Angelic Kanis
eternity
-- What are you doing? You're going to kill us both.
"Ahh... I'm more careful than that. You should trust me more, Blanc. I'm not suicidal."-- Tell me why you're drinking all these poisons, then.
"Hmm... It's a bit of a long story." Rah frowned as he accidentally smudged the stem of the plant he was drawing. "Well... Quite a while ago, I was tricked. A snake had bitten me, and only one person had the antidote to the venom it had in its fangs... She, however, would only cure me if I revealed to her my true name."-- Your true name?
"Names hold power. Know someone's name, and you have control over them. I refused her condition at first. Enduring the pain was the better alternative, I thought... Ah, it hurt, the pain was so bad." He shivered as he remembered. "Though I tried to live with it, it was just too much. After only a week, I so desperately wanted it to end.... So I told her." He sighed. "I was overthrown soon after that."-- You couldn't escape the pain by dying?
He decided not to point out how readily Blanc suggested death as a solution."I cannot die by such means." He could feel his host's confusion at this, so he continued. "I am what you call 'immortal'. I cannot die by physical means. Old age, sickness, injury... It was a most clever poison, unrelenting in its nature. Had I not admitted defeat, it would be tormenting me still."-- If you can't die, then you don't need me... [His voice sounded weary.] You lied to me and used me.
But he shook his head. "While I am immortal, I am not eternal. I was born from the beliefs of my people, and their faith is what sustains me. In this world, where nobody knows my name, I would have faded to nothing if you had rejected me. I'm very thankful for you, Blanc."-- ...
He set down his quill and bottled the inkwell. "I'm using some of my power to give your body resistance to poisons. In order for this to work, I have to feel their effects first. Rest assured that I measure the dosage with the utmost care... Your death would be a very poor way to repay your hospitality." He smiled humorlessly. "I would also like to research poisons and their antidotes, so I may prevent being in that same position again."Several minutes passed in silence as Rah revised his notes while he waited for the ink to dry. Then Blanc's voice resounded in his mind again, and the wistfulness in it made him freeze.-- I wonder how it's like... Being immortal.
"You shouldn't wonder that," the god said softly. "Man is not meant to live forever. He feels too much, thinks too much, experiences too much, over the course of the years... It soon becomes overwhelming, and one goes mad from all the information. No, you should not fear death. You should rather strive to live your life to the fullest. ... I could exist forever, by granting one of my followers eternal life. But I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
