The Cycles of Revelation Series

Artifact of the Dawn: Truth (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)

Episode 40: Jevan and Ardyn are invited to speak with the new arrivals from Ateria. Jevan is shocked to learn an unsettling truth about his own ancestry.

After seeing Aelrynd and Taeglyn off the next morning, Jevan and Ardyn went to the dining hall to break their fast. They were about to sit down when Mathias rushed toward them. “Jevan! Ardyn! I have been looking everywhere for you.”

“We were seeing the Athla’naa elders off,” Jevan explained as he sat down. “I was going to come find you after I ate something.”

“Make it quick,” Mathias said with a harrumph. “We’re gathering in a room up in the observation tower.”

“What’s going on?” Ardyn asked.

“Mathias is eager for us to meet with Tomas and Aron,” Jevan explained. “Apparently, they won’t say much unless all the key people are there, which apparently includes both of us.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Ardyn quickly apologized, getting up. “We can eat later — ”

“No, no, my boy,” Mathias said, holding up his hands. “Please, finish your meal. I didn’t realize how long you’d be seeing those elders of yours off.”

“Thanks, Mathias,” Jevan said as Ardyn sat back down. “We’ll join you as soon as we’re finished here. Where is the room we’re meeting in?”

“Cytra can guide you to it,” Mathias said. “I just know it’s up in the tower.”

After Mathias left, Jevan laughed, as he saw Ardyn try to inhale his meal. “Slow down,” Jevan said. “Mathias gets like that when he’s anxious about something, but don’t let him rush you. They can wait a little longer.”

Swallowing a mouthful of food, Ardyn nodded. “You’re right.”

“How are you doing now that Aelrynd and Taeglyn are gone?” Jevan asked.

“I don’t know. A mix of relief and… something else.”

“Are you missing them already?” Jevan teased.

Ardyn stopped eating and stared at his plate for a long moment. “That’s not quite it, but… kind of. I’ve gotten to know them better over the past few weeks than my entire life growing up in Maala’naa.”

After they finished eating, they asked Cytra to guide them to where the meeting was being held. When they arrived, Takyra, Aerys, Mathias, Tomas, and Aron were already there.

The room was located in the upper levels of the observation tower, with large floor-to-ceiling windows along the far side of the room. The view of the valley below and the mountains in the distance were spectacular. Within the room itself, there was a sunken circle in the floor, which served as a seating area, arranged with pillows and cushions. In the center was a low table with a display hovering over the middle.

“Thank you for joining us,” Takyra greeted.

“Now that we’re finally all here, may we begin?” Mathias asked impatiently.

Ardyn and Jevan made their way down into the circle and found a place to sit. Jevan opted to sit on the stepped seating and Ardyn chose a large pillow on the floor next to his friend.

“I have already caught Tomas and Aron up on the situation they flew into,” Mathias began. “Along with as much of our history as I know it.”

“The other day you implied there were things about our history that our people weren’t aware of,” Jevan said, giving Mathias a pointed look. “What was that about our ancestors bringing it upon themselves?”

Tomas turned to Jevan. “You really don’t know why your ancestors came here, do you?”

“All they taught me was that we came aboard ships to colonize this land, and that it surprised my ancestors when they found it already occupied by the elves.” Jevan replied before being nudged by Ardyn. “Oh… I mean Athla’naa.”

“Your ancestors weren’t exactly colonists — ” Tomas began before being interrupted by Mathias.

“Wait! Please — ” Mathias practically begged.

“Ard Mathias, we need to hear the truth. All of it,” Jevan interrupted. “Now is not the time for more secrecy or lies.”

Mathias looked around at everyone gathered. After a moment, his shoulders merely slumped in defeat. “Alright. Tell them.”

Tomas leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees, and looked directly at Jevan. “According to our history books, your ancestors were criminals. After our ancestors banished them from Ateria for the crimes they committed, they were forced onto ships and sent to Vestos to establish a penal colony.”

Jevan gave Tomas a wide-eyed look before turning to Mathias.

“That’s why we never taught that to our people,” Mathias said with a growl. “We didn’t want you to be ashamed of where you came from, so only the village ards knew the truth.”

“A penal colony? Is that why no one else from Ateria ever came?” Jevan asked, his mind reeling at this new information. “And why we never sent ships back there?”

“Based on the written histories, they deemed those who were sent to the penal colony heinous criminals and ill equipped to survive in the wilderness. The historians assumed that if they didn’t perish during their voyage to Vestos, they likely died out centuries ago,” Tomas admitted. “There had been expeditions planned to come and find out if there were any survivors, but too many were worried that the ghosts of your ancestors haunted Vestos.”

Aron kept quiet, only giving Tomas a brief glare.

Jevan couldn’t hold back a hearty laugh, making Aron turn his glare on him. “Your people are advanced enough to build an aircraft, but you still believe in ghosts?”

“Your people don’t?” Aron asked with a frown.

“Not anyone I know,” Jevan said with a bemused shrug.

“We may be more primitive,” Mathias added with a skeptical harrumph. “But we’ve never been superstitious.”

“Before we get too far off-track,” Takyra intervened. “So far, we’ve established that Vestos was a penal colony, a fact which was hidden from most of the descendants. I take it from your flying craft and mention of radar that the Medellans on Ateria are more technologically advanced than those here on Vestos.”

“From what Mathias has been telling us of his people, yes,” Tomas acknowledged. “However, he wouldn’t tell us why his people’s development has been as stunted as it is.”

Next to Jevan, Ardyn cleared his throat, looking a bit abashed. “That would be my people’s fault. We recently learned that when we made a peace treaty with the Medellans centuries ago, it came with the agreement that the Medellans would not advance their society.”

The scowl on Aron’s face deepened, but Tomas seemed undeterred. “Interesting. In all honesty, our technology didn’t really take off until the past century. We’ve only had the technology of flight for a couple of decades. When we saw your beacon launch, we had to come see if your people had survived and progressed farther than we had. As you can imagine, we are quite shocked to find you haven’t been alone here and that your elven friends are clearly far more advanced than we are.”

“It’s quite a mess that we’re still figuring out,” Takyra agreed. “As I explained, a large part of our people have been asleep in cryostasis for centuries, and we’re still trying to assess what to do about this situation we find ourselves in.”

Speaking for the first time, Aron made a snort of derision. “I don’t believe you. No one can sleep for that long.”

“I understand it’s difficult to believe,” Takyra said. “One of our technicians who specializes in that area could explain it better than I can. I can arrange a tour of our cryopod facility later. You are welcome to observe as we revive more of those still in cryostasis.”

“First, I would like to understand more about my ancestors’ history, and how Vestos became a penal colony,” Jevan said. “Clearly, the Medellans on Vestos know as much about their actual history as Ardyn’s people did. It’s time for all of us to be honest with one another.”

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