There are beings who reach for the treasures of the ages with trembling reverence, and there are beings who reach for them the way a man reaches for his coat. Noah belonged to the second kind!
His fingers closed around THE Aurate Collar of the First Purity as he breathed out.
"I have felt young all this time...." His thumb moved slowly along the gold. "And today, for the first time, I can almost say I feel old. As if I have passed a significant milestone."
He turned the collar slightly in his grip.
"And just as I get that feeling. Just as I settle into it, start to enjoy it, maybe. I come across something so ridiculously old that I almost feel young again."
He gave a small, unhurried smile.
"That is what this Collar is."
...!
Anaximander listened closely, and as the words settled, his expression gradually normalized, as his curiosity won out.
