Some time later, when the hug is finally finished, Miriel says, "You should know our real names now.  Miriel."  (She points to herself).  "Gimildun" (she points to his stick-figure still in the corner of the slate) "is Pharazon."

Wanda isn't sure if those are names or second names or titles or some other designators? "Zimraphel Miriel?" she checks. "I'm just Wanda." It only occurs to her after she says it that this is liable to get her called Just Wanda.

She doesn't say that like it's a correction.  More like it's a title.

... Miriel had better not give her real title lest it be even more confusing.

"No..." (shakes her head.)  "Miriel."

Wanda still doesn't understand the significance. Maybe Zimraphel is her family name, and Miriel is for friends? In that case she's honored to call her Miriel!

Miriel tries to think - after the revelations of the Valar's love, and Wanda's hug - what's important to ask now...

Oh.  There's still one important question.

"Does the king" (she sketches a crown since Wanda obviously knows about them) "of Andoran understand Saranrae?"

Oh no, that's a very legitimate question but Wanda has absolutely no idea how to explain in mime and stick figures that Andoran has no king! It's hard enough to explain to people with words - Galt tried to have a democracy and look where it got them.

She'll try to put off the 'king' question for tomorrow; hopefully what Wanda really wants to know is what gods the government and the powerful people who might become the government follow, not the exact way they're chosen. But it is important to get across that the government doesn't follow a single god to the exclusion of all others.

She draws a lot of little stick figures with a big crown over the group. Some follow the Sun, some the sword-and-sunburst, some the Thorny Rose, some the Bird or the Spiral. The leader (drawn bigger than the others) follows the Sword-and-Sunburst. And all these other symbols - the bow-and-arrow, the scales, the mug - are also fine (smiling stick figures!) - she tries to indicate that's not an exclusive list but that's pretty hard to get across.

But, for example, the pentagram or the skull: not alright! Frowning stick figures, crossed swords.

"So... the kings?... follow all of the Valar, and the ...High King?... follows Aule especially?  Good!"

If that is Aule?  She's still not sure.  And Arien isn't technically a Vala... but Osse isn't technically a Vala either, and still half the Numenorians would've called her one even back when most Numenorians were Faithful.

"And you have more than one king too?"  That actually feels like a relief to her!  Even though she has absolutely no idea whether that'd be a good or bad thing!  She really wants to ask Wanda how it works for Andoran!

... But what're those other two symbols?  She doesn't recognize them, unless the skull represents death?  If swords are clearly all right, then in what way would someone be following death or not?  And if it doesn't represent that, she's suddenly wondering what Wanda meant by the crowned skull earlier.

Miriel seems to approve of having plural rulers? She's so sensible! She probably learned it the hard way, living under King Geb, just as Wanda's ancestors learned from living under a Hellish tyrant.

This skull is for Nidal, a very different skull from Geb, but that's hard to explain and if Miriel doesn't know about Nidal (or Cheliax?) Wanda doesn't want to sadden or terrify her - certainly not with stick figures.

Back to a happier topic: people in Andoran follow different gods, but everyone here knows and loves Sarenrae. Not liking Sarenrae pretty much automatically makes you Evil. Stick figures + sun = smiles!

Ah yes, they like Arien just like Numenorians like(d) Osse.  If anything of what Miriel felt is unique to Arien, then she totally understands why everyone here values her!

Well! It seems they navigated all the difficulties and don't have anything more that's urgent until tomorrow when they can better understand each other! At least for a few minutes. Maybe Pharasma will give her something better, but mutual Comprehend Languages will work fine, it just won't last very long.

Tea? She gestures invitingly towards the kitchen, where there's a kettle and some cups and a jar with dry leaves in it.

"Something to drink or eat?  Yes, thank you!"  Miriel bobs a shallow curtsy to make hear meaning clearer.  "Andoran doesn't feel as hot as Umbar, but this's been a long day."

She'll follow Wanda into the kitchen, looking around curiously.  She hasn't seen many common people's kitchens before, so a lot of it will probably be new to her even if it's the same as in Numenor.

Wanda's kitchen isn't the most impressive in town (not even counting the inn with its fancy stove). All her children have moved out and cooking for two just isn't very efficient, so she kept gifting things things away until she has only the most basic pans and pots and so on left. Her time is better spent mending anything that needs it and making water and of course healing people than cooking; any complicated dishes mostly come from her neighbor these days, or from the inn if she hasn't planned ahead.

This isn't about serving the best food or having the fanciest equipment, though, it's about hospitality. You can't not offer guests to drink and eat at your table, they just got delayed by some other business first! There's a table and chairs and she can set out the nicer set of glazed-ceramic plates and cups, and there are scones and jam and half-day-old bread and hard cheese and some wrinkled apples and a jar of olives.

The fireplace itself is in the main room; it's banked and the window is open, but she can get it reasonably hot again in a few minutes. The big empty kettle goes on an iron frame that goes over the fire and then (making sure to catch Miriel's eye) Wanda holds her spiral pendant and gestures with her other hand and says something, and then -

- the kettle is suddenly full of water.

It's charmingly rustic.  Miriel smiles at the plates especially.  They look homemade, like she's never seen outside occasional prizes of war and museums.  The kettle frame puzzles her until she sees it in use, and then it does make sense.  It all looks - lived-in, something that makes sense.

And then, water appears.

"Another gift of the Valar?" she babbles.  "Ulmo gives water?  Fresh water, like from His rivers?"  

It's the gift of every god! 

Tomorrow, Miriel pray Sarenrae, Miriel water!

Every Vala?  Miriel can see some connection with Arien - the sun evaporates up the rain - but every one of them?  Even Mandos (of the Scales) and Aule (of the Sword)?

Yes, all of them! These poor people from Geb, of course even if they know clerics get spells other than healing they wouldn't know which ones.

Also, some of these she can use lots of times, all day. Look: water water water water water (out the open window)!

But some are only a few times. Wanda prayed today to understand Miriel, and that was once, and she will pray again tomorrow. Wanda and Miriel both channeled (wide circle gesture) and can do it a few times per day (she shows four fingers) but no more than that.

...there are probably some spells that only some gods give their clerics but Wanda doesn't think any of hers are like that and doesn't want to try explaining that with stick figures.

So...

Miriel takes her cup (carefully over a bowl) and holds out her sun necklace and happily reaches inside herself looking for something else that might feel like a gift from the Valar...

She can heal dying people by touching them. And she can be better at - convincing people, impressing them, affecting them, her spirit burning a bit more brightly in the eyes of others and also in the eyes of the world itself. This power can be used for herself, or gifted to other people.

Now that Wanda has drawn her attention to this, both of these abilities feel like they will run out after enough uses, just like the mass healing.

The cup isn't a dying person or a spirit, so she can't do anything magic to it.

No, sorry, she'll need to pray first! But then she'll be able to do it.

...actually, why can't Miriel pray right now? She hasn't prayed for spells today yet, so it should be possible, right? Or at least, it's worth trying, if Miriel understandably doesn't want to wait for tomorrow.

Wanda tries to mime "I suddenly got a bright idea", which may or may not work across cultural boundaries.

So! Wanda has prayed today (her finger indicates the sun going backwards), and can pray again tomorrow.

But Miriel can pray now! (And also tomorrow.) And then, probably, Miriel will get spells today.

...this means Wanda has to explain how to pray for spells without even a Comprehend Languages up. Well, she'll do her best.

So! To pray for magic, you need to pray for an hour. Drawing: sun goes around the sky and down below the earth and back again; divide the circle into twenty-four approximately equal segments (ugh), that's an hour. She needs to pray for an hour - pray pray pray while the Sun slowly creeps across an hour-division of the drawing - and mustn't stop. If she stops (Wanda mimes) that's bad, she has to start from the beginning. And then she will get spells, and can finally understand Wanda (fingers crossed!)

Wanda adds her best bird-stick-figure to the drawing, and prays a brief apology to Shelyn for not being a better artist, because it turns out art is surprisingly useful and Wanda suspects that treating it as merely a useful tool is wrong in Shelyn's eyes. She'll try to practice so next time she can enjoy communicating by drawing, instead of feeling vaguely ashamed of her stick-figures.

Also, the water is boiling and they should have their tea before Miriel starts praying for an hour. 

Wanda moves the kettle-frame off the fire. What would Miriel like to drink? She can have mint or chamomile (which she can hopefully identify by smell), in addition to or instead of the actual precious tea-leaves.