Swirling plot

There is nothing worse than trying to write during stinkin' hot weather, and for the past couple of days, it's been dire. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but only a little.

But you know it's hot when the grass, previously lush and cushiony, now crackles under foot. This weather just sucks the juice right out of ya; and it's not summer for another month... woe.

Okay, enough whinging. I'm mulling over the Nano work, looking at scenarios, endings, differing the longevity stuff. I'd thought on what current writers see as immortality and decided to toss it. Sure, the character could become immortal, but I'm still thinking of the crucial ingredient; something available to the ancient Greeks and further back, maybe to the Etruscans, but is also available in Medieval Germania. It has to be unusual. A rare herb? A type of spice?

I have to get this right because the crux of the climax depends on it and the fundamental question of: if you could, would you save someone you loved who adamantly wants to die?

This isn't about suicide, it's about someone searching for a way to end their life after centuries of violence, anger and betrayal before they turn psychopathic. If you think about it, saving this person could result in a killer who feels no remorse, no compassion, just wants to end the existence of anyone who gets in the way; who regenerates. And no, not a vampire, werewolf or other supernatural being to be seen anywhere. Nor are there aliens or alien technology.

There are plenty of possibilities with this story. For example, what texts were held in the Library of Alexandria before it was destroyed? All of Archimedes inventions? Ancient maps, medical cures, engineering plans? These are the things I'm thinking about.

I'm going to make it difficult for the protagonists, both in beliefs and in finding the 'something' for longevity. And before you think, "Ah, but the hero could take the herb or whatever, thus ensuring both live long lives!" There is only one person who can do the longevity thing, and he is Dominica's arch enemy. One or both of them must die or plunge the world into endless war.

How's that for a premise?