"Aroden can kill people most trivially and Leareth can kill people more trivially than me."

"See, there, now in my system we have all just bowed." And she Dimension Doors out.

:Khemet, help, I think I like her too much already. What if she decides she does not want to marry me? I will be so disappointed: 

:She has obviously already decided, she just needs to go get a sense of what she is signing up for and she'll feel better about it if she hasn't actually committed while she's doing that.:

:How do you know that she has already decided? It is not obvious to me! Is that just your mysterious ability to always know what other people are feeling?: 

It's not mysterious! ...I should load you up with magic items for sensing other peoples' intent, see if that gets you there - anyway she's attracted to you and she is tempted by the prospect of being Queen of Cheliax and she is in general - trying to find her balance about being around gods, rather than trying to have it happen less, she's not going to decide to walk away from that.

:It is possible I have not practiced sensing people's intent the usual way as much as you, since in important and high-stakes situations I would just read their minds: 

He's relieved to hear Khemet's opinion here, and also so, so confused. 

"I think that went about as well as it could have," Aroden says. He glances at Parmida to see if she has any opinions to voice on the matter. 

"Fourth-level spells, and she's twenty-five. Were you that quick, dear?"

"That comparison seems a little unfair since I did not start until I was twenty-eight! ...Well, technically I was zero years old, depending whether you count. Does have me wondering if it would be possible to resurrect the poor farmer I, well, displaced, though I suppose he has likely been in Axis for a long time and may not wish to be hauled back." 

Aroden feels a little less regret about it this time, because the man was so likely to have died anyway in the ensuing famines, and if not he would have ended up under Asmodeus and gone to Hell, but...still. 

"This was a really entertaining interlude but probably we should reassure people about the disruption to their dinner party," he says to Leareth regretfully.

"Yes, I had just been thinking that." 'Entertaining' is perhaps not the first word he would have used, but it's down there on the list. He moves to stand. 

And they can head back to the state dinner so he can reassure his very unhappy security.

It's a pretty decent party. And Leareth did, maybe, meet a prospective wife at it, if not the way he expected. 

He tries not to dwell on Carissa too much. It won't help. 

King Randale is back in Valdemar, now that the capital is being rebuilt, and he wonders if Aroden or Leareth would be interested in a formal state visit at some point? He sends a polite letter of invitation. 

Also he wants to at least exchange correspondence with the pharaoh of Osirion on what to do about Starwind and Moondance, now that one, their Goddess has substantially less power, and two, they no longer seem to be under Her pact, though the other Tayledras still are for at least a little longer. He's not sure if the pharaoh would be willing to come to Velgarth, but Abadar apparently has a lot of power in Haven now, so he's invited if he wants to come? 

Things in Cheliax feel reasonably under control right now, so Aroden would be delighted to visit for a day or two, and Leareth might be able to stay longer. 

He can also make a day trip!

Then Randi would also like to discuss the status of Abadar's new clerics, none of whom have more than first-level spells yet, but Valdemar doesn't have any precedent for magic users not operating under one of the Collegia, and he's unsure what to do here. 

That makes sense! He knows how the church organizes itself with respect to the state in Qadira and elsewhere in the Kelesh Empire and in Katapesh and Taldor and Andoran and Cheliax and maybe some of those arrangements will be inspiring to Valdemar. Importantly, in none of those places does the church answer to Osirion; in general the church intervenes in conflict on the side of the defender if at all, which means there are rarely split loyalties. In most countries the King wants oaths of loyalty from the leadership of the church, and this is an entirely reasonable ask; conveniently a cleric who broke it would probably lose their cleric powers immediately. If it makes sense to structure oversight of the church in a collegium sort of setup, or to have one that would also encompass other churches that grant divine magic if any of them show up, he could brainstorm ideas there.

Valdemar's ideals about freedom of religion are admirable but probably they don't actually want Asmodeus allowed to set up shop here? Osirion bans proselytizing for, though not worship of, chaotic or evil gods. Many countries in Golarion just outright ban being a cleric of an evil god.

It sounds like there are a lot of factors and they can discuss it most easily when they all meet in person. Randi will suggest a date for the day trip part, and then Leareth can potentially stay longer; helpfully, he's also a cleric of Abadar so can maybe assist with setting up whatever they decide on there. 

Leareth has been sort of avoiding talking to Abadar ever since the fight with the Star-Eyed, but that's mostly for silly reasons at this point; he even knows he can do it without getting a headache, thanks to his help giving Abadar a better interface. 

So the day before their visit, he waits until evening when he's caught up on all his commitments, and then stretches out on his bed and prays. 

:Leareth.: No falling sensation at all, though his Mindspeech overtones are weird.

:I did not have a chance to congratulate you on your success against the Star-Eyed: The new interface is drastically better too. :I hope you are satisfied with the retaliation:

:Yes. I wish She could follow why it happened, it'd reduce the odds of it needing to happen again, but maybe with time we'll make progress on that. I am reacclimating myself to being legible within Foresight and that should help.

How are you doing?:

:Better, now. Almost completely back to normal. It was - bad, for days: Leareth takes a slow deep breath. He doesn't actually want to criticize Abadar or demand an apology, he thinks Abadar acted reasonably, just... :I was very, very scared, that - I would never have my mind fully back: