I was a lot younger than him, but remember, there were only two of us younger than him. He was as much a baby of the Ninth House as we were. Basically. [ Sure Ortus had a normal seventeen years with all sorts of kids younger than him, but Gideon doesn't remember anything that shows that seems to have made a lasting impression on Ortus. Some of that's his mother's fault, but it is what it is. ]

Certainly not. Great to help you fall asleep. Some people count constructs. I can recite poetry.