Arieluma, Player! You're doing well for yourself, I see. A successful veteran of the wars and all that.

But there's more to a Daeva's life than endless fighting, isn't there? Every Daeva's got to have something that keeps them going, a passion. Eternal life is...well...an awfully long time. Heh.

So what about you, Player? What gives your life meaning?

Player: "Er, well..."

No idea, eh? That's tragic! You look so brave, but you're lost and directionless, aren't you?

We all want answers, I suppose: why Aion created us, why our lives turned out the way they did, why we die...

Or why we don't die, in your case. Heh. Maybe you should go talk to someone about it.

Player: Accept.

I met somebody once, an honest man...wise, you know? Few enough of them these days, eh? We only talked briefly, but...

He seemed deep for someone who looked so ordinary. If anyone could help you find some meaning, it'd be him.

He's the Aetheric Field Protector of Eltnen, name of Tumblusen. You should go talk to him.

Player: "Thanks! I will."

The meaning of life? That's a weighty question, [%userclass].

I hate to disappoint you, but even I haven't solved that great riddle yet. Aether flows around us, the very source of life itself, and yet life's meaning escapes me even as I ponder it in bed during the hot Eltnen night.

I wonder why I serve Atreia, why I don't take to the skies to explore the world, living only for myself.

Player: "Why don't you?"

That's the question I ask myself every morning. My duty keeps me tethered to my identity. Without it, I'd be lost and so here I stay.

But I've not really answered your question. Perhaps you should get a different point of view.

For instance, the Shugos. They live brief lives, always searching for profit. But they seem more content than any Daeva I've ever known. There's one Shugo, Paorunerk, in Sanctum. He's better-spoken than most Shugos. Perhaps you should get his perspective.

Player: "I'll see what he has to say."

You want jokes, akakak? Funny jokes, make Daeva laugh?

Maybe Shugo falls down in nest of eggs? Very funny! Akakak!

Player: "What I want is the meaning of life."

Akakak! Meaning of life? Funny, funny joke!

You ask Shugo strange question, curious Daeva! Of course, meaning of life is profit, akakak!

Wait, that look on your face... You mean you're serious? Okay, I'll drop the "comical Shugo" act.

Player: "I've never seen a Shugo like you before."

You probably never will again. Shugos make a living pretending to be something we're not. Me, I left the Great Company to find the meaning of my own life, like you.

The closest I ever got to my answer was talking with Fermina. She's lived since the Empyrean Lords first ascended. She'll have a better answer for you than anyone, except maybe the Empyrean Lords themselves. But she's a little eccentric....

If you want to talk philosophy with her, you'll have to present her with a Divine Lamp and tell her you're searching for an honest Daeva.

Player: "Strange, but if that's what it takes..."

Ah, what brings you here? Have you come for a song to brighten your life?

Player: "I'm searching for an honest Daeva."

But what shall you search with? You haven't a light to guide your way.

Player: "I'll search someplace else, then."

And never shall you find one, for every Daeva lies, even I.

But if you wish me to speak the meaning of life, I shall.

Player: "Speak it, then."

The meaning of life is to live, Player. To grow like trees, to flow like water, to change, and to become stronger.

Does that surprise you? You have spent your entire life improving yourself. But there will always be more to learn, and that is where the meaning of life lies.