Chapter 32: Chapter 30 – A Second Life for an Old Duck

Much still needed to be learned about the Unliving. After the years of observation as she lived in my house, I am completely certain that my granddaughter remained who she was prior to her untimely demise, what few changes to her demeanor, entirely understandable when you consider the trauma incurred from experiencing death itself.

 

Now with a second subject at hand, much could be correlated, especially whether Aideen was a special case, or if all those who were blessed with this brand new… unlife, also retained what had made them, them. Surprisingly enough, the old duck proved to be a very valuable source of information on this." - Nec Aarin, The Bone Lord, circa VA 38.

Palace of Bones, Tohrmutgent, Ptolodecca, second day of the third week of the first month, year 38 VA.

 

"Everything fine so far, mr. Fowl?" Aideen asked as she did another routine check on the old duck's conditions. Compared to when they met him back at the village, the old duck had now looked far more alive, and also dressed more properly.

 

After Aideen had confirmed that the old duck was an Unliving as well back then, the Bone Lord had asked him many questions, both surrounding his death, and subsequent rise into unlife.

 

Other than the fact that the old duck had simply expired from a very advanced age, compared to her own much more violent end, their experiences were similar. Both of them lost all consciousness at their moment of "death", only to regain it in utter surprise when they rose. Aideen had risen a week after her death, but the old duck did so in three days. The reason behind this discrepancy, if any, was unknown so far.

 

The Bone Lord was appalled to learn that the old Duck was nameless, as he was a former immigrant runaway slave from Antemeia, and was not granted the privilege of a name there. They had actually talked together about it, and the old duck agreed to choose a name for himself.

 

Thus that night, the old nameless duck who had been one of the local healers for Srevganto for decades died, and Mallard Fowl was born, no longer an old duck at the end of his days, but a new man, with potentially limitless possibilities before him.

 

The old duck had a passion in learning more about medicines, and the Bone Lord graciously granted him access to the libraries of Ptolodecca, as an exchange for his willingness to participate in some experiments he never had the heart to do to Aideen.

 

Unlike her, Mallard was not talented enough to be considered a mage. The man was of Life affinity, and his capabilities were to the extent of handling scratches. Surprisingly enough the old duck had not shown any unwillingness when told that the experiments might cause him pain, and instead he declined the offer to do them while he was unconscious and asked to be allowed to witness them with his own eyes.

 

Aideen has asked him why he chose such a thing, to which the old duck had only replied; "I have been a healer all my life, how could I bear to miss this chance to witness potentially revolutionary findings in my field?"

 

It had boggled Aideen's mind to see the old duck so nonchalantly - happily and eagerly, even - went into experiments where parts of his body were dissected finely for a physical examination, and he just watched on, fascinated, to the point that he ignored the obvious pain.

 

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They had always put him back together again, of course, and from those seemingly inhumane experiments, much information was harvested.

 

For one, they learned that an Unliving could sustain themselves without any food intake, as long as the mana density in the air was thick enough. What food and drinks they consumed, were absorbed by their bodies and turned into mana as well, which was what actually sustained them.

 

They also learnt that with practice, they could turn off their senses at will. This was part of how Mallard remained so nonchalant during the dissections, as he had learnt to do that with his sense of pain early on. Aideen had tried it herself, and after a few days of practice, she managed to have a finger held over a candle until it burnt to the bone, without feeling a thing. Similarly, she could have walked in the winter weather outside, and not feel the cold in the slightest.

 

Among other things they learnt was that organs mattered little for the Unliving. One time, the old duck volunteered to have every organ in his torso removed, and walked around just fine for a week, other than the inability to speak for obvious reasons. From that episode they also learned that without their lungs and digestive tracts, an Unliving could not absorb mana to maintain their bodies, and over the week Mallard's body began to rot much like a corpse would.

 

He had insisted that they go all the way to see what would happen, and after two more weeks, he had became a walking skeleton, much like the Bone Lord himself, and that hinted at them that it was not the body, but the soul that mattered.

 

Once his body was restored, he seemed to be in perfectly good health again, which was what led to Aideen's question when she inspected his body for any abnormalities.

 

"Everything is fine, young lady," replied the old duck to her question. "The different way to perceive the world… Was a truly fascinating experience. It was most definitely worth it."

 

"That is good to hear, Mr. Fowl, but we should take a rest from the… experiments for now," said the Bone Lord, who now looked at the strange old duck with appreciation. "Just let a palace staff know if anything is of importance to you, and they will endeavor to find it."

 

"I thank you for the generosity, holiness," replied the old duck as he bowed. "If possible, I would like to borrow medical texts, the more the better. To learn has always been my greatest joy in life, and now… I finally have the opportunity to truly devote myself to it."

 

"A simple request," said the Bone Lord. "Just ask Yvgenia and she'll arrange you a pass for every library in the city, along with the right to borrow an unlimited number of books."

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