Page 3873

Much as the man might protest otherwise, there was obviously something special about him. Whether that thing was divine in nature or not... well, perhaps that was just a matter of interpretation. Of perspective.

Arumoro, at least, was of the opinion that divinity was not such a simplistic concept.

‘It is a matter of degrees,’ the reaper had once told him, a couple years ago, when Raul had asked him about the nature of the so-called “divine power” of water materialization. ‘I believe the divine spark exists within every human soul that has ever lived. Perhaps even in the souls of lower animals, too, though I am less certain of that.’

‘What?’ Rual had said. ‘You think we all have the potential to be the Water Dragon?’

‘No, no, no. Of course not. But I do think that the divinity we all embody can be exemplified in individuals like the Water Dragon. Our collective spirit, as a unified people, coalesces and manifests. Perhaps with the power of Lhutwë, as the old stories say--or perhaps as a purely natural consequence of our own, deeply held connections to one another.’

‘Huh...’

‘Truthfully, I have always misliked the idea that all of our power and identity as a people comes solely from Lhutwë. And I know I’m not the only one to feel that way, either. I’m sure that has been a major contributing factor as to why so many of us have become more secular or even atheistic in recent centuries. But for me, at least, I think we have always had a deep relationship with divinity, Lhutwë or not. And there is still room for a shared spiritual connection between all of us, especially with our ancestors.’

And even after all this time, Raul still wasn’t sure how he felt about all that. He found the reaper’s position interesting, but did he actually believe it himself? Difficult to say.

Yet he was finding himself thinking about it more and more, of late. Perhaps the reaper had been onto something. He almost wanted to take Arumoro over to Zeff and have the reaper say as much to the man’s face.

If only the Lord Elroy wasn’t so damn intimidating.

And busy, as well. Now didn’t really seem like the appropriate time to be bothering him with trivialities.

Especially with all the new rumors and gossip floating around about him and his scattered children.