Preface
Phrygians Athenaeum
By Bart Tilton
Preface
You can call me Sara. I was left on the doorstep of an elderly couple, a Preceptor and his wife. They told me that I was a few hours old when they found me. I am their only child. I have no identity of my own, other than what they provided. To me, the Preceptor is simply Poppa, to everyone else Ben. Ben is married to his wife Rosella.
Ben is a slender old man; his hair is as white as his beard. He wears his laboratory coat nearly all of the time. His shoes are brown scuffed leather. He is perpetually serious, not to say that he doesn’t have a sense of humor. He is quick-witted with a subtle irony. His wife Rosella is quiet and seldom says much. She is a small slightly plump woman with blond, gray hair. She always wears an apron dress. Her hair is kept in a lump on the back of her head, held there by hairpins.
They look much like everyone in this part of the world. These are fair-skinned and lanky people. Like the rest of the village, they are hard-working. This town was built around the university. The university is in the ancient Galadhor palace. It was converted into a university when it was newly built. Ben has been the head Preceptor for the university for as long as anyone can remember. I grew up in his shadow, studying and learning the old languages. Translating works from countries far away, copying manuscripts, and cataloging them. Learning obscure histories.
Ben never chose me to be his apprentice. You might think this is a bad thing, but no. I was never good with the sciences or the higher math. His apprentice Risa is a brilliant young lady. She was tutoring linear Algebra and calculus when I was struggling with geometry. She is an average-looking girl with fair skin, light blond hair and blue eyes. She blends in well with the people of the sovereign state of Velinlene.
My official title at the university is assistant to the Preceptor and University historian. I teach most of the ancient language and a few obscure history classes. The students are mostly scholars or researchers.
When I was younger my appearance bothered me. I don’t look like anyone here. My skin is much darker, my eyes are dark hazel, almost brown and my hair is dark brown. No one seems to know where I came from. I was abandoned with only a blanket and a handwritten note written in ancient Aramaic.
I had always believed that Ben and Rosella knew my mother. They never said so, but both assured me she loved me very much. Both said that she could not care for me. Both also claim that she left me on their doorstep.
That is enough about me. You asked about Ben, and his greatest discovery, the Phrygians Athenaeum. So, this is where it all began.
