Arialla nodded as Raza spoke. She'd feared some kind of hatred or prejudice, but no, she felt Raza's concerns were sensible -- even agreed with them. "I see what you mean. It's strange to me too, to suddenly find myself somewhere where the gods are so active, where there's all this trouble with monsters and warring gods and gods-know-what. It must be even harder when you're still at home but these forces are coming to your home, changing it, dragging it into their conflict. And when you have demigods walking around, or people who can turn into dragons ... It's hard to see what space is left for an ordinary person except to do as they say."
When Raza gestured to Arialla, she smiled, but a bit ruefully. "I do serve Safrin, though she has yet to ask much of me. But I still see myself as an ordinary person. I definitely don't expect to change the world, even if I would sometimes like to."
But she nodded again. "My issues are with the Grounds, though, and the Voice -- I like Torchline just fine how it is. And I think you're right to be worried. Gods and their conflicts can be ... quite destructive."
She wasn't sure how much more she could say on that subject, as a loyal priestess -- but her religious involvement had given her an understanding of divinity that leaned towards cynicism. The gods could bless their followers greatly, but they could also bring great harm -- they had no reason to care about the consequences to mortals. If you wanted a normal life, it was probably best to just avoid their notice. But it didn't always matter; you could keep your head down and do everything right, and still have your life destroyed as collateral damage.
please don't take my sunshine away
