Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,957
edits
prefix>Import Bot (Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.AncientKeeper 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.AncientKeeper, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) ("card games"->"tabletop games") |
||
(7 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:lastcrusade-
Greetings, Adventurers! Welcome to the Archive of Backstory and Plot Advancement! Who am I? Why, I am the
Oh, before I do so, as an
▲Greetings, Adventurers! Welcome to the Archive of Backstory and Plot Advancement! Who am I? Why, I am the [[Ancient Keeper]], and I take care of the place. It is my job to dust the bookshelves, change the lightbulbs, polish the [[Lost Technology]], and provide dottering, yet helpful exposition to any and all heroes who happen to stumble within my realm of influence. Want to find the way to the next plot point? I can point you there. Want to discover the true nature of the [[Government Conspiracy]] threatening mankind? You'll find that information in that red book on the back shelf three rows down. Want to know the secret past of the hero's father? Look in that pile of dusty, rolled up scrolls over there. Want a copy of the blueprints containing the schematics to the villain's Unstoppable Superweapon? I have that on microfiche. Just walk this way and I'll show it to you.
Huh? What's that? You say I look kind of creepy and you wonder if I can be trusted? I assure you, my good man, the information I reveal to you is not only entirely accurate, but extremely helpful. I am required to provide equal assistance to all visitors regardless of importance or heroic status, even if I AM in the employ of the [[Big Bad]]. Which I may or may not be. Also, I assure you, I do not have my own agenda and would not harm you in any way. Now if you'll just finish drinking your tea--[[Suspiciously Specific Denial|which I assure you has]] ''[[Suspiciously Specific Denial|not]]'' [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|been poisoned]]
▲Oh, before I do so, as an [[Ancient Keeper]], I am contractually required to ask you if you'd like to have a spot of tea with me, and then wistfully remark about [[The Aloner|how extremely lonely I am]], not having seen a single living soul for several ''[[Time Abyss|centuries]]'' now. How do I manage to [[Older Than They Look|look so good despite my advanced age]]? Well, it's easy when one is an [[Ridiculously Human Robot|android]]/[[Hologram]]/[[Our Ghosts Are Different|helpful ghost]] / [[Living Relic]] designed to [[A Form You Are Comfortable With|fulfill viewer's expectations]] of what an Ancient Keeper of Knowledge should look like. Now if you would, walk this way...mind the creaking floorboards and that stack of stone tablets with the glowing cuneiform on it......
▲Huh? What's that? You say I look kind of creepy and you wonder if I can be trusted? I assure you, my good man, the information I reveal to you is not only entirely accurate, but extremely helpful. I am required to provide equal assistance to all visitors regardless of importance or heroic status, even if I AM in the employ of the [[Big Bad]]. Which I may or may not be. Also, I assure you, I do not have my own agenda and would not harm you in any way. Now if you'll just finish drinking your tea--[[Suspiciously Specific Denial|which I assure you has]] ''[[Suspiciously Specific Denial|not]]'' [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|been poisoned]]--I'll show you the way to the Ancient Planetarium which will reveal to you the solar system where the parts to the series' Magical [[MacGuffin]] are hidden....
Oh, and please don't walk so close behind me. You're stepping on the hem of my impractically long robes. (My kind ''always'' seems to be wearing impractically long robes.) I may just be an android with limitless time on my hands, but even ''I'' hate having to scrub shoeprints out of my clothing...
{{examples
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Slayers]] NEXT'' has Auntie Aqua, a wizened old lady and avatar of the Water Dragon King who guards the secrets of the Clair Bible.
* Lilith from ''[[Yami to Boushi
* At the end of the first season of ''[[Ghost in
== Card Games ==▼
* In ''[[Magi Nation]]'', the Orothean (uh, he's a merman) Blu guards the Archive, just as his father did, and his father before him, and so on until, apparently, the beginning of time.▼
** In the video game, the main character comes and opens up Blu's Archive and discovers a pair of magic boots. Needless to say, Blu was pretty disappointed to learn his family spent ten generations guarding footware.▼
Line 29 ⟶ 22:
== Film ==
* In the film version of ''[[Aeon Flux]]'', an
* ''[[
* Box from the film version of ''Logan's Run''. He doesn't so much help visitors though as much as {{spoiler|freeze them and turn them into foodstuffs. He's long since forgotten for whom the food was intended. Obviously.}}
* The old Crusader in ''[[Indiana Jones and
* Vox 114 of the remake of ''[[The Time Machine]]'' might qualify.
Line 44 ⟶ 37:
== Live Action TV ==
* Perhaps the creepiest example occurs in the ''[[Twilight Zone]]'' episode, ''Elegy''. Three marooned astronauts stumble upon a world where people seem frozen in time. An
* The librarian Mr. Atoz in the ''[[Star Trek:
* The creators of ''[[Battlestar Galactica
* ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' has the Fisher king himself being the keeper in his castle. And asking for [[Mercy Kill]] when he has transmitted his knowledge.
▲* In ''[[Magi Nation]]'', the Orothean (uh, he's a merman) Blu guards the Archive, just as his father did, and his father before him, and so on until, apparently, the beginning of time.
▲** In the video game, the main character comes and opens up Blu's Archive and discovers a pair of magic boots. Needless to say, Blu was pretty disappointed to learn his family spent ten generations guarding footware.
Line 59 ⟶ 57:
* Impa and Sheik in the ''Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' are somewhat ancient keepers. Impa is first met as a kid, explaining she is of the Sheikah race, a race dedicated to serving the royal family. She informs you of Kakariko Village and Death Mountain, as well as teaching you Zelda's Lullaby, an ancient royal family song, before disappearing with use of a Deku Nut. Ironically, Sheik later does almost exactly the same, being a Sheikah who informs Link of the ancient temples, before vanishing with a Deku Nut.
** [[Secret Identity|But then again, does Sheik really count]]?
* [[
* The Master Librarian from [[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night]].
* ''[[
Line 71 ⟶ 69:
== Western Animation ==
* The desert library in ''[[
* Frostbite in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' where he keeps the ancient Infi-Map.
* [[Kim Possible]] has 2 examples of this. Sensei from the Yammanuchi School keeps the secrets of Mystical Monkey Power and the Lotus Blade, and Monkey Fist has a keeper for his mansion, and deals with similar secrets as Sensei.
* Dungeonmaster from the animated ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (
* Kuzco and Malina run into the Royal Chalice Keeper in the ''[[The
{{quote|
'''Royal Chalice Keeper:''' "Very well... 'tis ''one'' of these!" *''displays entire table filled with chalices''*
'''Kuzco:''' "Yeah, thanks for narrowing it down."
'''Royal Chalice Keeper:''' "Take your time and choose wisely..."
'''Kuzco:''' *''picks up the chalice right in front of him after thinking for half a second''* "Gooot it! Let's go." *''leaves*
'''Royal Chalice Keeper:''' "Wait! You didn't take your time! Come back! Please don't leave me... my next coffee break isn't until October." }}
* Daphne/Dafne from Winx Club, Bloom's dead sister, a nymph and protecter of the Dragon Fire, appears to Bloom in her dreams, speaking to her about discovering her past and telling her about her trials and that she's princess of Domino/Sparx.
Line 87 ⟶ 85:
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Elders]]
[[Category:Information Desk]]
[[Category:Ancient Keeper]]
[[Category:
|