Early Youth in Reims
Sulpice was born in Reims as second son of a family of traders.
He turned out handy and charming – but there was something wrong with him, that only animals appeared to notice. With 10 years he accompanied his father to another town’s market, when a draft horse panicked in front of him without apparent provocation, and pressed Sulpice against a wall. After it was calmed down and led away, the father found his son’s left ear deaf, and the market town’s capable chirurgeon determined, that Sulpice’s eardrum had been ruptured.
From then on Sulpice no longer travelled to market fairs, but worked as his father's apprentice commis in Reims: he delivered, dispatched and dictated invoices, receipts and letters, and finally updated the ledgers. During this time he regularly visited Eliza (HMRE p.47 box Eliza) for help with his ear, and met her weird young helper Yannis: together they roamed Reims on their few off-hours. Sulpice still tried to understand the accident with the horse - and around Yannis he sometimes felt irrational antipathy, which he then curbed with a categorical "Don't act the horse!" to himself. But when it became clear that the left ear of Sulpice would never recover again, his wealthy family sent him in his early teens to Paris to study law.
Studies in Paris
Before tackling the Corpus Iuris Civilis and the Pandects, Sulpice had to learn Latin, grammar and all the liberal arts first. But what was tedious for many a future lawyer to him was a revelation. He found, that he had a natural talent with and inclination to all written and spoken languages. He even paid a son of a daughter of Rashi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashi's_daughters ) and a runaway Basilian monk from Apulia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilian_monks#Catholic_Basilians ) subsisting in Paris from lessons in Classical Greek to teach him more. He passed his exam as Magister Artium Liberalium as the youngest of his year. Soon he had a growing reputation as a scholar in exotic languages. Instead of studying law he lived by supporting scholars of Theology, Philosophiae, Medicine, yes, sometimes even law in understanding documents and texts. While this did not make him a fearsome advocate, it still promised to be a steady income in Paris, and finally his family accepted that.
Ars Notoria
Then a renowned professor of Theology appeared at his doorstep, to test him with a weird document (RoP:TD p.97), which so far those of his faculty had universally judged as gibberish or a hoax. It turned out to be prayers and rites in Latin, Classical Greek, Hebrew and Chaldean, and to Sulpice the orations made immediate sense. He made a copy and returned it only a season later, confirmed that it might have been once for other readers than Parisian professors, and afterwards scoured the familiar bookshops and libraries of Paris for further texts on the orations he had learned by now.
His eloquence and reasoning power soon increased remarkably, as did his grasp of Philosophiae and Theology.
Notoriety
He suddenly excelled at disputations and began to gather pupils, which would never have developed an interest in dead languages beyond the bare necessities of unavoidable exams.
It was told, that he had suppressed an outbreak of ‚Saint Anthony’s Fire‘ in his neighbourhood, and when asked, he could give a professional explanation of both the illness and the cure.
The Order of Hermes
So Marcus of Paris (TL&tL p.86 Intelligence Services) began to observe Sulpice, and after some deliberation the local Order of Hermes offered him to join and swear the Hermetic Oath. This opened the eyes to Sulpice about his Gift, and he accepted.
Pahalia
But as he afterwards delved still further into his orations, he met the angel Pahalia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pahaliah ). She sternly reproached his indiscretions and insisted, that he change his life and behaviour. Showing him her control over the results of his orations, she quickly convinced him.
Looking for a way to atone, he found Italians living from alms in a ramshackle hospice at Saint-Denis a few miles outside of Paris: Franciscan friars come recently to France.
The Franciscans
Encouraged by Pahalia, he studied and analyzed their lives and opinions. He found them sound, and fitting to both his needs: to further research his orations and to reinforce his humility. Finally he disposed of his wealth in favor of his elder brother, the runaway monk and his Jewish teacher, and joined the little friars. He soon turned out a prodigy both in begging and preaching, and still was highly requested as a translator and auxiliary scholar. On the Franciscans‘ request he soon was examined by the archdeacon of Paris and ordained priest to serve his brethren.
The Call to Triamore
To be continued with @Xavi.
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