They are, [ she has to wait to answer until she's done chewing. ]
Probably kinda the same way sailors use them. I'm pretty sure all the mentions of being guided by the gods in the songs my clan would sing are in reference to the stars, not the actual gods.
[ Athessa points to a specific formation of stars, tracing the outline with her finger in the air. ]
That one, Shadow, is depicted as an owl sometimes, a hawk others. The owl was Elgar'nan's sacred companion, and the hawk was Andruil's messenger. That's uh...the All-Father — also known as the God of Vengeance — and the Goddess of the Hunt.
On my plane, one deity rising up to eradicate or dominate all others would be considered an act of overt evil. [ A fun fact, casually shared as he tilts to follow her finger. ]
Was there ever any documented conflict between your pantheon and the Maker?
[ Is he referring to the Maker as overtly evil, or the All-Father? ]
The most I know about the elven gods as they relate to the Chantry is that an elf by the name of Shartan was allied with Andraste and burned at the stake alongside her.
For all of the good it did any of you. [ Richard evidently thinks the answer is apparent enough not to require clarification, bitter on her behalf. Thanks a lot, Shartan, 10/10 quality sacrifice with quality results.
One last long breath in, and he offers the joint back to her. ]
There are dozens of active deities where I’m from, [ he says, around held smoke. ] If not hundreds.
[ Joint met to gesture, Rcihard passes it, and hooks his reach down for the dagger instead, to cleave off the tip of a piece of the pie she’s already cut. ]
Clerics are conduits for the divine power of the gods that choose them. Depending upon the relationship, they might even communicate directly back and forth.
[ He leaves the knife in the pie, and snags up the one bite to push it into the side of his mouth, chewing matter-of-fact-like while he watches her. ]
[ Dick slants his brows in an unspoken, nebulous affirmative, and further nods before he swallows. A sniff, a pass of tongue over teeth, and he sets about the delicate process of sectioning off another small bite with his dagger. ]
I was initially angling for Dendar, [ he explains: ] the Nightmare Serpent, but Oghma had other ideas.
Mm. [ The Nightmare Serpent. Dick separates off the snip of pie he’s cut, but leaves it where it lies, for now. ] Oghma is a god of knowledge, and learning.
[ And possibly truth, but most gods patronize many ideals and are more flexible on some of them than others. He lays the dagger flat across the remaining slice, and looks back aside to Athessa. ]
He makes his will known to me in dreams, and in omens. It took many years for me to understand what they were.
Am I? [ is kinder than his impulse to take a dig at her in the realm of relatively speaking. Dry skepticism is enough; he is an idiot in this place, plebeian, with barely the motivation needed to pick up the basics of Orlesian. But that’s a lifetime of study rendered utterly irrelevant for you.
He goes ahead and puts that sliver of pie in his mouth to waylay a question he should’ve seen coming, and takes his time chewing. ]
Severed, [ he decides, confidently, once he’s swallowed. ]
[ She wonders what that must be like, to know with such certainty that a deity is there, guiding you, only to be suddenly cut off from them. The likelihood that anyone in Riftwatch can accurately read Richard's mood at any given time is lower than rock bottom, but even so, Athessa doesn't think he's implied in any way that he prefers freedom from their influence than the alternative.
Which just makes it feel relatively safe to offer: ] I'm sorry. I can't imagine what that must be like.
[ Partway through the process of sectioning off another bite of pie for himself, a strange, painful twist in his throat prompts him to pause. He swallows again, and then clears it. Cutting is resumed more intently than before, with an absent nod of thanks in aside for the sentiment.
The fuzzy lines around his mouth have bit in deep, grim for the table setting of weed and stars and pie.
[ That pause is hard to miss. The renewed intent when he resumes cutting the pie. There's no telling if it'd be more helpful, more comforting, for her to simply pretend she didn't notice, or if she should offer some further consolation than that.
So she splits the difference, somewhat. She reaches over to put a hand on his shoulder, a brief pat and squeeze before pointing skyward again with her other hand. ]
That one there, Silence, we see as a depiction of Mythal, holding a horn and a staff to represent scales, since she's the Great Protector and patron of justice.
[ Dick doesn’t bristle or grit his jaw or lean away from her touch. The ball and socket of his shoulder eases lax after an initial lock of tension; he swallows again, and nudges the bite of pie he just so carefully cut away from the rest of the slice without taking it.
He doesn’t look up to follow Athessa’s pointed finger skywards until it’s occurred to him to set the knife carefully down. ]
What happened to Mythal?
[ Seems like she’s really sleeping on the job these days. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
i thought i dreamt the other one
Date: 2020-11-23 05:01 am (UTC)Probably kinda the same way sailors use them. I'm pretty sure all the mentions of being guided by the gods in the songs my clan would sing are in reference to the stars, not the actual gods.
[ Athessa points to a specific formation of stars, tracing the outline with her finger in the air. ]
That one, Shadow, is depicted as an owl sometimes, a hawk others. The owl was Elgar'nan's sacred companion, and the hawk was Andruil's messenger. That's uh...the All-Father — also known as the God of Vengeance — and the Goddess of the Hunt.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 07:51 pm (UTC)On my plane, one deity rising up to eradicate or dominate all others would be considered an act of overt evil. [ A fun fact, casually shared as he tilts to follow her finger. ]
Was there ever any documented conflict between your pantheon and the Maker?
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 07:56 pm (UTC)[ Is he referring to the Maker as overtly evil, or the All-Father? ]
The most I know about the elven gods as they relate to the Chantry is that an elf by the name of Shartan was allied with Andraste and burned at the stake alongside her.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 10:47 pm (UTC)One last long breath in, and he offers the joint back to her. ]
There are dozens of active deities where I’m from, [ he says, around held smoke. ] If not hundreds.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 10:54 pm (UTC)It got us The Dales until the Chantry got sick of us and had an Exalted March.
[ She finishes off her slice of pie, wipes her hands off on her trousers, and gestures for the weed. ]
When you say active deities, does that mean they... like there's proof they aren't just stories?
no subject
Date: 2020-11-23 11:20 pm (UTC)Clerics are conduits for the divine power of the gods that choose them. Depending upon the relationship, they might even communicate directly back and forth.
[ He leaves the knife in the pie, and snags up the one bite to push it into the side of his mouth, chewing matter-of-fact-like while he watches her. ]
idr if they've covered this already don't @ me
Date: 2020-11-24 12:58 am (UTC)[ Joint accepted for the tokin'. ]
i dont think they have at least not w specifics also *RICHARD
Date: 2020-11-24 06:45 am (UTC)I was initially angling for Dendar, [ he explains: ] the Nightmare Serpent, but Oghma had other ideas.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-24 09:10 pm (UTC)So...Oghma chose you instead? What are they the god of? Do they speak to you in your head, or can everyone hear them and just not understand?
no subject
Date: 2020-11-25 09:39 pm (UTC)[ And possibly truth, but most gods patronize many ideals and are more flexible on some of them than others. He lays the dagger flat across the remaining slice, and looks back aside to Athessa. ]
He makes his will known to me in dreams, and in omens. It took many years for me to understand what they were.
Fortunately he’s very patient.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-26 03:44 am (UTC)[ Of course that's not the only reason Richard is smart, but it's fitting. ]
Do you still have the dreams here? Or...are you...severed?
no subject
Date: 2020-11-28 07:14 am (UTC)He goes ahead and puts that sliver of pie in his mouth to waylay a question he should’ve seen coming, and takes his time chewing. ]
Severed, [ he decides, confidently, once he’s swallowed. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-11-28 08:15 am (UTC)[ She wonders what that must be like, to know with such certainty that a deity is there, guiding you, only to be suddenly cut off from them. The likelihood that anyone in Riftwatch can accurately read Richard's mood at any given time is lower than rock bottom, but even so, Athessa doesn't think he's implied in any way that he prefers freedom from their influence than the alternative.
Which just makes it feel relatively safe to offer: ] I'm sorry. I can't imagine what that must be like.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-28 10:32 am (UTC)The fuzzy lines around his mouth have bit in deep, grim for the table setting of weed and stars and pie.
It’s fine. Everything is fine. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-11-28 11:06 pm (UTC)So she splits the difference, somewhat. She reaches over to put a hand on his shoulder, a brief pat and squeeze before pointing skyward again with her other hand. ]
That one there, Silence, we see as a depiction of Mythal, holding a horn and a staff to represent scales, since she's the Great Protector and patron of justice.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-12 08:39 pm (UTC)He doesn’t look up to follow Athessa’s pointed finger skywards until it’s occurred to him to set the knife carefully down. ]
What happened to Mythal?
[ Seems like she’s really sleeping on the job these days. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-12-12 10:29 pm (UTC)[ Turns out human nature applies to just about everyone. ]