Socrates Syndrome

"You know, you remind me of what’s-his-name... that guy from history class." ~ Joseph Miller, peasant, to an unidentified Legacy

The following is taken from an informal essay on the subject written by Khar Raastan, Dracon researcher

While many subjects have clutched at my imagination over the years, few have held on with the tenacity of the mysterious Socrates syndrome, the so-called Longevity Disease. Its exceeding rarity and elusiveness have puzzled many great minds throughout the Empire, of which mine is only one of the most recent. Indeed, some have gone so far as to deny the existence of the Socrates syndrome altogether (at least as an explainable phenomenon), crediting divine intervention for those cases that are documented too well to question. This is the position our beloved Church seems to favor, although I myself am positive of a more rational and worldly - and therefore much more interesting - explanation for this condition which thwarts the passage of time so readily.

The condition in question is named after one of the most famous of those affected, Socrates de Ambergois, an influential fellow who, a student of history will note, played a seminal role in the foundation of Centripax province, among other notable achievements. Students of politics will note that the man has continued, off and on, to exert influence on the affairs of that province and elsewhere for hundreds of patterns even unto the time of this writing. Although I myself am not much fresher, it should be noted that human blood runs through Socrates' veins, and the sources I consulted on the subject implied to me that he was not in the prime of youth even when those fateful events transpired. It is easy to see, then, that something has allowed this man to live in relative health well beyond the years normally afforded to one of his race. A careful perusal of medical and census records, not to mention a casual ear turned to the stories told in children’s bedrooms and alehouses, indicates that this is far from the only time such a phenomenon has been observed, and, old Socrates notwithstanding, not all of them were known for being fonts of wisdom or enlightenment, nor were regarded as particularly holy. Some were shockingly insignificant. Thus, it seems clear to me that the gods do not directly choose who benefits from this boon and who doesn't, but it results from a natural phenomenon. The touchy part, however, is isolating it.

These individuals - who I've heard referred to as "Legacies" on occasion - all seem to be members of those races of (normally) brief lives. Thus, creatures like humans and dorin have multiple verified examples, while there is no clear case of Socrates syndrome occurring in a fae or a fellow dracon. This could be because whatever mechanism prolongs life just happens not to affect those races, or it may simply be because no mortal could hope to live out the full life afforded to an elven Legacy, and all of those who do in fact have the syndrome die due to mishap or disease before their full lifespans become evident. My personal belief is that the syndrome does affect long-lived beings, but because their bodies are so naturally resistant to the ravages of time, the boost afforded by their condition is hardly noticeable, and insignificant on a statistical scale.

Other than this, little can be gleaned by studying distribution patterns. Very rarely a family member of a Legacy will also be a Legacy, but the paltriness of the sample sizes make it difficult to tell whether this is because of an inherited component to the syndrome or blind luck. Regardless, the vast majority of Legacies do not have others among their close relations. While there are many Unbound among their number, by no means are all of them mages. It seems that anyone in any walk of life can have the syndrome, from beggars to dukes, though there seems to be a slight trend favoring the famous or powerful in this case. Why they should be more likely to get the syndrome I do not know; perhaps it's a case of skewed reporting.