That would be the perfect description of this encyclopedic place.

The air here is heavy, as if every cubic inch is saturated with the weight of forgotten words, of knowledge long abandoned. The old wood that makes up the walls, the floor, and the shelves seems to absorb time, worn out. The dark beams support the low ceiling.

The polished wooden shelves, though worn by centuries, stand tall up to the ceiling. Heavy leather-bound books and polymers rest side by side, exuding the scent of old paper and dry wood. I feel frozen, suspended in time, while the world outside continues moving — especially with the unsettling news that I have yet to digest.

I ran my right hand along a shelf in the culture section, my fingers collecting dust. A sigh escaped my lips as I randomly pulled out a book: Floreana and Ictian Cuisine.

As I opened the cover, a cloud of dust rose in the stifling air, making me cough discreetly. The title alone promised a journey of boredom — two nations competing to see who can turn food into an exercise in excessive gourmetization. How refined does eating need to be?

I rolled my eyes, recalling the countless times my 'mother' insisted I avoid raw meat or unrefined grains, as if that were the pinnacle of civilization… No, no confusion here, I’m the normal one, not her.

"Delightful," I muttered sarcastically, flipping through the first few pages with little interest. A culinary duel between two peoples I barely know, about whom I had only recently heard. D. Jhos Zoli, a renowned author and gastronomic chef from Ictia, and apparently the head chef of the Palace of Sedrons. The title sounds hollow, just as the author seems to be, but there was something in his arrogance that intrigued me.

My eyes skimmed the words with growing disdain: “Without culture, a cheap imitation, lacking any trace of authenticity, Florean cuisine is nothing more than a badly told joke compared to the rich and sophisticated Ictian gastronomy.” The disdain was obvious, and the self-satisfied monologue continued: "As the head of cuisine at the Palace of Sedrons, I have full command of the subject."

I imagined this Palace of Sedrons, a place where opulence reigned supreme. According to descriptions, the palace was an architectural marvel, with hand-carved marble walls, modern in its steel, every detail sculpted by artisans and metallurgists who had devoted their lives to perfection. Tall columns made of obsidian mixed with marble, too polished, supported ceilings decorated with gilded, vaulted frescoes, while large stained-glass windows cast unfiltered light onto the floor of dark, wide platinum ceramics.

In the grand banquet hall, glass and solid marble tables were draped with finely embroidered cloths, upon which rested plates as ornamented as works of art. The palace's wood, unlike the shelves in this library, was alive, gleaming with sunlight. In stark contrast to the heavy, suffocating atmosphere here.

The author’s description continued to bombard the reader with harsh critiques of Florean authenticity. He exalted the supremacy of his own cuisine, boasting about complex and meticulously planned dishes that, honestly, seemed to involve more steps than it would take to build a spaceship.

“He could easily host a competition to see which nation wastes more time on insignificant details,” I grumbled, flipping through a few more pages of intricate recipes. Rare ingredients, archaic techniques… Floreans and Ictians seem like true masters at turning something simple into endless complications.

I closed the book with a soft thud, feeling the boredom grow. If someone asks me about the culinary rivalry of these people, at least I’ll have a good conversation starter… or a great method of torture. I smiled, satisfied with my own irony, and returned the book to the shelf. “I think I’ll look for something more exciting. Maybe a spaceship-building manual. I bet that would be more thrilling.”

So many shelves, so many books... all old and outdated.

How does Aidan spend so much time here? This is unbearable! My "mother" sent us to the library before her labor began today, in this decrepit village. All because of Elder Nina, who insisted that "men can’t enter." Really? Use logic, woman of low IQ. If she had me and is now having my future brother, she and my "father" clearly have enough intimacy. As for me... well, I’ve been breastfed and seen her body naked more times than I’d care to admit.

I walked a few meters down the corridor until I reached the historical tales section. I dragged myself there, feeling the weight of the world. I stood on tiptoes to reach the books on the top shelf and tried to pull one out. It didn’t budge. With a little more force, I managed to free it, carefully so as not to tear it. To my surprise, the book seemed new, quite unlike the others, which appeared to be 20 or 30 years old.

A Visit to the History of Áurea: From the Ancient World to Modernity
Written in Hictia, 3021 A.D.
By Deihom Sedos, historian and economist of the Academy of Science and Innovation of Sedrons.

The ACIS is a profitable institution, highly competitive, especially among nobles. Funded by the State of Hictia, it seeks to democratize knowledge by making study materials available to various regions. “Seems honorable enough... Maybe I’ll study there one day, wherever Sedrons may be,” I thought, still skeptical about continuing to live, given the constant cycle of reincarnation and death.

“At least I still have cosmogenesis and mathematics,” I said with a touch of sarcasm.

The book organizes history into clear categories: 1 - Remote Era. 2 - Divergent Era. 3 - Communal Era. 4 - Enlightenment Era. 5 - Cataclysm Era. 6 - Era of Famine. 7 - Modern Era. 8 - Contemporary Era. Although this makes it easier to understand, the reading threatens to bore me to death.

The Remote Era, from 240,000 B.C. to 40,000 B.C., was marked by incredibly slow development. Human species, along with Néfos, Elflins, and Chordás, take prominence, based on a work by Professor of Biology Jeremi Sedos, my friend and cousin. Evolutionarily, these four seem to have been artificially introduced into Áurea, in contrast to the Vilos, who have ancestors.

During this time, small nomadic communities survived by hunting and gathering, using simple tools of stone, wood, and bone. Yet, they already mastered magic, which provided them with protection against predators and allowed them to cook food, giving them greater control over their environment.

These primitive populations, though technologically limited, showed a surprising capacity for adaptation. They dispersed across various continents, facing varied climates and hostile ecosystems. Curiously, there are black structures of an ancestral race, little understood, that seem to shape the planet, controlling the climate, the terrain, and even manipulating atmospheric conditions. These mechanisms, almost mysteriously, discourage occupation in certain regions, raising even more questions about the purpose of these towers and the true nature of the world. It’s as if the planet was made for us, but at the same time, these black towers seem to control us in ways we barely understand.

So, are we someone’s pets? Or are we living in a planet-sized aquarium? How interesting, it only excites me more about that structure on the horizon of this village.

Divergent Era: 40,000 B.C. to 10,000 B.C. I’ll be brief. During this period, various races had already formed small cities and kingdoms that began to develop commercially, even creating financial and economic systems. However, friendly relations were rare. Each race sought supremacy, resulting in a time of chaos, where Humans, Néfos, Chordás, Vilos, Gorfins, and Elflins fought each other, aiming for the extermination of their rivals. Special mention to the Néfos, who were the least aggressive.

The widespread wars lasted about 30,000 years, an era of endless conflicts and divergent philosophies, marked by different religions and the immorality of the idea of superior races.

Communal and Enlightenment Era (10,000 B.C. to 0 A.D.) These two eras together form the Cultural Renaissance. The transition occurred due to a significant global shift. In Turus, one of the continents, the first recorded union between two different races took place. Our biology, for some reason, allows compatibility between species, such as Humans and other races, who can reproduce and produce semi-fertile offspring, despite being biologically distinct.

Peace in Turus emerged precisely because of this compatibility. During an unprecedented war, the ruler of Tissus, a state that desired peace, proposed a mass marriage between different species. It initially caused outrage, as many found the idea absurd. However, the proposal advanced when the ruler himself married a human from the neighboring and rival kingdom. This union marked a profound cultural change, and Turus became the first unified country in the world.

Over time, unions between different species became more common, promoting global peace and prosperity. This period also saw the rise of the steam engine, electricity, and their applications up until the end of this era.

Now it all makes sense. That’s why my ‘mother’ and ‘father,’ despite being so morphologically different, were able to have me. I thought it was dimorphism, but it’s not. I smiled slightly, finally solving that mystery.

Cataclysm Era: 0 A.D. to 100 A.D.

Here’s a striking passage from a book of the time:

(It was on a seemingly calm night that the event began. The skies of Áurea were clear, revealing a spectacle of glowing gases. Then, without warning, space beyond the planet stirred. A rift opened in the vast darkness of the cosmos in a terrifying purple explosion, a scar of light and energy that tore through the dense nebula enveloping Áurea, devouring the night’s splendor like a wound.

The explosion that followed was unprecedented for the inhabitants of Áurea, and even for me, who witnessed it. A shockwave of pure energy spread across the planetary system, hitting Áurea’s atmosphere with devastating force. The effects were immediate and catastrophic. The planet’s atmosphere was ionized in an instant, as if touched by an invisible hand, charging it with uncontrollable energy. All the technology that sustained life on the planet was deactivated instantly. Lights went out, engines stopped, and communications abruptly ceased.

Áurea, a planet proud of its ingenuity and progress, was plunged into total darkness within seconds.)

This event, known as the "Rending of the Heavens," not only interrupted the daily life of Áurea’s inhabitants, but also ushered in a period of chaos and despair. The cities, once connected and vibrant, became islands of suffering and confusion. Without the technologies that ensured their survival, the inhabitants were forced to revert to primitive methods of subsistence as they tried to understand what had happened and survive in the new world they found themselves in.

For generations, the Rending of the Heavens was etched into Áurea’s history, shaping its calendar. Theories about the event ranged from divine punishment to cosmic disaster, but the true cause of the cataclysm remained an unfathomable mystery. The only certainty was that the planet and its civilization had been irreversibly altered. The event occurred on the 9th of Zenith in the year 0.

This disaster marked the beginning of the First Famine Period, characterized by mass starvation, lasting 2,000 years, during which technology had to be rebuilt from scratch. Many nations fell, leaving only the continent of Turus as the center of power and civilization. If racial divisions had already been overcome, the technological and social chasm that the Rending of the Heavens created between the survivors was enough to generate a new era of hardship and isolation.

“Speechless…”

The Modern Era, or Contemporary Era, encompasses the 1,022 years since the Cataclysm. We’ll explore this period in parts, discussing the countries, their histories, and the innovations that marked this recent era. Today, there are 34 nations, of which only 12 stand out as dominant powers, influencing the other 22 to follow their geopolitical directives. The prominent nations are: Hictia, Irlem, Florem, Loura, Ruzi, Ieser, Harlei, Domim, Cirus, Eastern Gaélia, and Turus, spread across four continents.

I didn’t want to be a precocious child, but this seems far from over, so much content in this thick book.