to death. Or perhaps they had merely concealed themselves within human society, afraid to be revealed

for what they were. They were hopelessly outnumbered, and in time, their children grew up as humans,

never taught the old knowledge, never given the opportunity to develop their true potential. Eventually,

they simply forgot who they were."

to death. Or perhaps they had merely concealed themselves within human society, afraid to be revealed

for what they were. They were hopelessly outnumbered, and in time, their children grew up as humans,

never taught the old knowledge, never given the opportunity to develop their true potential. Eventually,

they simply forgot who they were."

"They weren't all mages," Wyrdrune replied. "Just as with us, the natural abilities were inherent in them,

but they had to be developed. The most powerful of them were gone and the ones who remained were

probably not as advanced as the others were."

"I see. Go on. You said that there were several reasons," Paul said.

"Yes," Merlin replied. "As I said, I did not really believe that there were any of them left. But if there

were, they had remained concealed for centuries, assimilated into human society. There was no evidence

that they presented any threat. And they had been forgotten. I saw no point in stirring up old fears and

hatreds. Aside from that, human society had developed considerably. Each culture had its own myths and

traditions, its own theology and worldview. There was nothing to gain in challenging all that, and a great

deal to lose. Christian religions are founded on the principle that God made Man in His own image.

Genesis may be a charming fairy tale, but a great many people take it very literally. Consider what

happened during the twentieth century, when the teaching of evolution in the schools created a

controversy that raged for years. People who believed in the literal truth of the Bible found themselves

profoundly threatened by the idea that Man had evolved from simpler life forms. The matter was fought

over in the courts for years and religious fundamentalists even went so far as to invent the ludicrous

'Creation Science' in an attempt to justify their theological beliefs. How do you think society would have

responded to the idea that Man was not created by some superior being to be the dominant life form on

the planet, nor did he even evolve that way, but that there was once another race compared to whom

Man was no more than an ape?"

"Yes, I see," said Paul. "Even now, such an idea would be difficult for the world to accept."

"And yet imagine what would happen if the world were confronted with incontrovertible proof of that,"

Merlin said. "It would rock human society to its foundations. When I awoke from my long sleep and

embarked upon the laborious quest of bringing back the old knowledge of thaumaturgy to a world badly

in need of it, I met with considerable resistance. In order to overcome that resistance, I had to do things I

am not proud of. But so vehement was the opposition to what I was doing that I was left with little

choice. There were those who tried to kill me, merely for trying to teach, for trying to bring beneficial

knowledge to the world. And yet, that was nothing compared with what would happen if the world were

to find out about the Old Ones.

"Certain hatreds and prejudices die hard," Merlin continued. "The early humans hated the Old Ones and

feared them, though not without good reason. Even to this day, there exists an instinctive human fear and

aversion toward anyone who's different, the fear that sheep have of a wolf within their flock. It's taken

years for thaumaturgy to become accepted. In the days when I first started teaching, people had a fear

and distrust of adepts. All that has changed now. You are regarded as a respected and important man in

this community, Paul. How do you suppose your neighbors would react if they were to learn that your

abilities as an adept are due to your distant descent from the Old Ones? Look how you, yourself,

reacted! You were shocked at the idea that you might not be 'completely human.' You felt frightened,

even threatened by the notion. Yet, you are an advanced adept, an intelligent, sophisticated, and

educated man. How do you think human society as a whole would look upon adepts if the truth were to

come out?"