23rd February – 3678bc
I look out of my palace window, observing the bustling city of Paris, the citizens who are working hard on the copper mines on the nearby hills and the wonderful, glistening sea. The sun drifts off to sleep, as evening approaches.
It's personally my favourite time of the day, evening. I really enjoy the atmosphere of the city, when everyone is coming home from a hard day's work and the blissful period of rest.
A knock on my door gives me a start.
"Come in." I say, looking towards the door. Elodie strides in, with a smile donned on her face.
"Ah, greetings Napoleon! I have a letter from Sir DePaie." Elodie exclaims, smiling at me. I look at her, curiously.
"Who's DePaie?" I ask.
"Oh, he's the new mayor of Lyon. The DePaie family are one of the wealthiest families in Lyon, and a son from the family has risen up to the challenge of being the Mayor." Elodie informs me, slightly giggling. She passes me the letter. I formally open it, and lay it out on my desk. I scan over it, and turn to Elodie.
"Ah, Lyon has finished production on a library. Fantastic!" I say. "Elodie, could you alert Jean-Paul please? He said that when I received this letter he would have some news for me. Probably a new project or something…" I say. Elodie nods, and rushes out.
As I wait for my visitor, I take another glance out the window. I can see the spearmen doing their daily trainings, out in the distant fields. I can see the archers patrolling the walls, keeping our citizens safe from the barbarians.
Those damn barbarians… they have been disturbing our day-to-day life for a while now. Even though they don't attack our cities anymore, they do like to kidnap our citizens and pillage our farms. I can't even count the times that the road from Beijing to Paris has been pillaged, and then the Barbarians abducting the workers that set out to fix it!
Some scouts are out there right now, looking for the camp that they keep coming from. It's been suggested that it is more to the south of Paris, as the farms in the southern region have been the most affected. However, the road to Beijing is in the north. It is a very controversial topic among the advisors.
Elodie walks into the office, and Jean-Paul walks behind her. He smiles at the sight of me, and I can't help but smile back. In his hands, he holds a large piece of paper. He does a curt nod of greeting, and places the paper on the desk. On the paper, it shows a large building, with many prestigious columns and, on the walls, there are the inscribed words:
'Le savior est le pouvior'. I look at the design, and read all the annotations. I then trace my finger over the design. I look at Jean-Paul in a mixed emotion of shock, and awe.
"It's a National College, sir. It's a grand place of learning for the children of the rich, withholding many different great works of knowledge. It's a good idea, huh?" Jean-Paul says, looking rather pleased with himself.
"Well, Jean, this is incredible. But, I don't think we have the resources yet. Plus, it looks a little too advanced. I think we need to have a deeper understanding of the world before we try and build something as prestigious as this." I say. I try and not look at Jean-Pauls disappointed face.
"Ah, I understand Sir. We shall try and do something like this project at a later date." Jean-Paul says, slightly smiling.
A knock on the door disrupts our conversation. A scout walks in, with someone dressed in foreign clothing. It's definitely not Chinese.
"Sir, we have found… someone else." The scout informs us, looking a bit confused.