Fallowblade Read Online Free PDF

the rest of the brain’s contrivances, such as the capacity to enjoy art and music, to fall in love, to philosophise, are born from that single supreme purpose. The bonding of a man and a woman is a tactic that helps guarantee the continuation of our kind. Romantic love arises from the success of that strategy. Do not think I am ignorant.’
    ‘I am overjoyed to learn you harbour no delusions,’ said the wight.
    The damsel allowed the corners of her mouth to twitch in the beginnings of a smile, pleased to have disarmed her opponent, though she guessed it would be only a temporary victory. ‘The truth is obvious, nevertheless love is no less enjoyable for knowing its basis.’
    ‘Would it be less enjoyable were you to be aware of the exact operations of the gelatinous walnut housed within human skulls?’
    She rejoined, ‘Were I to reply “yes” or “no”, would that dissuade you from explanation?’
    The creature ignored the question. ‘There is much that eldritch beings understand about your kind, of which you yourselves are oblivious. The sense of elation accompanying so-called love in its infancy is caused by a mixture of dopamine and phenylethylamine swilling about in the cranium.’
    ‘Your terms are unfamiliar to me,’ Asr ă thiel retorted. ‘I have no idea what you are talking about.’
    Her visitor barely paused. ‘In new lovers the state of irresistible passion lasts for about two years; the lifespan of neurotrophins in the human system. As lust wanes, the formation of close relationships evolves because of the effect on the brain of oxytocin, which yields a temperate, drifting, affectionate state. Oxytocin is related to opiate-like substances in the brain, which is why the mechanisms of “love” resemble addiction. Humankind never has a good grasp of the truth at the best of times, but people in the thrall of this maelstrom of chemicals are uncommonly dissociated from reality.’
    ‘It would appear,’ said Asr ă thiel, ‘you are proposing that romantic love is a type of insanity stimulated by alchemies within the brain.’
    ‘For humankind, that’s all it is. Such an absurd foundation for the organisation of societies.’
    ‘It has served us well enough.’
    ‘Has it indeed? Think again.’
    ‘You are forever cynical.’
    ‘Merely realistic.’
    ‘Pray, leave us some few of the illusions we hold dear!’ the damsel said wryly, smiling.
    ‘Recall, next time you behold your prince,’ said the urisk, ‘that what you call “passions” are not lofty sentiments at all, but chemical survival systems embedded in the very flesh, which have arisen in order to make your kind avoid peril, and desire that which may be of advantage.’
    It appeared to Asr ă thiel that the wight believed she had formed a close attachment to William. Furthermore, he seemed scornful of such a relationship, possibly even resentful. Well, let the creature stew. It was his own fault if the idea bothered him—a comeuppance for being so presumptuous as to pry into her personal affairs. Where she chose to bestow her affections was none of his business. It was true that as time passed she had come to regard William with increasing partiality. She could not help but be aware of the depth and constancy of the prince’s fondness for her. It would melt even the hardest heart to be steadfastly loved and held in high regard by anyone, let alone a young man so estimable. Always, she had loved the prince as she would love a brother, but of late she found herself beginning to consider him more as an especially cherished friend. It saddened her that she could not summon stronger sentiments for him, for she felt that he deserved to be loved as ardently as he loved. If it were possible for her to give her heart to any man, she told herself, it would be William.
    All at once the wight’s harping about the good-natured prince seemed petulant and unbearably tiresome. ‘You can be cruel,’ Asr ă thiel chided, dropping her façade of