Relic (The Books of Eva I) (28 page)

There’s only one thing I can say that will save Jasper right now. Words that The Lex tells us cannot be unsaid once said. Can I really seal my fate to rescue Jasper from the gallows? Will I be able to fulfill my destiny if I do? I have no other choice. I swallow hard.

“Because he is my Betrothed.”

We, the Founders of New North, join together in memorializing this Praebulum. The Gods themselves have divined the words we write, so in truth, the words are Gods-made and not of man. The Gods know that, as we come together to birth this society of New North, we need Their guidance and Their blessings. The words of this Praebulum and the accompanying Lex are Their mandates for us—the Gods’ chosen people—and our charges—the people of the Boundary. We must faithfully abide by Their dictates to ensure that the Gods need never again visit the Healing upon us
.

The Healing was necessary, this we know. Mankind was worshipping the false god Apple. With its modern siren’s song, that demon Apple had lured mankind into venerating his evil minions—Tech and meds and currency and corruption of ourselves and world.
Mankind had forgotten to honor the true Gods—our Mother Sun and our Father Earth, among them—and to live according to Their simple, yet powerful, ways. Mankind had become corrupt in Their eyes
.

The Gods could tolerate it no longer. The Gods swept hurricanes across the world and warmed the polar ice caps—washing the Healing over mankind. For their sins, Father Earth was determined to eradicate all evidence of human life and rose His seas over nearly all His lands. At the last possible tick, He listened to Mother Sun’s pleas for mercy; He permitted Her rays to sink behind the clouds and lower the temperature of the seas, thereby sparing one last piece of land. He allowed Her to lead us—the sole righteous people on His earth, the chosen ones—to a fleet of boats, the Arks. Then He permitted Her to deliver us to the surviving land of New North
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Yet, the Gods’ mercy has its limits. We must ardently follow the Gods’ rules for our new world as embodied in this Praebulum and The Lex—or risk the Healing again. In so doing, we must reject the false brightness of Apple’s modern Neon age and ferret out any and all remaining evidence of its artificial luminescence. We must fashion a society that lives in the natural world as the Gods made it before the wickedness of Apple’s modernity took hold. The Gods call us to live as people did in that earlier, more innocent and idyllic time—the Golden Age of the Medieval era
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We must do everything just as the Gods command us in The Lex. We must create the perfect society in the Gods’ eyes. There will be no second chances
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The Gods have revealed to us the perfect structure of our new society in New North. Herein, we set forth the specific roles that
the Gods command each of us to fill. In this way, every man and woman in New North—be they Aerie or Boundary—will know their place and their duties, and their will be no cause for transgression. We will leave to The Lex the remaining details of the idyllic Golden Age society the Gods order us to create
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The Gods mandate that The Lex will guide every facet of mankind’s existence, yet They acknowledge that They must have representatives in New North to propagate and enforce The Lex. Thus, They have ordered that we create the Triad, who will balance equally the power bestowed upon them by the Gods
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The Triad’s authority derives from the Gods’ power, and thus, the three arms of the Triad must be seen as the Gods’ own. The first arm of the Triad is that of the Lexors. The Lexors will serve as the hammer of the Gods; they will be the tool instrumental in binding us together, loud and forceful when they must strike. Each year, the strongest and most steadfast eighteen-year-old in the Aerie will be picked for the role of Lexor in the Forge competition. The Lexors will be specially trained in The Lex and its interpretation, and will assist the Basilikons and Archons in their duties. A Chief Lexor will be selected to serve over the Lexors based on his past performance in the Forge, and he will serve a ten-year term, at which time he will relinquish his title to the next Chief and return to the role of Lexor
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The second arm of the Triad is that of the Basilikons. The Basilikons will serve as our sacred orb, the constant, living reminder of our celestial Gods, our Mother Sun and our Father Earth, among them. Each year, through the competition of the Fasting,
the most faithful and pious eighteen-year-old in the Aerie will be selected to assist in presiding over the Gods’ rituals in the Basilika. A Chief Basilikon will be selected to serve over the Basilikons based on his past performance in the Fasting, and he will serve a ten-year term, at which time he will relinquish his title to the next Chief and return to the role of Basilikon
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The third arm of the Triad is that of the Archons. The Archons will serve as our chisel, the instrument necessary in unearthing the memories of our flawed past and the living reminder of our commitment to the Golden Age path. The most tenacious and insightful eighteen-year-old in Aerie shall compete for the honor in the Testing. A Chief Archon will be selected to serve over the Archons based on his past performance in the Testing, and he will serve a ten-year term, at which time he will relinquish his title to the next Chief and return to the role of Archon
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The hammer, the orb, and the chisel. To become part of the Triad is to become the living embodiment of the Gods in New North. These roles are sacred, as are the competitions that yield its members. They must be: The Triad and The Lex are all that stand between the people of New North and another Healing
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We of the Aerie are the Gods’ chosen people. When the Earth permitted the Sun to spare us—and spare one last piece of land for us to inhabit—He did so because we were righteous in our faith in Them. We must continue to deserve this blessing—and our status as Founders of this land—by fulfilling the important roles selected for us by Them. Even though we
might not all attain the status of Triad, every role is critical for the ongoing survival of New North and must be considered a hallowed task
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Every member of a Founding Family—and his or her descendants—will live in the protected enclave of the Aerie and fulfill one of the following places in our society. While only Keepers may be called Lord and Lady, every adult man in the Aerie shall be considered a Gentleman, every adult woman a Gentlewoman, every youthful male a Gallant, and every youthful female a Maiden—no matter the height of his or her calling. Although each Aerie man and woman, boy and girl, will bear these titles and serve in these roles, they will also be given their our individual name, known as their Water-name
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While the Triad, Keepers, Stewards, and Guards will ensure that New North provides its peoples with all the necessities for life—and that the Gods’ rules are followed—the Ladies, Gentlewomen, and Maidens of the Aerie will also have a special, sacred role. They will be responsible for keeping the hearth and home. They will ensure the adherence to the Gods’ rules within that domain. The manner in which they do so—as well as the ways in which their Marital Union will be selected and their children borne, for those too are consecrated duties and our race too precious to leave to chance—will be detailed in The Lex
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When the Gods delivered us to the shores of New North, we discovered that we were not alone. The Arctic island that became New North was inhabited by a group of indigenous folk who lived here long before the Healing. This population we now call the Boundary people, because they live in a protected area around the boundary of the Aerie. The best among them will be selected to serve in the Aerie homes as Attendants, Companions, and Nurses; otherwise, they will perform Lex-ordered functions in their own Boundary land
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These people are not chosen by the Gods, like ourselves. Instead, the Gods bestowed these disadvantaged peoples upon us as charges, for whom we must provide safekeeping and care. Much as the Gods provide us with safekeeping and care. If we fail in this sanctified test, then we fail in the second chance the Gods have given us. We must succeed
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The Gods delivered this Praebulum to us so that we might comprehend the importance of our places in New North, and
abide by our roles and Their laws. The story of our New North’s Founding and the details of Their laws may be found in the accompanying Lex. This shall serve as the guide for all of mankind … so that the Healing will never happen again
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Year 8, A.H
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HEATHER TERRELL worked as a commercial litigator in New York City for over ten years, but she has always been obsessed with myth, lore, and the gap between history and the truth. This preoccupation has led to several loosely factual historical novels (The Chrysalis, The Map Thief, Brigid of Kildare) and the pure-lore
Fallen Angel
series.
Relic
is the first installment of The Books of Eva series. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family. Visit her at
www.heatherterrell.com
.

RICARDO CORTÉS has written and illustrated books about everything from Coca-Cola to Chinese food to the Jamaican bobsled team. He also illustrated the #1
New York Times
best-selling international sensation
Go the F**k to Sleep
. But it all started with his research laboratory, the Magic Propaganda Mill. Visit him at:
www.rmcortes.com