Stories Thread

[ULC]

Constantinople, Order of St. John's Chambers, 1081

Iakovos rubbed his eyes and shifted in his seat, setting the book he had been reading to one side. He turned to stare at the flickering flame before standing up and turning to the shelves of scrolls and books within the Order's library within the Senate. Iakovos sighed as he looked wonderingly at the marvel the written word was, how each parchment, each scroll, each page, was the past connecting with the present. Iakovos mused to himself how he spent more time in the library reading or writing then the chapel praying and reflecting.

Iakovos sighed to himself as he reached up and pulled a copy of the book he was reading from the shelf and opened it to the page he was reading. He was sure he had come across a discrepancy, and it would need to be corrected. After a moment, he found it. A sentence had been rearranged, and the one he was reading from was written in a form harder to understand. Closing the book, Iakovos returned to his desk and jotted down the book title and page, to remind himself to look for a third to see if he could not clear up the actual phrasing.

Returning the one upon his desk to the shelves, Iakovos extinguished the candle, and turned to go to his private chambers. As he walked, a chain with a locket clinked, and Iakovos instinctively reached for it. Upon it was written in German "Seek first to Understand, then to be Understood.". It was a parting gift from his father, the only thing he had of him, who had died when Iakovos was 9 at Manzikert, along with his two elder brothers, Aleksander and Ehrhart. His mother had tried to raise him afterwards on her own, but soon passed away of heartbreak not soon after.

He was taken to a monastery, where he truly learned of God, and where he developed his love of the written word. Iakovos had made his way to his chambers, brushing open the door and sweeping in only to collapse into his bed, tired from the days activities and the lack of sleep. Iakovos quickly drifted off into a deep slumber.