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The sunlight poured through the tall, stately windows of the Wysterian Parliament Chamber almost as though it were a viscous thing: the liquid light coating the walls and throwing a slightly unearthly brilliance around the vacant stage. As Nicholas stepped down from the stage, old joints creaking as he moved out of his natural spotlight and towards the sweeping staircase that led to the ground floor, he gave thought to the idea that perhaps it wasn’t entirely natural; that perhaps it was a bending of the elements assembled to put a spring in his elderly step on this fine morning.
Unlikely, but not out of the question. Never out of the question, he thought wryly, as he considered the subject of his next appointment. The man was his oldest confidant, and Nicholas was sure they knew each other better than any other – but you never could tell exactly what was lurking behind the sparkle in the wiry man’s eyes.
Banishing the thought in favour of anticipation (for he had been looking forward to seeing what his old scribe had cooked up), he strode through the doors connecting the Wysterian Parliament to the adjoining Legal Library. It was a curiously dark space: the light streaming in from the high windows was stopped short by the first towering row of sober bookcases, as if to preserve a sense of mystery within.
Working as intended, thought Nicholas despite himself as a stray goosebump began to rise on the back of his neck. “So, Jenkins, what have you got for me?”
Jenkins, the elusive yet ever-present (an oxymoronic style the man somehow pulled off to a tee) royal scribe, gestured to the sheaves of paper and parchment strewn across his table with a satisfied flourish. “Imperial correspondence!”
Peering closer, Nicholas could see the scribe was right: envelopes and scrolls were piled high amid a sea of wax seals that sported what seemed to be every emblem known to man. “Why, there must be diplomatic correspondence from every realm here!” He saw they went back years – there were realms represented whom he had not heard from for decades – but by the same token included correspondence as recent as last year: the blazing purple seal of the newest Regent of Minerva was positioned near the top of the pile.
Jenkins never deigned to come straight to his point – Nicholas could see the boyish enthusiasm that meant he had a discovery to share, but the wizened scribe had to reveal the background first. “You know that the Office of Diplomatic Liaison endeavours to get its hands on just about every official diplomatic conversation – in addition, of course, to the ones you yourself have taken an interest in. So we have here decades of writings from not just the Realms but the Grand Duchies, as well as a good many Counties and even a smattering of the Freehold Lords. Why we still have Freehold Lords, mind you … ” The scribe trailed off into muttering; Nicholas caught something about flowcharts but shelved it in an effort to get the scribe back on track.
“And the purpose?”
The scribe adjusted his glasses in an effort to prevent them tumbling off his pointed nose, failed, and carried resolutely on. “Well, it’s like this: you know how, well, you have been, rather, I suppose I should say that it’s been noticed that, oh, I don’t bloody - ”
Nicholas cut short the scribe’s uncharacteristic bumbling; “Get on with it, for Erts’s sake!”.
Sporting a sheepish grin, the scribe continued: “Well, Sir, you know how you have been getting on in the years?”
Nicholas suppressed a grin; from anyone else he would almost have suspected an insult – that or worries about the transition from Sovereign Duchy to Constitutional Cabal State that was slated to take place upon Nicholas’s transition – but the two men had known each other too long. For that matter, I could very well return the question. He resisted the urge and attempted to get to the point.
“Your point?”, he asked wryly. The scribe, sheepish grin coming out in full force now, hefted a pile of the correspondence and gestured to it for emphasis as he spoke.
“Well, as I was making my archives of the legal materials contained within, sorting through all the claptrap – who knew Dawnstar was so fond of salt? I should see about looking into a ramp up in exports from the Beacon Mines – I came across an interesting number of references to aging in the old files.”
“By old, you mean?” Nicholas was fairly sure he knew the answer.
“Predating the Dark Age,” returned the scribe, confirming Nicholas’s suspicions. Information from before the Dark Age wasn’t generally inaccurate, but it was often incomplete – he was always somewhat wary about assembling a complete picture based on the words gathered from that time. Nevertheless, he had gone too far: curiosity was a powerful force and one that the Duke had always fallen prey to.
“Anyways,” the scribe continued, “we’ve picked up quite a few references to grave concerns about ageing. Specifically, reaching a century and a half: 150 years in age. The old letters back and forth speak of some sort of great challenge or pressure from an outside force that forces the end of the life at 150 years of age – Sir, I don’t need to tell you your age.”
No, that he did not. But Nicholas was sceptical – it sounded more like an old wives’ tail, if that, than any empirical issue. Still, he felt compelled to ask further.
“And does this ‘outside pressure’ have a name?”
“Well, the letters call it The Otilion Limit. Information on its potential namesake is scarce, but we’re reasonably sure it refers to one Count Otilion – I think your father knew him a bit. He actually came from the Old World.”
Nicholas mulled it over. True, it was weak and unsubstantiated and most likely nothing at all. Yet just the rumour of some sort of old curse or presence, particularly from the Old World, was the last thing he needed right now. He came to a decision.
“Jenkins, it’s probably nothing – but no use advertising this. Tell you what; let’s keep quiet on it.”
“Agreed.”
“Oh, and Jenkins?”
“Yes, sir?”
“No need to mention my age to anyone.”
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Wysterian Labourer's Council
Currently Holding Stewardship of Wysteria
Minister for Applications and Settlement
Forums Administrator
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