Free Birthright-The Technomage Archive by B.J. Keeton Page A

Untouchable? Ceril filed that one away for later.
    The girl continued her rambling, leaving him very little time for thought. “After that, those same city-states—Yagh, Ternia, Ferran, and Bester—produced a lot of myths that indicate that the Untouchable thought of himself as a spiritual man who loathed science.”
    Ceril raised his hand, and Roman pointed at him, while holding his hand up to stop the girl’s prattling. She ignored him and kept talking.
    “ Because of that loathing, the legends say that some scientists thought that even though he had stopped the wars, he and his government were doing nothing to advance that unification. In fact, some of my teachers in Yagh that taught that the Untouchable actually did what he could to bury scientific discoveries.”
    Roman put his hands down and just started to nod. If he was giving up, then Ceril decided he didn’t have a chance to say anything.
    “ Apparently, the Untouchable would either label scientific progress as heresy, or more often, he would take the invention and pass it off as his own connection to the divine. The Charons initially formed out of a desire to advance science and depose the Untouchable.” The girl sat back in her chair and became quiet.
    Ceril just stared at her. She seemed slightly embarrassed after her story. Her cheeks flushed red, and Ceril couldn’t help thinking she was pretty. Kind of. She might have been. If she wasn’t so annoying.
    Roman, however, nodded slightly and smiled at the girl. “Thank you, Saryn. I appreciate your enthusiasm. Some of the old Yaghian legends hold some truth, indeed. Can you tell me how long ago that happened?”
    “ I'm not sure,” Saryn said.
    “ Anyone?” Roman asked the class.
    Silence from the class. Roman leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed and waited. When it became clear that none of the students were going to hazard a guess, he said, “About ten thousand years ago.”
    More silence.
    He had obviously expected some kind of response from them. He started walking around the room. “Does anyone else know anything about the Charons or the technomages?”
    Ceril slowly raised his hand.
    “ Yes? Ceril?”
    “ My Gramps told me about them over the summer after we found a sword in the garden. It took a long time to tell, though. He’s a really good storyteller.”
    “ Well, why don't you just hit the high points for us?”
    Ceril cleared his throat. “Well, he said the Charons were protectors. Or soldiers. Gramps never said anything about them being scientists. He said they went from province to province doing what they had to so the old wars wouldn't start again.”
    Ceril shifted in his seat as he spoke. He hated talking in front of people.
    “ Thank you, Ceril. Now can you tell me how long ago this was?”
    “ No idea, sir. Ten thousand years?”
    Roman laughed. “I see what you did there. Anyone else?”
    Ceril sheepishly raised his hand again.
    “ Yes, Ceril?” Roman asked.
    “ My roommate at Ennd’s showed me a video with some people in it. They said they were Charons. And I think that maybe the Charons might have been bad people. Sir.”
    Roman smiled. “Well, thank you for that vote of confidence, my friend.”
    The classroom chuckled.
    I didn’t mean—” Ceril began.
    “ I know, Ceril,” Roman said. “I don't like to think of myself as the bad guy, either.” Roman spread his arms out and gestured at the whole class. “So tell me which of these stories is correct? Here we are, aboard a technomage ship, speeding through hyperspace. We are both nowhere near Erlon and still right beside it. Each one of you have been specially chosen based on test scores, faculty recommendations, and,” Roman looked directly at Ceril, “other more extraordinary qualifications.”
    Ceril gulped.
    “ So obviously there is some truth in some of these stories,” Roman continued. “But which ones?”
    No one raised a hand.
    “ No one?”
    Saryn fidgeted in her chair. She