text; local human doesn't know what a human is.

[andstill]

Type: Text
Sender ID: andstill (Ardbert Hylfyst)
To: Public Post
Subject: 🧍‍♂️?
Warnings: None

Figure it's normal that someone would come here and see people the likes of which they've never seen before. Makes sense, that. New place, new people.

Thing that's confusing me is, more folk here look like me than ever did back home. All skin, ears the shape of seashells, two eyes, somewhere on the short side of of the mean. We call people like me hume, back home. Or hyur? I think it was hyur. Something like that. We cluster together sometimes, big families and all. But most cities, you'd see all kinds of folk. And they'd be built to be used by all kinds of folk, too. Everything made for people of all sorts of sizes.

Here it feels like every other person is my size. And I don't know I've seen more than a couple doors that a zun could get through comfortably.

That's not normal, is it? For there to be so many hume and so few of everyone else?

Comments

text | yuezun

[yuezun]

Your description is vague for those that do not know what a hume or huyr are. However, given that you have said they are the most numerous of peoples seen in this world, this venerable one assumes you are speaking of mortals. Human mortals.

In this venerable one's world, in the mortal realm, humans are the only mortals that exist. It is normal for the mortal realm. In the immortal realms, immortals, demons, and gods exist. That is normal for the immortal realms.

This world, it seems to be normal for there to be more human mortals to be visibly present on the backs of the God-Beasts than any other races. So, too, for the settlements they have visited since this venerable one arrived. But as we have not seen the whole of this world, it cannot be assumed they are the most numerous in this world. Only what we have seen of it thus far.

[andstill]

I'll be honest, it did not occur to me that not being mortal was an option.

You've got a point, though. We've only seen a fraction of the world. Maybe everyone else is just out there past the sea somewhere.

[yuezun]

There are not many other immortals in this world that this venerable one is aware of, but they are certainly here.

And as far as this venerable one is aware, there is no 'past the sea'. The history of this world says that at one time there was more land than water. But the land was drowned and to ensure people survived, the God-Beasts invited them to escape the catastrophe upon their backs. It has been many centuries since then.

[andstill]

Oh.

[ And that's the last message for a while, because he hadn't looked up his history and the idea of a big flood consuming nearly everything hits a little too close to home. But eventually he at least tries to make more conversation ]

Hope they made it then, I suppose. That someone saved them.

Are they what you'd call Immortals? The leviathans?

[yuezun]

[When there hadn't been further response, Daqiang had assumed the mortal was done. The return to the conversation caught him by surprise. But he responded, curious what the mortal may want from him with this line of inquiry.]

The God-Beasts are a type of immortal, yes. This venerable one is uncertain how immortal they are, how powerful. The seal on this venerable one's power makes it difficult to assess. But they have existed for a long time and do have power.

[andstill]

Is that the difference between a mortal and an immortal? The amount of power someone has?

Apologies if that's a foolish question.

[yuezun]

Not always. This venerable one has met some mortals in this world that have similar power to the weaker of immortals that this venerable one knows. Mortals and Immortals are largely separated by how much they have grown their wisdom, if at all. Those born to immortality tend to grow their wisdom more easily, but it is not always the case that they will be more powerful than those mortals that have managed to become immortal.

[If that didn't make any sense to Ardbert, well, it was to be expected. Cultivation and practicing was often very complicated and nuanced even for those born to immortal races.]