: Just one question. If being a powerfull Arch-Mage gives
: you freedome from age, why then has Alric become an
: old man? In TFL he was late twentys to early thirtys.
: So in Myth 2 that makes him what? 90 to 100+ in my
: calculations. (Had to break out the calculater on that
: one;)
: Does this suggest to anyone that a certen spell or dream
: must be known to prolong life and keep your skin
: wrinkle free? Maybe the Dream of Unlife has something
: to do with the age of the Fallen Lords. After all,
: there is no documented evedence suggesting the Avatara
: were particulerly old. Where as the Fallen where known
: to be at least a millinia old, if not more.
I think this has more to do with cosmetics than anything else. Physically, Alric's just as fast, as tough, as good with his sword as he was 60 years earlier. Similarly, Myrdred more or less looks his age but clearly doesn't act like it (remember, Myrdred was an Avatara until Balor came back and bound him, which means that Avatara can live at least a few centuries). This may indicate that Avatara in general take a more functional approach to life-lengthening...maybe the citizenry they protect would rather not be visually reminded of their masters' immortality.
Also, of course, there seem are a large number of alternative methods for longevity. The Heron Guard root ritual seems to do nothing more than protect the body against certain toxins and against "natural" aging, so that throughout their lives Heron skin gradually gets toughened and sun-seamed and laced with scars. Alric's and Myrdred's spells apparently keep their body functionally healthy and erase old wounds and scars, but don't extend to cosmetic stuff like wrinkles and white hair. Balor, 1337 mage that he is (and perhaps as a favor from the Leveller), gets to have his aging completely stopped *and* be healed of all his old wounds. Soulblighter gets the benefits and disadvantages of being unliving or undead or whatever the hell he is. And the Watcher? Well, we've never looked under his helmet, so we have no idea what his particular immortality magics do...he could be undead, or old-looking and young-feeling, or root-enhanced, or anything, really.
--SiliconDream
