It — —, we did —

  — — — we broke Unu

  — thought we — control the — only the — — both — (Aurean) — (Empyrean) —.

  Led — — — his greed — words — arrogance compounded — hubris.

  — led to — — — sacrifices — — guise — — — we — — false.

  The (Gods) saw — — — we offered — — blood — — left — — fate.

  — power — took with them — — — the tower — Un- — Ba- -bel, broke

  Un- — — — —yak sha— came — — (Cataclysm) — — — — — flame

  — (War) — happened — great.

  The Majjidak — they are — Free-(dom)

  — Unur- — — proclaimed — — of (Order)

  — two sides — to use — — power — — Earth — Wind — — — Water.

  — destruction — — — fighting — — great.

  — — stone — — — warning, beware — arrogance — — men

  -the writing on the tablet found in An Najaf, Iraq, dubbed An Ansur Anurak Unu or roughly translated as ‘The Brotherhood’s/Union’s breaking of Unu’, the following excerpt has been translated from the original, dated 15987 BCE

  ========================================================================

  “Baa-san, before you say anything, I have to ask,” I said before taking in a deep breath and then asked, “why are there three Komainu statues there?”

  On the far-left corner of the room were three statues, like our two statues at the entrance, complete with their base. Among the objects inside the room, aside from the room itself, those seemed out of place. But that in and of itself wasn’t the weird part.

  “And why are they stacked like that?” I asked as I looked at the statues stacked like bricks.

  Two of the statues were side by side, while the third was placed horizontally atop the other two. The room was designed and decorated with symmetry in mind, except for those three. Which made me think that those were a later addition.

  “Hahaha! True! Those look out of place! Hahaha!” Grandmother said after a rather hearty laugh. “Hmm, should I explain those?”

  There was a small pause before she smirked mischievously.

  “It’s because someone thought that it would be funny to hide those there.”

  “—What?” I asked after a long pause, unsure of how to actually process the ridiculousness of the given reason. “Really? Someone, thought, it would be funny, and put them, here?”

  I must reiterate that someone had deliberately moved around three tonnes of stone, underground, in a room, where the people who knew about it, could be counted with one hand, all because they thought it would be funny?

  “Yes, at least, he thought so, when he placed them there,” grandmother said with a small smile before her face turned serious. “Shizuku, that is not why I called you here. It is for something else. Something related to your trip and the event you’re going to attend.”

  “The trip and the event? What do you mean?”

  “Because nothing about those two things is normal. This whole situation is abnormal,” Grandmother said, her face twisting into a frown.

  “Well, yes, everyone invited all agreed that the event is strange,” I said trying to ease my grandmother’s worries. “But the hotel said that everything is authentic. They even said it was alright to not attend if we didn’t feel like it.”

  “Even father assured us that everything checked out alright, you know, after he pulled some strings with his office.”

  Grandmother sighed deeply and looked at me with a mixture of emotions.

  “I know what your father said,” she said sounding quite exasperated. “I was the one who advised him to use his connections at his office.”

  “But, I know for a fact this whole situation is strange, even if all the places you’re going to are authentic. Shizuku, I can feel it, I don’t have any evidence, but my intuition is telling me it is.”

  My grandmother was growing frantic with every word she said.

  “Have you said this to Kaa-san as well?”

  “Yes, of course, I told her first,” she replied with a small huff before crossing her arms. “And she told me that everything will be decided based on your decisions.”

  “If you don’t want us to go, then we won’t. I don’t mind. We could just cancel and say something came up.”

  “That’s the thing, Shizuku, I am conflicted,” my grandmother said her expression tightening like she was forced to eat a bitter insect.

  “Shizuku, I don’t know what to do,” she continued, her hands tightening the hold on her arms. “If I say that you are not allowed to go, I know, you would not. But it might alienate you from your friends and deprive you of the experience you could share with them.”

  “I think it’s fine,” I said with a small smile. “Aren’t you being a bit melodramatic baa-san?”

  “I wish I was being so,” Grandmother said with another small huff. “My decision might also rob you of the chance to find out what you are capable of, your potential for growth.”

  She then looked at me straight in the eyes.

  “Shizuku, our family has more than a great deal of secrets,” she said one hand gesturing towards the entire space. “There are reasons why you are not told about this room, even your parents or my husband doesn’t know anything about this room.”

  “Re—Really? But why the secrecy?” I asked uncertainly. The fact that grandfather or my parents weren’t included in the five people who visited this room caught me off guard. If that is so, then who are the other four?

  “As I said, there are reasons, and good ones at that,” she answered, her face a mixture of sadness and melancholy. “I cannot tell you, at least not now. But, when you return, and after I have spoken with Nana, we shall see if we can bend some of the rules we set.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Ok baa-san, I understand. But shouldn’t you also worry about mother as well?”

  “I am less worried about her, than I am about you,” she said before a small playful smile returned on her face. “Do you honestly believe your prowess came from your father or grandfather?”

  “Uhm, I did have my suspicions,” I replied unsurely. “But, such things are far from what I usually think about though.”

  “Hmm, true. I suppose, your focus would be on something else considering you are still a child,” she said before she again crossed her arms. “But suffice to say, your mother has been, trained, by me. And she is skilled enough that she managed to lay out your father when they first met.”

  Again, another piece of information that caught me off guard.

  “Wha—what happened?” I asked, unsure of whether I want to hear the reason or not.

  “Oh? You didn’t know?” grandmother said sounding surprised.

  She sat up straighter, a wide grin sprang on her face like she was told good news.

  “You do know your parents have a four-year age gap, right?”

  “Of course, I know that much,” I said feeling a bit indignant. “What kind of person doesn’t know how old their parents are?”

  “So, where should I start then?” grandmother said as she scratched her head with her right hand. “Right, then do you know, your mother wed early, just after high school?”

  Now, that information was new to me. This day has been a rollercoaster of revelations.

  “Really? She was that young!?” I said completely shocked. “Then, what age did they start seeing each other!?”

  “They met when your mother was only 15,” grandmother said, her tone a mixture of liveliness and melancholy. “But your father then was a completely different person.”

  “How different are we talking about?” I asked curiously.

  “It is understandable why he doesn’t talk about his past. He was in a gang, you see. Not a criminal organization, just the run-of-the-mill local thugs, a small gang at that.”

  “Wait, are people who are formerly in gangs even allowed to be in the police?”

  “Normally, no, at least those affiliated with gangs with criminal backgrounds are not allowed to. Our country is very strict on such things and there is also social stigma to consider. But, his former gang, as I said, was small and more of a nuisance than criminal. Even so, people who become law enforcement after such a background are rare,” grandmother said before leaning closer, her wide grin now turning mischievous.

  “But the one who changed him was your mother. They met outside that family restaurant that you frequently go to. He tried to hit on her, rudely, she hit him for real. Knocked him out cold, hahahaha!”

  “Re—wha—huh?” I stammered. I didn’t know my parents had such a colorful history.

  “The next day, when he saw her, he tried to fight her for real,” grandmother continued while snickering. “And again, she knocked him out!”

  Too stunned to retort, I mainly listened and nodded to the tale.

  “Oh, he didn’t dare say a word about it to his group, they would have just mocked him for sure. After that incident, every time they would meet, he would avoid her like the plague. But, two months later, he managed to get his act together and talked to her normally.”

  “Of course, we couldn’t let them be together with his life like that, so we gave him some conditions. Like getting a good job and breaking ties with his old gang. Leaving his gang was easy, getting a job was hard.”

  “That bastard actually managed to turn his life around! Color us surprised when he casually told us that he got accepted into the police. I wanted to punch his smug face back then,” my grandmother said, the last part made her scowl a bit.

  “Of course, we asked around how he managed to do it. Why do you think he is friends with his superior? That man was his benefactor, one of the people who tested and interviewed him when he applied for the police.”

  “Apparently when the interview came, he was asked why would someone, a former gang member, wanted to become a police officer. He kowtowed and said because I have to impress the parents of the woman I love so we could be together.”

  “That boss of his and the panel was so moved, or more like sympathized with him, that they actually allowed him,” grandmother said with a laugh as she finished her tale.

  I did not know what to say. I just sat there, dumbfounded by the revelation of the—whirlwind romance— that happened to my parents.

  “Wa—Wait!” I finally managed, “Are you telling me Dad risked his entire career just to be with Mom!?”

  “Risked, yes. And don’t forget, fought,” grandmother said, her eyes twinkled and for a moment I could see the young girl she once was. I had a suspicion that she was rather playful.

  “Do not forget the law of our family,” she added, but her face grew sad all of a sudden.

  “Baa-san, what’s wrong?” I asked, concerned at the sudden shift in her demeanor.

  “I remembered, the origin of the law of our family,” she answered before her head hung down with a long drawn-out sigh.

  After a long pause, she lifted her gaze to look at me again. When she spoke, her voice was quieter but edged with unease. “However, my intuition is telling me something is up, even with Nana attending, I cannot help but worry. But, without any evidence, I cannot prove it.”

  “Our family, for generations, have valued freedom above everything else. Even if my intuition screams otherwise, if I am to uphold our values and tradition, those which we have considered law, then I must choose freedom over fear.”

  After saying that my grandmother took the box that was on the table. It was ornate, colored in black, trimmed in gold, with patterns of Sakura trees decorating both sides.

  The words on the cover read, Freedom Backed by Strength, We Rise. My grandmother noticed me looking and she gave a small smile.

  “These are the words of our progenitors, words and our law, that we continue to live by,” she said fondly before opening it and looking at whatever the contents were for a few seconds. She then looked back at me, her expression clear and resolved.

  “But ultimately, I would not stake your lives on a gamble,” she said before turning the box around and pushing it towards me. “Consider this, my insurance.”

  I gingerly took the box and pulled it towards me, curious at what could be in it. Inside, cushioned in purple silks, no bigger than my flip-phone, was a golden Western-style shield. It was decorated ornately with filigree and designs running along the edges.

  “Uhm,” I said unsure what to do next. “What do I do with it?”

  “Simple,” grandmother said casually. “You just have to bring this with you.”

  “That’s it?” I asked confusedly.

  Grandmother laughed a bit at my question.

  “Of course not!” she said her playful smile returning to her face. “Nothing is ever simple. Now listen well, and follow my instructions to the letter.”

  “First, you must always carry this with you, at all times if you can. Even if you are at the hotel. Second, do not leave it somewhere where others can see it.”

  “Third, if you must leave this behind, make sure that this is kept hidden. Shizuku, I don’t need to stress how valuable that item is.”

  “I understand baa-san,” I said before looking at the golden shield. The more I look, the more I am drawn to it, like it was trying to suck me in. It feels like my thoughts are a bit cloudy.

  Strange, it seemed like there was—an inscription? A shape? At the center.

  Pounding drums, the peal and crash of a storm, the roar of a—

  I shook my head trying to steady my thoughts. When I looked up, I saw my grandmother staring at me patiently.

  “Sorry, I was thinking of something,” I said as an excuse. “If this is solid gold, and someone desperate saw it, they might get ideas.”

  “Oh, it’s more than that,” grandmother said, though strangely her eyes were twinkling again.

  I waited for her to elaborate but instead, she continued with her instructions.

  “Fourth, always, cover it with the cloth. Fifth, it goes without saying, but, do not absentmindedly tell anyone about this. Even your mother.”

  “And lastly, if you ever find yourself in trouble, great or small, if you believe this item can help, then you may use it.”

  “Okay, baa-san, I understand most of the things you said,” I said confused. “But, use it? How? Could this thing even help me?”

  “That thing, is a very useful item to have. You use it by presenting it to a specific person, like a police badge,” Grandmother said as she crossed her arms. “Then you can, for all intents and purposes, order that person or make a request. It all depends on the situation you use it on.”

  “So, I can just show it to someone, and they will do what I say?”

  “Yes, to the right people, that item would have that kind of power.”

  I looked again at the shield that was still inside the box.

  “Of course, it doesn’t work for just anyone. That someone you would show it to has to fulfil a few conditions as well,” grandmother said before raising one hand and started raising one finger at a time as she said the requirements.

  “One, they must be a person of authority or a person who you believe to be strong or someone who you believe that can help you. Two, they must know my complete name. Three, they must know what the order is.”

  “The order?” I asked, tilting my head. “What’s that?”

  “If they know what the order is, they will explain it to you. You just need to ask them if they know and if they do, let them explain,” my grandmother said, with a bit of a sigh before continuing.

  “Four, ask them this question: What did the flame do on the tenth month,” she said, another playful smile appearing on her face.

  “Is that a riddle?” I asked uncertainly.

  “Oh, hardly,” she said with a casual wave of her hand. “The answer they should give, and it should be as close to this as possible: They planted Sakura trees in a desert.”

  She stopped and looked at me directly, as if willing me to internalize what she was saying.

  “And five, the most important part, you must trust them enough to show them this.”