CHAPTER 36 – III
The following is an excerpt from Victor Strife’s Lineal Champions of History, a book chronicling the known history of the Champions of Light and Dark, pieced together by the Vicars Salamander throughout the centuries…
Victor Strife’s Lineal Champions of History
Circa 9572-9678 Champions Era (428-322 BC)
Champion of Light #399: The Teacher from Greece
Champion of Light #400: The Student from Greece
The Teacher was one of the most impactful Champions in history. He endeavored to find the ideal version of all things. Through both intuition and investigation, The Teacher shed light on all aspects of human society, opening new doors to new possibilities never before known to the race of man.
As far as anyone was aware, The Teacher had no children. This is because he knew what he was and what it meant, and he did not want to attract attention to his clandestine son. To be brilliant and inspiring, the people could understand. To be something beyond human, a Champion, they could not. He wanted his son to have a clean slate – as he himself had – in order to flourish with his gifts, unencumbered by them. He did not want his son to feel the weight of expectation, the clamorous hordes, nor the backbiting critics. And he especially did not want to draw attention from his Other, who would be bound by their mutual nature to destroy him.
And so The Teacher sired a son and immediately gave him up for adoption. Great as he was, The Teacher was a proud and arrogant man, however. He was unable to abide the physical distance between them that would allow his son to actually develop on his own. The Teacher wanted to guide the growth, thus founding an academy and taking on students – his own son among them – so as to disguise his intentions.
The Student would become one of the most impactful Champions in history. He initially followed in his father’s/teacher’s path, but soon found himself drawn to more earthly endeavors. Through his own intuition and investigation, The Student sought a deeper understanding of earthbound existence. He lost patience with ideals, focusing on the realities as they were, not as they could or should be. His thirst for learning was insatiable.
Thus were the differences between teacher and student. One was a mystic, searching in the dark through contemplation and speculation in order to transcend the human condition. The other was a scientist, observing light through the senses and logic in order to better understand the human condition.
The true paternity of The Student was never revealed and it is unknown if he suspected his teacher, though it beggars belief that such an extraordinary individual wouldn’t have deduced his very own provenience. Nevertheless, The Teacher and The Student elevated Champions to a whole new level, dragging humanity along with them, forging the foundation for the world that we know today. They would not encounter their Dark Other during their relationship. That would change, however, after The Teacher’s death. The Student would take on a pupil of his own. The world would change once again.
Enlightened-Unenlightened
The unexamined life is not worth living
Forever striving toward the unknown
Unknowable, from all that’s been shown
An unrelenting strife, pure, unforgiving
Irresistible / Immovable 