--- related: - "[[2022-06-01 Breeder (DRAFT)]]" ---> [!info] Metadata > - length:: microfiction > - time:: Long before [[Eheuian]] are taken to [[Eheu Isle]] > - market:: [[The Iceberg]] / [[Chronicles of Verraine Anthology]] > - protagonist:: [[The Realmwalker]] (Savali) > - mentions:: [[Avateine]] > - location:: [[Monstterra]] > - pitch:: The Realmwalker is delighted to realize he will never run out of challenges. > - afterword:: [[2022.06.01a the hormones of love and immortality]] > - wordcount:: 279 > - related:: [[2022-06-06 Love]] > - related:: [[2021-08-18 The Offer (FF)]] (also talks about immortality) Wealth and immortality were easy enough to acquire, once Savali understood the nature of his magic. Even love was trivial, in the end; hormones were simple to manipulate once you knew the trick. "There'll be a war soon, if the council doesn't agree to let the breeders have their way," his wife said at dinner. "Are you sure you want to keep going with your project?" He told her the truth. "Avateine, I'm a lot more afraid of ennui than the council." It wasn't until later that night, when he found himself talking to a particularly stubborn rooster, that he realized that even if he defeated every enemy and answered every question, he would never run out of _goals_. There would always be some new absurdity to dream up, he was suddenly sure. "Ain't that grand?" he asked the rooster, laughing with delight. The rooster, sarcastic to its bony core, clacked its beak in the pattern that meant, "Sure, boss. I'm thrilled to hear you're happy. You're happy I don't want to climb into a blood-stained box and go visit your friend the allegedly-very-nice mindmage. All so that she can teach you how to turn me into a brand _new_ species of magical monstrosity." "Come on," he said, tapping the box again. "It'll be fun." The rooster disagreed, but Savali took it as a challenge. Practicing his diplomacy was nowhere near as boring as forcing things, and he wasn't in a hurry, not yet at least. It would be years before the council nerved itself up to try and stop his experiments, no matter what rumors Avateine overheard.