In Cathaìr nan Diathàn, many people come and go, their passing rarely noticed by anyone. Some never leave, yet also fail to leave a mark. Others, in their brief visit, become legends.
One such legend is Bogdan.
Bogdan was a well-travelled man, and was what would be called a humanitarian.
He has climbed mountains, drudged through -and lost shoes in- swamps, got bitten by fascinating and bizarre bugs in tropical forests, and has sailed many wild a sea.
He has traversed the frigid tundras and travelled with a tribe of nomads, learning their ways of life and their culture.
For years he lived in the slums of Desmumain, one of the three biggest cities, watching people die of starvation and preventable diseases while unable to do enough to save them.
The disparity between the rich and the poor broke his heart. Wealthy men and women looking at beggars with disdain and hostility, while all they were guilty of was being born in a poor part of town or in the ‘wrong’ family.
Distraught by so much ugliness in a world filled with marvelous beauty, Bogdan set off towards Cathaìr nan Diathàn.
After many weeks of travel, he finally made it to the City of Gods.
Bogdan walked around for days, marveling at the sights Cathaìr nan Diathàn had to offer. Exquisite and lavish temples, squares full of happily chatting people and the most exotic food stalls. What struck him most were the Gods, casually walking around. Some almost human, others nearly alien in their appearance.
He took some time to gather his courage and started pleading his case to any God that would listen, which were far fewer than he had hoped for.
He begged them to listen to him, to look around, open their eyes, and to step up to help mankind be better. All Bogdan wanted was for there to be no more hunger, no more war, no more poverty.
Something some of these Gods could fix with the flick of their wrist, or similar appendages.
He reckoned that happier and healthier people would mean more followers, more grateful devotees and worshippers. Everybody would win, humans and Gods.
His pleas fell on deaf ears. The few Gods that did hear him out basically told him it was mankind’s free will that has made the world the way it is, and taking free will away would destroy mankind.
Frustrated, Bogdan went to the center of town, and cried out his disgust to the indifference of the Gods, their apathy to human suffering.
He swore he would not rest until he saw it all end.
All Gods but one ignored him.
Veles took note of this anger, and approached him with a dark glint in his eyes.
He put his hand on Bogdan’s shoulder, and smiled.
“And so you shall.”
It wasn’t until much later that Bogdan realized he had been given a Divine Blessing by Veles.
It had to be a Blessing, as the Gods did not hand out Curses. Right?
Bogdan left Cathaìr nan Diathàn, trying his best to make the world a better place, little by little.
Many years later, when his friends and family started to die from sickness and old age, Bogdan still felt fine, unchanged.
Decades later, when all his relatives and friends had passed away, he was a frustrated man. For all he had tried, for all the good he had done, every step forward forced him to take two steps back.
After centuries of this constant chain of setbacks, Bogdan was a broken man. Nothing he had done in all these hundreds of years had made any significant kind of impact.
People were still dying of hunger, and killing each other in wars and disputes.
Treatable illnesses still took the lives of many, which could have easily been prevented.
The rich kept getting richer, as the poor kept getting poorer.
Defeated, Bogdan tried to end it all. He had failed. He was done.
But the Divine Blessing wouldn’t let him.
Bogdan couldn’t die.
Not until he had fulfilled his promise.
He retreated to the far East, away from mankind, and he just .. waited.
Broken, a husk of who he used to be.
Almost an eternity later, at the heat-death of the universe, Death swung its scythe and extinguished the last spark of existence.
Death turned around, and saw Bogdan.
I DID NOT EXPECT TO FIND ANYTHING LEFT BUT ME.
Bogdan sighed.
“I foolishly swore I wouldn’t rest until I saw it all end. And now I have.”
Death grinned, without having very little choice in the matter, and swung its scythe one last time.