The Prince's Yarns
The Holy Text of Tybalt, the Prince of Orphans, The Prince's Yarns is a collection of anecdotes, fairytales and adventure stories designed to be enjoyed by a range of ages. All are just long enough to hold the attention of a child, with some being short enough to tell a three-year-old and some more complex so they could be enjoyed by a twelve-year-old. All have a moral, educational point to them but these are woven into imaginative or adventuresome stories such that the message is obviously there but comes across as incidental to the main story. The importance of not giving up, learning new things, and being clever and brave shine through in how the protagonists tackle their daring quests, but there is never a sense that the stories are trying to teach the listener lessons.
With no listed author (although the book claims to belong to "Little Ginger Annie"), The Prince's Yarns is a scrapbook of stories told by children in the orphanages of Palimpest, compiled from multiple unnamed sources. Rather than a single, coherent holy text, The Prince's Yarns is the name given to any collection of children's folktales in this genre.
Most of the stories focus on the adventures of the Prince's Wards, with the Prince of Orphans themselves appearing as more of a mentor figure rather than the stories' focus. Each story has been intentionally designed to be morally simple enough for a child to grasp, but subtle enough that the morals don't feel preachy. As stories told by orphans for orphans, the usual childhood lessons about obeying one's parents and relying on adults are noticeably absent in favour of teaching children cool ways to be self-sufficent and relying on each other. While the harsh truths about adults not necessarily having children's best interests at heart are present, the telltale red flags are sugar-coated in adventure ("Young Jim knew a pirate when he saw one"). One of the most important skills that the stories teach is learning how to figure out who you can trust and how you can keep yourself and your fellow orphans safe from the threats of the adult world.
When the Prince of Orphans does show up, they are depicted as one of the few adult figures that children can depend on. Through their mischievous actions and hijinks they show the children the qualities to look for in the adults they interact with. As well as being a caring, protective mentor figure, Tybalt is a fast-talking storyteller who gets into trouble and talks their way out of it. When they can't rely on talking, they create needlessly complicated contraptions to solve their problems with. There are several stories about Tybalt taking a bunch of mechanical bits and bobs from the pockets of their coat, partially dismantling them and then reassembling them into a contraption to reach a window or open a door.
Historical Details
History
Copperday, Tailormoon, 1313
Katib Hugo Dargent and his companions, Connie Furr and Lindie Asklepa, found a copy written in Celestial in the Restricted Section of Elderton University Library's Understacks. While most of the books in the Understacks are considered abandoned, it is possible that the Stargazer Family (or at the very least, Viziera Andromeda Stargazer) were still frequenting this room, which is sealed by the sextant sigil of the Sailor and guarded by an Elemental Trap from the Plane of Earth.
Type
Text, Religious
Authors
Punishment: Banishment or Imprisonment.