The Unknown Librarian

Dubious Canonicity

This page is about a character whose role within the Drehmal universe is very poorly understood. Most information about this character comes from outside of the Drehmal map itself.

You feel an arcane presence...

This page or section may contain significant spoilers for Drehmal: Apotheosis. Read the additional messages below for specific spoiler information.

WARNING!!! This article/section contains EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT spoilers for end-game areas (after the Mt. Yavhlix sequence).

If you have not FINISHED THE MAIN STORY OF THE MAP IN ITS ENTIRETY, we strongly recommend that you DO NOT read the contents of this article.

Note: The true end of the storyline will take you to a dedicated credits room, NOT the vanilla Minecraft end credits.

The figure known as the Chronicler or the Unknown Librarian is an exceptionally mysterious character within or related to the Drehmal universe. The character primarily exists as a vehicle for the Drehmal dev team to disperse lore, but is believed to also have some role in the world of Drehmal that the player sees.

Discord Account & Message Timeline

The first appearance of this character was on August 16, 2023, in a cryptic series of messages in the Drehmal Discord server's #announcements channel. These messages were sent by an account named the_unknown_librarian, whose display name was three purple question marks (1). The account's profile picture resembles a purple eye against a black background, but upon further inspection, servergoers discovered that this image very closely matches the underside of the Emissary of the Void's arena in the Maddened Path. (2)

1. This purple color comes from a custom "Visitor" role in the Drehmal server, which is only held by this account. The only other roles held by the account at this time were the standard "Member" role and the "Dev Team" role.
2. Which is itself an inverted and color-shifted version of the top of the Tower of Drehmal in Ytaj.

Following the message in February 2025, the librarian also received the She/Her pronoun role in the Discord server, indicating that the character is, in fact, feminine.

First Appearance: 2.2 Beta Release Teaser

The Unknown Librarian's first appearance came in the form of 17 messages in August 2023, spread out over the course of three days. These messages immediately preceded the release of the Drehmal 2.2 beta.

Their contents are as follows:

Ah.

Now isn’t this a surprise!

I know you can hear me, somewhere in there.

We’ll need to catch up soon, you and I!

I know all about you, of course. But nothing can substitute for a primary source.

If you knew the reason for my interview, you would probably think it was pointless. And who could blame you?

A task that’s often labeled as “pointless” is counting all the grains of sand in a beach. A task that no mortal could hope to finish.

Even if one did have the time, it would be nearly impossible. By the time you finish counting the grains once, the beach will doubtlessly be battered by waves into even finer grains. New pebbles will be caught by the tide and brought from the seafloor to be broken on the shore.

As long as the waves churn, the grains will never consent.

So why do I do this? Why do I count the grains? Why must I know the journey of every soul given flesh?

Call it a compulsion. Call it simple curiosity.

Whatever the truth, it grounds me. I slip between the tapestry’s warp and weft. As I count, the grains flow gracefully around me like minnows in the open sea. I greedily read every word in the library, one letter at a time.

But I forget myself. Allegory is not the domain of the historian. I am only here to watch and listen.

Before long, you will return to your own senses and your own tasks. I wonder why you will do what you do.

A sense of duty? An enduring dream? A moral compass? Emotion or logic? Ideals or pragmatism?

Whenever you have your answer, I won’t be far away. I await your discoveries with bated breath.

Good luck, sleepyhead.

This series of messages seemed to loosely establish the librarian as a character that is speaking directly to the player. Some community members drew the connection between her use of "sleepyhead" and the fact that our characters are effectively "asleep" in temporal stasis just before the map's story begins, suggesting that this dialogue is her actually speaking to any one of the Stasis Eight just before they wake up.

Second Appearance: Sushi Lore

On February 17, 2025, a deal was struck between Drehmalcord server administrator Tahlros and lead developer Keeko100: in exchange for a sushi meal, Keeko and the dev team would answer one lore question related to the mysterious continents of Xivrhynt. A party of lore-interested community members deliberated for one day on a set of questions for the developers to choose from. The next day, the developers responded using the Unknown Librarian account, sending a message in the Discord's #completion channel with the following contents:

Hungry Seekers! For satiating the hunger of another, I offer you a boon. Allow me to lend you some knowledge, from my Library to yours.

How did the rift in the Bright Capital (the thing emitting an "ominous black light" depicted in Expedition Team Log) form? (1)
...what rift?

What exactly are the orbs in East Xiv, and how are they connected to any existing/known forces in the world? (2)
You and your silly orbs! You secured a direct line to me and thought asking about the orbs was a high priority?

Now, any self-respecting chronicler wouldn’t dare leave you with such little scraps. I’ll answer two more of your questions, to fill out your own library just a smidge more.

What exactly did Mael find in his trip to Western Xiv that made Khive summon him and Virtuo to Ytaj? (3)
Oh, that brute - somehow got a mirror through his thick skull. A snapped twig and the manuscripts of a forgotten lord’s subjects is all it took. And like a parent revealing a terrible truth to their children, Khive called the pair to council.

Are there any remaining people in Western Xiv? If so, what’s their deal? (4)
They exist. Certainly not a happy existence, especially as of late, but so it goes.

Oh, you’ve already gotten plenty more than what you bargained for, but I just can’t help myself. Let’s play a little game, a favorite of the Star-Rise Drake.

I present you two truths and two lies:

The Felling was by design.
Verrhys chose Drehmal.
The Mythoclast was cursed.
There was once a seventh Sphere.

Never stop wondering, curious Seekers. May this knowledge bring you some fragments of the joy that you have brought me. Find me some other time, will you?

1. This question is about the line in Expedition Team Log's fourth report, which states that the Avsohmic explorers in Eastern Xivrhynt saw something in the ruins of a city that omitted an ominous black light. This had been previously speculated to be a rift in space, similar to the tear at the center of Mt. Yavhlix, an interpretation that was turned on its head by this answer.
2. This question references Those Beyond, and was a direct attempt at fishing for lore about Aok. This was sniffed out and laughed at by the devs.
3. As depicted in Av3 902 - Time Immemorial, Maelihs visited Western Xivrhynt toward the tail end of the Third Avihm, and saw something that prompted Khive to reveal the full history of the Maelruhn and Viruhn to both him and Virtuo. This answer provides little clarity, besides the "snapped twig" possibly referring to a broken branch of the Primal Tree and the "manuscripts of a forgotten lord's subjects" possibly referring to remaining Maelruhn writings that he found.
4. The continued survival of people in Eastern Xivrhynt is implied in the map by the fact that Virtuo leaves to help them at the end of Av3, on the recommendation of Mari. This answer directly confirmed that there are also people alive in the far west, which was not previously established, although it does not necessarily mean that these people are Drehmari.

While no truly straightforward answers were obtained, this was a massive breakthrough in the characterization of the Librarian, solidifying her tie to existing in-game sources. In particular, the repeated use of the term "Seeker" to refer to the player is consistent with the lore text on the Chronicler's Offering and Null Boots artifacts.

No consensus has been reached on the two truths/two lies section of this message, partially due to the multiple possible interpretations of each statement.

"The Felling was by design" is one of the more common picks to be true, as this could simply mean that the Primal Tree's fall was something that was always bound to happen, consistent with the themes of Drehmal—all things must come to a natural end. However, it could also imply something more sinister, by any of the potential powers in Av1.

"Verrhys chose Drehmal" could have several meanings, starting with the fact that "Drehmal" could refer to the serpent deity, the realm at large, the disc, the continent, or a combination thereof (although one of the first two is much more likely). "Chose", in this instance, could mean that Verrhys intentionally marked this realm for destruction, decided to come to this realm, somehow decided to ascend Drehmal to godhood during the Felling, or many other interpretations.

"The Mythoclast was cursed" is also vague, and potentially reframes the (speculative) idea that the King of Nothing ascended from a lower plane to become the adjudicator of reality. If this is true, it could simply be framing his level of power as a curse that he has to bear, or it could literally mean that he was forced into this position.

"There was once a seventh Sphere" seems to have the least evidence for or against it, as there are no known mentions of such a thing in the map. It is unclear how this would have affected the Journey of the Spheres before and after its disappearance.

Third Appearance: Archived Memory

The Librarian would not make another public appearance until October 12, 2025, when she posted the following message in Drehmalcord's announcements channel:

Hello there, Seekers! It's been quite a while since I've spoken so publicly, but I have discovered a peculiarity with which I require some assistance.

Across the years, there has been very little to leave me stumped. However, I simply cannot abide an unsolved puzzle. While I pride myself on my independent research, some mysteries can only be solved with boots on the ground. And you, my friends, are some of the most capable boots (and brains!) that I know.

So, for you my Seekers, I've gone and dusted off a brief memory from my personal archive for you to take a peek at. I apologize in advance, as it's little more than a fragment. If I had found more, I'd have brought more. So don't go expecting a grand adventure like last time, y'hear?

Within it lies an... interesting piece of literature. One that I suspect you will find just as interesting as I do.

Do get back to me soon, my curious and capable friends!

Attached to this message was a file titled Archived Memory.zip, containing the Archived Memory world download.

In-Game Connections

A long-standing fan theory posited that all (purple) lore text in the map actually comes directly from a real character, and that character was the same one that spoke as the Unknown Librarian in the beta teaser.

In particular, two fourth-wall-breaking item descriptions seemed to suggest that this "narrator" was specifically aware of the player, referring to them with the title "Seeker". These are the Chronicler's Offering and Null Boots artifacts, whose lore is found below:

Chronicler's Offering:

My gift to you, seeker. Take it! Cherish it, hold it close. Remember it for when I call upon you.

Null Boots:

The Bereft is watching, seeker. Do you know who they left for you? Do you?

The Unknown Librarian's repeated use of "Seeker" in her two 2025 messages nearly confirm her position as the de facto narrator of Drehmal: Apotheosis. Further lore implications of this fact are very, very unclear. The title "Chronicler" comes exclusively from the name of the Chronicler's Offering artifact.

Character & Identity Speculation

There has been speculation about the identity of the Unknown Librarian since her first appearance.

The Unknown Librarian speaks in an eloquent yet somewhat familiar and informal tone, making frequent use of exclamation points and more casual language than many other figures in Drehmal. She has referred to herself as a historian, a librarian, and a chronicler, showing that whatever her mysterious work is, it involves the cataloguing of some kind of history or various stories. She speaks about the realm of Drehmal as if it is all a story that she is fascinated by, rather than something that she must live in, indicating that this character exists on a plane of reality higher than the realm that we play in. This naturally draws a comparison to the Mythoclast, a very powerful being who oversees the creation and destruction of various realms, watching them play out their stories. She is frequently associated with the color purple, which is opposite (and complementary to) yellow, the defining color of the Mythoclast and Primal Energy.

Initially, the purple theming and profile picture led many community members to theorize that this narrator was actually the Emissary of the Void, or rather, Drehn Mal'Sohm. The clarification of the Librarian's gender in February 2025 seems to be a direct refutation of this theory.

Another known character who could potentially fit this bill is Rihelma—the Aspect of Sky is associated with the color purple, is known to be highly enigmatic with prophetic powers, and has been known to commune with beings beyond the Veil, among other feats. If the Librarian is an existing character within the map's lore, then Rihelma seems to be the favorite, but she may well be a completely different character.

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