Celecia gives the knight an odd look as she nibbles a piece of bread, waiting for others to quiet down a bit before chiming in herself.<br/><br/><strong>"Well said, Mister Oleg,"</strong>she begins, her tone absolutely respectful and professional.<strong>"Truly, our bodies are gifts from the gods, and we must respect them and be content with them, leaving them unchanged.  Just as the trees are gifts from the gods; it would be blasphemy to cut them down and build our homes, and the mountains are gifts from the gods; it would be blasphemy to dig them up for ore to make iron, and herbs are gifts from the gods; it would be blasphemy to destroy them to make medicines."</strong><br/><br/>She takes a sip of wine, her tone staying ever-cordial.<strong>"Yes, well said, but the logic does not follow.  The capacity to use and change our world is what puts mortals above beasts.  That includes the trees and the mountains and the herbs and our own bodies.  When the gods see fit to give a child a fever and I give him medicine, I am altering that body which the gods gave as a gift, as I do every time I set a bone or give a noble advice on improving her diet or hand a born cripple a crutch.  It is our nature and our truest gift from the gods.  What we are talking about is simply a more efficient, more powerful way of doing what we already do.  Simply another tool, just like the roof over our heads, the chairs we're sitting on, and the clothes we wear."</strong><br/><br/>As she speaks, she cuts her steak slowly and methodically, always calm.<strong>"That said, the problem with such a proposition is not the wrath of the gods, but the simple impracticality of the matter.  It would take a master of nigh legendary skill to create such a concoction in most circumstances, and even then, the cost would be dear; a fortune, or even bartering souls with devils would be about what it takes to get the necessary supplies.  Practical, permanent changes are few and rarely beneficial or reliable, unless you count turning a living being into a corpse.  Many volumes have been written on the subject, and much progress has been made, but no true breakthroughs."</strong>