text; un: thanatos

[inevitablerest]

This may seem a strange question to some.

[But Thanatos does not often indulge his curiosity, so he is doing so right now.]

I have been wondering if there are any others here like myself, who had an existence dedicated only to a single purpose from the moment it began. Before arriving in Avalon I had barely considered the possibility of deviating from mine.

Very suddenly having a great deal of free time was new, unexpected, and a struggle to become accustomed to.

I suspect, given the number here from other worlds, that it isn't only myself and my brother who led such lives before. I would like to hear from others, and hear how they have dealt with the adjustment.

Comments

[absentconstellation]

I left the skies to wander the Mortal and Divine Realms, naturally. The other may be content to remain where they are, but it is only through new experiences that we learn.

[inevitablerest]

Ah, then your role was already long abandoned before you came here.

[absentconstellation]

Millenia before I came here, yes.

I return on occassion. The stars are well enough without me, for the most part.

[inevitablerest]

I imagine stars would be.

Death, however, does not continue to operate if I decide to take time off.

[absentconstellation]

How odd. In the Realms I am most familiar with death continues whether the Black God welcomes spirits to his realm or not. Does that not encourage mortals to rebel against the Gods?

[inevitablerest]

What could they possibly do? The power of Olympus far outreaches the power of any mortal, and the power of Tartarus is unconcerned with anything of that sort.

[absentconstellation]

If you are all that stands between them and immortality, there are those who would stop at nothing merely to distract you. Mortals can create a great deal of havoc when they take it upon themselves to oppose the Gods. One tried to rip open the earth itself and shake a kingdom into rubble out of spite.

[inevitablerest]

[We don't talk about Sisyphus.]

Far more than just I stands between mortals and immortality.

And no mortal holds such power where I come from. If they would wish to destroy their own cities by other means, it means very little to Olympus and even less to me.

[absentconstellation]

[ So humans are all weak and powerless, and the gods couldn't care less about anything beyond their own Realms? ]

What a dull existence.

If it all means so little, surely you could wander as you please without concern.

[ This guy is probably full of it. Most gods are. ]

[inevitablerest]

If I could, I wouldn't state that my existence is devoted to a single purpose.

[absentconstellation]

It hardly matters to what your existence is devoted. It only matters what choices you make, and what results from those choices.

[inevitablerest]

What I was brought forth for is the only thing that has mattered for almost as long as I can recall.

Thus the initial question.

[absentconstellation]

You chose not to look beyond yourself, and now you see that there is more in the Realms than a stationary existence. I understand.

Perhaps you would struggle less if you spent your time exploring those things unfamiliar to you. There is more to occupy you here than a single human could accomplish in several lifetimes.

[inevitablerest]

I don't believe you do understand, but it may be a waste of both of our time for me to attempt to explain it in a way you could properly grasp.

Simply, it has never been a choice.

But perhaps, yes. I have been doing that. It is still a novel experience. Enjoyable in some ways.

[absentconstellation]

Indeed, you do seem terribly confused. But that is to be expected when one has experienced so little of the world.

I can assure you that there is still much you haven't tried. And there is a great deal that can only be properly accomplished by a cat.

[ But if you really want, he could try to teach you how to really enjoy a good nap. ]

[inevitablerest]

[He might have been irritated (and really, it isn't difficult to irritate him) if it wasn't entirely true. His experience of the world, boxed-in as it has been by his work, is relatively narrow.]

A cat? Then I expect you might like my brother.

[absentconstellation]

What makes you say that?

[inevitablerest]

I consider him to have many qualities one might consider cat-like.

[Including a love of naps.]

[absentconstellation]

Perhaps. Cats do not always like other cats.

[ They're kinda. Antisocial. ]

[inevitablerest]

Then it's a good thing he isn't a cat.

[absentconstellation]

I wouldn't go that far.

[ Being a cat is the Best. ]

[inevitablerest]

He might even agree with you.