[ he takes the book when it's given back, setting it back in his lap and smoothing his hand over the cover. it's precious, maybe even more precious here. a last reminder of a place he's barely ever known.

he doesn't seem to mind the questions, either - the curiosity is encouraged, and he smiles at it, leaning on the book a little to look at him. ]

Letters, diaries, journals, battle records, medical records... nearly anything I could get my hands on! Standard histories did exist, so I would cross-check different versions of those to find inconsistencies and then research those... And of course, books that came from Iria as opposed to those from the Papal States - those were by far my most precious resource.

I once also snuck out to interview political prisoners [ he lowers his voice here to a whisper - a little playfully. ] But that was a secret.