On gods – Excerpt from an imperial prayer.

Mind, Ice.

Mercy, Life.

Body, Fire.

Vengeance, Death.

May thy names be Eternal in death as they were in life.

Always.

Early spring / Mercy 782 ADM – Eternal Empire – Modona’s upper district – Merentah mansion

Bright rays of sunshine peeked through the curtains as they slowly, but surely creeped over the covers, lighting the face of a young man maybe 10 years of age. His skin was a little pale in stark contrast to his short dark hair, his face had a notable mix of features from both the sharp lines of the northern peoples and the thin almond eyes of the far-east, an exotic look for one who was born in imperial lands.

The boy, who some also called Ulysse, stirred as the light crossed the deep bags of his eyes to hit his eyelids, slowly blinking them as his light purple eyes were taking in his room, trying, but failing to find his clothes.

He remembered having thrown them on his nightstand yesterday yet he can only find some frilly dress on it.

Unless... He drags the dress to the floor, reveling yesterday's clothes, only slightly smelly and stainless, the green and purple ensemble quickly ends up on his shoulders.

As he reads the plaque on the nightstand “Ulysse & Alice” he grumbles silently.

“I told you not to throw your clothes on mine you ugly-face, vengeance it is.”

She, Alice ugly-face, his twin, keeps on sleeping unaware as her brother leaves their room, drags a richly quilted chair behind the door, then proceeds to climb in a precarious equilibrium, one hand holding a silver bowl filled with water, the other flailing madly for balance. Finally, even with his lanky stature he manages to balance the bowl on top of the door so it may fall on his sister.

This’ll teach her, he thought, chuckling.

He hauls the chair back in its place further down the corridor then, with a glint of accomplished mischief in his eyes he scampers down the stairs to the ground floor, then towards the dining room.

Clearly the patter of his footsteps must have been heard for when arrives, grandpa, seated alone at the table, was looking in his direction.

“Hello grandpa Silf.”

He had learnt over the years that calling his older relatives by shortening their names made them like him better, except in a formal setting, that didn’t go very well.

“You do keep calling me that do you not?” Silvestre said, smiling.

Grandpa was a man of average height, in good shape with the same pretty eyes as him and hair that stubbornly stayed gray even in old age, he didn’t even smell like an old person, but instead had a fragrance of herbs.

“Why not call me Sil’ like grandma does.”

“I like Silf it’s my unique name for you.”

Ulysse jumped to sit on his chair besides grandpa.

“So be it then, though I believe you a quite a bite more Sylph like than I am.”

The cook, some distant cousin, came carrying a plate of breakfast for the young man, tensely putting it down under the gaze of the old patriarch.

“Thanks. What’s a silffff with two fs?”

“That is a question fit for your books, or aunt Kresida.”

“Eww. But she don't answers them grandpa, or only while glaring like I'm her twin.”

“Never, not don’t, and maybe she would if you didn’t fight her so much now.”

Ulysse pouted as was fair, filled his mouth with pastry, then changed the subject.

“Say grandpa, it’s the last week of the month, yes? The end of early spring Damien and I are going to have our birthmonth and I have written a list of presents I might like.”

“Did you not forget someone. And please do call the months by their correct names at 10 you will be no child anymore, and your parents want you to go into the orders.”

“Well, I did write a list of things you should Not give my sister, and speaking of months, I think she did a bit too much Vengeance during Mercy.”

Obviously, he’d known the names for years, he was smart like that, but the orders, the gods named eights of the years, theses were things he really didn’t like to think about.

“Well if I am to take your lists, I am to take your sister’s too, at that I assure you she has some delightful gifts ideas for you does she not?”

His eyes widened as he recoiled in shock at the threat.

“In that case grandpa I do advise you to do as you wish and ignore our respective lists.

“Plus, I really don’t need my sister’s idea of gifts! The Librarian told me, hu well he hid a hint in the last book that I'd get a gift from him if I finished it before the end of the month.”

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Grandpa Silf raised an eyebrow at that.

“Can you tell me which one it is?”

“Yes, I just call him Librarian because I don’t talk to the others but his name is Merle.”

“I do not remember any such Merle working in the libr...”

Now he seemed intrigued, and bore a hint of pride for his grandson.

“Well, so we might have a new little Kre’.”

Ulysse was about to respond to this grave insult, of being compared to Kresida, after gulping a few more pastries of course, when he heard the powerful cry some unholy creature.

“I HATE YOU.” a shrill, girly, unhappy cry.

“Bye grandpa, I just remembered I had to go somewhere, and just so you know it was justified vengeance.”

Ulysse jumped from his chair, snatching a few pastries in his pockets and kissing grandpa goodbye, then he ran outside.

“Have a nice day little Ul’, and we both know your sister will punish you just fine by herself.”

Sprinting to the exit he didn’t quite hear that last part, spoken softly as it was.

His steps brought him through the great entrance hall almost colliding with a domestic, opening the wide oak doors with a shove of his shoulder he stumbled outside safe from his sister for now at least, after all, she never went outside without doing her hair.

He walked backwards an arrogant grin on his face as he looked at the great marbled mansion’s windows whose curtains carried the Merentah’s heraldry a vert field superposed by a purpure circle of eight interlocking rings.

Several of these curtains were being opened by members of his family, recently woken up thanks to his sister, and said sister was glaring at him from their shared window, her hair was drenched, her dress was ruffled and drops of water fell on her hand as it slowly slid underneath her throat in a threatening gesture.

He really liked their little war. Truth was, they both did, it would be her turn tomorrow.

But for now, he had a library to head to, no small task for his small legs as the domain spanned about 4 acres, all walled off from the rest of the city, it was like a park but with houses in it, not around.

Well, not like a park, it was better than the city park.

His mansion was at the back, the residences of the secondary branches were scattered about and the library was all the way to the side, opposite to the small church, and sadly to him the former saw much less use than the second.

He started running, truth be told even with his height he was quite slow, it likely had to do with all the time he spent seating at the library, he always ran to get there though, so it was not nothing.

His path took him through a little detour, sticking to the gravel path with the nice crunchy sounds instead of cutting by the little forest, plus he’d heard there were monsters there and strange noises sometimes.

Speaking of sounds, not strange ones however, he could hear the clacking of wood against wood, and to his left stood the Olian residence, a branch formed by cousins on his grandma’s side, Ulysse had never understood why they had the privilege of being right next to the library yet never step foot inside.

A few kids were play-fighting besides the house in a sandy little yard, Ulysse approached them.

The sounds of wooden swords hitting each other got faster as two of the kids playing went all out. They were both a bit shorter than him but no as lanky, also he didn’t have any bruises while they had a few from their training swords hiding behind their tan skin.

One was Claudia blonde and blue eyed, common in Imperial high society, she was about 11, with a reach advantage over her brother a year younger, Simio red haired and green eyed, like grandma.

After a few close calls on each side, and a stab almost to the eye, Simio got a lucky hit, raising his sword on a backhand cut and striking his sister’s fingers, she yelped in pain, dropping her sword. Then as her brother was doing a small victory dance she leapt on him in a tackle, then punched him lightly.

“I won!”

“What, no fair I hit you first.”

“Hu hey guys.” Ulysse said approaching them while panting slightly from his run.

“You mind if I play with you before I go to the library?”

There was an awkward silence while the two Olian kids thought things through.

“I... hu... Claudia hurt her finger we need to have it checked inside sorry.”

Simio quickly grabbed his sister after standing back up and they ran off inside the residence.

In all honesty Olian kids should have been able to heal their finger with Life or Mercy channeling, they were super good at that.

Ulysse could have waited for them but he knew they didn’t want to fight him anymore, a mix of birth status becoming more apparent with age and disdain at his channeling disability, he had forced them to fight him a few times, but he could never cross the gap in experience, speed and strength, even with all the sword manuscripts he read in the library.

With a sigh he got back to running towards the library.

The library was a squat hexagonal tower, made of many arching pillars of stone not unlike theses in the cathedrals, just smaller, stylized A were engraved on them but weathered by time.

He had heard talks of hiring some sculptors to replace them with the Merentah heraldry, his family did not build this tower it was already there when they bought the domain.

It rose 6 stories high, shrinking each step of the way. At the very top you could peek at the private study, then each step down stored incrementally less precious, rare or forbidden tomes, though he never got to read any of the last ones.

He supposed they existed and would find them some day.

Stepping up to the entrance, with its cathedral sized doors he tried to push both sides at the same time, but already panting, he had to settle with pushing only one, he chose left today.

Dragging the door closed took what little remained of his strengths this morning.

He went to sprawl on a reading sofa, closing his eyes and taking in the smell, he found it a little dusty honestly, not that pleasing.

Actually, it really reminded him of auntie Kresida, he didn’t like her.

But the Librarian had the same smell and he liked him so it balanced out.

He did like the silence though, at this hour no one was inside except a few librarians, lowercase.

After a few minutes of rest, he was good to go.

He got back up and ran to his favorite section of the library, Tales & Legends, looking left and right, especially at his favorites, after a note sticking out of the books.

Tales & Legends was on the smaller ends as far as the sections went here but it still contained hundreds of books on this floor alone.

Sadly, none of the books here seemed to contain the Librarian’s usual tests.

Then he went to the Fauna & Monsters sections, well on the first floor it could just have been called Fauna, still he liked this section too, there were nice pictures in the books.

Yet again, no luck.

Finally, he went to History & Religion, not his third favorite by far, quite the contrary in fact, but the last book he was tasked to read was about history and his hopes of a more amusing subject had been squashed.

Unsurprisingly he very quickly found a book, full of red notes stuck between the pages its title read Necromundian Frontier Wars 700 ADM.

“Great another conflict between magic tooting heretics and remnants worshiping maniacs.”

ADM, Anno Deus Mortem. The year the gods died, and yet with their remnants almost 80 times his age they were still talked about everywhere.

Not bothering to suppress a sigh he tucked the book under his left arm then made to climb the stairs.

An old librarian lady, from the Merxaus likely, was glaring at him from further away while drawing holy signs in the air, having clearly heard him. It made him smirk.

That same smirk disappeared quickly when he left her sight, he didn’t like that he couldn’t do religion like his peers, not that he wanted to but...

Would he have been friends with the Olian kids if he did?

In that way he was very jealous of his twin.