Galen
"Come on lad,” Vanir called out to Galen. The Techno-Mage hadn’t warmed up to him but had stopped calling him a little shit, which Galen was thankful for. Small victories.
Galen let out a small sigh. The temple was in a pour state. Abandoned centuries ago. There likely hadn’t been anyone in it for weeks or months. There were still several statues to long dead warriors of Clan Worth who served under the Star Union of Richard Aegis, the ‘One-Eye’ Memnon warrior who led them to Furse Space and founded the Star Union through conquest and treaty.
“Think we will ever be back?” Galen asked the Techno-Mage.
Us?” Vanir scoffed. “Unlikely, you normals have short lives. Never know though, fate takes us where it takes us.”
“How old are you anyways?” Galen asked the Techno-Mage.
The Techno-Mage growled at Galen. “It is not polite to age a man his age.”
“It’s not polite to call people names,” Galen replied.
Vanir nodded. “True,” he said as though that changed everything. “Three hundred years. Entering the prime of my life.”
“Fuck,” Galen whispered. He knew Techno-Mages could live to almost a thousand, while the oldest human with all the medical tech in the Settled Worlds had never lived to see two hundred, at least unless you believed in the legends. Legends like that of King Willow ‘The Old’ Dawn Aegis who had ruled as King of Sigtuna and sacrificed twelve of her own children and lived past two hundred and fifty in her bid for immortality. The people of Sigtuna had risen up against her when she attempted to sacrifice a thirteenth child.
There were rumors that Techno-Mages were immortal as well, but there had been none that Galen knew of that had lived past a thousand. None unless you counted the False Gods, but to call a Techno-Mage a False God was a death sentence.
“The ‘Long Serpent’ will be leaving orbit in a few hours. It’s time to get back to the ship,” Vanir said, breaking Galen from his thoughts.
“On to the New Holm System huh,” Galen replied.
“Ever been to the Ironspring Sector?” Vanir asked Galen.
“Not that I recall, but my mother and father could have taken that route to Sigtuna and Wane Space when they fled Highpass when King Rodger returned,” Galen said.
“Well you ain’t missing much. Lightly settled worlds. Mostly keep to themselves. Large amount of different irons. The Kingdom of the Wanes take their name for the Wane System in the sector, but otherwise they are mostly left to their own devices,” The Techno-Mage said.
The two made their way through the crumbling ruins of the temple. Rays of light shined through holes in missing stones or the broken roof. Outside came the small building of the local town, the large trees which had overgrown other ancient structures, and the sight of the shuttle in a small field.
“How long to New Holm from here?” Galen asked the Techno-Mage.
“Two weeks,” Vanir replied. “Don’t worry, lots of time for you to resume your training and duties,” he said with a grin which Galen knew he would regret.
“Great,” Galen said softly as they made their way to the shuttle to rejoin the ‘Long Serpent’ and rest of the small fleet.
