The Wicked House of Caroline

Laz’s urapearl was brought over from Aceria and had features that her urapearl did not. Urapearls usually only focused on the face of the caller, which was then transmitted to the urapearl they were connected to. Laz’s urapearl could detect the area around him and once his face was registered, he could walk around a room and the urapearl would track him, keeping him in sight while on its base.

Beks watched the older of her husbands walk back from second to last shelf in the study, holding several books in his arms before taking his spot on the floor, surrounded by pillars of books that he’d removed from the shelves to look over.

“If we don’t find anything after this shelf, I’ve run out of ideas on where to find that second book,” Laz said, sounding rightly tired as he placed the books on his left and picked them up one by one.

Each book had one of the features that Laurence told him to look for. Something handwritten and as close to the last Great Oracle’s handwriting as possible; possibly no title on the spine; and nothing that looked too old or expensive. Laz had seen his fair share of old books and anything that looked like it was going to fall apart or had been wedged in its spot for ages was ignored.

The last Great Oracle’s second book must be between a quarter to a half century old, as it must’ve been placed there sometime during her stay in Kadmium. From the pile surrounding him, Laz seemed to be singling out books of similar quality as the last Great Oracle’s notebook.

However, despite combing the Hall of Eloquence’s library and now the study, he hadn’t found anything. It had been three days since his search began and every day Beks watched him, he grew increasingly frustrated.

“Is there no one who can help you today?” Beks asked. The previous days, he managed to get help from Sandra and Rid Norddottir, but both women had other work to do.

Jonas was the ideal assistant for such a task, but as he was going to go with Sister Levina to the Great Library of St. Geogiere once Elder Arash and the rokh arrived, he was trying to finish as much work as possible. It was all work that needed to be done, so Laz didn’t give him the order to help search for a book.

After all, how hard could it be to find a single book in a limited area?

The last of the books he had gathered was tossed to the side with irritation. Laz let out a heavy breath as he leaned back against his arms and tilted his head back.

“Had I known it was going to be this difficult, I would’ve gone with you and had Lucian remain. He’s much better at this sort of thing,” Laz said, exhausted.

Beks’ expression softened. “Both my husbands are very competent and smart. This is not a measure of your ability, Laz. Even Brother said that finding the book wouldn’t be easy. After all, the first notebook wasn’t out in the open.” If she didn’t have prior knowledge of the features of a piece of furniture, she wouldn’t have found it unless they tore apart all the furniture in the building, which never crossed her mind to do.

Laz squinted. “Then, perhaps we should search as you did and tear all the furniture apart.”

“No.” Beks answer was immediate and she gave him a dull look. “Many of those pieces are antiques and have a royal history, Laz. They need to be preserved.”

Laz groaned once more. “We’ve checked every shelf in the library and now the study. I don’t know where else to look.”

Beks drew her lips inward and bit them. “Perhaps we should look beyond the library and study.” She hesitated. “Did you check all the rooms?”

A pained expression filled Laz’s handsome face and Beks wanted to reach out and stroke the side of his face to soothe him.

“This manor has over thirty rooms. Do we have that much time to spare?” he asked with helpless eyes.

While the other rooms had much less books that the library and study of the Hall of Eloquence, searching them would take time and if the language the second book was written in was the same as the mixed language as the first book, then it needed to be given to Jonas to be brought down to the battalion camp where Beks and the others were waiting.

Jonas was set to leave after the rokh carrying Elder Arash had enough rest, which, if they arrived on time, would be a few hours after arrival.

“When is Elder Arash scheduled to arrive?” Beks asked.

Laz let out another heavy sigh and looked out the window. “This afternoon.” He lifted his good hand and ran it through his hair. “We don’t have enough time, Beks.”

She clenched her jaw. “Then, you need additional eyes. Call for Efran. He should be studying while I and Rid Callan are gone. He has proven proficient in multiple languages and may be able to verify the second book.”

“I knew I should’ve called him from the start.” Laz pushed himself up into a standing position. Beks watched him walk towards the entrance of the study and called out. “Go get Efran. He should be studying in the Gilded Palace’s main library.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Beks heard one of the guards reply and then rushed away before Laz returned to his spot.

Laz looked at her from his end of the urapearl. “Is there any news on your end about the real expedition for the jaw of St. Cyric?”

Beks took a deep breath and shook her head. “There are simply too many caravans of clergy moving around the western half of the continent to single one out. There doesn’t seem to be any suspicious movement that could give one away.”

Laz ‘s frown deepened. He stood in place and rubbed the side of his head with his right numb. “I hate that we don’t know what the enemy is doing or where they’re going.”

“The best I could do was focus my people’s eyes in the area around the decoy or directly opposite in the direction they’re going. Those feel like the likeliest places.”

“Beneath our nose or steering us away completely....” Laz replied. He shook his head, disappointed. “It’s not enough. Information is crucial to plan ahead.”

“I know. I’ve already spent the last few days reviewing scenario after scenario and making countermeasures for as many of them as possible,” she replied. She felt just as frustrated and helpless as Laz. As an Inheritor, she needed information to make her decision and without information, she was adrift without a paddle.

Laz ran a hand down his face. “While we wait for Efran, I’ll check the last shelf. Are you going to stay connected on the urapearl?”

Beks nodded. “I’ll at least wait for Efran. I’ll try to think of anywhere else in the Hall of Eloquence the second book may have been hidden.”

The couple came to a consensus and drifted into silence. Laz walked back to the shelf at the far end of the room. When Efran arrived, they would have a good set of eyes working for them. When he wasn’t training in earth biha with his master, or running errands for Beks, he was studying different languages. He had told her that as her assistant, he needed to be able to communicate with her well.

She couldn’t help but feel a bit proud of him. In the last few months following them around the continent, he’d improved in all aspects, but remained diligent, enthusiastic, and as kind as he was when she met the skinny young man outside a canyon at the Giant’s Ridge.

She was confident that he’d be able to spot a book that was unlike the others. For one thing, much of the written work in the Hall of Eloquence was in Jasper, but there are also other texts there in different languages, as many foreign guests had been housed there during their visits to Kadmium.

Beks closed her eyes and visualized the Hall of Eloquence. Before she left, she had spent a lot of time there searching for things left behind by the last Great Oracle. She knew not only the floorplan, but the placement of furniture down to the color of the drapes in each room.

In silence, Beks mentally walked through the corridors and rooms of the Hall of Eloquence. She and Laurence were certain that wherever the second book was hidden, it was hinted at in the first notebook, so they pored over each line on their end, nearly working through the last few nights, to narrow down possible locations.

If the last Great Oracle wanted her work to be found, she would’ve left hints instead of placing the book arbitrarily in a random spot in the expansive manor.

Everyone seemed to have their own theory on where the second book could be hidden,

Laurence said that since the girl in the story was from a farming family, to check the shed in the garden of the Hall of Eloquence. The only things in the shed were gardening supplies and bird feed, as expected, and the nest of one of the farm cats on the royal grounds. There was not a book to be found even after the shed was emptied and cleaned, much to the chagrin of Pumpkin the fat, orange farm cat.

Eleanor suggested the last Great Oracle’s bed chambers, where Beks found the first book, but after spending an entire morning turning that room inside out and upside down, Laz and his men doing the heavy lifting found no second book.

Lucian suggested the library of the Hall of Eloquence. Sister Levina agreed, theorizing that the second book could be hidden amongst all the other books. She instructed them to open every book to see if there was another book hidden within to keep it hidden.

Rid Norddottir and Sandra helped Laz scour the library, as he didn’t trust most of his men to properly search and find a suspicious book that met all the requirements they had. Searching the library took nearly an entire day, and in the end, nothing else was found.

Now, Laz was combing the only other room with a large book repository in the Hall of Eloquence: the study.

It was possible that the late Great Oracle hid the second book before she left. Laz not only checked all the books, but he started off nearly dismantling the desk and chair. He’d removed all the drawers of the desk, climbed underneath to check for any secret compartments, and even removed the cushions off the chair.

He’d methodologically walked around the room, opening every cabinet and drawer of the build in shelves. He removed every piece of art from the wall to check for anything behind them.

Laz did indeed find two secret compartments; one under the cushions of the bay window bench, which was empty, and one a corner cabinet with hidden alcohol that appeared to be a paneled decoration rather than an actual cabinet door.

With all their guesses incorrect, Beks supposed the only thing they could do was go through each room one by one to look for the book. Aside from the library and study, there were far fewer books in the other rooms, but if there was another hidden compartment, a significant amount of time would be consumed.

“Your Highness, I’m here!” A familiar young man’s voice came from the urapearl. Beks opened her eyes, unsure how long she’d been mentally walking through the entire ground floor of the Hall of Eloquence. She narrowed her eyes and looked into the pearl. A moment later, in the background of the urapearl, Beks made out a thin, tall figure in loose robes looking around from the foyer until he caught sight of Laz in the study. “Your Highness, how can I help you?”

Efran looked refreshed and energetic. She could almost feel his excitement to help coming from the urapearl.

“Efran, good afternoon.”

Efran was halfway into the study when he heard her speak from the urapearl. His face lit up and he quickly bowed. “Good afternoon, Inheritor.”

“I’m here, too,” Laz said lazily from the floor. Efran flushed and quickly bowed to Laz.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness!”

Laz chuckled and Beks spoke up. “Efran, we need your help to find a book.”

“Yes, Inheritor.” He nodded at once as he stood up straight. “What kind of book am I looking for?” he asked, looking from her to Laz and back.

Laz held up a similar book in his good hand. “Something handwritten, modest-looking, and possibly in a foreign language.”

Efran cocked his head to the side, appearing a bit confused. “Which foreign language?”

Beks nodded to herself. Efran’s mother tongue wasn’t Jasper. Jasper was considered foreign to him. He spoke it with an accent. If Jasper was a foreign language to Efran, then so were all others.

“Esuser, Paraxer...even Langsher. Perhaps an amalgamation of all of them,” Laz told him.

Efran knit his brows together and nodded his head. “And what is the subject matter, Your Highnesses?”

“It’s a story of sorts. It is about a young girl who becomes a Temple priestess,” Beks replied. “It is the sequel to an existing story. In the previous book, the girl’s family is tragically lost while she is studying in the Temple. A dam breaks, sending a lot of water through a farming valley, killing nearly everyone, including her parents and half dozen or so siblings.”

“She doesn't find out until later when she goes to visit them that the valley had been destroyed and its inhabitants dead,” Laz told him. “Gripped with sadness and anger, she seeks aid from the goddess Xeria to change the circumstances leading to her family’s death.”

The story from their mouths seemed intriguing enough for Efran. He nodded, carrying a look of interest.

“Where should I start looking?”

Laz let out a sigh, knowing how much time had already been spent searching for a single book. “I’ve already covered the ground floor. Why don’t you go to the next floor up? Start with the closest room on your left, and check every book in the room, checking one room after another. Look for any hiding places a book may be in, too.”

Efran wrinkled his nose, as if already understanding how tedious the process would be. “All right, Your Highness.”

“Wait a moment, Efran,” Beks called from the urapearl. Efran didn’t know why they were searching for this book. “If you were writing such a book that covers what happens after the story we told you, and wanted to hide it, where would you put it?”

It didn’t hurt to try to get a guess from Efran.

The young man drew his head back and lowered his eyes, his brows together as he contemplated his answer.

“In this situation, do you want to keep it hidden forever? So that no one can find it?” he asked.

“You want one particular person to find it,” Beks replied. “Sort of like the scavenger hunt of sorts that we played with Wrath once.”

Efran cringed at once, his eyes squinting and his lips pulled back. “Yes...Lady Wrath is very...determined.”

Beks raised a brow and brushed off his assessment. ‘Determined’ was hardly enough. “You can say tyrannical, Efran. We all acknowledge this,” she told him. “The first book may have some hints and we’ve tried to make guesses based on the character and the writer, but everywhere we’ve checked, we haven’t found the sequel.”

Efran nodded his head slowly. He rubbed his chin and looked back towards the urapearl. “What was the last scene, Inheritor? The hint should be at the end in order to bridge the story to the next book.”

Smart boy. Beks had made the right decision to bring him.

“The young priestess returns to her family’s farm, only to find that the entire farm had been washed away and be told that her family had drowned in the flooding waters,” Laz told him. “No one told her this happened while she was studying, and she regrets leaving. She wants to plead with Xeria for rebirth to save her family.”

Efran’s eyes perked up at once. He wore a bright, earnest smile as he looked at Laz and then Beks. “Oh, then did you check the royal cathedral’s refectory?”

Beks train of thought came to a screeching halt. Laz raised his head to look at Efran with wide eyes. “Where?”

Efran made an awkward motion in the direction of the small cathedral built on the royal grounds. “The refectory in the royal cathedral,” he repeated. “During His Majesty’s coronation and wedding, Madam Sandra and I waited in the back rooms. There was a lot of time to wait, so I wandered around. The refectory in the back rooms, where the clergy assigned to the cathedral had lived and worked, has a wall of books, which I suspect are theological. They’re ordered by general scriptures and then by dedications to various gods.

“If the story ends with the young priestess seeking the goddess Xeria, then in real life, perhaps the next book would start off where the goddess Xeria is most likely to be found; a holy place with her shrine.”

Beks’ eyes widened. She looked toward Laz, who in turn, looked at her through the urapearl.

Xeria was a major god in their pantheon, and though the cathedral was not specifically dedicated to her, as it was a shared place of worship for all the gods and goddesses, and like those other gods and goddesses, symbols of her adorned the various carvings and decorations within the cathedral.

This made the entire cathedral a place where she could be worshiped and prayed to.

It was also a place where the last Great Oracle had frequented during her stay,

The last Great Oracle lived on the royal grounds as a guest years before she left to die at the Great Temple Complex, but she didn’t spend all her time in the Hall of Eloquence. She wasn’t a prisoner.

According to what Beks had heard, the last Great Oracle occasionally traveled around the city, but the place she spent the most time at outside of the Hall of Eloquence was the cathedral on the royal grounds, where Laurence was crowned and married days earlier. She would do the majority of her prayers there and even take part in religious celebrations.

Efran made a good point.

The last Great Oracle, despite her bloated title, was still considered a priestess, and her first instinct when it came to appealing to a deity would’ve been to go to a place of worship to do so.

Beks’ eyes crinkled up with self-disgust. “I have vastly overestimated my abilities as an Inheritor.”

Efran blinked. “Pardon, Inheritor?”

Beks raised her hand and ran it down her face, releasing a heavy sigh as she did so. “This entire time, we’ve been focusing on where the last Great Oracle lived when she was there in Kadmium. She was a guest, not imprisoned in the Hall of Eloquence. She was well known for going to the royal cathedral to do prayers. Of course, we should’ve considered that she hid it in the cathedral.” She was complaining more about her own ignorance than anything else.

Laz had already jumped up and reached for the urapearl.

“I’ll call you from the cathedral refectory, Beks! Wait a moment! Efran, let’s go!” Laz seemed to have grabbed the urapearl for the call ended.

When her urapearl darkened, Beks groaned and leaned forward. She kept her arms at her side as she gently tapped her forehead against the wooden surface of the table, feeling like an idiot.

As she lowered her head to hit the table a third time, a hand slipped between her forehead and the wood, making the dull thump sound end.

“Beks.” Lucian was at her side gently pulling her up. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?” He knelt down beside her and studied her face, looking for any sign of distress. His face was flushed and still glistening with sweat from running around outside.

Beks’ dulled gray eyes looked at him.

“I’m a fool, Lucian. I completely overlooked something so obvious,” Beks replied. She turned her head and slumped over the table once more. “This must be how Luther feels.”

Lucian held back a small chuckle. He smiled and pulled her back up, cupping her cheeks and making her look at him.

“What’s wrong? What did you overlook?” he asked as his thumbs caressed the corners of her eyes.

“I was hyper focused on the Hall of Eloquence. I didn’t consider that the late Great Oracle could’ve hidden her second book elsewhere.”

Lucian drew his head back, his lips pursing as he seemed to consider this. “Where else would she have hidden it?”

Her defeated expression didn’t falter. “The refectory of the royal cathedral.” Lucian’s mouth opened a bit and for a moment, his gaze went blank. Beks nodded. That was how she felt, also. “Efran made a guess based on the hints in the first book and may have figured out where the second book is.”

Lucian lowered his eyes. They slowly became clearer, but at the same time, embarrassed. It was obvious why Efran would’ve guessed to check for the second book at the royal cathedral.

His face slowly twisted with disgust. “Then, I am also a fool.” He rose to his feet and tilted his head back, groaning in frustration. “I studied to be a priest for more than half my life, and I couldn’t even think that she would hide it in a damn refectory?” His voice began to rise with each word, making Beks feel a little better that she hadn’t been the only person who missed it.

She cracked a small smile. If she considered it, they were likely too invested in the location to even consider another glaringly obvious place. Efran making the deduction made sense. The reason he may have thought outside of the Hall of Eloquence was because he didn’t know much about the last Great Oracle or her stay in Kadmium.

To him, the last Great Oracle could’ve gone anywhere.

He only guessed based on the information he received, which didn’t give him a limited area to consider.

Though this all made sense, Lucian was still bothered that he, as a priest, completely disregarded the obvious answer.

He grumbled as he paced behind her, removing his damp, sweaty clothes after having participated in the battalion’s training. He poured some water into a metal bowl and dipped it in a small towel before wringing it out so he could wipe the sweat and dirt off his body.

Beks sat on her chair, her back turned to the urapearl as she distracted herself from her failure by ogling her younger husband moving the damp towel across his firm torso.

“Beks.” A voice called behind her and she turned in her seat to look back at her urapearl. Laz’s head could be seen adjusting the urapearl on its stand with his hand and arm as he looked into it. “We just arrived. Wait a moment while we search the refectory.”

Beks nodded and turned her attention to the urapearl. Lanterns had been lit in the refectory and Beks could see Efran lighting more lanterns. The refectory had few windows, and though they were open, they didn’t provide much light.

When they returned to Kadmium, the royal cathedral was vacant. Though on royal grounds, it was a consecrated building and was a place of worship overseen by the Temple. It sent and assigned clergy to run the cathedral; oversee the ceremonies, do prayers, clean it. Essentially treat the cathedral as any other place of worship.

However, after Laurence returned, and there was a sort of schism, none of the priests or attendants that had been assigned from the Kadmium Cathedral in the city to the royal cathedral remained. They didn’t only leave, they fled.

Perhaps they were worried that Laurence would seek to punish them because they were part of the same institution as Iris Elpidah. Laurence hadn’t considered them, and was somewhat surprised that upon their return, there was no one in the royal cathedral.

Those who were once there fled as soon as they could. Beks knew this because when they were cleaning the cathedral in preparation for the coronation and the wedding, the living quarters had been left as is. As if the occupants dropped everything and left before Laurence set foot in the city.

There were piles of laundry, unmade beds, and rotting food in the cells and the refectory. At the time, Beks had been annoyed that they’d abandoned the building and fled without taking their things, or likely putting out any of the fires, as they’d found melted candles pooled on tables and the bases of lanterns.

Now that they were checking the refectory for the second book, Beks was relieved that those clergy and their attendants left everything as it was. They hadn’t taken anything but the clothes on their backs.

All the items for ceremonies remained.

Wine in jugs and heaps or candles for consumption also remained neatly stacked in the cellar. Most importantly, none of the written work had been removed from the premises. Beks had received notice from Chamberlain Wilton during the coronation preparations that the holy book which the assigned priest would read from during prayers was still on the table, in the sanctuary.

The page it was one corresponded with the last prayer given before the clergy and their attendants fled.

Knowing this, Beks couldn’t help but let her hopefulness grow. If none of the books on the refectory shelves had been removed, there was a good chance that the last Great Oracle’s second book was still there.

She watched the images in the urapearl with intensity. Laz and Efran had split up to cover more ground. Efran stood to the left, starting his search from the top of the bookshelf, and working his way down before moving to the next one. Behind him, searching the opposite bookshelf, Laz was plucking book after book, flipping through the contents, and then returning them when they weren’t what he wanted.

“Breathe,” Lucian said as he pulled up a chair to join her. One hand grasped hers as the other rubbed her back to calm her. “They’ll find it. Just give them time,” he told her in a soft, reassuring voice.

Beks nodded, though her heart was slamming in her chest, filled with anticipation.

Laz finished one book case and moved on to the next. Behind him, Efran was a bit more careful, taking more time to go over each book he pulled, glancing at the first few pages, and then returning it with a slight frown when he determined it was not what they were looking for.

“Your Highness,” Efran called out without moving from his spot. He leaned forward, scanning over a shelf at eye-level. “This bookcase has books regarding Xeria.”

Laz dumped the books in his hands on to the nearest shelf and rushed across the room.

“What did you find?” he asked.

Efran moved his hands along the spines of the various books. “These books are on Xeria, her priests and priestesses...some are on ceremonial practices. A few books are compilations of stories about the goddess.”

“You keep checking there. “I’ll look over this next case,” Laz told him. Efran nodded as Laz moved one shelf over. Beks held her tongue, suddenly unwilling to speak for fear of ruining their concentration.

Efran seemed to be scanning the titles on the spines of the book, occasionally pulling one out to check its contents before frowning with disappointment and returning it. As he picked another book, he lowered his head and released it before plucking another out of the shelf.

The book was less than a finger’s width and a little larger than his hand. His eyes widened as he turned the cover of the book towards him.

Beks’ felt her heart leap when she noticed. “Did you find something, Efran?”

Laz looked over from where he stood as Efran held the book in his hand and seemed to re-read the cover, in disbelief. “Yes, Your Highness Inheritor.” He turned the book around so that the cover would face the urapearl, but from his distance, she couldn’t make out the text on the cover. “Most of the books here are in Esuser, with a few in Jasper, but so far, this is the only one which has a title in Sagittater, so it stood out.”

Beks sat up straight. While certainly an anomaly in the refectory, as Sagittater was a very niche language only spoken natively in one location far from the Great Basin, it didn’t have any resemblance to the first book.

Regardless, she was curious as to why a book in her mother tongue was in a Temple-run building. Even in the Caroline Duchy, religious texts that were studied were typically in Esuser.

“What does it say?” she asked.

Efran walked closer to the urapearl with wide eyes. He held up the book close so she could make out the title.

Beks’ brows shot up at once and she let out a breathy laugh of disbelief.

Laz and Lucian, on opposite ends of the urapearl, both spoke. “What’s wrong?” One voice came from the urapearl, the other from her right.

Beks shook her head, her eyes wide with wonder as she looked at the script. “Nothing is wrong. The title is in Sagittater. Do you know what it says?”

Laz’s eyes darted to the side and he let out a small cough. “I have, um...just started learning....”

She let out a small huff. “The title says ‘hej’va ar’leare’. Dawn of the Empire.”

Laz knit his brows together and pulled his lips down. “That doesn’t sound like a religious book.”

“Because it’s not,” his brother replied. He pulled a chair closer so he could sit beside Beks and look into the urapearl. “Laz, the title has two important things mentioned: dawn and empire. Both the dawn and an empire are associated with the prophecy the last Great Oracle made about Beks.”

Laz seemed to tense. His wide blue eyes looked back at the book, stunned. “And it’s in Sagittater. Beks’ mother tongue.”

Beks let out another breathy laugh, still in partial disbelief. “I’m starting to think she expected me to find it.”

Lucian grinned and looked over at her. “Is that so?”

“Efran, open it,” she told the young man still holding the book. “Check to see if it’s handwritten.”

Efran nodded and turned the book back to face him. Laz pulled a chair forward and motioned for him to sit before adjusting the urapearl on him.

“It is handwritten, Inheritor,” he replied, turning the book around to show her.

Laz leaned forward. “The characters are different, but the style is reminiscent of the writing of the last Great Oracle in the first book.”

In order to check if the handwriting in a book was the last Great Oracle’s, Lucian had traced over the writing in the first notebook and given it to Laz to check against. They couldn’t use it this time, as the language was different, and therefore the written word was, too, but it seemed authentic.

Efran put the book on the table and opened the pages. He flipped to a page written in full and Laz nodded.

“Do you think she wrote it?” Lucian asked.

“I’d say there is at least an 85% chance. I can’t confirm since the characters are different, so there is no exact baseline,” Laz replied.

“85% is good enough,” Beks told him. She turned her gaze towards Efran. “Efran, can you read it aloud?”

Efran nodded, but flushed. “My Sagitatter is still aching, Inheritor. I will give it my best attempt, but please forgive me if I mispronounced something.”

Beks shook her head. “There is nothing to be forgiven, Efran. Learning a new language is difficult and I’m already impressed with how far you’ve come. Don’t forget, you’re not only learning Sagittater. You’re learning other languages, too. A few mispronunciations is nothing, and can be easily remedied with practice.”’

Encouraged, Efran nodded and lowered his head. He touched the rather thick pages and cocked his head to the side.

“Now what’s wrong?” Laz asked.

Efran shook his head. “Nothing. It’s just that only part of the book, about half, is in paragraphs with actual sentences.”

“What’s the other half?” Lucian asked.

Efran squinted and turned the book around so they could see. “They appear to be recipes for pastries.”

Laz let out a small hiss. “That’s right...the last Great Oracle had a sweet tooth.”

Beks sighed. “Aside from the recipes, Efran, can you read the contents? You can read them in Sagittater or translate them. Whatever is easiest for you,” Beks told him.

“It may be easier for me to read them in Sagittater. If I try to sound out the words I don’t know, you can correct me.”

“I understand. Proceed.”

╔═════════════════ ∘◦ ♔ ◦∘ ═════════════════╗

Efran had read slowly and carefully, occasionally stumbling over words with Beks having to correct him. He read for what seemed like hours, and though they couldn’t understand, Laz and Lucian remained listening, enraptured.

The ‘story’ didn’t pick up from where the first notebook ended.

At first, it sounded like another story all together and Beks had wondered if they assumed incorrectly that this was the second book.

It started with some insights on a woman referred to as ‘Her Imperial Highness’. At first, it didn’t say which royal family in what country she was from, but it was clear that Her Imperial Highness had long died by the time the narrator was born.

Her Imperial Highness may have died much earlier, but she had a legacy that continued on to when the narrator was alive.

“The last of the principalities has joined the Sevoy Empire after the...negotiations? Yes. negotiations,” Efran had said, nodding to himself before continuing. “The negotiations outlined the rights of the people of the new territory that have been agreed upon and made to align with the empire-wide policies covering the rest of the empire.”

From what Beks gathered, the Sevoy continent in the book had become unified to form the Sevoy Empire. The start of the unification? The work of Her Imperial Highness, the scope of which spanned nearly three centuries to get to the point where the last principality had joined.

Credit was given to Her Imperial Highness for her guidance in facilitating treaties, accords, and her superior statesmanship. A step-by-step outline she created was followed after her death by the heirs of her original home kingdom of Kadmus and the Langshe Empire.

When Beks told the twins this, they were taken aback. For thousands of years, Langshe had stayed within its borders, content to maintain its’ flourishing economy and peace with its neighbors as the dominant country in the region. To hear that it was part of the unification process was surprising.

So much work went into doing so, not to mention the time, and the money.

It didn’t sound as if there was too much violent resistance, as the book mentioned that countries that joined the unification tended to do so willingly not only for the protection from Langshe and Kadmus, but because of the resurrection of technology discovered in an ancient kingdom that strengthened the unifying empire, both internally, and in the eyes of the other continents.

“They must be speaking of Gah-ruhn’s biha technology,” Lucian had said after Beks translated. “In that case, whatever technology was revived was enough to make others willingly join it.”

“Or they were not allowed to use it unless they joined,” Beks had countered. No independent country would so easily give up their rights and territory, even with superior technology.

But if superior technology threatened to ruin them, and they were unable to use it, putting them in a serious disadvantage, joining would ensure a better chance of survival. As long as the leaders didn’t want their entire country and culture to disappear, they would willingly join, even if the threat was never voiced aloud.

The rise of technology meant a better standard of living for many people. More attention and efforts went to attaining technology, maintaining, and improving it. As a result, the second book took note that with the rise of the Sevoy Empire, the Temple suffered greatly.

Territory was lost as the empire became unified. Influence was lost as the Temple fell behind the aid given by the empire to those in need. Who needed to pray for rain when elaborate irrigation was in place to ensure that droughts were well mitigated?

In less than three centuries, the power and influence of the Temple had shrunk.

This tied back to the description of the Temple’s ruined and dilapidated structures mentioned in the first book.

Despite that, the second book said that the Temple still existed and had many followers. It was still the main religious institution of the south and the southwest of the continent. It simply was nowhere near the peak of its power.

It might as well have been a complete loss, as what the Temple had was not enough.

“As I am, they are seeking Xeria,” the second book wrote.

The second book began to paint a picture of what a blessing from Xeria truly meant.

“If they gain her blessing, this peace on the continent may not happen. The advancements that have saved and improved the lives of many may not happen. But what does it matter in the face of greed? So long as the Temple keeps their power, nothing else matters.”

It was an ominous premonition followed by the determination of the narrator.

She could not allow them to have any more power.

“With what little they had, they allowed so many to die. Entire villages and my family. I have decided, though I want to save my family, I cannot allow them to regain their power and allow for others to die. I will seek the blessing of Xeria and ensure that Her Imperial Highness will live.”

The Imperial Highness spoke of in the previous pages was given a rightful identity at the end of the of the passages, just before the pastry recipes began.

It was dedication written in Sagittater, as if it had always been meant to be read by her.

“To the daughter with dawn in her hair, I have ensured your safety as best as I can. All I ask is that you follow your destiny, and ruin this wretched, evil Temple.”

Beks had felt a wave of heat sweep over her, as if her body was feverish without cause. She blinked. At least she thought she had. When she opened her eyes, she was lying on a bed mat in the tent, with Lucian above her and Sister Levina pressing cold damp towels against her flushed skin.

“She’s talking about me,” Beks rasped in a dry voice. Lucian rushed to get water for her to drink.

“Moisten your throat first,” Lucian said as he held up a cup for her to sip from. Has he supported it with one hand to ensure she didn’t drop it, he spoke. “Laz refused to remain. He and Efran are coming with Jonas and Elder Arash.”

Beks narrowed her eyes. “How long ago did I pass out?”

“Just a few minutes, Beks,” Lucian said. He cupped her face, feeling the heat against his skin and frowned. “I think you were just overwhelmed.”

Beks swallowed hard as her eyes reddened. “Lucian,” she said in a strained voice. “She was sent back to kill me.”

His eyes grew pained and he lowered his head. He grasped her hands and brought them to his lips. “It’s fine. It’s fine. She didn’t. She may have been sent back to do so, but she saved you. She made sure you would be sheltered and protected.”

“Sheltered....” Beks muttered breathlessly. She never went out in public, even when the rest of the residence of the Gilded Palace did. She was kept like a bird in a cage unless sneaking out, her identity unknown. This was all because the last Great Oracle made a prophecy, making Beks a precious commodity to the late Queen.

“Rest some more,” Lucian said as he gently helped her lay down. “You’re still hot with biha.”

Beks nodded and laid back down on the bed mat. The blankets were moved to the side and Sister Levina continued to press cool, damp towels against her.

As she stared at the ceiling of the tent, she replayed Efran’s reading of the second book in her head. It answered nearly all of her questions, and ones she never considered.

The protagonist of the first book, the farmer’s daughter turned priestess, and the narrator of the second book was the last Great Oracle, or rather, eighteen-year-old Fredrika Solken.

The first notebook was written in the continent’s dominant language three hundred years in the future, which was further backed by what was written in the second book about Kadmus and Langshe unifying the continent.

It started with a series of conquests and agreements started by Her Imperial Highness Princess Rebecca of Kadmus. Every new territory of Kadmus benefited from the kingdom’s advancements in transportation, farming, medicine, and an increased standard of living, which drew attention and power away from the Temple, weakening it severely by the time the Princess died.

The unification became real with the marriage of Laurence’s grandson to the granddaughter of Emperor Zhan. It was facilitated by their cousins, Beks’ grandchildren with her two husbands, all of whom retained their royal titles in both countries.

This only made the Temple lose faster, becoming desperate to regain their influence to the point of ‘buying’ beautiful priests and priestesses in an effort to retain their following.

However, this wasn’t the first time the Temple had faced a crisis. At least, not in this lifetime.

Fredrika Solken was a young and promising priestess. She excelled in history and the advanced classes Sister Levina had spoken of. Fredrika was charismatic and thought to be devoted to the Temple.

The day after the last of the principalities signed an agreement to join the Sevoy Empire, the High Council summoned her. It wasn’t just a few members, but all the seats had an occupant, save the seat of the Great Oracle.

She was told that she had been chosen to revive the glory of their Temple.

By doing so, she would become a Great Oracle by the grace of the goddess Xeria.

Fredrika didn’t understand how that was possible, as she did not have any gift of prophecy, nor had she made any in the past.

But what she wanted was the grace of the goddess Xeria. She believed if she accepted, she would be able to plead her case to the goddess to be reborn and start anew so her family could survive.

Fredrika agreed. This was what she wanted, as leaving the Temple would’ve been counterproductive. If she wanted to punish it for allowing her family to die, then she needed to remain close.

Once she was confirmed, she learned of the Temple’s greatest secret from the mouth of the head priest.

No kingdom, let alone an institution, survived for as long as they did so smoothly. When she was a young priestess in training, Fredrika assumed this was the Temple’s blessing. Though there were always those who questioned them, perhaps even to protest or ban them, they pushed forward and survived by the grace of the gods.

She did not want to believe that the gods would let murders live.

The Temple survived where kingdoms had fallen and entire civilizations vanished because of a term she heard often while studying history: everything in retrospect.

Looking back on history, they could analyze where problems arose and how to counter them. This was the foundation for many of her advanced classes. If a problem could be prevented from becoming a problem in the first place, the Temple would remain untouched and continue to bask in its power and influence.

But how could one fix the past?

The blessing of Xeria, or rebirth.

How it was discovered wasn’t mentioned in either book, but it required human sacrifice.

Along with the offerings of the six original priests and priestesses’ relics, the Muil Stones, the human sacrifice would be offered to Xeria. A life in exchange for rebirth.

Those who were reborn in the past would use their knowledge of the ‘future’ to solve the problems that would hinder the Temple in the future, preventing the Temple’s demise. Those who were reborn were priestesses like her, who excelled in history and analyzing how to deal with the Temple’s problems.

Their extensive knowledge would be used as prophecies when they were reborn in the past, giving them the title of Great Oracle. The prophecies were a way to manipulate others into eradicating the future problem of the Temple.

As for the human sacrifice, it couldn’t just be anyone.

A life for rebirth.

It wasn’t until she lay on the cold stone slab, bleeding through multiple deep cuts on her naked body, did Fredrika realize that she was the human sacrifice. That she was taught to give up her life for the Temple and that bleeding to death was an honor.

The details of the sacrifice were described in so much detail, that Beks could smell the blood in the air and taste it on the tip of her tongue while the stunned, breathless gasps of a dying young woman rang in her ears.

Fredrika, like the priestesses believing they were saving the Temple before her, felt cold. Her vision had blurred and a white light engulfed her. The pain she was in disappeared.

But Fredrika described being in the white light as cold and empty.

She seemed to float as all around her, she witnessed thousands of years of the Temple’s history, and the deaths and rebirths of all the priestesses that were sent back before her to ensure the Temple’s survival.

She didn’t know how long she had been drifting, but she saw it all. All the lives that were lost, all the progress that was stopped, and all the suffering that was allowed to happen so the Temple could retain its greatness. Her heart had turned colder and colder, unable to understand why those who came before her would continue with their mission if they saw what she saw.

When she woke up, she was in the body of a young priestess in training who had gotten sick and passed out, Patrika Heryan.

The sacrifice had succeeded.

Xeria took her life in exchange for rebirth.

This miracle was terrifying.

The Temple had too much power, and it was power they would abuse.

Fredrika was more certain of this than ever, as the last vision she saw before she woke was of the first ‘Great Oracle’.

Beks shut her eyes as tears brimmed. Heartbreak swept over her as Fredrika’s vision was tied to her.

From the very beginning, the Great Oracles’ hands were stained with blood. Honored in the Temple, and revered and canonized to sainthood, the first Great Oracle, Veera of Tess, did what she was told to do when she was reborn.

She successfully ensured the Temple’s survival by orchestrating the murder of a three-year-old child.