Kaja Dume, emperor of the Tiberian Empire, strolled through the palace library. It was said that, in order to read the entire combined knowledge contained in the palace library, you'd have to read for one billion years.
If there was one thing that was certain and known by everyone, it was that Kaja loved to read. He loved to learn, to know something that he previously did not know, or to expand upon a subject—to know all facets of it. You could say Kaja didn't merely love to learn, but that learning was an obsession of his.
A period he kept returning to was the time of the Event, when all known volcanoes erupted on Tiberia at once. This forced the young Imperium underground. When this happened, the great Solomon was an infant, but when the Tiberian Imperium arose, it arose anew, with Solomon as its emperor.
Besides vague descriptions, no records existed of that time period underground. As he reached for a handwritten account of the Shogun of Solomon's era, Annabelle Dume, the Red Mistress, his hand brushed against what he at first thought was a shelf needing repair. Then his hand grasped it and pushed down.
Next to the shelf, the wall became transparent. Kaja immediately pushed whatever it was back into place. The wall became solid again.
Kaja sighed. "Oh, good. I didn't break reality."
He quickly came to the conclusion that what he had moved was a lever that activated a spell to make the wall transparent. Switching the lever down again, Kaja moved through the wall, which became solid behind him upon his entry.
In the room were many scrolls in handwriting Kaja quickly recognized as that of Solomon, the second emperor. In his excitement, he grabbed as many notes and books as he could until he heard a clatter that caused him to turn his head toward the noise. There, buried under books that had fallen on it, was a memoriom. Kaja set the books and scrolls down and collected the memoriom from its place. Turning it over in his hands, he chuckled in disbelief.
"A memory of Solomon, immortalized in stone," he spoke aloud.
At the mention of Solomon's name, the stone came to life and broadcast a confusing scene before Kaja's eyes.
Solomon sat upon his throne, much younger than in most of his paintings and holograms. He simply stared at Kaja, put his index finger to his lips, and whispered, "Listen."
The scene ended, leaving Kaja confused. He left the secret room and the library and decided to sit on a balcony, where he turned the stone over in his hands again and again, repeating Solomon's one-word message.
"Solomon the Wise," he began in frustration, "you are maddeningly unhelpful."
It was then that he heard a voice speaking. He rose from his seat, went to the railing, and looked down. Below him, children were seated in a circle around Mia, one of the children Tiberia was charged with caring for.
Mia sat with the children, telling them a tale of the Event, one of the darkest times in Tiberian history. In her story, there was apparently a Saint who saved and preserved the Tiberian Imperium by leading the people underground and even raised Solomon.
Kaja smiled. "A fairy tale," he interrupted.
The children and Mia looked up at the emperor, who vaulted over the rail and landed gracefully.
"The historical society teaches us that the Event was an eruption of every volcano on Tiberia and that the people were led underground by the hero Bollock Bruhan. The only other Saint in history died several millennia before the Event. Who told you this fanciful tale of a new Saint leading the Tiberian people underground?"
Mia turned her gaze to the emperor and curtsied before answering.
"I noticed some murals down in the underground that seemed to depict this very story during my year of wander. I assumed they were legends or lost history, and I thought it would do the children good to hear the ancient legends of Tiberia."
Kaja crossed his arms. She knew what was coming. Kaja loved debates and deep conversations.
"Legends are often exaggerations, misinterpretations, and misconceptions of the past. It is better to teach children facts than lies covered in glamor, no?"
"I have only heard this story once before, from the Empress," he continued. "She told me that it was one of yours. Though I had wanted to speak with you about your tale, you were already off for training."
Mia knew Kaja had a point. Teaching kids lies was never good for the development of their moral or critical thinking skills. Although Mia knew that legends still stood as a great way to demonstrate great truths, she knew Kaja would simply counter her with facts doing the same thing. So she simply smiled and excused herself to take the children back to the academy.
Kaja watched her go. He slowly made his way back inside the palace. He stopped at the doorway as he heard the wind repeat Solomon's message.
"Listen."