189: tryvell antaleus, padoran exhaler

the wisdom of padora is one that can never be overstated. her grace and mercy are the ultimate power in our world. she who is cosmic flesh sought to breathe in the breath of life so that we may live and take part in the grand revelry that is life. for this we are eternally grateful. you, child, are a skeptic, an asker of important questions, one who sees cracks in the logic of the universe and seeks to pry those cracks open until the foundations are split in two. this is good, this is a part of padora’s wisdom, bestowed upon you: you are given the task of proving the truth of the world to the nonbelievers and believers alike. do not tread these boards lightly. many before you and many after will spend their waking hours studying the scrolls given to us by padora’s trusted angels, trying to find a slip in her words, an error in translation, or any other issue that can be used against her. this is not the true skeptic’s path. the skeptic uses questions to help define the presence of padora, not her absence. those that pursue the absence of the goddess are doomed to destitute failure, cast out of padora’s light and exiled to the barbarian lands to the north. please understand, initiate, that there are skeptics outside of padoran skepticism, those whose fundamental premise is that padora herself does not exist. those skeptics die alone, and hungry, in caves and on plains, or are murdered by the ravenous hordes in the north. they are your enemies and are not to be trusted. do not ally with the dark skeptics. they will be your downfall.