Passing through the courtyard while lost in his own thoughts, Orchid barely acknowledged the laughter and greetings from the castle residents. Following the curving stone path parallel to the massive walls, he headed to the official’s quarters. Affectionately called the ‘little capital’, the various staff of the castle and government lived here along with their families. Walking through the cobblestoned streets, he started to relax while feeling the surroundings that he was so familiar with.

I sometimes wish I could spend all my time here. It’s just so comforting.

Finally reaching the small two story building that was his home, he walked through the door taking off his boots and calling “I’m home.” Sitting in the hallway he waited for the person he knew would show up.

The sound of running feet came from the back of the house and a small girl dashed towards him her eyes shining brightly. “Present!” she screamed as she stopped in front of him.

“What present? You little rascal, if I have to get you something every time I go out we’ll all end up poor.” Even though he was sitting down, the little girl was still shorter than him.

“’Ascal?”

“Rascal” Orchid corrected, “It means a naughty little girl who doesn’t listen to her brother.”

Pouting the girl grabbed his sleeve and pulled while complaining.

“Always listen. Present now!”

Not willing to disappoint, Orchid took out the pendant he’d crafted and held it in his upturned palm.

“Pretty cat!”

“It’s a Raijen” Orchid explained while placing the threaded pendant around her neck. “History says that they were subordinates of the thunder god and were so fast that no-one could catch them.”

Seeing the young girl happily looking at the pendant he added. “Go play for some time Sun, I’ll go make dinner now, we’ll have your favorite meat today.”

“Meat!” she squealed happily before running back to her room.

Hesitating, he studied the main door

I’m already in trouble. Might as well have some fun.

Grinning evilly, he went to his room to leave the storage box and collect some supplies before coming back to the entrance. Pausing to consider how he was going to carry out his idea, he pulled out some scribing tools and devices before starting to heavily modify the door lintel. A few minutes later satisfied with his handiwork he wrapped up his tools and put them away.

After making sure Sun had started playing with her dolls he headed towards the kitchen. Preparing a quick salad with sausages and some soup, he called Sun to the table and fed her. That took longer than he’d expected while she chanted some nonsense songs and told him about her day.

Getting her to wash up, he went back to the kitchen and prepared two servings on a tray.

Heading up the stairs with the tray, he walked down the corridor towards the largest room in the house. Knocking on the door with his foot, he pushed it open with his shoulder and walked in.

His father, Iris Kale, was as usual writing something or the other in his capacity as an Archivist of the Royal Library.

“Take a break dad. I’ve brought some dinner for us.”

“Just give me a minute little Purple. Let me finish this page and then I will eat.” Iris replied without looking up.

Orchid quietly removed some books stacked on the desk to make space. Placing the tray down he glanced at the various volumes around his father.

History of the Compact vol. 12

Accounts of the province of Leda. The last 5 years’ worth of information it looks like.

Records of National metal transactions. Only last years.

The archivists, Orchid knew, held a unique position in the functioning of the Royal administration. The King had organized them into a separate department that directly reported to him. Their responsibilities were initially to organize the vast amounts of information that was produced within the government. The department was so successful in maintaining accessible records and streamlining the processes of governance, that the king expanded their responsibilities to analyze information from the various Spy networks run by the government.

It was an open secret at this point that the archivists had the most intricate knowledge of both the Nation and its neighbors. Many nobles feared these ink smudged bureaucrats and the Kings reign had seen a massive drop in corruption.

Seeing his father frown and pick up the book on the history of the compact, he realized that it would take longer to complete the page than a minute. Deciding that he’d wait till they could eat together he went to his room to collect the storage box and brought it back to the study.

Shoving some stacks of paper aside he cleared a small space and sat down with it.

The storage box that Richte had packed was the reusable kind and was worth 5 red chips on its own. Studying the formations inlaid on the box Orchid estimated that it was capable of a 1 to 20 compression rate, but it had only a 50% weight reduction which was why Richte could casually give it away.

Probably an apprentice crafters work. Not bad though. I don’t think I could make something like this right now.

Opening the box by unsealing the locking formation with the standard code phrase, he started to take out his purchases. He could see his hand shrink as it passed through the compression field of the box. It looked like everything inside was smaller in size and bent at an odd angle, just like if he’d dipped his hand into water but to a much greater degree.

The feeling inside these compressed spaces is always so strange.

Taking out all the books and scrolls, he arranged everything into 3 different piles. In the first he kept all the information on formations and devices, which he would read as soon as possible. The second pile had all the texts he could read but held no immediate appeal to him. The final grouping only held scrolls that he would have to translate to understand their contents.

Satisfied with his arrangements, he headed to one side of the study with all the texts from his first two piles. This side of the study had been set up for him by his father 3 years ago, when he developed an interest in reading. It was the best gift that he’d ever received and was a marvel of crafting skill that he’d tried to decipher in his free time.

The wall held a single shelf that was divided into two sections. One half was an empty bookshelf, while the other half held two thick sheets of metal that were engraved to look like a book. Placing one of the new books onto the empty side he pulled down the metal looking book and opened it. Inside were only two plain metal surfaces that had several glyphs within their margins and a small, quill sized, pointed cylinder in the center.

Pulling the cylinder out, he tapped one of the glyphs and inserted some mana into it. This made the right sheet start to glow a gentle blue color. Glancing at the book on the shelf he saw it light up in the same tone. With the cylinder, he wrote the title of the book and its category on the glowing sheet and watched as it appeared on the left side as if engraved. Satisfied that it matched the book, he tapped another glyph with a mana imbued finger and watched as the book disappeared with a soft swooshing sound.

Every time he saw the Indexer his father built he felt a burst of excitement. It was modeled on the massive Index Reference Device in the Royal Library. This small version could store books and scrolls by title and category. The best part was that he could search through the various titles by using the same spells that were used by the archivists in their work, albeit a simpler version of the spell.

Repeating the procedure for all the new texts, he walked back to his father’s desk and knocked on it to get his attention.

“Dad, the food will really get cold.”

Startled Iris looked up with an unfocused gaze as he was lost in his thoughts.

“Sorry, little Purple, you are right. Let us eat.” His father’s formal wording had confused many of his friends when they met him, since Orchid was always bragging of the care he received. He’d once asked his father why he spoke so formally at home, when he was younger.

“Eichaean is not my mother tongue little Purple. Even your nickname is a translation from Imperial Standard.”

Orchid had made a sincere effort to study Standard thereafter, but his father had been adamant in only speaking Eichaean at home.

Grabbing their respective portions his father praised the dinner excessively, going so far as to call it art.

That’s because you and mom can’t sit still long enough to even boil water.

While casually discussing the events of the day, Orchid was evasive on his run in with Deirdre but listened with interest as his father described his work with the Eridani trade delegation that had arrived this morning. Not knowing much about them he asked his father.

“The Eridani are a group of nomadic herdsman that live in the Raitei hills to the east.” Iris explained, growing animated while he continued. “They are a militaristic society that praises strength above all else, with a rigid caste system that puts warriors above all others. Being one of the major allies of the Kingdom, they provide some armed forces to help us protect the eastern plains. I have told you before that our military has very little experience in operating in hilly regions, so the Eridani expertise ensures that we have a stronger presence along the border. In return they ask for access to several rich pastures in the Kingdom’s south, as well as some technical assistance, supplies and teachers for their young.”

Finishing dinner, Orchid cleared the dishes up and brewed some tea. They sat quietly, mugs in hand both absorbed in their own thoughts.

“What do you think I am working on Orchid?” Iris asked suddenly.

When his father used his name, it meant that there was some sort of test, so Orchid carefully thought about the information on the desk before speaking.

“There’s something going on in the North, probably with the output of the mines in the Drachen range.” He spoke slowly, unsure of his deductions.

“The problem isn’t with any of our neighbors though, otherwise you would be reading diplomatic dispatches. The fact you have a history which I think is from before the Rebellion…” Finding it difficult to find an answer after reaching this point, he took out his lucky scribing set and started to fiddle with the various tools to help him concentrate.

“Something which has happened before? Monster related would be my guess. Saverus wrote a treatise on cyclical behavior in beasts, so it has to be movements of one of the progenitors, but there shouldn’t be one in that mountain range.” Spreading his arms wide to indicate he was done, Orchid awaited his father’s evaluation.

“Well done little Purple.” Iris smiled in approval. “I was not aware of Saverus’ treatise. That is certainly an avenue of study which I will bring up tomorrow. However, you should pay more attention to current affairs. There are rumors that the Children of Silver are operating in that region despite the ban. So, it may be their actions rather than monsters. Nonetheless, I believe you are ready to head to the academy.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Being acknowledged made Orchids eyes water a little. It was rare for his father to offer praise of this degree.

“What do you know about the little capital?” Iris asked.

Surprised by the shift in topic Orchid organized his thoughts and spoke

“Well if I remember right, hundreds of brick houses had been built behind the castle during the last kings reign to keep a closer grip on the functioning of government. His plan to supervise every aspect of the ministries and reduce the power of the nobles by controlling their staff didn’t work as intended though. The nobles still found ways to avoid royal oversight, but the common clerks, secretaries and servants were so grateful to the king that their loyalty to the monarchy surpassed that of any monarch that preceded.

Realizing the opportunity, the king put more effort into catering to the population by opening the door to the government to all who lived in Eich. In a series of political maneuvers, major positions in the government were transferred into the hands of capable commoners. The suppression the nobility felt eventually became one of the major causes of the Rose rebellion, the failure of which led to the rise of a new set of nobles that owed greater allegiance to the monarch. The path to nobility and wealth became based on ability, and the fervor people felt to improve their lot in life ensured that, when the nations of the Compact of Elta moved south in a bid for expansion they met a united nation that fought with such ferocity that the compact eventually had to sue for peace.

On a side note, that’s what caused the Compact to fall apart and let King Heinrich III shift the borders to the Drachen range some 300 miles to the north. It’s also why we have such freedom in our kingdom compared to any nation on the continent except for the Romanche Empire in the West.”

Iris looked satisfied with the explanation and started asking his next question.

“What about the Children of….” A scream from downstairs interrupted his question as they leapt to their feet.

“Orchid Kale!” A booming voice screamed. “Get down here right now!”

With his father staring at him, Orchid shrugged sheepishly.

Shaking his head Iris headed out of the study.

“Dad!” Orchid called when Iris was almost through the door. “Pranks are also a form of art.”

Considering the statement, Iris smiled. Eyes twinkling with mirth he gestured for Orchid to precede him.

“Then let us see what sort of art you have prepared for your mother.”