The sap-candles burn into the night in the libraries of the Salticids.

They’ve been collectors of manuscript longer than they’ve been scholars, but who really knows when the overlap began. Seeking knowledge often becomes an end to itself.

The scent of academia suffuses the dimly lit halls, the high bookshelves only ever a dextrous leap away, though the more senior scholars have students to do the jumping for them.

To possess eight eyes is considered a boon for the ardent researcher, though one pair is - of course - reserved to identify possible interruptions, thus minimising the risk of losing a promising train of thought.

With practice, the remaining eyes can be employed to peruse multiple sources at once, greatly accelerating the necessary tedium of journal review.

The Salticids are an inventive sort, else they would not have risen to such prominence.

Amongst their inventions are wheel-like contraptions to support multiple books for simultaneous review by a surfeit of eyes.

It’s no great surprise that such devices often meet their ends being rolled down the halls at considerable velocity by students - or inebriated professors - only for their rider to leap clear just prior to unfortunate impact.