"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.

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

"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?"

"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."

"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?"

"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."

"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."

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

"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?"

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

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

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

"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."

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

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

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

"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."

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

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