sighed deeply, appearing somewhat saddened by this fact. “With all the time we’re given, some of us simply have enough. Living can be tiresome, especially past five hundred thousand years. We don’t age past a certain point, like I’ve said. But, on the inside, we can experience weariness... Our seniors may not have gray hair and wrinkles, but they can still be exhausted. But given how treasured they are to us, we keep them in havens so that they never feel the need to end it all. Ever.”
“So, basically, you, high priestess, along with the chief councilor, and the master commander are not considerably older than, say, most of the Aeternae we’ve seen so far, even though you look… older? I apologize if I’m causing offense, you all look fantastic, but I’m just trying to understand the age versus aging aspect here,” I said.
“Don’t let my hair fool you. I’m barely past twenty thousand, darling,” Petra replied and smiled as she looked at Corbin and Zoltan. “You’re right about these two, though. Old bags of bones already.”
“The high priestess is being amusing, of course,” Zoltan retorted. “I’m a little over two hundred thousand years, and the master commander here has recently celebrated his millionth year. Truth be told, there are very few Aeternae who appear older than forty. We call them late bloomers.”
“The Master Commander doesn’t look a day over thirty thousand, if you ask me,” Kalon muttered, prompting his mother to chuckle softly.
“Immortality isn’t only about looking like you’re twenty or thirty or forty forever,” Petra said as we walked up a boulevard lined by white marble villas with three and four levels. Carriages were drawn both ways by animals that resembled our horses—though significantly taller and more muscular, their coats charcoal black or ivory white. They were beautiful beasts, nonetheless, and I was already looking forward to riding one, if given the chance. Their hooves clicked loudly across the smooth cobblestone. “Immortality is about living forever, at ease with oneself. That is our philosophy, and it has kept us above the Naloreans and the Rimians for a very long time.”
Kalon moved back to walk with Tristan and me. “What matters is what we do with our immortality, not our appearance or the age at which we stop changing, physically speaking. That’s what my mother is trying to say.”
I frowned. “Even so, it still doesn’t explain such a large population. How many of you are there?”
“On Visio? About four to five billion Aeternae,” Kalon replied.
“Whoa… Okay, so even with the occasional so-called accident, the murders, the self-ending few, and the executions… it still doesn’t add up,” I said. “What is your birth rate?”
“Scarcer than that of the Rimians and the Naloreans,” Petra said darkly. This was a touchy subject, given the crisp tone of voice, sharper than her usual. “I suppose the tournaments and the fights account for a high percentage of deaths among the Aeternae.”
“The what now?” Nethissis blurted.
Behind me, she and Amal had kept quiet for most of the journey, though I couldn’t exactly blame them. While Derek, Tristan, and I had supported most of the conversation, Amal and Nethissis had been taking mental notes of their own. We were bound to compare our findings once we were on our own again. I, for one, was dying to hear their impressions. Chances were they’d seen or noticed things we hadn’t.
Kalon smiled. “The tournaments and prize fights. Not all the Aeternae value life the same way you would,” he said. “We have different perceptions of it. The fights are a constant adrenaline rush. The thought of getting killed in one of these events make many Aeternae enjoy their existence more.”
“That’s dark… and twisted,” I said. “Life is a precious gift, no matter how long it is.”
“When you’ve seen all of Rimia, Nalore, and Visio, when you’ve tasted and tried everything… when there’s nothing left for you to experience, what will you do?” Kalon asked, moving closer to me. I didn’t have an answer for him. “You’ll stare death in the face and welcome the dance, that’s what you’ll do.”
“Let us be honest here, Kalon. Many of the fighters are mere thrill-seekers. Few ever find the courage to fight through to the finals,” Corbin replied.
“The finals are always to the death,” Kalon explained, likely noticing my darkened gaze. “Up to that point, one of the fighters can still yield if he or she isn’t willing to risk getting killed for the grand prize.”
I had to admit, it was troubling.