[APH] The Secret of Immortality

The Qin Dynasty of China began over two millennia ago, under the watchful rule of its first-ever Emperor after numerous tumultuous years of war. While this Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, is known throughout history as a cruel and unforgiving first ruler of the newly unified Asian kingdom who allegedly burnt all of the nation's academic literature and buried their scholars alive, he was also known to have a mysteriously strong obsession with immortality. The scholars that he allowed to let live were sent into a secret Imperial Laboratory to work as alchemists to create an elixir of life that would make him eternal. As it is with government secrets, word of this obsession got out to the people, and soon some were scrambling to win the Emperor's favour with their own fabricated medicines and tonics.

However, one day he caught wind of an actual immortal living right under his nose...

---

"So, Alchemist, where is my immortality elixir?"

The Imperial Alchemist jumped, almost spilling more mercury into his mixture. "Ah! My apologies, Your Majesty. I did not know you were inspecting our work today. We are still in the process of finding the perfect formula to keep you young and spry."

Emperor Qin nodded. "And how is your research going?"

"Not very well, I have to admit," the Alchemist began, absently swirling the contents of his flask. "Our last attempt turned black and exploded, almost killing two of our apprentices... But once we can find a way to stop the powder from combusting, perhaps we can work on making it safe for human consumption."

"Excellent work, Alchemist. Now, I came here not only to check on your progress, but to also deliver some advice that may help you with it." The Emperor drew a golden yellow silk scroll out and handed it to the Alchemist. "My spies have caught wind of rumours of a supposedly immortal man living deep in the mystical Penglai Mountain by the name of Wang Yao. I have sent an army to bring him to the palace. Once he arrives, give the general this letter and he will hand over custody of the Immortal to you. Then, you may study him however you like for that elixir."

The Alchemist's eyes widened at the thought of an actual, real-life immortal living amongst them, but he merely bowed. "Many thanks, Your Majesty. I await news of his arrival."

"Good. Now if you would excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. Keep up the good work."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

---

Wang Yao, henceforth referred to as China, had very mixed feelings about life in the Imperial Palace. It was one thing to be living with the Emperor (and his first-ever boss) as an honoured guest, but it was another to be an honoured guest who had to make daily visits to the Imperial Alchemist's laboratory, where he was poked and prodded by the weird old guy and his apprentices all day long. He was given good food and lavish quarters, but the atmosphere in the palace was tense; the Emperor was extremely paranoid of assassination and did not allow him to own anything even remotely resembling a weapon. (Granted, Qin Shi Huang had almost been assassinated at least thrice; he had every reason to be paranoid.) Sometimes, China wished he could go back into the mountains where life was less rich but much more relaxed, at least.

(Incidentally, they hadn't found him in the Penglai Mountain as said mountain didn't actually exist. The last guy who claimed to have found it actually travelled to what was later identified as Japan and saw Mount Fuji. Which housed no immortals whatsoever, unless you count that Honda Kiku guy the locals kept going on about.)

"Does it hurt you when I touch you here?" the Imperial Alchemist inquired, prodding his subject's side.

China slapped his hand away. "Of course it does! Just because I can't die doesn't mean I can't feel anything!"

"O-of course. My apologies." The Alchemist scratched something out on a bamboo plate. (Paper wouldn't be invented until the next dynasty; they had to make do with whatever they had until then.) "Are you going to tell us how you became immortal now? We will let you go if only you would tell us that much."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I have no idea?" China snapped, "I don't care if I have to stay here for eternity-- I don't know how I became like this!"

"Wang Yao, we can choose to go about this like civilised people," the Alchemist pointed out. "Or would you like to join the scholars in their tomb for your lack of cooperation?"

"I'd like to see you try, your eventual execution would be fun to watch."

An awkward silence.

"Let us move on." The Imperial Alchemist coughed into his free hand. "When you were living in the mountains, what did you eat? Is it available in the palace?"

"I ate grass," China deadpanned.

"...Was that a joke?"

"Well, you asked."

"Was it special grass, then? Some form of heavenly medicine, perhaps?"

...Seriously?

China stood up, ignoring the Alchemist's orders to remain in his seat. He glanced around the laboratory for something, anything, he could shove into that old man's face and call it an extraordinary elixir. At that point, that man probably would believe anything he told him. Sheesh, mortals. So gullible.

Finally, his gaze settled on a white, wobbly block sitting on a plate on one of the desks.

"Here!" he proclaimed, brandishing the plate. "This reminds me of the... uh... mystical gel I used to consume! Am I allowed to go now?"

The Alchemist squinted at the block. "It is just fermented soybean curd... one of our failed formulas. Are you absolutely certain it is your secret to immortality?"

China merely scoffed. "Are you doubting the Immortal?"

"N-no, of course not. I will present it to His Majesty and if he approves, you may return to the mountains."

"Good. I hope that happens."

...

Several days later China was released back into the mountains, but not before the Emperor had assigned a small group of spies to follow him back to his home to observe his every move, sceptical that the 'tofu' he had been presented with was not necessarily the only thing keeping that Immortal alive. These spies reported faithfully to their sovereign, eventually developing a keen interest in immortality themselves.

They were the beginnings of the Organisation that would, centuries later, capture another Immortal and cause widespread distress...

---

After the tofu failed in its mission and the good Emperor was sealed in a nice, snug tomb flooded with a metric ton of mercury, China finally emerged from his mountain home to greet his new boss. There he stayed, watching dynasties rise and fall. With him were, unknown to him, the Emperor's spies who still tailed him to figure out why he hadn't passed on after that beancurd fiasco. Their Emperor was gone, but their desire to unlock the secrets to immortality remained. They watched him for centuries, new spies replacing the old, refusing to let go of their long-dead task. They eventually spread to nearby lands like Japan and Korea after hearing similar rumours of immortal beings; however, they learnt nothing more in the Far East.

That is, until a trio of strangers arrived in China's house.

---

PART 2

---

The time was the late 13th Century, sometime during the Yuan Dynasty. The Mongols had taken over and Japan believed they'd killed off the 'real' China, but that wasn't the point. What really mattered was the trio of Europeans, accompanied by a diminutive little boy, who were currently gazing at the grand interior of the Imperial Palace. (Or at least, that was what the author thinks it was called then. Chinese history can be rather vague at times.)

"Wow, this place is pretty! Are you sure this is China?"

"Yes, Signor Vargas. This seems to match the rumours the Persians spoke of."

"Ooh! I wonder if China has nice food too..."

Halfway down the hallway, China froze. He'd been tasked to greet the visitors, but... that small child they had with them appeared way too young to have gone on a years-long voyage. Either he was a child of one of the strangers, or...

Never mind him. He had a job to do.

"Welcome to China, strangers!" he greeted in Chinese, wondering if they could understand him. "I am Wang Yao, and I am here to take you to see His Majesty, the Emperor."

The older Europeans just stared at him in confusion, but the child hopped up. "Ah! Ciao, Signor Yao! My name's Feliciano! Your hair's really pretty. Can we go see the Emperor now?"

"Signor Vargas!" One of the visitors pulled the little boy back. "Behave yourself! And how were you able to understand him?"

The boy pouted. "Come on, Marco! You know why!"

China gazed at 'Feliciano', just for a while. By then, he had already met Japan and Korea; however, neither was much for good company. If this boy was who he thought he was...

"It is no problem," he assured the visitors. "Ah... How about you let me watch over him while you get an audience with His Majesty?"

The three men glanced at Feliciano. He quickly translated the Chinese, then asked if he could go with the 'nice Chinese person'. They agreed, leaving their young liege in the hands of the ancient nation.

In the shadows, China's spies continued watching.

...

"Alright, you little brat," China began, seating Feliciano on a silken cushion in his sleeping quarters, "I know you're not like those three, so spit it out. What's your real name?"

"Feliciano?" the boy repeated.

"No, not that one. The other one. The one you're not supposed to tell anyone."

"Um..." Feliciano briefly considered the question. "My nonno used to call me Venezia... Italy too, sometimes. Is that it?"

"意大利 (Yì dà lì)?"

"Um... something like that?"

Italy... the name sounded familiar. Then, he remembered. The Emperor had mentioned that some 'Italian' visitors were arranging an audience with him.

In other words, he was like him.

Immortal.

China nodded. "Yes, that's the one. Also, you just broke the 'don't tell anyone' rule. Try not to do that again, Italy."

"A-ah! I'm sorry!" Italy giggled nervously. "I never knew why I can't tell anyone, so... Are you like me, too?"

"I think so. How long have you been around?"

"Oh, uh... I lost count."

"Let's see... Does the name 'Roman Empire' ring a bell?"

"Ah, sì! He's my nonno!"

"That's all I needed to hear."

Moments later, when the spies saw the little boy getting along so well with their target, they knew. Wherever the boy had come from, there were even more Immortals. Perhaps the key to immortality was something else, something they could only find beyond their esteemed land...

Years later, when Italy finally left to return to Venice, he never found the group of stowaways hidden among the gifts the Emperor had given him.

---

PART 3

---

The time was the early 16th Century, around 300 years after the Venetians visited the Far East, which sparked a half-continent-wide European itch to get out there and explore the wide, unknown world around them. Beginning with two kingdoms that dominated the Iberian Peninsula (and still do, to this day), the Age of Discovery saw several countries braving the seven seas to discover new lands to search for resources and expand their influence upon.

By then, the once-small group of spies who'd stowed away on Italy's galley from China's house had grown into an expansive, secretive network dedicated to research on the key to immortality. Once they reached Europe, they spread rumours of the Immortals among the Europeans. While they never managed to find much solid proof of immortals in the West, they discovered and detailed many other rumours and myths in their already expansive records, adding expeditions into the wild in search of fantastical legends like unicorns, Philosopher's Stones and the Fountain of Youth to their quest to cheat Death. When they heard of several different kingdoms' plans to leave Europe in search of riches, they decided to tag along. Who knows, they might just find what they're looking for elsewhere. After all, coming to Europe had shown them so many more possible paths to spending eternity on earth. Perhaps the truth they sought could be found across the ocean?

One particular group followed Columbus into the Americas, studying the Meso-American civilisations that inhabited the new continent and the tales they told of the world around them. When the invading Spanish Conquistadors decided to settle down in the Americas, they followed suit and watched as those prior civilisations slowly winked out, taking note of the stories they told of the invaders as they did so.

Finally, one of them struck gold. They'd found a fresh Mayan tablet, inscribed with a harrowing tale detailing a vicious attack by the Conquistadors on their humble village. Among them was one particularly strong warrior who struck without mercy and felled many of the helpless Mayan people. Though they tried to bring him down with their weapons, he was not fazed at all by them. In fact, it appeared as if they couldn't harm him at all. He'd been sighted in several other villages prior as well, earning him a fearsome reputation.

The Mayans called him the 'Eternal Conquistador'... Antonio Fernández Carriedo.

For the first time since China, they might have finally found another true Immortal.

---

"Haha, you should see your faces right now! Pathetic. Oh, wait, that may be a bad idea. Especially since I'm about to crush them all."

A voice. One the European spies could understand for once; the ever-elusive Mayan spoken language was still frustratingly out of their interpreter's reach. Could this be...?

"What was that? Mercy? You dare ask for mercy, after your so-called merciful lord murdered all of my men? An innocent explorer ship crashes on your shores; what did you do? You sacrificed the survivors. I barely escaped with just two of my men. You never showed me any mercy, yet you have the nerve to ask that of me?"

Before the troop of spies lay what used to be a grand, ancient Mayan city, which currently lay in a smoking heap of burning ruin. A crowd of bloodied Mayan citizens knelt before a furious, dark-haired Spanish Conquistador, crying out desperately. No interpretation was needed to understand they were asking to be spared by the frightening figure before them. Behind them stood a loose ring of about two dozen Mayan warriors, hefting their primitive spears in a feeble attempt to defend their people.

The Conquistador was much better off; he wore a full set of armour, topped with a gleaming iron helmet. In one hand he held a humongous, bloodstained axe, the other a standard musket. He glared at the crowd through startling olive-green eyes; you could almost see the intense fury and hatred that burned within them.

For a moment, a tense silence prevailed, interrupted only by the occasional pleas and sobs of the Mayan people. Finally, a brave warrior decide to strike first, thrusting his spear at the Conquistador. The Spaniard merely raised one hand and caught the spear by its sharpened stone tip. The edges cut into his olive skin, blood freely flowing from the wound, but he didn't seem to care.

He tossed the spear aside.

"Well, there goes your one chance. Now, die."

The spies watched as the Conquistador swung his axe, instantly beheading a young Mayan woman. The warriors immediately sprung into action, sprinting at him with their spears pointed forward. A few managed to score a couple of hits on their enemy, only to be brushed off like flies. The Conquistador made quick work of the warriors, brutally slaughtering every single one of them until not one of the two dozen remained.

However, that was the least of the spies' concerns. That first cut on his hand... it was gone. Disappeared. That could only mean one thing.

He was an Immortal.

Not just any Immortal; they had found Antonio Fernández Carriedo, the Maya's 'Eternal Conquistador'. Excitement rippled through the troop. Finally, tangible evidence of an Immortal's power! Wang Yao displayed no further proof of his immortality beyond his ridiculously long lifespan-- this accelerated healing state was a first. They simply had to follow him around, back to Europe if they had to, to discover the source of his superhuman invincibility. If anything, this being held even more promise than Yao and Feliciano, all those years ago.

Once the Spaniards were done with Meso-America a part of them, including the Eternal Conquistador himself, returned to their native land, bringing with them a rich bounty of treasures plundered from the ancient civilisations they'd eradicated. The spies went with them, watching Antonio closely, noting his every move.

Antonio, whose true identity was the humanoid personification of the Conquistadors' homeland itself.

Spain.

Spain carried on under the vigilant eyes of the spies, completely unaware of the constant surveillance on him. This Observation Operation carried on for centuries, longer than any the group had previously conducted. Some of them eventually peeled off to investigate leads on other immortal beings in nearby lands, but the vast majority remained to keep a watchful eye on their golden Immortal. After all, this was the first time they were absolutely certain of his total circumvention of death. All they had to do was wait for the reveal; he was bound to slip up one day and let it loose.

Five centuries and a much milder Spain later, the spies, now an Organisation, got frustrated. After five hundred years and four other suspected Immortals, they still had nothing. It was time to take drastic measures, breaking the sacred code of honour their forefathers always adhered to since the death of Emperor Qin: Observe, but never touch. They had to make a move, or they'd never move any closer to immortality for all mankind. They created a grand scheme involving several ambitious Projects to capture, study and experiment on any possible Immortals they'd found. Since they already had one confirmed Immortal right here under their watch, why not start with him first?

One day, Antonio Fernández Carriedo mysteriously vanished on his way to a café in Madrid.

Project Espanya had begun.


THE END