Lore24 Feb 21: On Immortality

As a wise man once said: there are no unkillable beings in this world. This saying is held to be true by most of the world. It may be convoluted, it may not even be possible for mortals, but there is a way to kill anything, even the gods themselves.

The orcs believe that to the distant west, there is an island where golden apples grow, that give the gods their unending lives and their immunity to weapons and magic. According to the bronze elves a small weed growing on the seafloor can grant eternal life to those who eat it. The wood elves hold that to not be touched by aging and illness is a sign of being in touch with the true nature of the world, while the reptilians of the south say that they are just part of the divine nature of a being. Humans are generally silent on the matter, except for saying “if it bleeds, we can kill it”.

Legends tell of a few general ways to kill otherwise immortal beings. Ancient clay tablets mention that sky-gods can be killed when the motion of the heavens is stalled. Underworld deities are generally thought to be killed after one year in sunlight. Demons are believed to be killed by lightning, and regenerating monsters can sometimes be slain by fire.

There are plenty of general advice, however when seeking to kill a specific being, recovering ancient scrolls and tablets of heresies may only be the first step on a long and arduous road to figuring out what needs to be done to end its long life.

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