Chapter Twenty

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"If you build the guts to do something, anything, then you better save enough to face the consequences

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"If you build the guts to do something, anything, then you better save enough to face the consequences." - Criss Jami

11:54 pm

Four brown, leather books are stacked on top of a beige table on the ground floor. Their contents have been deemed useless underneath the scrutinising gaze of the individual who occupies the space. Two unopened books lie to the left of the table.

Liam's seated, hunched over form hovers over an open book titled: Old World Semiotics, Volume 17. His head is held up by his left hand that presses against his forehead. He's usually asleep at this time. The other hand is used to carefully turn the thin, fragile pages of the book.

When Liam was eleven, he had picked up this exact book and brought it home to read. However, the contents were much too complex for his young brain to comprehend. He couldn't even get past the first few pages, never mind the whole book.

Over the next few weeks, the printed, black symbols were something that he managed to enjoy, regardless of the unintelligible words that surrounded them. Studying them and their unusual attributes, he tried to create his own explanations behind them, making up stories about hidden battles during the old ages where the old ways of life were a lavish reality.

There were notebooks hidden under his mattress filled with ideas and short stories based on these very symbols. Eventually, he adopted this concept with the other books he'd borrow, creating a stockpile of fictitious histories that sated his youthful mind.

That was fifteen years ago.

Liam turns to the next page after skimming over four symbols that were thought to be used by blacksmiths as a means of recognising their skill in the trade. He remembers them well.

Three small, circular symbols are arranged diagonally across the left page and Liam stills at the sight of the one in the middle. Here lies the very symbol that he has been searching for.

A triumphant grin graces his face and he quickly begins reading the paragraphs on either side: "This symbol was seen throughout the late 1500s to the early 1700s during the reign of the second King and previous Beta, Restal Ragnon

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A triumphant grin graces his face and he quickly begins reading the paragraphs on either side: "This symbol was seen throughout the late 1500s to the early 1700s during the reign of the second King and previous Beta, Restal Ragnon. The clustered, curved lines are said to represent a maze, suggesting the many paths that could be taken to reach the top of the hierarchy. Some think that the maze represents the prison of one's mind, fooling the beholder into thinking there are viable paths to peace. My favourite, and the most controversial, is an age-old theory that describes the maze representing the intricate containment of one's foe. The curved paths work to keep them occupied, distracting them from the reality of imprisonment by the protagonist. The false sense of control prevents the foe from constructing an escape that would see the protagonist suffering severely in response. A coward's way to victory, some would say. The trapping of those more powerful to steal their position in the hierarchy. Others see it as a means to an end - a necessary way to victory." Liam stops reading, suddenly aware of the time. He'll read the rest at his Gamma's office.

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