Post:Visions - 11/23/2009 - 23:49:43

Visions · on 11/23/2009 11:49:43 PM	11607
You see a small farm, nestled in a shallow valley between hills to the north and south. Orderly rows of vegetable sprouts occupy the center, accompanied by a small, clear stream to the side. The silhouette of an elderly Human can be seen against the light of dawn, steadily channeling a row in the soil with the hoe. A S'Kra Mur approches the farm, his dull black eyes immediately drawing your attention. The tall man approaches the vegetable rows with a sort of reverence, taking care not to step upon any of the plants, or the soil. The Old Man looks up from his work and says, "Didn't think I'd see you here." Xerasyth, squinting against the glare of the sun, replies dryly, "Can't I be interested in a little horticulture?" "Not much to it, I'm afraid. Seeds go in, water comes down, weeds pop up." > Xerasyth asks, "That's all? You expect me to believe you do nothing to help them along?" The Old Man replies in a conversational tone, "No cows. Don't get much fertilizer around here." Xerasyth says acidly, "So cheat. Simply will the carrots to grow faster." The Old Man shrugs and says, "What'd be the point? If they grew faster, I'd just be planting them again sooner." Xerasyth's voice grows insistent, "Alter the plans, too." The Old Man shakes his head. "They'd waste the soil too quickly." "Change the soil." "This sounds like an awful lot of work for carrots." Xerasyth's voice loses its theatric insistence, instead taking on a faintly sarcastic quality, "Really, must we belabor this metaphor further?" The Old Man's tone remains uncompromisingly irreverent, "Suppose we could change the fundamental nature of the carrot. Make it grow faster and healthier, perhaps even preserve it indefinitely, I suppose. But what would a carrot do with eternity?" He quirks his eyebrows at Xerasyth and continues, "And why do I care, when I still plan to eat them?" > Xerasyth smirks and asks wryly, "So everything that's happened is in accordance with your plans, then?" The Old Man says, "I have simple desires and you do not have the ability to deny them to me." Both men stare at each other in silence for a few seconds, before Xerasyth says in a blunt tone, "Lyras attacked me." The Old Man says, "Did she? Didn't realize, though it's not surprising." "While it's amusing to watch them all squirm, soon we'll be running out of live people." "It seems like you're building to a point." Xerasyth asks, "What do you intend to do about her?" The Old Man turns away from Xerasyth without a spoken word and returns to his work on the plot of earth. Xerasyth dryly says, "This is infuriating. You're supposed to be a guide." The Old Man replies without looking up, "When you get older you'll find that a part of healthy living is figuring out what is and is not your problem." > Xerasyth shoots back, "Ah, so for all your usual melodrama, suffering is not on the agenda. Compassion? Basic empathy? Do any of these rank above carrots?" The Old Man asks, "Do they suffer?" Xerasyth replies dryly, "All life suffers." The Old Man says, "Indeed." He turns back around to Xerasyth, looking him in the eye. "I wonder how much different the world would be if all the Necromancers running around took all that energy and instead spent it trying to understand why it is the way it is." "I'd be dead and rather incapable of pondering the subject." "Also true, but every mortal dies." Xerasyth says, "Yes, that's what they like to claim." The Old Man says, "It's scary, yet consider: if the gods will that I die, and I disagree with this, which of us is in a better position to make an informed decision?" Xerasyth's eyes gaze at the old man with the dull stare of irritated familiarity. "We both know that's nonsense. The divine aren't infallible, they just got here first and so they get to play at being gods. Their malice and caprice are fully equal to ours." > The Old Man nods, "Of course. It is a common mistake to assume that the Immortals are infinite or even in full control over their own destiny. Divinity is the fount of creation and shares the same problems with every other kind of spigot." He continues, "But... consider if there was suffering in the universe before there were gods. It'd provide little wonder that the infinite could give birth to the finitude. Has humanity ascribed to malice and caprice the built-in limit to the suffering they can endure?" After a pause, he finishes, "It's pitiful, not being able to die." Xerasyth sighs, "Why on earth should we feel pity for the Immortals, or even care what 'suffering' they may endure? All that matters is that we ourselves can master hunger, eliminate disease, kill death itself. Nature's evolution ends with us." > The Old Man says, "It's not very likely, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." He slings his hoe over his shoulder and begins to walk away. Xerasyth stands with a considering expression on his face, watching the receding form. Before it vanishes, he says, "I see you are determined to sit this one out." The Old Man says, "If the subtext of all this necromancy business is that you know better than everyone else how to order creation, then all I can do is get in the way. Go back and face obliteration yourself; prove you deserve something greater than what you were given. Build a cathedral from your sins, but don't be surprised if it turns out to be another lonely, pointless abattoir." As the Old Man vanishes from sight, the expression on Xerasyth's face slowly shifts from irritation to contemplation. A bunch of us at one west in the moonard guild talking about it riiight now. Rev. Reene
This message was originally posted in Events and Happenings in DragonRealms' Elanthia (13) \ General Discussions - Events in General (OOC) (5), by IDONS-BUDDY on the play.net forums.