The Emperor, the supreme authority on the entire continent, smiled! Him! A kid from nowhere!
...
Better said... He smiled at them. To him and the countless people gathered in town.
Look how it was:
He was downtown, on his way to the library to return the book he'd borrowed the week before. He was a "regular patron" of the library because of his attraction to mystery, secrets, history, and myths.
As he was walking toward the library, he heard a terrific wail from the back. When he turned to see what was going on, a crowd of people burst upon him and pushed him behind them. The people were very agitated.
"I think someone from the palace has come to announce something. Probably too unimportant to care," he said to himself and tried to slip through all the people looking for his book.
Everywhere he looked, there was no sign of it... "Someone must have picked it up," he wondered as he passed through some older people who had gathered together and were talking about modern-day politics.
After a while, she found herself outside the crowd of people. It was like a made corridor, and people could be heard cheering louder and louder. When he glanced to his right, he saw the book, but curiosity pushed him and he looked to his left to see what people were cheering about. No sooner does he turn around and see it... The Emperor.
"What's he doing here? Why him? Why didn't just a palace servant come?" he wondered incessantly.
At the sight of him, his legs went soft. With difficulty, he pushed himself a little into the back and knelt with the rest of the men. He wore a white robe with small gold prints on his shoulders and sleeves. His crown shone in the sunlight and he appeared to be wearing the sun on his head. He wore a pair of black silk pants that also had gold prints at the ends. His horse was gray and very well made. The saddle and hats were very shiny. His dark brown hair seemed to contrast with the sun on his head, and his white skin looked almost sickly, but his smile exuded warmth and self-assurance that you could have sworn he would sacrifice himself for anyone on the battlefield. A second later he realizes. "The book!!" his thought echoes in his head.
Looking to his right again, he sees the book. "The Emperor will pass by it," he says to himself and tries not to let it out of his sight lest someone else steal it.
Meanwhile, the Emperor reaches the book.
He unpicks it, chuckles softly, opens the book, and puts in it 2 copper coins lost in his pants pockets. Then he calls one of the soldiers and hands him the book, whispering an order. Before saddling backup, the Emperor takes another look around with an extremely broad smile. On signs that the book amused him.
The soldier who had taken the book remained in place, even though the Emperor with his entire retinue had long since departed. He waited for the emperor to move away and roared at the top of his lungs:
- To whom does this book belong?
His scream shattered your eardrums and frightened your soul.
The soldier was very large, and the sturdy armor made him look like a giant. There were scars on the black skin around his eyes, but his gaze was gentle.
- It... It's mine...
He replied in a voice barely, barely out.
She approaches him, hands him the book, and gives him a light smile.
- Here you are. The Emperor wishes you success if you want to prove the legend true.
With that, he turns abruptly and leaves.
"???"
"What happened?" he said to himself as he started home to let his family know he had seen the Emperor.
Once I got home I told my parents everything that had happened to me. They all thought I was lying, but they were convinced when they heard from the people in town that the emperor had passed through here on his way to Saudade Port.
I am from the town of Kisurra near the city of Port Saudade in the Kingdom of Apos in the Empire of Solis.
After the great catastrophe, the Solis Empire was formed and a new era began. Today is 15 April 1365 after the great catastrophe. Over the past 500 years the empire has expanded enormously, taking under its rule several kingdoms including Apos. Although we were practically invaded the kingdom had an economic growth and evolution overall.
The Solis Empire recently had a war with a neighboring empire that ended with major losses on both sides and a temporary truce. This happened 5 months ago, and the monarchs are still estimating losses. People still fear a return to war while others blame the emperor who came to power 3 years ago when his father died.
Either way, opinions are divided.
After telling my family what had happened, I ran to my room to read the book that caused the emperor to chuckle.
-Nox! I hope you don't forget you have to help your brother with his homework.
My mother shouted to me from the hallway as she went into the living room.
-Later! Now I want to read something!" I answer, excitedly holding the book in my hand.
-Good. But don't forget to return it when it's due this time!
„Ah! Library...!" I say to myself as I jump out of bed.
-I'm going to the library! I shout to my mother as I put on my shoes.
-Again?! she replies confused.
-I forgot to return the book. I have to run.
- Come on! Run so they don't hang up. Ah! Come by for dinner, okay?
-Of course! I answer as I walk out of the gate.
***
Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Nox Mercia. I'm a 17-year-old boy, always on the lookout. I'm quite tall compared to others, I have dark hair and dark eyes. As you can guess, I'm not an only child. I'm the older brother. The second child in my family is Caleb. He is 13 years old, has blond hair, and blue eyes, and loves to play outside. The third child is Ethan. He is 12 years old, has brown hair and blue eyes, and likes to play with Caleb. It's really funny when their games don't end up the way they want them to. I also have another little sister who is only 6 years old. Rebecca ( for that is her name) has brown hair and dark eyes. She likes to ask as many questions as possible and discover as many things as possible.
I know! My family is pretty big but it's super fun in the evenings when we get together for dinner and start inserting stories about what happened over the day, but let's get back to where we were!
***
Once at the library door, I see the librarian walking towards me with keys in hand.
-Hey! Mr. Sages! Wait a moment.
-Nox, my boy! What are you doing here? It's closing time! You're too late.
-That's not why I -hah- came. -Hah- I had to return this book. I said, handing him the book.
Glancing at it, he smiled back:
- You can keep this one. No one else has borrowed it for about 30 years anyway. I thought it said so in that ledger.
-But isn't it important? It's about a past empire. I think it should be on the history bookshelf. I reply confused, thinking out loud.
- Not really...Let me explain after I close. He tells me eager to teach.
After he closes the door he begins:
-You see... That book is a book of myths and legends. Although the title clearly says "The Chronicles of Autokratoría tis Sofías", much of the book is indecipherable, and the parts that could be translated led to some fantastic stories about giant fire-breathing lizards, a woman with snakes instead of hair, and beasts with head of a goat, the body of a lion, and a snake for a tail. As for the empire part, I couldn't find anything. I tried to decipher the book but to no success. However, if you manage to let me know.
After he got home and finished his homework with his siblings, he ran to his room where he began to read the book he received from Mr. Sages.
Reading it again, he noticed that there were many discontinuities. Not much could be understood from it because it was not a continuous idea.
After a closer look, he began to tear off sheets like a madman, searching for meaning in the book. Then he began rearranging the pages in the order of a continuous idea.
The pages were numbered completely wrong. Page 1 was followed by page 2, and this was followed by pages 57 and 58, and these were followed by pages 25 and 26, followed by pages 93 and 94, and so on....
There wasn't a numerical order, but a thread that was divided into several fragments.
Now the book made more sense. Unknown words were defined and explained. It was like a kind of explanatory book showing definitions, characteristics and methods of practicing different activities specific to people of high or even noble rank.
This book is a mystery and a curse unless I take care of it. Can it be a blessing disguised as a curse and will these mysteries reveal a treasure in my life or will they cause me to lose my life....
I don't know what it is, but my intuition is telling me to bet everything on this book and the opportunities
along the way.