"Abadar wants that. With us. He wants to trade with people. And - in the theoretical case it just works, right, but in practice it's hard to have positive sum trades with toddlers, and in related ways hard to with gods, and He saw that He needed a lot of other things to be in place first. He made the vault of all human creations. He made it safe to Plane Shift to his domain in Axis - one of very few places in the Outer Planes that are safe for any mortal to visit, any time - so we could see His city and learn from it and take things home to copy if we wanted to. He played a significant role - it's hard for me to wrap my head around their negotiations but it was a major driving force - in the setup for clerics, in the gods coming to an agreement on intervention taking a form that people request deliberately because it'll advance their goals, and that the gods offer because it'll achieve Theirs. That's - what it is, to follow a god, or at least what He sees it as, to expect that working with Them will make both of you stronger."

"That - makes sense. Your clerics are a good system, I think. Certainly better than anything our gods have set up." 

It's a kind of alliance Leareth knows how to have, even when he doesn't trust someone entirely (and he almost never trusts someone entirely, that's an absurdly high bar), but - qualified trust, an expectation that someone will at least behave predictably according to their goals and incentives - knowing that given the right situation and context, their goals play nicely with Leareth's.

He knows how to do that with people. It still feels - terrifying, to attempt it with a god. 

"What do you want from Him? What would you be trading for?"

"My goal is to fix the many issues I have with Velgarth's current management. I - have evidence now, albeit a very odd kind of evidence, that my initial plan might not go as smoothly as hoped. Also it is very costly and I would prefer a world where I avoid that cost. I am not sure what kinds of trade I might make with Abadar, on this, but - it does seem he is already trying to help." 

"It it less straightforward than we would like for Abadar to operate there. But He is certainly trying. And it seems like more resources will make your plans less costly and more likely to succeed, which would be very definitely a good thing. Powerful users of divine magic can imitate most of arcane magic, which as I am sure you would have noticed by now is very useful; you can summon and command outsiders as allies; you can heal very serious injuries and treat magical exhaustion from your kind of magic; and while Abadar does not exactly approve of your immortality system He thinks your cleric powers would carry over through it."

"Fair enough. I also do not approve of my immortality system. It was always a backup - I think it was my fourth layer of contingencies that I set up during my first lifetime, and at least one of the others might have worked if not for the Cataclysm destroying nearly all permanent spells in multiple different planes. I was - mostly very reluctant to modify it with all of the gods of Velgarth watching me as closely as They do now, and...I am hopeful, actually, that having access to Golarion will give me more options, after we have finished dealing with Cheliax and I can spare months for research." 

"Aroden was unaging, before He ascended, though I think it took him hundreds of years of research to accomplish that, and our world has lots of contingent healing and contingent-breath-of-life spells that can be used to ensure the body survives injuries that should kill it. Apparently his - ultimate backup plan - was not much different, but I think it was much, much less frequently employed. There are certainly grounds for optimism."

Leareth hadn't actually known that; the conversation with Ar with Malduoni was mostly on the topic of the current war and Leareth's magic. (The geas is kind of irritating right now). He nods, though, keeps all signs of surprise from his face. "Yes."

Pause. "Something else that it might help to know is–" he's not exactly sure how to put his question "–what is the experience like, when He interacts with you." 

"Asking for spells doesn't feel like anything. There's an aspect specifically for that, it doesn't - contain very much of Him. You get what you ask for. Like picking things off a shelf, kind of, with a sense you didn't have before but not interactively. If you really really need something else you can concentrate on trying to get more attention than that to explain why you need something unusual but my understanding is that if you're not running His country for Him this doesn't even usually work. 

Talking to Him feels like something. I do not particularly know how to describe it; I remember thinking, the first time, it felt kind of like sticking your head underwater if you'd never encountered water before. It usually gives me a headache, particularly if I do it too often, because god-thoughts aren't very shaped for human heads. He has never done it to me, I have to - reach for him - though occasionally He'll make me aware that He has something I need to know. I do not think He particularly expects that you would want to talk to Him."

...Leareth nods. 

”I think that is all the questions I have, and - I need to think on the answers.”

"Of course. There are some things I should do too, in light of the timeline you've proposed. We can speak more later."

Leareth nods, stands up. “Thank you.”

"Of course. Good luck." And he heads out.

Leareth goes back to his room and thinks in silence for a little while.

It’s getting pretty late, but he goes off in search of Nayoki anyway; she often works long days. Irritatingly he is geased not to speak to her about any details, but at least she knows the broad strokes of his guesses before, and he can give her the timeline and leave the reasoning behind it implied. His troops don’t actually need to be told why they’re preparing for a mass transit by Gate.

Nayoki is with the magic researchers; they are comparing various forms of mind-affecting magic between their worlds.

"Leareth!" She looks relieved and pleased to see him. "How was the mission to Rahadoum." 

"Fruitful. We have a deadline. I wish you and Narva to redirect all of your research time toward inter-world Gates, with the goal of having a working method inside the next five days. I will of course work with you when I am available. You can communicate with others in Velgarth using the crystal ball if this will speed your work, though please try to be somewhat cryptic in your communications. I will obtain some of the one time use code-books at whatever point it next makes sense to visit Velgarth in person." 

Nayoki absorbs that for a few seconds. Glances over at the magic researchers. "I apologize, we will have to postpone this line of study." 

"Of course," they say, glancing at one another. They head out.

Nayoki casts a privacy-barrier. Glances expectantly at Leareth. Waits.

”Are you planning to give me any more context.”

“Unfortunately I have - constraints. I think this outcome is not unexpected. You should have all the context you need for your current assignment.”

She studies him thoughtfully for a moment before nodding. “I understand. Are you also going to require my particular expertise when the deadline is passed?”

“Very possibly. I will discuss that with you when it becomes relevant.”

Nod. 

”All right. Gates.” She reaches for paper. “What ideas have you had so far...”

Fazil reads to Vanyel from The History And Future of Humanity. Aroden's personal history is in his other holy text, Tomes of Memory; this one is broader and starts earlier - the history of domestication and agriculture, the invention of magic. The reasons that empires have collapsed or destroyed themselves, over the Ages. What some of the better ones were like, before they were lost, and what they would have needed to be like, to have survived. What can be achieved in the Age of Glory.