“Are you worried?” Baxavius hesitated as he followed Gath towards the base.
“Worried about what, little Cassid?” Gath grunted. “There are many things one should be worried about. Working enough to provide for family and loved ones. Pondering whether this conflict will ever end. Being fearful for the health of my partner… You could do with being more specific.”
Baxavius nodded. “Yes, General Gath. I am referring to fears that more and more people are becoming Veth. Are you worried you might become one?”
Gath stopped in his tracks. He span around, giving Baxavius an angry sneer. “That is ludicrous. I am not of immortal or tainted blood…”
“Neither was Retvik…” Baxavius interrupted. “Look where he is now.”
Gath suddenly snapped. “You dare?”
“I do.”
The hulking Rethan considered raising a hand, but had second thoughts. “Hm… Well, Baxavius, your dare has paid off. You bring up a valid point. But how do you combat such a potential threat? The use of Avethic Vials is a reactive solution, not a proactive one.”
Baxavius had no answer off the top of his head, but he was glad that Gath understood. He had a few ideas, but Gath went off on a monologue before he could open his mouth.
“This is an unusual cycle of viciousness. We require Veth to find the cause of the Soul Rupture and eventually fix it, but Veth are also nigh unpredictable and too dangerous to allow them to allow free. Yet the more Veth we capture, the more that turn, and the more Avatars appear in the process… Hmmm…”
Gath abruptly started walking again, startling Baxavius, who had been lost in his own thoughts.
“Hmm you say, General?”
The Rethan’s pace quickened. “Hm indeed. We have been approaching this all wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need to speak to General Ryse Stelian and the other Portalian Maza leaders in the capital. Arrange a meeting. A lot of work needs doing.”
Baxavius leaped in front of Gath in a futile attempt to stop him. But the light-boned Cassid found himself falling to one side. “General Gath, could you explain what you’re talking about? You’re not making any sense at all! You know how I feel about under-developed plans. Always riddled with failure!”
Gath smiled as he picked Baxavius up and continued on his way. “It is so simple! We get our fellow vok to lock themselves away and just let the Veth loose, rather than the other away around.”
“That is insane. The Veth could cause billions in damages! They could hurt or kill millions! And for what? So everyone can go back to dying?”
Gath paused and slowly turned around, looking back at Baxavius. “I see that Cassid tradition of acceptance does affect you after all.”
“We are immortal. Do we really want to stop that?”
The hulking Rethan sighed. “I do understand that feeling, I really do, little Cassid. But this is unnatural and unworthy of us as living beings. We did not work towards immortality, it was thrust upon us, by the very vok that we sought to root out and remove.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Being unable to die means we no longer appreciate being alive. We have already begun to see that among other beings. Entire families of Thanatians are no longer bothering to go out and hunt and eat, because there is no need to. Both Rethan and Vrekan generals have put their weapons down and given up, because they have no reason to be part of our glorious armies. Kalsa Warriors are leaving in scores as they have no desire to serve their Queens. And what of the Cassids and their amazing capitalist society? Will your friends bother working or will they just become drunkards and ‘artists’, wallowing in over-abundant pleasure?”
Baxavius didn’t feel convinced but he could see what Gath was getting at. He did have a point. The Cassids were improving their health tech year on year, having tripled their lifespan in the last 50 years alone. But there was something else. “What else bothers you though, Gath?”
Gath smiled. He’d picked a wise Cassid to assist him. Somevok who could see the undertones of existence. “Everyone is infertile currently. If we leave the state of the universe as it is, no new kids will ever be born. This is it, forever.”
“You want children?”
“I have wanted children for many years. Retvik and I have… struggled in that regard.”
“Is that why you both over-protect both Kass and Arkay?”
Gath nodded, then changed the subject. “Come now, Baxavius. We have a universe to fix.”