The twins stared at the three men in front of them. All of their plans would revolve around them; every little thread they would touch upon would alert them. They had to show that they were simple children, yet vastly more intelligent than the rest. Only then could they gain the power they needed.
When their intertwined blood splashed on the skull of their city's founder, their palms grew itchy. They lifted their hands in unison, as if perfectly replicating each other. They gripped the cards with calm faces and tore them out.
A surge of stormwater splashed down the steps behind the Familia's populace. They shifted nervously, obviously trying not to disturb the important ritual. The water splashed over the ditches designed to bring it calmly to the creek's flow. As it did so, those on the creek's landing felt themselves get wet.
The dancers and musicians hesitated for just a second, causing the music to lull as the water surged forward. They stilled their hearts and continued their efforts, praying that they simply could continue undisturbed by Mother Nature.
In the twins' previous life, they both drew the same tarot cards first – the king. It was the highest numbered tarot card, signifying that they could reach the peak of alchemy. The town almost rejoiced there and then when it had happened.
However, the twins were both silent, just as Jon had been.
Olivier had drawn an outer card, and so had his brother. They weren't the same card, but they held the same numerical rank. All the outer cards sat at rank 6, meaning mediocre at best. The two were able to become alchemists, but the town couldn't rely on them as it had previously.
"The taboo is having a greater effect than I first thought…" Both the twins mused as they suppressed the agitation rising in their chests. "What else is it going to affect?"
All of their plans were put into place under the assumption that they'd remain at their peak. It was as if alchemy itself was spitting on the two.
Yet, they forced themselves to envision a sea of tranquility. Plans would have to change, again and again.
It was foolish to assume things would go smoothly, but this was madness. Olivier pushed the pain away and focused on the ritual.
Interestingly, the first drawn tarot card from any pair of twins (anywhere) is always the same for both. It ignores one's fate and simply tells their natural limit. Since identical twins are genetically identical, they share the same limit 999 times out of 1000.
Yet, the twins of the Shrike family held different cards.
"The bird," Olivier muttered as he held the card.
"The prophet," Victor said after, through his gritted teeth.
Augustin nearly grimaced, catching himself just a moment too late; he prayed nobody had noticed.
The twins were both going through an immense inner turmoil as they prepared to cut their fingers again. In their previous life, those were their second drawn cards, not their first. They knew that they'd already be considered a bad omen, but if they drew the same cards a second time in a row? They'd have their plans set back even more.
They both considered just throwing away all their plans and starting over by that point.
They cut their other index fingers without pause. Victor held the knife the second time and didn't bother with the painful slowness his brother had conducted. There were more important things than hurting each other at the moment, and Olivier agreed.
Their blood slowly formed and collided, growing in mass before dripping onto the skull once more. As they felt the card growing in their flesh again, neither hesitated to draw it. The alchemists behind them noticed their lack of hesitation.
"Samuel's children…" One muttered accidentally, his heart shuddering as he thought of interrupting the ritual.
"Calm in the face of oblivion." Another smiled in response, whispering, "Just like their father, hmm?"
It wasn't as if the twins could change their fate, so why be concerned about it? Just calmly accept it and move on with your goals. They both had come to the conclusion many years ago.
While the ritual was an immense setback in a field of setbacks, they were used to it.
Since Victor had cut their fingers, he spoke first.
"The prophet," Victor repeated with a dullness, as if it were expected. His eyes didn't reveal a hint of emotion as they reflected the card in his hands – the same one he had seen just moments ago.
Burdened by what is to come, they cannot see the present and certainly not the past. The card read beneath a man, with light emanating from his eyes, his face pained and horrified. There was a VI at the top, denoting the tarot drawer's potential in numerical form for the first round of selecting cards.
"The bird," Olivier now repeated without hesitation as he looked at the bird on the tarot card.
A bird is a free-spirited animal, more so than any other. However, it cannot fly from within a cage. The words were written under the image of a panicking bluebird in a grandiose cage, people watching it with empty expressions, and the same elegant VI denoting the drawer's potential.
The two twins calmly returned to their staring peers as thunder cracked closer than ever from outside the cavern. Augustin remained and watched their departing bodies with a pained heart.
"Those two will be condemned for this terrible ritual if I don't interfere. They'll never be accepted by their peers or their elders. Instead, they'll both be blamed for the Familia's misfortune, maybe their father too." He thought deeply in an instant, his brain working at a pace far higher than anyone else in the room, thanks to his alchemy improving his body.
Augustin had become the patriarch long ago because he was the strongest alchemist in the city and had by far the most accomplishments. He had seen many years pass in Aarbon, and he knew what something like this meant.
"What a blessing these two twins will be for our Familia!" He decreed. He wouldn't say any more or any less, but he knew it'd have the desired effect.
To the children, they'd assume that it was great for them to draw those tarot cards – after all, twins weren't common, and Victor and Olivier were the only two they had ever known.
Meanwhile, the adults would know that this was their patriarch telling them to not have an irrational fear of the twins. It was basically a warning not to willingly let their talents go to waste. The Familia at large knew the children's intelligence because their father raised them that way. As long as they practiced alchemy, they'd have a place.
"He's vouching for our future value. Telling the adults that we'll be beneficial somewhere if they don't abandon us." Olivier thought as he watched the patriarch while he summoned another child. With a noiseless sigh, he looked towards the ceiling, "How pathetic of us to need his support."
The next few children didn't fare too much better. Some were higher ranked than the twins, others lower. There was a surprising number of children passing, even though they were at the lowest possible tarot rank, rank 4. They'd barely be able to help the Familia. Most likely, they'd just help the refineries near the mountains.
Olivier supposed it could help the town retain its economic strength, but its militaristic power would dip significantly. He didn't recall it being this bad in his past life.
Then, the second son of the patriarch, Romeo di lo Mon, was called to step forward.
Olivier narrowed his eyes.
In his previous life, Romeo was an exceptional alchemist, yet he made a large contribution to the end of Aarbon. Despite the vast difference in their levels of alchemy, somehow, Romeo had managed to kill his father. Nobody could figure it out, not even Olivier in hindsight.
It was unmistakable, though, no matter how one investigated it. It was Romeo who had done it. Even when using alchemy, wild magics, or even looking into it with a spirit tamer, it all pointed to Romeo as the murderer.
His first card was ranked 11, meaning he was nearly at the height of what was possible and would quickly evolve as an alchemist. Those who were higher ranked grew their alchemy faster. It was a law of the universe.
His second card was The Dog.
A dog knows how to bark, it knows how to bite, but anybody can master the beast's heart.
"Does the tarot imply that someone else commanded him to do it? He shouldn't have had the strength – even while the patriarch was dying. I wonder if his tarot was the same in his past life…" Olivier watched more children pass the ritual, and the dejected ones who failed.
Some more important people he remembered went to get graded.
The son of the academy's headmaster got a higher-end ranking: rank 8. Alfred was his name, and he was immensely pleased with himself, as his worries quickly got soothed by his ego.
Then, Alexia stepped forward. She was the daughter of the man who ran the coviantine refinery. She ended up at the same rank as the twins, rank 6. Olivier noted that she seemed rather happy with the mediocre rating, and he intended to look into it.
Coviantine was, by far, the most important ingredient for an alchemist. Maybe he could use her to gain access to the refinery.
The depletion of coviantine deposits was the primary cause of the age of alchemy coming to an end. Olivier would have four hundred years to reach that point, and it would be plenty of time to stockpile. Especially while it was cheap compared to the future.
After the girl walked away, the ceremony was almost over, and Olivier found himself not caring for anyone else who'd step up. Internally, he measured everybody by their potential. It was simple, one just subtracted 3 from the rank their first drawn tarot card told them.
He and Victor were ranked 6 by the tarot, so in terms of alchemy, their cap was a rank 3 alchemist.
One had to do the math to get rid of the three lowest-value cards that indicated one couldn't become an alchemist.
An alchemist could be ranked from 1 to 6, though legends circulated about a realm beyond rank 6 – legends that Olivier knew to be true. In his past life, he had almost reached rank 7 as an alchemist.
It was something Olivier assumed Victor wasn't even aware of, and an advantage he was going to exploit.
So, the true ranks for the newest alchemists in the Familia were as follows:
Victor, Olivier, and Alexia were all rank 3 alchemists. Romeo, the murderer, was ranked 8 in reality, but deemed rank 6 by the Familia. Jon's rank was unknown. He'd have to practice alchemy to see if he had any potential.
While Olivier knew he did in his last life, he wondered if he still would.
"Our memories can't be this unreliable, can they?" He thought as everyone began to leave the nearly-flooded creek, the ritual coming to a quick close.
It was possible, but in his eyes, highly improbable. Performing alchemy would change your body, make it stronger, more durable, and faster. Things that also applied to one's brain.
While parts of his childhood were unclear, the surrounding circumstances generally weren't. After he got stronger, however, his memories improved greatly.
As they exited the cavern, the sky above them revealed itself. Next to no sunlight could pierce the dense clouds as water poured from the sky. Wind whipped debris as lightning struck nearby, causing a tremor to rattle the ground and air.
The twins and their family quickly made their way back home and appeared soaking wet as they entered the front door. Their family maid frowned at their appearance before presenting them with dry clothes and a prepared bath.
After some time, Samuel got the two twins to sit down with him, one at a time.
"Your potential is unfortunately lackluster," he leaned back in his chair with a calm face, but Olivier could tell from his eyes that he was incredibly disturbed. "It doesn't make sense."
"Why doesn't it make sense?" Olivier probed. He knew his father was aware that one's Limit of Fate couldn't be determined before a ritual, much less changed.
Then Olivier paused, realizing he was incorrect. It had changed – it had changed for Victor and himself. He narrowed his eyes inscrutably as he thought, "Was my father already aware of what our potential was supposed to be?"
Samuel watched his son for a moment, "I was hoping that teaching you earlier would have increased your potential. It's a theory I came up with some years ago from some texts I discovered while traveling."
Olivier cocked his head for a moment before turning away. His father was too shaken to hide his lies properly. That meant he was well and truly distressed.
"Regardless, don't let this setback discourage you. If I've taught you anything-"
"It's that 'alchemy can make you god.'" Olivier interrupted him. In turn, Samuel smiled.
"What do you plan on doing next? Your easy study has ended today. Now you'll have to commit to ideas and see if they'll work out. You'll have to reach your own conclusions for alchemy. See the things that fail, and the things that succeed."
"My plan? I simply plan on attending the academy." Olivier smiled plainly, wanting his lie to be known.
He knew his father wouldn't act on it; instead, he'd urge his son on, no matter his path of alchemy. Olivier could plot to take over the town, and as long as their father left a lasting mark on the world through his children, he wouldn't care.
He was a bad father, after all.