Other than priests and philosophers, both of which Jinn had made a habit of avoiding throughout the centuries, few sages crossed his path. He had never before met one willing to expound on matters of faith while layering potatoes.
It should have been an arrogant display, proof of how many plates one could spin at the same time. Instead, Jinn found himself indulging speculation about the man before him.
Hannibal's question didn't catch him by surprise; he'd walked right into it. "I am not a man," he replied, sidestepping. "Not in the traditional sense that I was molded from clay or had the breath of divinity blown into me. I walked the earth long before there was a single God, when there were yet many... A long time ago." He shrugged. "Not that it matters."