Ar'Kendrithyst

Zolan was satisfied.

The bed was comfortable, the blankets soft and the mattress just the right amount of firm. The pillows at his back supported his spine, raising him up into a seated position, but they were not needed to support his head, for his neck was strong. He gazed out at the ocean, at the vast blueness below, and at the sun in the distance. That great big ball of fire was already coloring the sky with oranges and golds. The sunsets at Oceanside were always spectacular. Zolan loved watching them for well over the last hundred years of his life.

Ten years ago, he had thought he had seen the last sunsets of his life, but then he carried on for another decade, and now he was here.

And he was seeing the first sunset of his new, long life.

Zolan smiled, not only because of the number of days he had left, but also at the smaller joys. His butt wasn’t asleep from this odd, semi-uncomfortable position, even though he had been sitting here like this for the last hour, just looking out the window. And his joints didn’t ache. And dinner had been wonderful. And he had kept it all down! And he didn’t have diarrhea afterwards! He also managed to get to the toilet all on his own. Twice he had used the toilet since they had first woken him up half a day ago, and he first saw his new body. He had managed a nice little shower all on his own in the middle of the day, a few hours ago, and he had even tested out the plumbing.

It all worked, and really well, too!

Zolan was impressed with Wizard Flatt’s craftsmanship. It was like being blessed by a god of secular power. Zolan had gained his fair share of godly blessings over the years; they were what had allowed him to live so long. But being ‘blessed’ by a Wizard was on a whole different level.

Zolan thought back to that bath again. He almost wanted to take another one, just because he could. He was young again and he didn’t have to worry about scales tearing off as he washed his skin with a normal cloth, nor did he have to worry about rashes from using the scented soaps. And he could still smell those scented soaps on his skin even now, hours after the shower. The small smells of his old body didn’t assault his senses like they had for the last 60 years.

So many things had changed.

Zolan even had a job waiting for him when he finally got out of this hospital room!

His mind whirred for that sort of proper stimulation again. To look over books and to connect information with other information. To pull apart the insides of an organization and put it all back together in the best possible ways. He had places to be! Sights to see and a—

A whole life ahead of him.

He smiled and a tear fell down his face, as the truth of the situation hit him again, for perhaps the hundredth time. It was still so unbelievable. He had lost a lot in order to gain this new life. From level 92, to level 0. Race changed to demi. All of his magic and all of his godly blessings he had gained over all his long life dedicated to Oceanside, to the Arcanaeum Consortium, to Rozeta and her son. All of that was gone.

He had lost some of his name as well.