It's finally my birthday!
The last week has been rather interesting. The card game that's eerily similar to my favorite game from Earth has gotten easier and easier to play. I struggled way more than I thought that I would at first and lost many straight games, but in retrospect that was to be expected since all of the cards were different than what I was used to. Many unexpected combos were the end of me. I managed to win a few games lately though at least!
I also met some of Giles' friends. They don't call me Gilly like my family does, which is a good thing for me. I don't know how long I would last if everyone were to call me Gilly.
The first friend that I met was a young boy my age with hazel eyes and dark brown hair. His name was Kevin and apparently we got to be good friends through our mutual interest in physical sports. We make a good match up so we are considered a package deal whenever it's time to pick teams. We didn't hang out much outside of playing sports however.
The only other friend I became acquainted with was a young girl with long and straight red hair and crystal blue eyes. The shades were lighter than Gemma's and her face was more narrow, so despite the rather similar features most wouldn't mistake them for being sisters. Apparently she hangs out around my house in most of her spare time, basically making her another sister of mine. At her actual home, she has many brothers and so she likes to spend her time here to spare herself from the chaos that results from having 11 brothers. I would too.
Now 12 children sounds like a lot for one couple, but due to the vastly different religious history in this world it is socially acceptable to have multiple wives. Thus for her large family, there are about 4 wives to the single father. Not all families with plural marriages have one man at the helm though, there are many led by a single woman. However, there is always a single person at the center of each relationship.
Anyways, the young girl, whose name is Allison, was also my age and would typically go to my room right after school to do her homework and chat for a bit which helped me learn more about Giles' life and relationships with others. Before I came here, she would always do just about the same routine that she did this past week where she would come to my house directly after school, hang out with me and do homework, then hang out with either my sisters and me or just my sisters before eating dinner with us. She would only go home once the sun was about to meet the horizon and would always be walked by Althea or Gemma. This was to avoid the unnecessary drama that could occur if I were to walk her home, since she does indeed have 11 brothers.
I found a mirror to look at my own appearance after my nap but forgot to actually observe what I look like. It turns out that I look remarkably just like how I looked when I was this age. Brown hair that has a red tinge in the sunlight with deep blue eyes just like my sisters and parents.
I've learned that apparently the closest equivalent area on Earth that this place has is Ireland. The climate and overall demographics are rather similar, but the culture is rather different due to the long term existence of the system and differing religion.
The religion is mostly based off of the 13 Gods who are said to have gifted humanity with the system in a time of peril which allowed us to overcome an Armageddon of sorts. An unfortunate result of that Armageddon is the vast lack of preserved records from that time, which makes sense considering that the advent of the system came about over 1000 years ago.
The 13 Gods each have a month named after them, allowing for 13 months that follow the moon cycle almost perfectly. There are still 365 days in a year, so one day doesn't make it into a month as to not put any God above the other. There is also a leap year every 4 years as well, and both extra days are just shoved at the end of the year.
The months are in this order: Shamsiel, Araquiel, Cambriel, Armaros, Samyaza, Baraqel, Sariel, Penemue, Gadreel, Azazel, Kokabiel, Bezaliel, and then Yeqon.
These names sound familiar but I can't remember from where unfortunately, and apparently each of the Gods has a specific domain but since my parents didn't remember what they were I'll have to find out some other time.
Enough of that for now though, I've finished getting dressed for the party and I'm about to leave my room to join the others. Gemma gave me this big witch hat and long flowy robe embroidered by red floral patterns amidst a black backdrop. The hat was rather plain but still black. If I had to sum up my appearance I either look like a cult leader or a slightly flamboyant witch. Now that I think about it though, I look oddly feminine considering my small 8 year old body. I hope that this isn't a prank, after all it was Gemma that told me that this was the traditional family wear for the birthday foundation ceremony.
I walk out of my room and into the living room where Gemma promptly sweeps me up into a princess carry and kisses my cheek
"Oh my you precious thing you actually wore it! You're so adorable I could just die!"
IT WAS A PRANK.
Thankfully only family is here at the moment as our family tradition of unlocking our foundation together is kept private, but I can't trust Gemma to not tell Allison.
"MOOMM" I yell. I'm telling.
Mom quickly comes into the room and rather than tell my sister to put me down or ask why I'm dressed how I'm dressed, she takes a picture.
"Ooh you two look so cute together!" Mom coos while taking multiple pictures. "You two have always been very close so it wasn't a surprise when Gemma told me that you decided to wear the same clothes that she wore for her ceremony 6 years ago. It fits you so well!"
I did no such thing. "Mom, can you get Audrey here to set me down, it's bad enough being in these clothes that she TRICKED me into wearing"
"Oh that's alright, let her have her fun Gilly"
Mom then winked at me. WINKED. So apparently it's fine that my sister tricked me into wearing girl clothes and is carrying me around like I'm her doll. Just fine. I'm even trying to escape but Gemma is too strong for me to escape from. She sits down on the single seat recliner and adjusts her hold on me so that I'm sitting on her lap with one arm wrapped around my stomach and her other hand rubbing my midsection gently. This is too far.
"Let go or else I'll do it"
She froze.
It was something that I discussed with her a few days ago as a warning that she was going too far. When I described to her exactly what it was, she started to cry a little and so to put it simply, it can be considered as a brocon's worst nightmare.
She released me rather quickly and left me by myself on the recliner before retreating to the other side of the room.
One by one everyone else entered the room and took up their positions on the various chairs or the couch.
"Alright, first things first, Gilly here will unlock his foundation. Take it away Gilly!" Mom announces.