Simon ben-Jacob

Simon ben-Jacob was a Toreador scholar during the Dark Medieval who tended one of the largest libraries of his kind in a hidden enclave on Malta.

Biography
Little is known about Simon, only that he likely originated in the Middle East from the time of the Roman occupation and that he was a man of high learning.

At one unspecific point after the fall of Rome, Simon took possession of a cave (which housed old cave paintings from before the time of antiquity) in Malta and used it to hoard books and scrolls. His library is extensive, including not only texts in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic, but also the archaic scripts of the Celts and even texts in Enochian. Simon also has a small collection of texts about demonology, erotica, warfare and the occult that he keeps hidden from the rest of his collection. A part of the cave is sealed off and Simon has shown no desire to venture further.

Travelers that want to enter the library must seek an audience with Simon, who is not forthcoming and will defend his collection if necessary. He only rarely leaves his cave to travel to the italian cities to discuss graver matters, keeping away from the courts of his kind. Simon also took an interest in the growing universities, often supplying them with texts from his collection, with unknown intent.