"I don't know how to mention it gently enough. There might not be a gentle enough."

"Perhaps not. However, it is - more difficult to explain why we are together otherwise, and he must be very suspicious that you were pulled into the dream at all, which I now suspect is due to the lifebond resulting in my being 'inside' at least one layer of your shields – do not worry! I cannot read your mind at all! Also it would be disrespectful to your preferences so I would not if I could, but in fact I cannot anyway." 

He looks down. "...I should tell you that one of my plots was involved in the death of his partner. It was closer to an incidental consequence than something I sent orders for someone to do - an unsavoury person who had been a sort of bounty hunter for Valdemaran mages decided to accept coin from a Valdemaran family to help with their feud against another family, and this resulted in some messy deaths. I think Vanyel is not angry at this point; his circumstances are very clearly part of a god's plan, and so likely the gods would have found a different plan if my bounty hunter had not been available. It is, however, still something where I bear significant causal responsibility." 

"He knows about that and he sings you songs. That's astonishingly forgiving."

"Yes. He did not speak to me for a long time - a year at least - but, I think eventually he concluded that he had already known of my activities of this sort, and that if it had not troubled him enough then that he refused to engage, it ought not be any different simply because my victims had included somebody important to him in particular." A slight, fond smile. "Vanyel is like that. He tries to be consistent. Also, in general, he is very forgiving." 

"...pity I don't know how to bring up how admirably reflective it is without being upsetting."

"Yes. Perhaps at some point I will think of a way to tell him that is - a minimal amount upsetting, at least. In the meantime we can go over the other facts that he knows." Leareth pauses. "...He does not know my actual current plan. Yet. I...have been working toward telling him, but it seems likely I will tell you first." 

"That would be nice."

"You have a right to know, I think. I had been waiting to - cover some more of the background for it, and for a good uninterrupted stretch of time to discuss it." 

"How long an uninterrupted stretch?" she asks, spinning her last lazy susan to check out egg 6-64-18.

"Probably it would not need an entire day, but several candlemarks at least." 

"I only have econ and not microbio or the healing lecture tomorrow, if it's too many candlemarks to fit in after dinner."

"Probably. We can cover some more of the background with the gods after dinner, maybe." 

"Sure. ...am I just effectively moving out of my dorm..."

"I suppose that might be the simplest thing to do here, since I do not actually find the idea of sleeping apart very appealing." 

"Me either. More of a walk to school but not intractable, I did it my first year here. It'll be annoying to move the books."

"I can help although I suppose a Gate is probably overkill." 

"Probably. I can most likely borrow a cart from somewhere."

Nod. "Do we want to start on that tonight or later? I am imagining it might take multiple trips." 

"Yeah, might as well." She makes a last note on the eggs and piles up firewood on the fire so the eggs won't take a chill overnight and takes his hand to head out. "Dinner first."

Leareth squeezes her hand. "Dinner sounds wonderful." 

Dinner is beef stew and bread and then they can go borrow crates and a cart from Facilities and pack up about half of the books in Belrun's room.

Belrun's room seems reasonably private, so if it's all right with her, Leareth can put up a sound-barrier with magic just in case and then explain some background about gods while helping her load the cart. 

Sounds good to her.

Leareth can start with the Star-Eyed Goddess and describe her ancient pact with both the Shin'a'in and Tayledras peoples, formerly the Kaled'a'in before the Cataclysm happened. He's not sure what Her territory was before the Cataclysm, but afterward She ended up adopting some of the worst-hit regions, and has been leading efforts to get them repaired ever since. She's a bit subtler than Vkandis in the way She works, but seems even more determined to hang onto Her people and bind their descendants in perpetuity. He suspects She teams up with Vkandis a fair amount, and has reduced but non-negligible influence within Valdemar even though he's pretty sure Valdemar is primarily under a different and much more hands-off god. 

The Star-Eyed does not like Leareth at all and, taking into account Her spirit-warrior avatars that can directly give mortals orders, and the fact that She can send premonitions to any of the peoples bound in a pact with her, She is pretty able to prevent him from operating at all in Her territories. 

"What can we assume about what any given god knows - like, does this mean I can't go there either?"