To my Royal Siblings: their Majesties, High King Peter, Queen Susan, and Queen Lucy,
I arrived in Anvard the night before last and have spent my first few days here gaining my bearings. King Lune has been most accommodating to not only myself but the servants and friends who have accompanied me here, although I will admit that the young Prince Corin is a tad too eager to make himself of use to me.
A noble of Lune's court, a young man by the name of Peridan Bosworth, has offered to act as my guide during my time here and on the morrow he will show me to the city's university. I've been told that the library there holds more books than the rest of the city combined and I hope amongst that wealth of knowledge will be the answers we seek.
I will write again soon,
Yours faithfully,
King Edmund, Duke of Lantern Waste, Count of the Western March, and Knight of the Order of the Table
The University of Anvard was undoubtedly the jewel of Archenland.
It had been founded almost exactly a century after King Col placed the first stone of the city's foundations; thus making it the oldest such institution in the world. Over the next few centuries sister organisations would flourish in Tashbaan and Redhaven but they would never come close to the scholarly might of Anvard.
The site itself was between the Palace and the Grand Market. Built from the same distinctive red-brown sandstone as the other buildings of the city, it was a twisting maze of towers, cloisters, and classrooms that disorientated even those scholars who had served their entire lives under its roofs if they were not careful. It also housed one of the greatest depositories of knowledge in the world in the form of the Feldian Collection.
Lord Ansel Feld had been the eccentric and unmarried heir of one of the richest families in the country. While his sister had risen to the hazy heights of Queen of Archenland, he had devoted his life to the pursuit of the Unknown and had amassed a great collection of books and trinkets. In his will he bequeathed everything, both his fortune and his possessions, to the institution that had started him upon his quest.
The vast majority of his possessions were now housed in several halls in the university's East Wing, famously known as the Feldian Museum, whereas his many books and papers had become the foundation of the university's library. Twice as large as the Museum and growing with every new book and pamphlet published, it formed a haven for its students for generations.
And on one fine day in high summer, the Rector of the University – who had spent some forty years within its walls – was hopelessly lost.
"Ada?!" he shouted again.
"Ada, Ada, Ada?!" the echo replied.
He straightened his official robes and sniffed irritably. "I am your Lord and Master," he informed the ceiling. "I do not appreciate being mocked in this fashion."
He turned a corner and headed towards Calormene Poetry.
"Blasted girl, where is she," he muttered. "Ada?! Ada?!"
"This is a library, Uncle, you shouldn't shout," a gentle voice said from his right.
Ada watched him patiently as he jumped a foot in the air and dramatically clutched his heart. She was well-versed in his theatrics and knew he would get to the point in his own time.
"By every hair in the Lion's Mane, Adelaide, don't sneak up on me like that!" he wheezed.
"Sorry, Uncle," she said. "Why are you searching for me?"
"Dame Vance said you would be with the Sevenese Theology," he said crossly. "How did you end up here?!"
"She asked Isaiah to go there this morning; the Jarl of Muil requested something about their Old Gods and Isaiah knows those books like the back of his hand," she replied.
"Isaiah… Ada… I knew her hearing was beginning to go," her uncle grumbled. Suddenly he blanched and yanked his pocket watch from inside his robes.
"Oh Aslan save us, quick, girl, quick, we should have been there thirty minutes ago!" he yelped.
Ada barely had time to set down the scrolls in her arms before her uncle had grabbed her arm and dragged her halfway up the wrong corridor.
"Where are we going?" she asked, steering him towards the Library's Grand Staircase.
"To the Palace, of course, didn't I say? We have an audience with the King!"
Ada had been to the Palace a few times in her lifetime. In her position as Fourth Assistant to the Librarian she was the youngest and most junior of the main Library Staff so she should have had very little contact with royalty. However, being the orphaned niece of the Rector of the University did occasionally have its merits.
"You are forty-five minutes late," the doorward sneered as they finally arrived outside the King's Audience Chamber.
"We were unavoidably detained," her uncle huffed, straightening his robes and detangling the chain around his neck. "I am a busy man and Adelaide has more to do than just stand around waiting for people all day."
The doorward's eyes narrowed but he turned and entered the Chamber.
"Sir Titus Speight, Rector of the University of Anvard, and Miss Adelaide Speight, Fourth Assistant to Dame Vance, Librarian of the University," he announced.
Ada watched her uncle square his shoulders, fix his "official" smile on his face, and march forward. She quickly smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt and then followed him.
"Titus! Got lost in your own halls again?" King Lune joked as they approached. Ada bit the inside of her cheek as her uncle's smile became a little more forced.
"Oh, never, you know how the Bursar likes to waffle on," the Rector said through gritted teeth.
The Bursar was a skeletal old man who prowled the halls of the University like an aged shadow. Ada was yet to hear him utter a single word; conversations between him and other members of the university staff resulted in them managing to reach a conclusion with the other person doing all the talking and the Bursar staring at them blankly.
She wondered if King Lune knew this; the Bursar did somehow have a reputation as a skilled conversationalist.
Lune nodded. "Dear Tervis, I still chuckle to think of that excellent joke he told about the Telmarine Merchant Lord, the snake charmer, and the hippopotamus," he said with a smile. "Peridan, were you there? It was at the Yuletide Feast last year?"
Ada's heart sunk. She had first encountered Lord Peridan Bosworth when he had been in his final year of study and she had been in her first year of employment. Sensing she was new, he had repeatedly asked her to complete tasks which were either far too menial or far too difficult for her. He still occasionally ventured into the Library to annoy her further and she had the sneaking suspicion that he had something to do with why she was here now.
He was standing beside a young man she didn't recognise. Strange, for although she did not personally know everyone at court she did know everyone by sight. He was noble, she could tell, and his dark eyes watched them carefully. He was dressed in a dark green doublet and brown hose that while finely made were clearly not of Archenlander make. He was probably from one of the Islands.
"To the matter at hand!" Lune boomed, dragging her attention back to him. "You were probably wondering why I have pulled you from the university halls?"
"I am always happy to visit the Palace," her uncle replied evenly.
"Spoken like a true politician; all you scholars are wasted devoting your lives to your books," Lune muttered. "We have a visitor to Anvard, Sir Titus. May I present King Edmund of Narnia."
He stretched out a hand and indicated the dark-haired young man beside Peridan.
"Your Majesty," the Rector said, bowing. Ada hurriedly curtsied behind him.
Narnia had only recently been freed from the wrath of a terrible sorceress. Ada had heard rumours that it had been four children who had overthrown the Witch with the might of Aslan Himself at their backs. As fantastical as it sounded, Lune had journeyed to Narnia since its Thaw and all of Archenland had become awash with rumour when he returned.
"I have visited Archenland with a single purpose, Sir Titus," King Edmund said now. "My Royal Siblings and I have encountered a problem which we lack the instruments to overcome on our own. We have been informed by many that the University of Anvard has the greatest library in the world and we hope to find answers within its walls."
"I'm sure we do," the Rector said with another bow. "Now I understand your request to bring a member of the Library's staff with me today. This is my niece, Adelaide Speight. She is Fourth Assistant to the Librarian."
King Edmund turned his gaze to Ada now. She did not appreciate the scrutiny. A common theme of her annual appraisals was her tendency to talk back to those who treated her with little heed or like a servant. Dame Vance had until now let her get away with her snappish remarks since it had only been to minor nobles at worst but she could only picture the Librarian's face upon hearing that her assistant had insulted royalty.
"You seem very young to be in such a position, Miss Speight," the Narnian King said.
Ada bit the inside of her cheek again, this time to prevent one of her famous retorts, and cast her gaze over him. How he could call her young for being a mere librarian when he was an adolescent in charge of an entire country, she did not know.
"With respect, sire, I may not have the age or experience of my colleagues but I have the same foundation of knowledge as them and I know the halls of the university possibly even better," she said. "I began my apprenticeship at age sixteen and two years later I am a valued member of staff. Besides, Dame Vance is engaged in a pressing matter with the Royal Archives at present, Mr Dressler is preparing for the arrival of the Calormene party next week, Mr Bennett is engaged in a long-standing project with the Jarl of Muil, and Mr Reynell is currently away on business for the Duke of Galma. Unless you wish to petition one of them to take on your project or ask some of the clerks to help you, I'm the best option you have."
He regarded her with his head tipped to one side; his face impossible to read.
"We were hoping for Mr Bennett since we were told he has knowledge of the Narnian Dwarfish tongue," he said.
"I can read and write in the alphabet and language of the Narnian Sons of Earth, including the slight dialectical differences between Red and Black Dwarfs," she said, maybe slightly a little too irritably. "I also have some understanding of Terebinthian and Telmarine although my colleagues are more knowledgeable in those areas."
He smiled and inclined his head. "Forgive me, I meant no offence to your abilities. I'm sure you will be a great help with my tasks, Miss Speight."
"I'll bring King Edmund to the Library tomorrow morning," Peridan said with a grin. "I remember where everything is, I'm sure I'll be able to help too."
Ada tried to keep the smile on her face but she definitely felt it twinge. Enforced contact with Lord Peridan Bosworth again, she could not wait.
Hello and welcome to what I have jokingly been referring to as my "writer's holiday". And that is where the Virginia Woolf comparisons will swiftly end as Orlando this most definitely is not.
Those who have read my other fics will know that I am an avid world builder. I have so far turned my attentions to the Lone Islands, Telmar and the Seven Isles in my stories so now it is time for Archenland and Calormen to receive some love. In particular, you will see one of my head-canons I've been developing for quite some time and I am excited to show it!
The University of Anvard is heavily inspired by the University of Glasgow. The image I used for the cover photo is actually the cloisters beneath Bute Hall in the University grounds. However, unlike Anvard which is the oldest in the Narnian world, GU is the 4th oldest university in the English-speaking world and where it places in the whole world I am unsure. :)
The rhyme from the description which begins, "There's the tree that never grew," is a real rhyme associated with Glasgow and it refers to the four miracles of St Mungo, the patron saint of the city. I have adopted it and given it a rather different meaning here which will be revealed in later chapters.
Lord Ansel Feld is based upon William Hunter who bequeathed his own possessions to the University of Glasgow upon his death and this formed what is now the Hunterian Museum. If you ever find yourself in Glasgow, I recommend you visit the University and the Museum; they are definitely worth it!
I hope this has captured your interest. I am happy to answer questions if you have them so please leave me a review if you have one, or if you just have something to say! Thanks for reading!