Temporary Peace

After the pharaoh announced the commencement of the banquet, all of the nobility in attendance cheered and applauded as many rushed over to curry favor with the members of House Trillwolf. As they looked at this little boy from House Trillwolf who stood on the altar, they marveled at how unique and elegant he seemed. His clothes were inspiring, and his crystal blue eyes seemed deep and bright as stars. Behind him, a blue orb the same hue as his eyes bobbed calmly in the air.

Osiris Trillwolf placed his hand on his son's shoulder and then disappeared with the wind while a grand banquet commenced in the main hall. Seeing her husband's retreating form, the long since unrestrained Isis quickly vanished as well.

On a sacred rooftop of the imperial palace, Osiris and his son beheld a landscape that sparkled in the golden hour of dusk. The city of Saint Anubis sprawled before them, its silhouettes intertwined with shades of orange and red from the setting sun. Beyond the metropolis, endless stretches of dry land unfolded into the horizon, suffused in an ethereal brilliance.

"It's so awesome up here, Dad," Jody looked fondly at the scenery, feeling incomparably secure wrapped in his father's protective rukh barrier.

"Oh?" Osiris released a rare smile upon hearing this brat call him 'dad' and not merely 'pops.' Josiah was clearly in quite an excellent mood. Osiris laughed boisterously and replied, "Naturally. This is the tallest structure in the city, and we are also at a higher elevation. If it weren't for the grand defensive formation protecting the palace, it would be a huge target. After all, the tallest tree always endures the most wind."

His dad's philosophical words sent Jody into a momentary daze. Indeed, it was often not safe to stand out too much.

"Do you know what that badge your wearing truly means? I need you to listen to me carefully." Osiris looked Jody deep in his eyes, as the latter surrendered his full attention and concentration immediately.

Osiris nodded as he said a few words Jody wouldn't understand for years to come, "My son, be weary. Not only are you a Fallen One, but you are also a true envoy of Anubis. The Trillwolf pack will protect you unto death.The even more powerful Goldwolf pack will soon come seek you as well. 

"Once you are a Mage, you will become a pharonic messenger of death and the underworld. Once you are a pharaoh, you must climb the ranks, and surpass your current level as soon as possible. Not even I have taken this step yet. I hesitated, though I suppose you gave me a reason to do so. Once you are a Mage, you will become a pharaoh of death and the underworld under the mortal truth.

"Once you are a mortal pharaoh, you must climb the ranks and surpass your current level as soon as possible. Otherwise, you will have to abandon one of your constitutions." Osiris wielded milky white magic force in his right hand, and incandescent black voodoo force in his left, to show his son what he was referring too.

"A great battle is coming. It is possible we will be separated after that battle. If that happens, remember that because of that badge, no matter where you go, even in the heavens above, you are already the holy messenger. The heavens and the laws of death and the underworld will serve you. The pack will serve you. The legion death will serve you."

Jody looked dumbfounded at his dad but committed all of his words to memory. Unfortunately, he didn't know what a Fallen One was, nor did he know how long it would take him to become a Sage, let alone a Mage-level Sage.

He looked up at his father again and said, "Dad, can you train me?"

"Bwahahaha! What a kid," Osiris executed his trademark laugh while placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. To think the first thing the boy did was ask for guidance. "Let's first get you past the Destiny Platform, then we can talk about continuing your training."

The fact that the boy didn't react in the slightest to the term Fallen One made the lord feel relieved. Seeing that intrigued look on his face, Osiris knew his son had no clue what significance the term held. Even if Josiah had Fallen, he obviously hadn't gained any personality-altering memories. Changes on the level of the soul were terribly confusing, so Jody's father had no way of being certain.

Osiris abruptly stood up and pointed to the clouds above Lake Nicaea, "Would you believe me if I told you that a false evil dragon king lives in the cloud above the lake? You must hurry and grow strong, young one. It is good you think this way."

Ten meters below, eavesdropping on their entire conversation with her spiritual perception from within the palace, was none other than Isis Trillwolf. She stared out of the palace window in a daze after she heard Osiris' previous words.

Indeed, without his own strength, their son was sure to be swallowed alive in the coming storm. Josiah was never planned from the start, so how should they save him? Even if he had become a medjay, this was only significant protection within the capital itself.

What would happen when Jody left the capital?

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"The Lord Trill is headed to the library today as well. Such a studious little man. The first lady must feel so proud. It's truly a wonder that he can read so well at this age. He read me an article the other day, and boy, was I impressed. He reads aloud better than I do, and he explained things so well."

"It's a real miracle that such an intelligent child was born in our house. Maybe he'll lead us to a great future. Should we join House Trill in the future?"

"You think he'd be into older women? Could we be concubines?"

"I meant as maids, Vanessa, get your mind out of the gutter! He's barely a child!"

"Will he even survive that long? The heavens hate the talented. You know, geniuses often fall. Don't forget that we almost lost him at House Shu."

"Be silent, scourge. Are you trying to get us all killed? Young master Trill is already a medjay, and you are blaspheming Anubis."

These last few days, the servants of House Trillwolf saw how the young Lord Josiah would always follow his mother around the estate as she brought him and their second young miss, Kamila, to the library.

As a medjay, Jody had been assigned two personal death guards who were responsible for his safety. They were like two Jackal god statues that followed him wherever he went. If he went indoors, they would be sentinel outside. Jody realized his father didn't have such support, so this was likely an envoy-exclusive perk.

These Death Sentinels would appear as refined soldiers when in motion but just like statues when not. Failure to protect their lord would result in their deaths. Two toddlers being so interested in education was downright strange but far less strange when considering that one was a full-blown medjay. To the servants, these noble children were born scholars with immeasurable futures.

Every day, Jody would ask to read higher and higher level books. His knowledge of this world and the cultures therein was constantly expanding. At first, his mother rejected his requests and made him start with two books of her choosing. The first was an ancient tome titled 'Sage Art Volume I: The Host Awakened,' and the other was a more modern-styled book called 'Magic and Voodoo: The Science.'

Jody finished both ancient tomes in their entirety in merely four hours, with various questions for his mother. She couldn't doubt his comprehension of these tomes in the slightest. In fact, his questions forced her to deepen her own understanding through critical thinking and analysis.

He was remarkable.

Three hours later, he had finished the third book she gave him, 'Magic, Mana, and Me!.' This speed was comparable to Lady Isis' own reading speed when she didn't use her spirituality! One had to know these books were huge, each tome containing over 1,000 pages packed with information. Not only that, Jody's questions were all organized and logical, and once answered, he made several new deductions.

Many of which Isis, herself, hadn't considered.

The same thing happened with every book she put in front of him. She had no choice but to let him choose his own material to expand his knowledge. She had to accept that she was already in his way. What managed to leave Isis far more speechless, however, was the fact that the first of these books Jody sought out had information about the geographical features of the continent, and its history.

He would also request books about advanced energy-based formulation and cosmic force theory. He had even discovered ancient tomes on chaos extremity, the origin of mana and rukh. These were complicated magical tomes and magic scrolls that even the lady herself would not be delighted to have as a reading task. In fact, she had no idea the library even had a secret floor where they discovered these books.

The entrance was revealed when her son read the script of a shelf out loud. She had taught him the language of the ancient elves, but she only had a basic understanding of the language herself.

It seemed her boy had already surpassed her on this front...

"What an abnormal child…" Jody's third mother, Omotolani, marveled aloud while drinking tea with the First Lady of the House, Isis.

She wore transparent green garments barely covering her private areas and luxurious jewels that radiated powerful forces. Coincidentally, the equally scantily clad lady Isis had just thought these words to herself while she was reviewing dhivãc hieroglyphs with Kamila, who was currently in her mother's lap.

"It's as if he was born in the Scholar Realm," she commented as Isis and the excited Jody returned upstairs from the secret chamber.

Jody was painfully aware that his mother wanted him to enjoy more of his youth. She expressed this unceasingly. He had read in 'Sage Art Volume I: The Host Awakened,' that the process of refining a source artifact could take anywhere from a couple of months to multiple years, depending on the destiny and talent of the individual.

The more of either destiny or talent that an individual possessed, the longer it might take. Jody's mother felt he was too young and shouldn't have started this process until he had more time to play and be carefree. Now, he already had such responsibility on his shoulders. With so much talent and a destiny star bobbing in his wake, how long would her child's transformation last?

Luckily, the one in question had no interest in leisure activities.

He knew things couldn't always be this peaceful.

The event at House Shu had indeed reminded Jody of how dangerous things would be in this world. One mistake and he could have been captured or killed that day. One day, he would need to be his own man and fight for his own place in this world! Through his constant reading, Jody had come to truly understand a lot about the world he was in, the corrupted civilizations, and the prospering magical societies. He couldn't help but draw many parallels, although this world differed greatly from his old home.