Chapter 11: Sabbath
Flynn and Issachar had said that they got their invitation to the Sabbath the night of the Gauntlet Rite from a baker in the upper Casualry district, where all of their businesses were clustered. Therefore, the obvious way to get Jonathan and Isabeau into the Sabbath despite being Luxuror born was to speak with the baker. "I know the market pretty well, so he's familiar with me," Jonathan said as they walked down there from the samurai dorms.
"How do you know the Casualry market well?" Isabeau asked. While they were now an official unit within the samurai, she felt a little out of place with five young men. The monastery raised the girls and boys in separate areas, giving them little interaction with each other outside of school. As a result, she wasn't sure how to act around men her age except a few specific scenarios. "I thought most Luxurors would send their servants out to do such shopping."
Unlike the others, Jonathan was easier to get along with. He and Naverre had attended classes with her, although Naverre's pride made him hard to get along with. Jonathan was polite and well-mannered, and she knew she could trust him. "Well, it was when my father was on street patrol recovering from an injury that he came to frequent this place, especially the bakery. I ended up coming down a few times with him. The people are nice, so I often took the chance to walk down to purchase food from the bakery."
"I see." She looked around at the streets here leading to the gate that divided the Luxurors and Casualry. "You were lucky; I never saw much outside the monastery before the rite. I've lived here all my life, but this is like a completely different place."
"There's nothing to be afraid of," Jonathan said, but then seemed more solemn. "At least, that's how it was. This news about class revolts is unpleasant. I hope it does not change things too much. I know in my heart that the people of Mikado are good people; we are said to be God's chosen, after all. But to fight against each other, that cannot be with God's wishes."
"I agree, but we're going to have to be careful with revealing such doubts around here," Isabeau said.
The Casualry market was made up of a lot of carts with produce grown within the castle walls, along with some crafts that the people here made. In one of the few permanent buildings on this market street, the Casualry bakery had stood for many generations. There was a bakery within the Luxuror district too, but they baked more delicacies and goods for special occasions. When one wanted some good daily bread, this was the shop that everyone went to, directly or not.
There were a number of bakers who worked here, a whole family of them. Children, husbands, wives, and grandparents all worked here to produce the breads that the city consumed. In front, a middle-aged man and a young woman were running the actual sales. Capacity for the mathematical skills needed to run a business were usually not prevalent among the Casualry, and even this bakery would have Luxuror advisers that helped them make decisions on pricing and what breads to make.
Since most of the Casualry would be out working at this hour, the market street was quiet. Only a few vendors were sticking around, taking care of tasks while things were quiet. As such, the baker was free to speak with them. "Ah, Jonathan my boy!" he said happily, coming over to shake his hand. The woman smiled warmly at them, but stayed back. "Good to see you, and congratulations on becoming a samurai."
"Thank you, Nathan," Jonathan said. "And hello Marie. I hope you've all been well."
"Never been better, there's many exciting things going on these days," Nathan said, smiling. "And would you be Miss Isabeau, the lady samurai of this year?"
"Yes, that's me," she said, nodding to him. "We had the day off from training, so we decided to walk around the city."
Nathan nodded back. "That's great, you two courting?"
"Ah, no," Isabeau said, embarrassed. But, it was what it might look like. She did catch a glimpse of Marie looking worried, but she quickly hid that.
"N-no," Jonathan said, looking even more embarrassed than her somehow. "We're just friends, and she only knows a few parts of the city well."
"One shouldn't wait too long on such matters, but that's up to you to handle how you think," Nathan said. "Sorry for misinterpreting things. Actually, since you have dropped by at a good time, there is something I wanted to talk with you about, Jonathan, since you love books."
"Oh, yes, what about them?" Jonathan said, either eager to listen or eager to get away from the subject of courtship.
"Well I was simply wondering if you had gotten introduced to the genre of Literature yet," Nathan said, taking a book from a nearby basket. It looked like those used for the bread to be sold, but was full of books instead.
"No, I haven't heard of it," he said, taking the book. Before long, he got a shock. "Huh? But, this is written in the mystic script."
"Is it?" Isabeau asked. He nodded and titled the book to show her the cover. It said 'Paradise Lost' in the mystic script, along with an author's name and translator's name. "Wow, where'd you get this? I know the monastery has a number of books in the mystic script, but I don't recognize this one at all."
"It was gotten through special means," Nathan said. "All of Literature are, so they contain stories that no other books in Mikado do. Many of them are in the mystic script, but there are some in the simple script, at least a modified version. They're all very interesting, about the struggles of people to fulfill their dreams, or even just to live in a few cases. When you listen to enough of the fairy tales that get passed around, you get to know what to expect of them. Many of them are simply the same story told with different players, so to speak. But Literature, you're never quite sure what you'll get when you open up one of those books. I thought that one would interest you in particular."
"What is this one about?" Jonathan asked, opening the cover and looking at the first few pages. "This format is odd."
"It's an epic poem," he said. "That one is about the fallen angels who conspired to get mankind kicked out of Eden."
"Wait, about the fallen angels?" Jonathan asked.
Nathan nodded. "That's right. That book tells about that story, and in such a peculiar manner because it uses the leader of the fallen angels at a main character. It's actually disturbed a few because it becomes unclear about its morality as the situation is very unusual. But I think you've got the right mind to handle it."
"I, um," Jonathan looked uncertain of that. "Thanks, um… it sounds like it should be wrong, but," he was fiddling with some of the pages.
"Well, I do have to say that many stories within Literature are not entirely true," Nathan said. "Much like fairy tales didn't really happen in most cases. That one may simply be the author's interpretation of what may have happened, since it was before humanity could understand much. So if it bothers you too much, just remember that it's probably not real. Bu you may still find it interesting to think through."
"I see," he said, then shut the book. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to start reading. Thanks, do you want payment for it?"
Oddly, he shook his head. "No, I've been distributing Literature to anyone who's interested."
"But I thought most Casualry couldn't read," Isabeau asked. "The three Casualry born that became samurai with us couldn't even read simple script, much less mystic."
"Well, what do you think of that?" Nathan asked her.
"Hmm, me?" It was something she hadn't considered, partly because she'd not met any Casualry before Flynn, Issachar, and Walter. "I do think it's unfair. There's a lot of wisdom in books that helps people understand the world around them, so it would be nice if everyone got the chance to read. And one of our fellows has proven quite brilliant once he was given the opportunity to learn, so it's sad that he never got the chance before now."
"Right, it's unfair that most of the villages have to rely on only a few people who can read in their priests," Jonathan said. "We could easily get news and information from all over Mikado if people could freely read and write."
"That's right, what a lot of us have been feeling like lately," Nathan said. "Since you agree, I don't mind telling you that the Literature books are being summoned at Sabbaths that we hold regularly outside of the city. We also discuss the books we've been reading and pass on the ability to read to those who don't have it. Some folks are still leery about the Sabbaths, but we're starting to have a majority of Casualry here in the city who can read, and do read a lot."
"That's amazing," Isabeau said. "What kind of magic are you using to do that? It took us years as kids to learn to read."
"It's a magic of secrets that was given to us by a woman we only know as the Black Samurai," Nathan said. "She was the first one to pass books out freely; I'm merely one of her early followers. Actually, we're having a Sabbath tonight. We do have a few Luxurors who agree with us and have been attending in secret, so as long as I introduce you in, there won't be a problem with you two coming."
That was simpler than Isabeau had thought; she had thought that they'd have to ask directly about it and win his trust. But then, Nathan already knew Jonathan and that seemed to be enough. "Maybe we will come, I'm curious about this book summoning and what you all are reading," Jonathan said.
"Right, it would be great to have more stories to read, and different ones," Isabeau said, smiling. She liked to read stories, but the patterns of them were something she picked up early on. It disappointed her when a promising story turned out to be just a retelling of another one she already knew well.
"Actually, I think I have something that would interest you as well," Nathan said, going back to his basket of books. It took more digging, but he brought out a larger book. "It's about a woman who wants to protect her country in a time of great conflict, so she ignores the traditional ideas about women to become a soldier."
"Really?" That was a curious thing. There weren't many women among the samurai, and you generally didn't hear about them even in the history volumes. She didn't have to act like a man, but it was a very male-oriented society. She took the book and felt some surprise at the name. "Jeane d'Arc…?" Unfortunately, she couldn't relate how she recognized it. "Thanks for lending it to me."
"Oh, no, keep it as long as you like," Nathan said. "If you're no longer interested in it, simply pass it on to another who is. That's how we Literature readers have been doing things."
In a hidden area of Naruku, on the second floor, Walter was training against his own demon. He'd not found a battle-worthy axe like Hope had suggested, but he had found a club with nails sticking out of it which was working out well. When he hit, whatever demon that was unfortunate enough to be against him got bashed with his full strength and punctured with the nails. That is, when he hit. The club was heavy.
And Wu Kong was nimble, darting all around him. "Come on, you can't just flail around," the monkey said, darting back in and playfully poking him. "I'm not actually moving at random."
"Sure seems that way," Walter said, swinging the club at him.
Yet again, he missed due to Wu Kong ducking under the swing. "There's a rhythm to it, a rhythm. When you lose control of yourself, when you lose your rhythm, you'll lose more often than not. You haven't quite found yours yet, maybe because you haven't found a weapon that suits you. But you can still watch the others, notice their rhythm, and disrupt it."
Walter took his swings a bit slower while Wu Kong was talking, even though that wouldn't help against a quick demon like him. In doing so, he noticed what he was saying. Wu Kong wasn't moving all around; he was moving to certain spots in the room, darting to another to avoid hits. So if Walter timed things right… he struck Wu Kong right after he'd moved, swinging right into the path of his hop.
The attack didn't actually do anything to Wu Kong, but that was why he was training with the monkey. "Hah, got you that time."
"Nice one," he said with a grin. "It won't take long for you to be leaving demons as a smear consistently. Do you have a goal for your training?"
"A goal?" Walter asked. "No, I'm just having fun with this all. Becoming a samurai was one of my goals, and I've made that. Though I don't have anything I'm aiming for now."
Wu Kong moved over on top of a rock nearby, sitting down there. "That's no good. I mean sure, it's great to have fun. But you get better with a challenge; you get better when you push yourself past your limits."
"Really?" he asked. "I guess it makes sense. Back home, we were always daring each other to longer treks, until what seemed hard at the beginning of the year was pretty easy by the end of it."
He nodded. "That's exactly it. See, I have a goal." He put his hands on his knees and leaned forward. "Have you ever wondered about the lharm dargs that are all over the place here?"
"Kind of, there are a lot of them and they all seem identical," Walter said, rubbing his head.
"Some of them might have individual traits, but for the most part, they are the same. You see, they're all the same guy, but they're not the same demon. Catch my drift?"
"Not really?"
Wu Kong reached over to tap Walter's gauntlet. "It's like if you have a bunch of pictures made of the same person. There's one person, but there's many pictures." He held up a finger. "There is one true Lharm Darg, but he's not here in Naruku. What's here in Naruku are many shades of Lharm Darg. Like the pictures, the shades are all based off the same source demon, but they're not the same thing. Got it now?"
"I think so," Walter said. "So it's like if you had the one person that's the original for all those pictures, but then the pictures came to life and had their own lives? The one person is the true person and the others are shades of them, right?"
"Right, that's it." He sat back against the wall. "I'm actually a shade of Wu Kong, not the real deal. Common wisdom would say that I'm weaker than him as a result. But you see, I have ambitions to go find the real Wu Kong and duel him one day. Maybe I'll win, maybe I won't; I'd like to win, but I'd be satisfied if I just earn his respect. To do that, I have to be very strong for a shade. I've worked myself all the way up from a much lesser demon for that goal."
He smiled at that. "It would be incredible if you did manage to beat your original."
He nodded enthusiastically. "Right! So, what kind of goal can you make for yourself, to push yourself even further?" He glanced around back to the entrance to this hidden room. "I admit, we're limited here in Naruku. But you don't have to shoot for something big right away. Say like," he then snapped his fingers. "You know that wormwood that grows like weeds around here? They always have a crystalline core that breaks the wormwood apart; the core breaks real easily too. But I hear that some humans can get strong enough, or maybe clever enough, to break wormwood without striking the core. That's something you could work towards here."
"Yeah, that could be something," Walter said. "If I got that strong, there wouldn't be a lot that could stand against me, huh?"
"At least not here," Wu Kong said. "Although if you ended up on some worlds I've been to, well you'd find yourself fighting for your life again with every battle."
Later that evening, Walter joined up with his fellow prentices and headed for out of town. The streets were busy, but mostly with people hurrying to get home. "It feels strange to be going out of the city so close to curfew," Isabeau said.
"I know, but we can be excused on having orders to do this," Jonathan said. "I have to wonder though, how are the others not getting caught?"
"If you wait long enough after sundown, nobody's outside to catch you," Walter said.
Jonathan seemed startled at that. "You've been out after curfew before?"
Shrugging, he said, "It's not strict where I came from, since sometimes you can't help but get back up to town late. But even when you do slip out late to look at the stars or something, there's literally no one else daring enough to come outside at night, except like-minded people who won't care about curfew either."
"Well I have done star-gazing myself, but only from the upper balconies of our house, which doesn't fall under curfew laws," Jonathan said. "The streets get so dark then that I never wanted to go any further than that."
"I've got a lantern," Flynn said. "We'll be fine."
Outside the last city gate, there was a young woman of the Casualry who waved them down. "Hey, you guys are newcomers to our Sabbath tonight, aren't you?"
"Yes, where is it?" Flynn asked.
She pointed off to the west. "Just follow the wall around; there's a footpath a little ways ahead, then keep an eye out for the fire they've got started. And, well, since you guys are samurai, would you mind it if we ask you to go speak to patrolmen who've been looking for us? Just tell them that we don't mean trouble and it's proper manners to stay out late if the event has a fire going. It's in the law books, trust us, we checked."
"Sure," Flynn said. Walter nodded along; it was a little surprising that they were welcomed this way despite being samurai, and Jonathan and Isabeau both being from the Luxuror class. But, maybe they just wanted to prove they were no trouble so they could continue their meetings.
There was quite a crowd near the fire already. It was mostly young people like themselves, mostly Casualry from the city. But there were some older adults among them, a few other Luxurors, and even some from other towns. In fact, the few Luxuror attendees weren't as extravagantly dressed as Walter usually saw around the city. They might have a sentimental piece of jewelry or some other small thing that proved their station, but they were trying to blend in otherwise.
Before long, Walter found himself hanging out with the out-of-town visitors. "Actually, we were here for the Gauntlet Rite a month ago," one guy said. "We'd had a couple of these Sabbaths out in our town too and the book I ended up with was all about a man's journey around the world. It's like the fairy tales, you know, not real, but he saw such amazing fantastical things that I was completely into that book."
"What was that book?" a young woman there asked.
"Gulliver's Travels," he said. "On my way here, I found myself talking to the others here about it, and that while we wouldn't run into such crazy fairy tale things in Mikado, it would be quite a tale if we traveled all around the country and put together our own book of travels. Since we all failed the rite, we've spent a month in the capitol, and now we're going to travel around as planned."
The guy next to him nodded. "Yeah, I mean, they don't strictly need us back home any time soon. We'll just be doing the same old same old. But this trip can't be missed. Once we settle down to raise families and such, there won't be time. I've already learned a lot just hanging out at the house of a guy who makes hats; it's really interesting and I want to try it out some more myself in the future."
"That guy thought it was boring," another traveler of the group said. "So did his sons, actually, one of them even seemed to hate hats. I don't see why he doesn't train you instead since you were having a lot of fun with it."
"Right," the first one said. "I mean, sure, it's family tradition to pass on a trade and all, but if it's going to be a boring and miserable life doing that, why not pass it on to someone who's actually enthusiastic about the trade?"
"I get what you're saying," Walter said. "I was supposed to be a fisherman, but I got to where I couldn't stand being out on a boat and waiting around while the fish are swimming around on their merry way."
"I think fishing's great," Issachar said. "But, uh, they told me I had to limit myself to occasional trips out to Lake Mikado, or other areas with fish, and then only get enough for Sunday meals or the occasional festival. I don't know if I could make a living out of fishing."
"This is what you figure out when you read Literature," another woman with them said. "It's stuff that all seems so obvious, but somehow it's not until you realize. And then you want to share the books and what you've learned with other people, so they can see what should be obvious too. It's really incredible; going to my first Sabbath changed my life and I feel so much better off for it."
As it started getting dark in the sky, one of the older men got up in front of the fireplace. "I have some news to pass along from the great wise woman, the Black Samurai," he said as everyone quieted. "Unfortunately, she will not be here to join us for quite some time. We're not even sure when she'll get back to us. But we will carry on with her mission to spread knowledge and wisdom to everyone in Mikado. She has given us many tools with which to do so, so I ask each and every one of you, continue working towards opening the minds and hearts of all those around you."
There were many cheers and applause to that. Walter wasn't seeing what the problem with these Sabbaths was. At least, not yet. He knew that if he had failed the rite and someone had come up to him offering a trip around the country to find a new way of life, or just gain a new experience he'd never get by going straight back home, he would have gone for it too. Those back home would scold him for something they'd see as lazy, but it didn't seem like laziness was a factor at all. These people wanted to see what life might hold for them.
"Since we do have a large crowd tonight, we'll allow you to break off into smaller discussion groups soon," the man said. "We will open with a prayer for wisdom and the fortune to find where we might be happiest in life."
It wasn't a prayer that Walter was familiar with, although Isabeau later mentioned that it was similar to some prayers in the monastery's books, for God's wisdom in difficult times of life. As he wondered what kinds of goals these people might have, he realized that he hadn't even thought of having goals himself until Wu Kong asked him about it. What kinds of goals might they achieve with what they learned with this Literature and reading?
Then the man leading the Sabbath got to the part he'd been most curious about. "Now, I know we have some newcomers here tonight. If you have not yet received the gift of literacy and wish to accept it, please come over here so that we may grant it to you freely. All we ask is that you use this gift to learn and grow."
"I'm really excited about this," Issachar said quietly as he and Walter joined Flynn to go up there.
"I'm not that excited, but it'll be good," Walter said. "Beats trying to knock it into my brain with those textbooks."
Flynn just smiled briefly, then went back to his usual stoic silence to head over. There were a few others who'd come to learn literacy here, so they got to see it being done first. From the mystic symbols that simply appeared in the air, this was clearly some kind of sorcery. It also looked overwhelming, as one woman fainted from it and others were dazed or with some head pain afterward. But then, this was to circumvent the years of classroom study that the three Luxuror apprentices had gone through to be able to read the mystic script.
Of their group, Flynn went first. He turned out to be the toughest of the lot, barely affected aside from some shakes and wanting a healing potion right after. Issachar didn't come off too badly either; he needed Flynn's help to get back to his feet and squinted in the light. When they asked Walter to sit down, he didn't expect it to go badly either.
The man who'd been leading and a woman with him both put their hands on his head and chanted some kind of prayer. "From the rich vaults of human knowledge, we ask for the key to unlocking its treasures for this man..."
It started with a tapping in his mind, like the first drops of rain. The tapping rapidly increased until it was a powerful deluge, like a typhoon in his brain. While Walter gritted his teeth and tried to endure it like the other two, he soon felt washed away by all the sudden knowledge. The waves washed over him, currents dragging him downward. It felt all too familiar, a nightmare of a close call when he had been young.
Then, he found himself washed up on a strange beach. From the sound of the rolling waves, it had to be a sea-level beach that bordered the ocean, far below the heights of Mikado. Even the grain and color of the sand was familiar to those beaches he'd been to down below. Yet Walter still heard the sound of the bonfire. No, make that multiple fires, not just one. He pushed himself up and coughed to clear his lungs, then looked around.
He realized with some shame that he must have fainted because this was a blend of various dreams he'd had. The vast stretch of ocean, where strangely he couldn't see the massive rise that Mikado rested on… and the dark fiery landscape of alien buildings and strange objects. When he first had these dreams, he would be chasing some powerful voice among those fires, searching for something, some purpose. There was also a man wandering these streets, one who had once been a stranger to Walter. But at some point, the voice had gone missing. He still felt like there was something to do here.
The voice was gone. But, Flynn was still here. He walked away from the fires and towards the ocean, his samurai coat and long ponytail waving in the wind coming off the water. In reality, Flynn was quiet but a respectable guy. Being a samurai came naturally to him; Walter admired his effortless way of learning and his natural strength. Here, though… something seemed weary about the way Flynn stood there. There was an air of loss about him, like a widow who struggled to balance mourning and daily life.
Getting up and going over, Walter joined him in looking out at the waves. "I feel like there's something I should ask you about, but I can't think worth a damn right now."
"Don't worry about it," Flynn said, not looking at him. "Just don't forget where this place is."
"Where is it?" he asked. It looked like the ocean-level beaches near South Ooida, but not like any specific one.
He put his hands on his chest and looked down. "In our hearts, as that city belongs in yours."
"I don't know that city, I..." he rubbed his head. "It's only in my dreams like this."
Flynn nodded. "That's how you know it so well. But if you spend too much time in that city and forget how to come back here," some heavy grief entered his words, "you'll be lost to it once again. I will find a way to save you. But, I fear losing my way to this place as well. If that happens..."
While Walter couldn't explain it to himself, this felt deeply disturbing. "Flynn?!"
He reached over again and Walter noticed cracks in his hand. The air between them was getting smoky; the fires growing louder than the waves. "Help me, before I embrace the White again and lose our way forever."
"What?" But then the smoke overcame them. Walter tried to grab Flynn, but slipped and fell. The smoke choked up his throat and he found he couldn't call back out to Flynn.
Then he remembered, it was a dream. And he was waking up now. There was a fire nearby, but just one large one. Elsewhere, there was friendly chatting and laughter. Walter opened his eyes and found a starry sky overhead. The Sabbath bonfire still going strong some distance away, its heat coming over here with the night breeze. And, the four other prentices were nearby, chatting with some others.
"Good, you're awake again," Isabeau said, coming over to his side. "How do you feel?"
"Like I got hit by a brick on the head," Walter said. "And embarrassed; I thought I could take it."
"They said fainting was a normal reaction for some people, but you should be okay in a couple of days," she said, then passed him a book. "Oh, and they were giving out new books to those of us who came for the first time; you got this one."
"Hmm," he took it and looked at the cover. It was the same weird symbols as were on the gauntlet's screen. But this time, Walter recognized them on sight, just like he'd learned to recognize different fish, shells, and minerals on sight. "That's… really weird. 'Animal Farm', huh? I don't know anything about farms."
She shrugged. "They believe it's significant what book you get at your first Sabbath, so you probably should read it as see if they're right." She shrugged then. "I got something very odd sounding that's apparently about the end of the world, but it's called 'Good Omens'. What's significant might be hidden, I suppose."
"Well it is my first book, so I'll try it," Walter said. He tried to sit up and felt weak for it. "Uh, maybe I should just rest here; we do have to get back to the dorms and I feel rotten right now."
"If you want, I can bring the others over here," Isabeau said, taking out a healing potion for him. "Here, this is pretty strong, so take some water with it. It'll at least let us get you back to your room once it kicks in."
"All right," he said, staying up long enough to down the potion (it was thick and tart) and some water before laying down again.
Not long after the others joined him, those at the bonfire held another book summoning. Five people joined hands at points of a star drawn in the dirt, then chanted another spell until a small stack of books appeared within the star. Those who did the calling got to choose if they wanted to take one of the books or simply leave them for others to look over. Even though the books were limited, the people here were patient and no arguments were had over them.
As he expected, Issachar was very excited over his book. "I was sure it'd be good because this guy was on the cover," he said, pointing out what looked to be the demon he'd gotten from Alice's domain, Gearhead. It was even in the title, 'A Gearhead's Guide for Young Scientists and Engineers'. "And it's got a lot of neat things inside, like diagrams of the electric lights that are all over the city. I, uh," he seemed bashful to admit it, but he said, "I actually took apart the magic box that the church lights worked with when I was younger to see how it worked, and that matches what I see on one of the pages here."
"You and I nearly got in a huge mess for that," Flynn said.
"Oh yes, the priests were threatening major curses on whoever had done that, because, ah, then the lights didn't work until the next afternoon when I went back and fixed what I broke on accident," Issachar said.
Walter laughed at that. "Man, sounds like you two were a regular pair of troublemakers."
"Not really," Issachar said, rubbing his neck.
"Because we learned to get away with stuff fast," Flynn said.
"Flynn!" Issachar playfully made to punch him, making Flynn laugh and brush his hand away.
Although, that reminded Walter of how odd he'd been in that dream. He wasn't too sure about asking about that in front of the others. "So what'd book you get Flynn? I have something weird about animals and farms, apparently."
"I got something weird too," Flynn said, showing a book with a black cover and gold trim. "It's called 'By the Light of Kagutsuchi' and is apparently about a boy who becomes an apprentice to the devil."
Walter's eyes widened. "Whoa, really? Sounds like some crazy stuff."
"It's one of the fictional works, like the fairy tales, right?" Jonathan asked. "Such a thing would be very worrisome if it turned out to be based in reality."
Flynn shrugged. "It's probably fake, but I'll still read it."
This whole Sabbath business really didn't seem like such a bad thing.
