Chapter 12: History Class

After more than an hour of trying to get the Warden to take its own form, Charon gave up, deciding to retire for the night so he would be well-rested for the morning. His bed was comfortable, far more than the bunk he had in the orphanage, but it didn’t feel like home. He tossed and turned until he managed to slip away into sleep, but he found little comfort there either. His dreams were plagued with memories of fire and blood. Tortured faces and skeletal hands reached out at him from all directions, demanding that he submit to them. They clawed at him, scraping across his skin like a thousand sharp knives. Words repeated themselves, ringing in his head like bells. Obey, command, suffer, accept. Each one had its place, its purpose, yet they never revealed it to Charon. Just before dawn came, the final word rang in his head. Legacy. When he awoke, dark bags hung under his eyes. A cold sweat covered his body, making him feel sticky and gross. Without a word, he smacked the holo-pad on the side table to mute the alarm before dragging himself from his bed. Shambling to the closet, he opened the door and grabbed some of the clothes inside. They were all plain and all black, each pair matching the others perfectly. Once he finished, he spent a minute ordering his mana to summon the Warden, cringing as the cloth dragged itself out of his body. ’I’ll never get used to that.’ Sparing a glance in the mirror, he gave himself a weak smile. He now finally fit the look of all the other students, with a bit of embellishment in the form of the chain. Opening his door, he took a second to realize Emerius was standing right outside it, his tired eyes failing to register him. Compared to Charon, Emerius looked to be in perfect order. His hair was neatly combed, his robes freshly pressed, and his eyes were bright and alive. "Good morning, Charon. Good for you to get yourself up on time. The first order of business will be to..." His words petered off as he caught sight of Charon’s new robes. His brow crinkled slightly in confusion. "Very fancy robes. How did you come to get them?" Charon just grunted in response, too tired to formulate some kind of excuse. Emerius’ face twitched, but he didn’t show any other reaction. Sidestepping to allow Charon to pass, he explained what they would be doing next. "Our first class will be an important one for you. We will go over the history of the church and the ongoing war. After that, we will have combat practice. The class that follows is determined by necessity, with the priests assigning it to you. I recommend you figure out what that is before it begins." He continued blabbering on about what to expect, the professors who would be teaching them, and how the first month would go, leading up to the trial, but all Charon could focus on was getting some food from the kitchen. ’This much food could feed the orphanage for a week!’ With much less caution than he was used to, he grabbed some bread and some kind of orange jam. He didn’t recognize the fruit on the label, but it looked round and slightly fuzzy. ’Rich people’s food looks weird, but it probably tastes great.’ Lathering the bread with the jam, he took a bite and shivered in pleasure. The flavors were new and exciting, slightly sour but still very sweet. ’I could get used to this.’ Once he finished, Emerius led them out the door and down the hall, explaining something about the importance of paying attention during all his classes. They passed dozens of other students on their way, some looking excited and others worried. It was a strange mixture, creating an energetic aura ready to explode. The winding halls of metal twisted and turned until he followed Emerius into a large doorway. Inside was a large classroom with layered rows of seating, and at the front was a desk with a tall, robed man sitting behind it. Just next to that was a massive circle inlaid into the floor. Wires and machines were hooked into it, thrumming with life. Rising a few levels, the two sat near the center of the room. The chairs were all attached to the ground and shaped like eggs, and were surprisingly comfortable. Not that Charon gave it much thought. He was too exhausted, his body running on autopilot as he tried to stay awake. It took a few minutes for all the other students to file in, the seats slowly being filled. Throughout it all, the professor at the front flitted from his desk to the machines on the floor, attaching and reattaching wires. Finally, class began, everyone’s holo-pads chiming in unison to mark the hour. The professor walked to the front of the room, standing just in front of the ring. He tugged his hood back, revealing an aging face and large, round glasses. He had only a few gray hairs left, a testament to the years he had lived. "Welcome, new servants of our god. I am Professor Estin, although some of you may recognize me from the name I had when I was a younger man: The Light Hunter." As if he had been struck by lightning, Charon stood ramrod straight, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. ’The Light Hunter? There’s no way that’s him! He retired years ago!’ His thoughts went wild as he remembered the stories he had read. The Light Hunter had been one of the key heroes during the Daedalus War, where he had destroyed a rebellion in the outer ring. His mastery of dark magic was second to none, at least before he left his position in the army to live out the rest of his days. ’Yet now he is teaching here!’ His sleepiness was banished completely, his attention fully locked on everything the man said and did. It seemed to be a common opinion, as he overheard many others begin whispering about the Light Hunter as well. Professor Estin chuckled, his wrinkled face giving a beaming smile that would put anyone at ease. "I see many of you have heard of me. It’s always nice to know that the glory of your youth can follow you far past your prime. It will be my pleasure to continue to serve our glorious empire through instructing the next generation on a topic I find most fascinating: the history of our church." Right on cue, the machines around the circle kicked to life. They rattled, clanked, and whirred in a thousand different ways, creating a cacophony of noise. In the center of the ring, blue lines extended, slowly melding together to form a giant 3d image of a series of planets "I am well aware many of you are disdainful of history as a subject, so I purposefully chose a relevant item for your first lecture; the start of the most recent Elvish war." The image changed to zoom in on a single planet, where a cave could be seen with multiple crystals inside it. "Humanity has long been searching the stars for a series of artifacts promised to us by the gods." The crystals glowed, each one a different color, until ten were seen. They then broke, forming ten unique objects. They vanished quickly, but Charon quickly identified a sword, a bow, a dagger, a scythe, and a whip, but the rest were lost before he could focus on them. In their place, it showed a tall, regal human wearing a beautiful crown shaking hands with a similarly regal elf, a signed piece of paper hanging above their grip. "A treaty was struck that would allow the Empire to search Elvish space for these items, often at a respectable price. It was mutually beneficial, allowing both species to be happy." The colors shifted, changing to a group of human bodies piled high. A couple of elves were running away, a bag being carried between them. "Until we were betrayed, and one of our artifacts stolen." They saw multiple planets appear, originally green but slowly turning an evil red as the Elvish banner began to fly above them. "At its onset, we were pushed back, unable to mount a proper defense against our backstabbing allies. The ten churches rallied, but they only held the line until one great change happened." The room lit up as the entire floor became a battlefield, two large armies smashing into each other. Elves and humans exchanged laser fire, magic spells slinging across the sky as mythical beasts charged into the fire of war. On the side of the humans loomed tall mechanical monstrosities. Humanoid in shape, they carried multiple heavy cannons both on their armor and shoulders, with missile pods welded onto their chest and back. They varied in size and shape, with some having four or five legs and others standing on just two. Charon recognized them only because the Mistress had a film that showcased one. They were the peak of human engineering, the pinnacle of modern technology. As he watched, the projection turned active, with quiet shouts and the zip of laser fire crisscrossing the classroom. The hulking beasts of steel launched their payloads, hundreds of missiles and other artillery shooting out to destroy their Elvish enemies. In an instant, the battle changed, going from an equal meeting of power to a one-sided slaughter. "Humanity began to field their greatest invention; the Colossus Machines."