*Terrasin deVon Almistraus*

Lucas seemed far more relaxed regarding this meeting than anyone else under the hastily erected… Well, awning would probably be the best choice of words. Lucas had not wanted to have an obstructed view, so the meeting place was little more than a cloth spread between four polls. Still, even with that as a precaution, he seemed awfully relaxed as the figures of the horses and riders coming to meet us grew larger.

Terrasin had not expected Prince Treslux, who she had met on a few occasions, to actually accept the meeting. And to be honest, considering how Lucas could use magic, as soon as they stepped within the shade of the awning they were basically hostages. Though Lucas claimed the wind would render his magic nearly useless, and possibly fatal to his own allies. Still, at this proximity, he could likely pull it off.

Although she would never say it out loud, personally, she thought the best choice would be to simply abandon the duchy and leave for the Amaranthine Line and her homeland. However, it seemed a waste to leave the projects that had been started here, and if this situation was not resolved it would cause political issues down the line. So for now, she would do her best to mediate this discussion- and hopefully prevent Lucas from digging his own grave. If such a thing was possible.

She prayed to the Three that it was, and that she would be able to do just that!

“Are you certain that you will not tell me your plan for this meeting?” She sighed, considering him especially foolish in this since Lucas had the political sense of a drunken child- at the very least, worrying and unpleasant, and at the most, offensive and disruptive!

“It is not so much that I will not,” Lucas replied offhandedly. “Rather, I do not have one to share.”

Deep breaths, Terrasin thought to herself. Deep breaths and calm. How could this man be so amusing during some parts of the day and so infuriating in others?

“I wish we had discussed this before we left,” Terrasin sighed again. “Or perhaps before you had sent the invitation.”

“Would that really be necessary? I would think an explanation of what I am doing and why should suffice.”

Deep. Breaths. Do not hit the Hero. The desire to break the composure and poise of a lady and beat Lucas over the head with something was a feeling that both Terrasin and Lady Versi shared on occasion, and every time it became a little harder to resist.

“After coming all this way, turning around and retreating would be shameful for all involved.” Terrasin found herself explaining, “They will not do so without a powerful incentive, being broken by their attack, or succeeding in conquering the city.”

“If push comes to shove I have a few things I can offer.” Lucas smiled, the smile was cruel- almost as if he was laughing at the very idea of whatever he was offering, while knowing that it would not be refused.

Terrasin shivered, “what could you possibly-”

“Hey Terra,” Lucas interrupted. Wait, Terra? When did he decide to give her a nickname? “What would you do for immortality?”

Terrasin opened her mouth to comment on the nickname and then choked on her words at the next sentence that came out of Lucas’s mouth.

*Lucas Jaeger*

Terrasin’s face was quite amusing. If Lucas was a brilliant cassanova, and had chocolate on him, he would have popped one in her mouth right now. Hell, he might have done it if he just had chocolate to watch her reaction, that would be hilarious too!

“Im- Immortality?” She stuttered, finally gaining enough wherewithal to respond. “That is the realm of the gods, and they would never grant it to anyone!”

“Well that just seems silly,” Lucas could not help but laughing. “A few immortals and you wouldn’t even need a ‘hero’ at all! But I digress, immortality is the best word for what I am talking about, since my language lacks a word that accurately described what I mean. To steal a word from a book from my world, it would be better called ‘immorbid.’ The difference between the two is that an immortal is unable to be killed and exists forever, whereas an immorbid person would exist forever unless killed.”

“The word didn’t translate, we don’t have a word for that either…” Terrasin shook her head suddenly, “No! Are you saying you could grant someone eternal life?”

“Yes, eventually.” Lucas replied, adding a silent ‘probably’ in his thoughts. There were some bacteria who fit the definition of immorbid, and bacteria were cells. People were made of cells, therefore if bacteria can be immorbid, so can people. In theory.

Science alone would take centuries to reach that point in Lucas’s world, but with magic… Well, as a young child Lucas had fallen in love with stories of space and science fiction, and learned to his sorrow that he would never live to see the day those stories became reality. But instead of giving up, the young Lucas had decided to find a way to live to see it.

That spurred his interest in genetics and biology, an interest that survived the realisation that he would not live long enough to reach the level of genetics that would allow him to live long enough to see the age of space travel he wanted! But as he became more acclimated to this world, some of Lucas’s childhood fantasies were returning.

“Regardless,” Lucas chuckled as he returned from his reverie. “I should think that the temptation of such an offer will be hard to resist.”

Once things settled down, Lucas was going to have a lab built for himself and he was going to have a field day exploring the possibilities that he was starting to sense in magic. The longer he was in this world, the more he learned, the more his anger faded. The opportunities this world offered were… Vast.

“Lucas…” Terrasin seemed more apprehensive now that she had calmed down some, more so than Lucas would have thought. “That comes close to stepping into the realm of the gods, it is close to blasphemy.”

“Says who?” Lucas retorted, “All your knowledge of your ‘gods’ comes from a person like me- and he was definitely a person. From what I have learned about him, he learned from others in his own world. Has anyone directly heard your ‘gods’ speak? I won’t deny their is some entity granting power, but I have better things to do than be restrained by the church’s misinformed rules that may have come from man more than ‘god.’”

Actually, that was a bit of a strong response. Lucas stopped Terrasin before she could respond and apologised.

“Sorry about that,” Lucas let out a breath. “Oftentimes, religion in my world impeded progress- though considering that it appears that ‘souls’ may exist, they might have been right in some cases- and that has left me a little sensitive to arguments from faith. Immorbid is not immortal, there are living things that are immorbid, but none that are immortal. I would assume that it would not be blasphemy to do what nature already is, but I will consult with Heidall before going too far with that thought. It is one for the distant future after all.”

This was somewhat a lie, having considered the possibility, Lucas was going to research the idea and make himself immorbid. He wasn’t going to end up a ghost sitting with those other two for eternity!