"Lotta the ancient pharaohs were Evil.  - probably not because of the wives."

"What'd they do?"

"I don't know! I mean, we have the histories, but even the ones for whom the histories don't offer anything very decisive, when you scry on them, mostly not so good. 's why so many of them built the tombs they did. Trapped their souls there rather than face judgment."

"Wow. I guess that's a sensible thing to do if you're an evil pharaoh."

"Yes. And despairing of working your way out of it, which seems odd. You could just open lots of soup kitchens."

"It might even be cheaper than the tomb."

"I bet a lot of it was about - trying to be outside Pharasma's reach, rather than in her good graces particularly. Objecting to the very idea they might face judgement just like everyone else, even if they had it in their means to change what that judgment was. And they wouldn't have been certain, right, must've been frightening."

"They weren't certain? Were the alignment detecting spells not invented yet back then?"

"No, they were. But some people flip back and forth. - I kinda do. Did more when I was a kid, I'm assuming it'll straighten out as I grow up. Between lawful neutral and true neutral, in my case, so not so scary - but -"

"I dunno how I turn up. I've never been checked and some things have recently happened so even if I had..."

"I think that probably all the stuff with the temple is pretty lawless. But you've got your whole life to pull it back."

"Yeah. Probably contrary to the screaming argument I had with my parents about it after I woke up and she was gone I will not actually dissolve into a million pieces in the Maelstrom."

"Who was threatening who?"

"Oh, uh, they were saying I needed to concentrate on toeing the line and she'd - distract me - and I said not having her was very distracting and I'd rather take her to wherever would have us and go to the Maelstrom for it than meet her in Axis as a total stranger. And I guess they did not take me very seriously because they didn't lock me in the house so then I went and stole her."

" - well, can't say you didn't warn them."

"I guess! But now unless she has her own irresponsible habits maybe we can be not strangers in Axis and that is ideal. And this one too." She pats her tummy.

"They'll have the very best shot at it money can buy, at least. - short of the tombs."

"No longer policy to entomb your wayward royalty?"

"I think probably Abadar won't pick anyone evil, these days. - don't know for sure but it seems pretty likely."

"It seems like it would be a bad choice but I dunno how he picks people."

"All his choices have seemed very reasonable to me but people talk about it like there's some real danger of a bad pharaoh so maybe he's sometimes more limited than he's been so far, or they worry for no reason, I don't know."

She nods. She snuggles up pensively.

Snuggle.

"Love you."

It's a bit later that Rabiah asks him if he wants to name the baby or if she should think of names.