Deepen your faith

Silence sets in as Bruce exits the tent, leaving you with nothing but your thoughts. Finding that problematic, you grab the Hurdy Gurdy you were given by the Elvish king, and idly play with, trying to find a new melody that you haven't played before. It helps pass some time and clear your mind as you try to process your stress. By chance, you play a couple of notes that were reminiscent of Veserae's melody you've been hearing through this journey. A quiet, gentle laugh escapes your mouth as you stop playing.

"Okay, fine" You say to nobody, as you think about the meat of what Bruce had said. It was hard to refute his point; everything that happened so far was influenced by her. She clearly has a vested interest in events, and in you. That gives you some discomfort, a knot in your stomach. It's as though someone was watching you practice an instrument for the first time, or if you were caught doing something wrong as a child. But why, you wonder. Veserae isn't a judging Goddess, at least not that it seems. Whatever is going on, you need to address it, and you need answers.

Taking a deep breath, you resume playing, this time intentionally playing Veserae's melody. It's familiar at this point, and has a pleasant tone. As you play it, you feel your stress and worry begin to fade away. Your eyes close, and your conscious thought begins to slip.

"I was wondering how long it would take" The voice causes you to jump to alertness, finding yourself in a realm of empty white space, accompanied by a solitary, Elvish woman. Striking red hair, green eyes, and the impossible size of her chest bear striking resemblance to someone you've seen before, when this all began. The murals in the abandoned temple. The temple constructed to the Goddess of Lust.

Veserae, the God Mother

She smiles at you dotingly "I am glad that you're came to speak to me, after all this time. I've been trying to speak with you for so long, and you mortals can be so stubborn at times."

"Goddess" you let out with a start and move your head to your knees in a bow.

"That won't be necessary, child. Please, you may simply call me Veserae"

"Yes of course. My apologies"

The goddess sighed bemusedly as she sits accross from you "You're a very different person from Stravaria, and yet in many ways so similar. At times I'm surprised the two of you aren't related."

"Veserae, there is so much that I don't understand about what's going on. I need your help."

"I will answer in any way that I can" She nodded her head forward "Though I have to wonder, is it answers you seek, or simply confirmation. I suspect, once you hear the answers I have, you will find you already had the answers inside you, just clouded under the voices of doubt." The Goddess spoke slowly, her words rang through you with a pleasant feeling, like moving into a warm bath.

"Is this war really worth it? All the **** that is coming, just for a book?" You ask pointedly

"You need to take the wider view, my child. You view that because things happened after you became involved, that you are the cause of it. This is not so." She leans forward and strokes your cheek with her hand

"This war was inevitable. Your presence here is merely a coincidence. What you are truly asking, is whether you will be held responsible for what is to come, and the answer is no. You will be heralded for your help in my return to T'sara."

"But why me?" You ask pleadingly, your emotions becoming harder to control

"Why not you?" She responds quickly, sweetly "It wasn't going to be that human brute Swigrod"

"You already had, have Stravaria. She's probably the most faithful person to you in all of T'sara. What did you need me for?"

Veserae's smile never faltered, her patience never wavered "Because it wasn't about what I needed. The men you've grown fond of needed a translator, a fellow adventurer, and a comrade, and you needed them. Because they needed someone who wasn't Stravaria to guide and befriend them. And perhaps more importantly, you were chosen specifically because you aren't her."

"I don't understand Goddess."

"Stravaria is attuned to the lust and the passion. You feel a deeper kinship that she does not. You feel anxiety because you care about the lives that are about to be lost; you wonder if it could be avoided somehow, you try to find some way that the destruction can be justified by the outcome it will produce, and you fail to do that. Stravaria is so obsessively minded on her goals that she wouldn't think twice about what is to come. And to this, my child, you must ask the real question you've been meaning to ask me. The question you keep asking yourself since you left the city."

"Veserae, God Mother, is there any way that you can stop this?"

"I have no direct power or influence in T'sara, and haven't since The Crisis and my fall. Even my children, the gods themselves, cannot hear me anymore. If that were all it took, I would speak with my son to avoid this before it starts. Such as it is, if you wish the avoid the battle and **** that is to come, it will fall on you to do so, with my help and my blessing."

"But, Veserae, how? How can any one person stop a war?"

"You already know how, my child. You've already done it once before. Now, go Fiana Windblossom. Trust in your friends, in your Goddess, and most importantly, in yourself. If you allow yourself to pull away from the fear of shame, you will find everything you need to succeed."

With her last word, she fades out of sight, and the camp reappears around you. The tent is now full of sleeping soldiers, including Bruce and the twins. You desperately want to tell them what happened, but decide to leave them alone. As you rest your body and your mind, you take her words to heart, and begin to plot how you can try to end this.