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"On the scale of days, usually. Being here is going to change things in both directions at once, so no guarantees.

After it works, maybe a week to take full effect." A day has to be approximated in terms of how long they've been flying, since they don't exactly have a matching solar cycle.

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"We've spent a month on planning and scouting already, we can certainly spend another."

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"I'll have started worrying about food by then. I forget if it was you or Irissë who said it, but you were planning on relying on fish when crossing?"

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"Yeah. Haven't run across anything to hunt yet, and nothing grows here. Ulmo's pretty good at the sea, it'll be almost as it was before there was light."

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"I can't think of a way to cheat at fishing, not under these conditions.

If Ulmo's managing the sea, is he one of the Maiar?"

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"He's the Vala of the oceans. And mad at us, because of recent events, but he's not going to kill off the life in the sea."

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"Vala, that's promising. So they aren't just monolithic; I didn't get the impression that it occurred to the Doom one to hold back because of consequences

I'm probably going to need a rundown on who they all are at some point, but that's not exactly urgent since we're going the other way."

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"Yeah. They - I'm not clear on how their collective decisionmaking works, but they do sometimes disagree on things."

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"So at least we'll be sharing a border with one of the ones who has ever heard of restraint.

When he doesn't kill off everything in the oceans, is he likely to object to you using it?"

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"I don't think so. Or rather, I think he'd tell us if he did, and he hasn't."

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"Much more informative than gods in my world. Good for him."

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"The gods in your world issue sentences without making it clear what they're angry about?"

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"They mostly don't issue sentences, unless maybe a follower really offends them. Mostly it's about trading power for worship, and their worshippers are constantly guessing at whether their god will grant a favor or smite them for asking too much too often.

It's not a career path I'd want to try."

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"Yeah, that sounds worse than the Valar. They're really - more foreign than bad."

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"Gods have their own interests, determined by whatever they're gods of, which would be fine if they didn't tend to see lesser beings as their playthings in pursuit of a good story. I think they're operating under some set of constraints where encouraging worship by empowering priests is most of what they can do, but I only know what I've picked up secondhand. Valar sound like they'd be preferable, assuming they got used to humans and didn't just Doom us all."

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"I don't think they'd do that. Leave you to die certainly, but not meddle actively."

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"If what they're doing to you counts as active; Irissë couldn't tell me. But there is by their standards more than enough to blame humans for, so I won't ask if you have any spare Valar."

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"They're angry with us because they held us to a higher standard, I think. We committed our crimes in their paradise. Everyone knows Men are kinslayers and no one plans to Doom them."

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"Wait. If Valar can Doom people, can the Enemy?"

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"I feel like someone would have mentioned that. I don't think so, not on the same scale, and not without - not without it being just somehow. Maybe. I'm not sure."

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"What he'd consider just has got to be even worse than the others. Hopefully not knowing just means no. I really don't like the idea that he could turn up at any time and make winning impossible. Assuming that's what a Doom does."

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"I assume if he could do that he would, so probably the fact he hasn't means he can't."

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"One less thing to worry about.

Speaking of potentially unfriendly but still in some sense just judgments, I wonder if Irissë's found the materials for the ritual yet."

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"Oh, sorry, she has, told me a while ago. I wasn't done surveying. We can start as soon as we land."

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"Great. Or possibly pick her up and fly somewhere out of earshot; being overheard could be bad."

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