NarniaMUCK

Library
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You stand in the Library of Anvard, a room well-lit by a multitude of wall
sconces. The air is heavy with the unique, but pleasing smell of books, old
and new. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of volumes line the shelves from top to
bottom, and a number of tables have been provided for reading and writing.
The room appears to be well-dusted and well-kept, its contents carefully
maintained and repaired throughout the years.
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Tyre sits at a table in a well-lit corner of the library, tucked away where he is unlikely to be seen but does not lack necessary light. Even so, he has lighted a candle. Books are stacked high around him, obscuring him further, and the skritch of his quill can be faintly heard from within his fortress of literature.

Dar retires to the library at his usual hour, a thick stack of parchment requiring his attention under his arm. He strikes up a pleasant conversation with the librarian before retreating to his regular table. He frowns faintly when he finds it occupied before noting the occupant. His eyebrow lifts sharply in a way that is reminiscent of his aunt, and he performs a proper bow. "Good evening, Cousin", he says evenly.

Tyre rises, knocking a book off the top of a stack and just barely catching it. "Oh, Lord Dar, I didn't, uh, see you." He bows hastily.

Dar moves to catch the book before it plummets to the library floor, but retreats again when Tyre seems to have managed. "That--is rather difficult to do", he says mildly, straightening to his full height. He glances around the library, then turns back to his cousin. "I expected, given what I know of your enjoyment of the written word, that I would have encountered you here in the library before now. I make a habit of being here myself." His features remain impassive as he addresses Tyre: formal and polite, though not open.

Tyre folds his hands behind his back. "If you would like me to move--"

Dar, rather uncharacteristically, runs a hand through his hair. "Of course not, Cousin. You are as welcome here as I am." He sets his own parchments on the nearby table, not seeming in any haste to forgo his cousin's company this evening. "Forgive me if I implied otherwise."

Tyre says, "Ah, oh. Lord Dar if I may, that is--" He pushes up the glasses on his nose. "I believe congratulations are in order."

Dar hehs, his fingers moving up to press the bridge of his nose. "Then you have heard. I--am glad of that", he says.

Tyre says, "Oh, I think everyone has, actually--"

Dar furrows his brow at this. "Indeed? I--was not aware that the official announcement has been made. At any rate, it is true. I am to be wed."

Tyre nods again, a little too hastily, "Congratulations."

Dar smiles, a trifle thinly. "My thanks." He considers Tyre for a moment. "Cousin--would you mind if I intruded upon your solitude more than I have already this evening? I--would welcome the companionship of family."

Tyre blinks. "I-- oh. Uh, certainly." He glances around until his eyes fall upon his chair, which he drags toward Dar. "Yes. What, uh, was it you had in mind?"

Dar gives his cousin a wry look before quietly thanking him for the proffered chair, his long legs sticking out far beyond its edge when he sits. He responds with a small shrug. "It has been long since you and I have shared one another's company without it being some official function. We have both changed a great deal, I suppose, but as I prepare to fulfill my obligation as my father's heir, I find myself more and more drawn to past associations and memories as well. There was a time--" He observes his cousin, noting how Tyre responds to this overture.

Tyre seems to grow more boring-looking, probably his version of looking official. He nods to indicate listening.

Dar watches this transformation. As Tyre grows more official looking, Dar finally begins to allow the mask of pleasant neutrality that has become such a part of him to slip just a hair. "I have not", he admits, "always remembered you as I ought to have done, Cousin." He rubs at the back of his neck, his own reaction to the discomfort that is between them. "You and I used to compete in our studies, Tyre. You will recall it. Though you have taken your place in Chesterton and my role, for the moment, is here in Anvard, we have always been in a unique position to understand one another. Both of us knowing the weight of responsibility that our births have prepared us for. Both of us seeking, always, to better our minds. Both of us understanding our duties and holding to them in our own ways. I believe I owe you an apology, Lord Tyre. If nothing else, this coming marriage has helped me to see you differently."

Tyre blinks at him again. A silence falls between them before he replies, "Thank you. I'm sorry to have caused any misunderstanding."

Dar gives a slight shake of his head. "It was my own choice, Lord Tyre, and not yours."

Tyre says, "Uh-- you are forgiven, Lord Dar."

Dar hehs. "My thanks, Lord Tyre", he replies with the first stirrings of genuine warmth he has displayed towards his cousin since entering the library.

Tyre nods uncertainly, letting an awkward silence fall.

Dar seems reluctant to abandon this conversation once some of the distance has been bridged. "Ironic", he muses, "that we have come to this awareness shortly before our positions are once more to be reversed. I will leave court to spend time in Coghill once the wedding occurs, and you seem to have found yourself here, at least for the present--I know what an adjustment it must be after Chesterton."

Tyre seems to think he needs to excuse his presence. "Mother wanted me looking after Avery--"

Dar nods in understanding, having had occasion to look after his younger cousin himself in Tyre's absence. "The court--is not always as free from potential snares as His Majesty might hope", he admits, lowering his tone so that it will not carry beyond their table. "My aunt acts with wisdom, though no doubt Chesterton misses their lord."

Tyre removes his spectacles to clean them. "She seems to be doing better."

Dar nods, this time signifying agreement with Tyre's statement. "Indeed. And I have forgotten to extend my own congratulations. Sir Tyren has written me that Lady Astera is to bear a child. Welcome tidings indeed for Chesterton, as they must be for you as well. You will be an uncle before long."

Tyre says, "Ah--yes. Indeed, uh, yes. My mother is--somewhat pleased."

Dar's mouth twitches very faintly, almost imperceptibly. "Of course--", he replies neutrally.

Tyre says, "You... are amused."

Tyre seems as much surprised as anything else.

Dar's eyebrow lifts, perhaps in surprise that Tyre, of all people, has picked up on this.

Tyre says, "Oh, or-- uh, it seemed like it, anyway--"

Dar dips his head in assent. "It seemed so because, in part, at least, it was. How astute of you, Lord Tyre." Carefully, he adds, "I imagine my aunt's reaction was all that could be
expected upon hearing such joyous news. Just as it must have been when she found out about my betrothal." He leaves the rest unsaid.

Tyre says, "Uh-- perhaps so, yes."

Dar keeps his countenance from registering amusement this time. "Sir Tyren, is, of course, overjoyed. I only wish I would be here at court when he returns, to offer him both my congratulations in person and my support. How fortunate that his brother will be here to do so."

Tyre says, "Ah, yes. I can, if you wish."

Dar replies, "Such changes are always easier when surrounded by family, in my experience." He pauses, and when he speaks again, both his expression and his tone convey only genuineness. "Which is why I offer, as I should have months ago, that if there is anything I might do in the time before I absent myself from court to make your stay here easier, you have only to name it."

Tyre fiddles with his glasses again. "Ah, thank you. I will keep that in mind."

Dar nods, saying simply, "It is the least that Coghill should do for Chesterton, after all." He glances at the books his cousin has gathered, moving the conversation to more comfortable ground. "What is it you read, Lord Tyre, that I am keeping you from enjoying?"

Tyre says, "Oh, ah, you know the usual. Taxation history, inflation management. A little on crime philosophy, what I can find. Chesterton, you know-- the market attracts the thieves sometimes."

Dar nods soberly. "All sections of the library which I often visit myself. The collection here is, thankfully, extensive. It is well to gather all the information you can. I commend you, Cousin."

Tyre's countenance brightens as much as it ever does, which is to say a very little. "I'm working on a book actually."

Dar's eyebrow shoots ceiling-ward. "Are you? A worthwhile endeavor, and one which I might consider myself if my own writing was not confined to state papers and dispatches. What is your topic?" His interest is clear.

Tyre says, "Ah, well, money-management you could say. The effect of different levels and kinds of taxation on inflation, peasant welfare and morale, market economy, regional trade, international trade in particularly influential fiefs-- ah, you know, that sort of-- nothing particularly remarkable."

Dar replies, and it is clear he means it, "Fascinating, Cousin. I could see the usefulness of such a treatise."

Tyre says, "Ah-- oh, yes. Well, you know I only noticed there seems to be nothing comprehensive..."

Dar nods at this. "Indeed. Curot is the closest, but even he lacks a detailed analysis of the rise and fall of Calormene currency and its subsequent impact on inflation rates over the past century. It would help his argument tremendously."

Tyre exclaims, "Exactly! Or--" though his pitch has not exactly become what most would call excited, he moves the mode back toward his usual monotone. "Exactly. And he neglects almost entirely the differences between influential and small regions. Not to mention his logic on international impact is flawed at best due to his negligence of the Calormene system. And these days with Narnia trade routes becoming yearly more plausible, most of the international research is, optimistically speaking, outdated-- some might even say obsolete."

Dar allows a smile to form again, the expression settling more easily onto his features this time. "You have no idea how often diplomatic missions have failed simply because the emissary failed to understand basic currency exchange rate principles. Even Lord Ast was telling me when last I visited my sister how many disagreements spring up between the dwarfish miners and the Carmichael townspeople when it comes to how to accurately value finished goods."

Tyre says, "See, and the taxation in that region is a particularly fascinating case because the dwarves still consider themselves a separate people, yet they occupy the land's resources. Taxation effect on both morale and product value is an entirely different beast in those circumstances, nearly like trade between two separate regions, except that the people are likely to resent one another if treated differently."

Dar listens intently to his cousin's words, taking in everything that Tyre says. His hand even closes once, as if he were about to take notes even though he has no pen or parchment in front of him.

Tyre says, "-- I'm sorry. Mother always says I get carried away when I talk. Forgive me, we were discussing your, ah, marriage, I think."

Dar's reply is decisive, and he does not allow the subject to pass so easily. "You ought to write this book, Cousin."

Tyre says, "Oh-- well. Just something I'm interested in, really. Thought it helpful to have a compendium on hand. Part of the reason I'm still at Anvard, actually."

Dar informs him, "One of the messengers has recently returned from a delegation to the Tisroc. We discussed his findings at the council meeting today. Though a majority of his report is confidential as of yet, there is a section which you might find invaluable for your project. I can have a servant send it to your rooms."

Tyre says, "Oh--" He pushes up his spectacles, his eyes squinting and nose wrinkling a little in thought. "I-- if it wouldn't be too inconvenient, please."

Dar replies at once. "Not at all." He takes a blank sheet of parchment and writes the necessary details, then beckons one of the pages who is still loitering in the library even at this late hour, instructing him to have the note delivered to the appropriate servant. "There. It is done as easily as that. By the time you return to your quarters, the document will be there."

Tyre says, "Ah, well, Lord Dar, I'm-- really, I'm quite grateful."

Dar runs a hand through his hair. "Anything in the cause of scholarship", he remarks. "I have it on good authority that the scriptorium has recently completed some new manuscripts which were delivered to the librarian this afternoon. You might ask about them upon the morrow."

Tyre says, "Ah, thank you-- yes, I will."

Dar rises slowly from his chair. "But I have trespassed upon your time too much already, and in the morning", he says wryly, "I have an appointment with the court tailor." He makes another bow. "Cousin--I am glad to have encountered you this evening." With this, he begins to gather up his documents.

Tyre says, "Oh, yes-- It is rather, uh, rather late, isn't it? Oh, here, I'll--" he makes to help Dar with his papers, something verbalizing this action apparently being what he had been going to say.

Dar does not seem averse to the assistance, even offering his quiet thanks when the last document has been collected. "A pleasant night to you, Cousin."

Tyre bows, "And, uh, to you, Lord Dar."

Tyre amends, "--Cousin."

Dar bows once more in return, in a less reserved fashion than on their initial greeting, and then is gone, his long strides quickly taking him from the library.