She’s not your ordinary librarian…

She is the daughter of one of the most ancient families in England. Her clan can trace its roots back to the days before the Romans came to Britain. She is properly called Lady Amalie Delbeath, as she is the daughter of the Fifth Earl of Delbeath, but she seldom uses her title. When she is traveling abroad, she prefers to be known simply as Miss Amalie Iceni. The surname comes from the Celts who once lived where the family’s manor is today.

The local villagers are quite proud of their gentry, although they do whisper that the whole lot of them are a bit on the strange side. “Women of that clan, odd ones they are,” is the consensus. “Some of ‘em are born with gifts that aren’t natural.”

But, if one were to ask the Lady about the strange history of her family, she would laugh and say that the only thing they are cursed with, is being terrible packrats. The first records of the famed collection, which now forms the core of the Arcanum Library, date from 1609, the year that construction began on the great house, Wyndmondam Manor. Even at that date, it was rather extensive, and the beginnings of it have been lost to history. A whole wing of the manor was set aside for the books, scrolls and artifacts that generation after generation of Delbeaths brought from abroad.

Amalie’s grandfather, Arthur, was one of the most prolific collectors and it was under his supervision that a building was erected in the village, to house the vast majority pf the collection, so that scholars could have access to it. Alexandria in England, is what the library is called by academics and many a researcher has made the pilgrimage to search the stacks.

Amalie is the current curator of the Library and is responsible for the health and welfare of its contents. She is trained as a historian and conservationist and has traveled the globe herself, looking for new additions to the collection.

She comes to Egypt under the pall of tragedy. Her twin sister, Anarane, was found dead under most peculiar circumstances and the only things she has to guide her are her grandfather’s diary and a strange pin that he once wore on his lapel. It looks like this: