical theories. But as the centuries progressed the caretaking inhabitants grew weary of their dry nature and individually began pursuing the escapism of fiction.

Speaking of dry, in the interest of preserving the books within, the library is cursed, with any living organic matter flaking to dust over a period of a few hours. Inhabitants such as the foxes and Owl are immune to this dusting but visitors are not, with the only protection being enchanted library cards that protect the soul, though not the body.

Key Figures Owl – Caretaker

The primary caretaker of the library is a gargantuan owl with perpetual grump face. Having been the first inhabitant to grow bored of his position, he became so utterly absorbed in the romanticised tales of heroic adventurers that he completely neglected his duties, leading the library to fall into disarray. His favourite tales being the WerePoint Saga from maligned author Harrison Fjord. A series very, very loosely based on half remembered, second-hand tales about the adventurers of Waypoint that he overheard in taverns. The Owl even went so far as to write his own fanfiction that, with the encourage of the very adventurers who inspired the books, he got to giddily present to his writing hero, Mr Fjord himself.

Meanwhile, without his leadership, various charismatic leaders amongst the foxes rose to power in several attempted coup d’états. Bradley Buckethead

Bradley was the first fox to rise up against Owl in the Bucket Revolution of floor 1776. Where she successfully convinced a sizable segment of the fox population to barricade floor 1776, a critical location in the library as it housed the kitchens and primary underground farms. Though the revolution was swiftly crushed by the Owl, those 3 days of rebellion bought the foxes stronger bargaining rights, paid vacations, and dental. Some say it was all a political stunt, but regardless Bradley had asserted herself as the fox to be reckoned with and carries that clout to this day. She is most recognisable by the very soup bucket and ladle she proudly donned during that first rebellion and her staunch stance on alphabetising the libraries catalogue. A stance that she would make reality decades later in the recent failed coup d'etat to overthrow the Owl once she was sure he had grown lazy and careless. Harley Scarfinson

Harley is the ever so fashionable fox who quickly rose to power as a direct response to Bradley’s Bucket Rebellion. During the 3 days that floor 1776 remained barricaded, Harley used his charisma, confidence and flair for the dramatic to organise the remaining foxes into a siege of the rebelling faction. Successfully blockading the rebels in their barricade and cutting off their critical supply of coffee beans from floor 1991. As a reward for his loyalty, the Owl raised Harley to acting Viceroy over the foxes. To run the library in the absence of the Owl. Though he did not care for the title, Harley put in the legwork to befriend and raise up as many constituent foxes as he could to preserve the peace. Harley and his loyalists are most recognisable by their long comfy scarfs. Earning them the nickname Scarfee’s by Bradley and her radical supporters. Despite opposing the rebellion, Harley maintained a begrudging respect for Bradley’s bravery, commitment, and results.

The biggest obstacle to Harley’s influence is the rebel Bradley who heavily criticises his ties to and support of the Owl’s absolute rule. Over the years the two have bashed heads over the running and leadership structure of the library but never has there been another rebellion. Until recently.

As the Owl neglected his duties, Harley filled the power gap by leveraging his influence amongst the higher ups of fox society that he himself raised after being awarded Viceroy. Appointing himself as chancellor, Harley swiftly declared that the library would return to its traditional categorising roots of numerical ascension. Though it was popular amongst the fox elites (librarians), the knowledge seekers (book acquirers) were in uproar. Led by Bradley, they revolted and successfully took control of the Reception desk, the key to organising the library shelves. After some weeks of Alphabetical rule, Harley’s array of sleeper agents successfully retook control of Reception and blocked further Buckethead expansion up the library. Stanley

Stanley was a loner fox with little ambition but a dream. A dream of a personalized library that would sort itself by popularity and show recommendations based on guests reading habits. He avoided the conflict itself but eventually joined the Scarfees shortly after the Bucket Rebellion to be part of a social group and make some friends. While he himself did not care for numerical catagorising, if it was the traditional way then why meddle with it. That was until he was doing some light reading in the restricted section and uncovered a dark secret. That the original intent of the library was to order its catalogue by popularity and personal recommendation. Naturally this world shattering news stunned him for many days. Even resulting in him missing the so called “election” of Chancellor Harley, whom Stanley saw as snobbish and arrogant. But the fool would prove useful as Stanley quickly leveraged his connections and some nepotism from an old flame to be placed as a guard at Reception. Once his position was secured and the time was right, Stanley scared away his fellow Scarfees with the ravenous bookworm that he’d nurtured throughout the centuries. Setting Reception to move itself to random location in the library, he set about restructuring the library back to its original purpose.

That was until some adventurers showed up looking for a Harrison Fjord book of all things. They brokered peace amongst the factions but at what cost? They took all the copies of the WerePoint Saga with them. Those books may have been trash, but they were Stanley’s trash. Especially Volume XII: The Dwagoning Revolution Reborn. Now how was he going to learn the epic conclusion to the steamy Dax - Flint relationship?