: Okay, here's my 0.02 units of currency: Nobody that we've
: seen in Myth is immortal in the sense that they can't
: be killed at all (well, except the Leveller maybe, but
: his body can still be destroyed).
I figured I'd connect your statements to the definitions I proposed sometime earlier. The Leveler would correspond to the following definition of mine:
1. Immortal: completely unable to die. Can be beheaded, burned at the stake, ground into the dust, etc., but will always have the ability to return.
: Some, however, are
: unageing, like the Herons and the Deciever[...]
Herons and the Deceiver correspond to the Ageless (and synonym definition Deathless), PLUS, because they don't rot with time, also the Eternal Youth definition.
2. Ageless: Not able to die through Natural Causes most notable of which: old age. However, can be killed by violence & physical destruction.
3. Deathless: see Ageless. Totally interchangable with Ageless. (the Heron Guards are referred to as "deathless" but we are certainly aware that they can be killed by violence). Also, Myrmidons are Deathless because although they suffer from natural decay, they cannot die from it. They must die from violence.
6. Eternal youth: a state in which a person retains his or her appearance, either for the entire endurance of life or in which the appearance of old age is extremely retarded throughout that endurance. NOTE: although the myrmidons were given eternal life, they were tricked by Balor and *not* given eternal youth, which is what they actually sought. People like the Heron Guard *do* have eternal youth in addition to eternal life. Hence their constant middle-aged appearance. Soulblighter had this, also. Because the Myrms didn't have eternal youth, they did not retain their looks and thus the body decayed. But the eternal life, which they *did* have, prevented the aging of the body to cause death.
: or
: unageing minus the cosmetic aspect of the term, like
: the Myrmidons and Forgotten.
The Myrms (and Forgotten I suppose) correspond exactly to definitions 2. and 3., but not 6. because Balor cheated them from the eternal youth part of the deal (probably because they didn't specify it; they only asked for Eternal Life).
5. Eternal life: a state in which one is no longer able to die from old age. This is the state of Agelessness/Deathlessness. The Heron Guards, Myrmidons, the Watcher, Myrdred, and most notable magic users have eternal life. This does not however imply Eternal Youth (see below), nor does it ever imply insusceptibility to death via violence. Therefore anyone with eternal life can die by means other than old age. So it isn't truly 'eternal' if you fall on a spike, but it's as close as we can hope to get to Eternity.
: Going from GURPS, the mind of the dead guy is retained
: when he's summoned as a Shade, but lost when he's
: summoned as the Thrall. Most Necromancers will give
: their Thrall a bit of axe drill before they're
: actually sent into battle. Shades, on the other hand,
: will retain the knowledge of magic and swordsmanship
: which make them so deadly.
I agree. My reasons are probably different from yours however. I think that the mind and memories and skills are retained because the devil/imp/magical-intelligence which is placed inside the body is situated where the previous soul was before its eviction, therefore shares the same brain, etc.
-Welly
