Page 433 of Alchemised
Within minutes, Lila and Pol both had crowds gathering around them. The Principate might be no more, but the allure of the Holdfasts endured.
Across the plaza, one of the buildings had a row of shops. Enid walked towards them, casting a look back and meeting Pol’s woebegone eyes before disappearing into a bookstore.
Just inside there was a large display of thick books.
A Comprehensive History of the Paladian Necromancy War by William Dover
Enid paused, staring at the books for a moment before picking up a copy.
“Just released this week,” said a clerk, standing nearby and eyeing the book in her hands.
“I didn’t recognise the title, so I figured it must have been,” Enid said, flipping the book open to peruse the chapter index, finger pausing briefly along the way.
“Well, if you’re wanting to understand Paladia and the war, this is definitively the best one there is. I mean, your dialect seems pretty good, but if you really want to know all the details and explanations for everything that went on—this is it.”
Enid arched an eyebrow. The clerk seemed to take it as a sign of encouragement and stepped closer. “Dover spent more than ten years on it. Got special permission from the Assembly and the Liberation Front to access all the records, even trial transcripts that weren’t public yet. It’s shocking stuff. Some chapters—I don’t recommend reading if your stomach isn’t strong. But if you want to know what happened, this is the book that’ll tell you. It’s all there. Everything people should know.”
“Do you?” Enid asked.
The clerk looked uncertain.
“Know everything that people should know about the war?” Enid clarified.
The clerk cleared his throat. “Well—for me it’s hard not to. I was one of the ones born in the Tower. If you know what that means. There were trials. We kept getting moved around while they were arguing about what to do with us.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He cleared his throat. “Anyway. Reading that—helped put it all in perspective for me.”
Enid looked down at the cover again. “I’ll have to check it out, then. I’m from Etras, but even there, people still talk about the Paladian War.”
Still holding the book, Enid stepped past the clerk, wandering farther into the shop. Once she found an empty aisle, she quickly flipped the book open to its index and ran her finger through until she found the chapter title she wanted.
She flicked to the page.
Kaine Ferron, known to the world as the High Reeve, is the most infamous mass murderer in history. By all estimates, he was the youngest to join Morrough’s Undying, only sixteen when he assassinated Principate Apollo Holdfast, plunging the city-state of Paladia into one of the most devastating wars in history. Ferron devoted himself to climbing rank among the Undying. Not only was he the youngest to “ascend,” but he went on to become the youngest individual to achieve the rank of general during the war.
Ferron’s proficiency as an alchemist and a vivimancer was widely regarded as unnatural and the result of the horrific human experimentation that came to define the Undying’s regime, but unlike most of Artemon Bennet’s subjects, Ferron’s participation was voluntary.
Many of the Undying retired from service post-war. However, Ferron’s ascent was only beginning. He led the efforts to capture and interrogate all remaining Resistance members, killing them for use in the lumithium mines. His predilection for slaughter was key in achieving his status as High Reeve and his eventual acknowledgement as Morrough’s successor.
It is the belief of many that if the Ferron family had not been murdered by Ivy Purnell, the Undying regime could have lasted decades longer. Morrough’s condition was so deteriorated that many believe he would have handed control of Paladia to Ferron before the year’s end.
Necromancy scholar Eustace Sederis wrote in his book Ferron: A Biography of the High Reeve: “Kaine Ferron was a monster long before Morrough ever reached Paladia. Joining the Undying simply enabled a born psychopath to indulge in his cruelty, and when even immortality and immutability could not sate his sadistic impulses, he submitted himself to brutal experimentation to achieve his ends.”
EARLY LIFE
Kaine Ferron was born the only child of …
There was a sound behind Enid, and she snapped the book closed and turned. Pol was standing at the end of the aisle, a crookedly triumphant grin on his face.
Apollo Holdfast was an even mix of his parents. While many of his features were traditional Holdfast—sky-blue eyes, golden hair, and a smile warm as sunshine—he had Bayard bones, which made him taller than even his mother.
“Hello,” he said.
A smirk played at the corner of Enid’s mouth, and she arched an eyebrow, silver eyes studying him coolly. “Hello.”
Pol rested his hand on the shelf above Enid’s head so that he loomed over her. Enid simply raised her chin.
