Upon the Death of Richard

  There was a somber mood in the temple which had been once the home of Richard. Richard had been a staple of their home for years, even with the knowledge that he was doomed to die young. It was one thing to know of its inevitability, and another to see it.

  Richard had no family worth speaking of, so no one would pay for his funeral. However, the church of Isis decided to bury him as one of their own. He had been family for them, and family shouldn’t pay for final goodbyes.

  Even in death Richards retained his beauty, his sickly yet slender body, his white hair a good match for the pale skin. Once. His shocking blue eyes had contrasted with the rest of his fragile body, yet now eyes closed arms crossed, Richard gave off the feeling of a fallen angel id to rest. Attending his funeral were many of the priests who attended the temple, as well as the nuns, and even 2 of the vestal virgins attended.

  Perhaps the most important two people who had come were in the forefront. A young man, only a year or two older than Richards, one Galileo who had recently became a padin-in-training. He had only found out of his friend’s death a few weeks ter, and Lyssandra the dragonewt. At the young age of 50, she had been Richard’s caretaker since the day he had arrived at the doorstep. She’d also been the one who had raised and taught Richard, and in the end had been the one to find him.

  Lyssandra had convinced herself long ago that she was ready for Richard to die. She was a dragonewt and dragonewts live as long as 1000 years, much like elves. She had told herself that it was like raising a dog. Cute, and while it would be sad she would learn to move on.

  As he grew older and the curse got worse, she found it harder and harder to tell herself so. Every day he grew taller, and yet every day he grew evermore fragile. By the end of it all, he looked like an oak that had toughed the ages, ready to fall. She wasn’t ready for it.

  She stopped seeing him those st few days as if in denial. She wasn’t ready.

  In the end, she went back, telling herself she had to be there for his st hours. To send him off with a smile, only to find out she was too te. She missed her chance to apologize.

  Lyssandra buried her face into Galileo’s chest and sobbed. Galileo could only nod, all the while staring at his friend’s body.

  …

  “She has the right to know” stated Galileo, while staring down his mentor. Copernicus was a rather famous padin who served Isis and used the power of the sun to bring his enemies down. Richard had been rather happy for Galileo when he was chosen to be a student of Copernicus, as it meant he had a chance to learn from one of the greatest.

  One of the greatest sighed, all the while the head of the temple looked on. Mistress Trenee was an old elf, likely already far past her prime, though no one knew her true age. She was a calm and collected dy, and even at a time like this she was stoic, despite her retionship with Richard.

  “She cannot know” Stated Trenee.

  “But why?” Retorted Galileo. “It’d make her feel better to know that Richard is still alive, even if it’s a new body!” “It’s a monster body” noted Copernicus. “She’d be happy if he was alive regardless of who he has become.”

  “It’s pointless to tell her when we don’t even know where he is, or what he is exactly. We know that he’s a hatchling dragon in the Ymir range, but we know little beyond that.” She got up from her chair as she walked down to where Galileo and Copernicus stood. “We don’t even know if he’ll survive. The Ymir Range is a pce full of dangers the deeper you go. You’d be telling her he lived only for him to die again and for her to go through it all again.” Galileo furrowed his brow but couldn’t deny that. The church had been informed by Isis herself that Richard had been given a second chance. The people who were informed were eted to hear that, only to then be informed Richard was reborn as a monster and in the Ymir mountains.

  Galileo, Copernicus, the lead priestess of Isis and the Vestal virgins were the only ones who knew. “If that’s what you’re worried about, then why did you tell me?” Galileo was just a padin trainee, and frankly speaking, had no reason to be informed about such an important thing. “I suggested it.” Said Copernicus. “I believe it’ll serve as good inspiration for you, no? To find an old friend, trapped in dangerous mountains? We cannot change what has been done, but we can change what is to come.” Galileo perked up, clearly more interested now, and less downturned than before.

  Trenee nodded. “If Lyssandra were to find out, she might put herself in harm's way. Despite being a dragonewt, she has lived her whole life in this temple. She’s only 50. For dragonewts who can live for centuries, she’s still young and untrained. You are a padin in training. If you get strong enough, padin Copernicus could take you and a squadron of padins and check the edges of the Ymir mountain range. As it stands, it might be good to cull the forests a bit to lower the chances of a monster wave.”

  Galileo, now far more invested looked excited. He turned and saluted Trenee “Then I will do my best to live up to expectations head priestess.” He turned to walk out of the room they had been using, Copernicus chuckled seeing Galileo noticeably more upbeat than before. He turned and saluted: “I shall also take my leave head priestess” before leaving the room to go pursue his now excited trainee.

  Trenee slouched now, noticeably more tired than before. Like many orphans abandoned at the temple, Richard had been like a son to her. And his death hit hard like every other orphan who had passed through these halls. And now he had been given a second chance, only to be tested anew. She knew not what her goddess had pnned… all she could do was believe. Hopefully Richard was doing fine.

  Afternote

  I find death to be a rather somber event.

  As one of the highest beings in existence, I am aware of what comes after death. For those who know what the afterlife is like, what distresses them about death is not the unknown.

  It is the separation.

  What of the eternal beings, like spirits, who may make friends throughout their existence, but will live long enough to forget even the closest of friends. It's near impossible for a spirit to reach the afterlife, so they must content themselves to watch friends go, to watch face after face disappear into the abyss of memory.

  Gods cannot help the change they face throughout their existence as their followers change them. Tell me, do you think they fear change because of how far they change from who they once were,

  or do they fear that those they once cherished would no longer recognize them?

  I envy dragons to a certain extent. Dragons handle death better than others, because they look down on people, with most choosing not to live amongst men. To live in ignorance, to never be hurt, perhaps they are lucky to live such bliss. Even those who do, after being born with the mentality that this is merely the way of things. I bme their great memory, personally.

  Cultivators are much the same, as the millennia pass and people die in their endless climb to the heavens, the cultivators spend so much of their eternal life behind closed doors, they may as well have lived a normal elven life how much of their time is spent amongst one another.

  I was not suited to be a cultivator. I lived amongst men, unable to let go, and it's because of this I do not mind if my disciple kills me. I've lived 1000 years, and yet I feel I lived an eternity. Countless friends and faces dipped into oblivion.

  My student aims to kill me, and I just might let him. I could never end it myself, too many rely on me for that. My student covets my position, and I covet a way to escape life.

  ...

  Acan, pour me another drink. I can still yet think, and I wish not to do so tonight.

  -pyer 0 year 2000