By The Library Lights (Taith)

[Cilaes]

Cilaes gave his companion a sincere smile. The expression was brilliant on the Ethaefal's normally solemn face, his brilliantly white teeth shining with a different light next to his opalescent skin. "I'm glad you feel the same way. Actually, I have been meditating for several years now. I make my best efforts to do so twice a day, as our lord and his lady greet one another in the sky." He paused for a moment, thinking about what the meditations had done for him each dawn and dusk before his prayers. "It's is peculiar though. You seem to use meditation as a way to dull an overwhelming rush. For me the practice does almost the opposite. I often feel like there is a shroud hanging between myself and my mortal seeming, and the quiet moments, at least for me, seem to send a breeze through an otherwise stagnant place." He paused for a moment, thinking about what Taithrosa had said. The Ethaefal seemed to have similar perspectives to his own, at least, on the more basic levels. But he had seen so many different things, the world beyond Mura, that he applied his ideas in a way that was unique, and almost surprising for Cilaes. "They could certainly be, for these women are gifted. But it doesn't seem to me that the Konti have the desire to become a great force in the world. At least, not as a whole, there are certainly some individuals that seek out the wider world and its troubles... Troubles like the ones your race is having. I am studying medicine, you're correct, but hardly with the same sense of purpose. It must feel relieving to be able to sound so certain about your goals." Indeed, I hardly know if this is what I am supposed to be doing, studying here is simply something that seemed natural. Why else would I land here, so far from everything I must have known, if not to learn? The idea that he did not truly know what his purpose was had resurfaced, and it unsettled the Ethaefal. But Cilaes refused to acknowledge the anxious hum that had stirred in his core for a moment, and distracted himself by continuing to question Taithrosa. "You'll have to forgive me, I'm not particularly familir with Akalak breeding. But isn't it rather difficult for females to bear your children? Is that one of the reasons someone well trained is so important? Because it seems to me that many humans have their babies delivered by women who have hardly any medical training."

[Taithrosa Eldytia]

"There are some differences I agree, but in some ways no. I have a rush of memories but it has not form or substance so I am unable to form it or use it, so in many ways I don't remember much of what I was even if I do see images." He shrugged. "Each there own, even among our kind we deal with the stress of mortality in out own ways."

"Yes Akalak breeding is complicated. The first part of the problem is getting them to breed, its difficult, and that difficulty has made them less then active about it." He shook his head. "For any race except Konti the process can be difficult, and deadly, but with the right training it is possible. You have to watch the mother and keep her strong during the preganancy, to help her carry the child." He shook his head. "Especially since they carry them for so long, I suspect the long gestation period is the killed in many cases. The delivery can also be difficult, but there are a whole range of issues there as I am sure you know." He shook his head. "Many race do have unskilled people deliverying there babies, but then again many also have very skilled women delivering there babies."