glowfic | Pity domains don't have doorbells

Tisvetaia thinks it's a good thing that she doesn't get tired from walking. Or tired at all, really. She has enough trouble getting her bodies everywhere that they need to be, without the trouble of sleep and exhaustion and hunger and thirst becoming an issue. Mortals manage just fine, but that's more because they have no choice in the matter. They get tired, they need food, they need water, they need sleep. They can't tirelessly walk to the edges of the world.

Pity. You meet such interesting people.

Flying or running would be faster. She does, in fact, have several bird manifestations, flying at top speed everywhere they can reach. If it were a perfect world, she could aim for perfect efficiency, throw all of her energy into being birds, send them out in every direction she could manage. Lengthen the lives of every mortal she could touch, tell death to sit down and shut up, never have that issue that gods have where all of their peers want to kill them and all of their charges die far too soon. But it is not a perfect world, and doing that would probably get her killed. Worse, she suspects she'd become like some of her neighbors - so self absorbed in her chosen mission that she'd forget the important factor. Mortals. So, she is somewhat inefficient.

If a god practices, they can sound like a mortal. If a god practices, they can feign all of the little problems that come with being mortal. If a god practices, they can fool others into thinking they too are mortals. Another god could sense her in an instant, but mortals have no such ability. So, if she's careful, she can walk among towns and see what they're actually like. What problems they actually face, what sorts of solutions solve them, what their honest opinions are, what they want when they're not cowering before her and shoving a mountain of offerings at her.

This is usually how she spends time with this body, but sometimes she sends it off to do odd jobs.

In this case, the odd job is: go introduce yourself to one of your divine neighbors. She knows barely anything more than his name - Zenikiel. She dislikes knowing barely anything about her divine neighbors. It's time to go fix that.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Mm. Then maybe work in a more subtle way. Imply that competitors that bad mouth their competition are trying to make up for a deficient in their product, maybe. Or - some sort of domain wide review system, with analyses from customers. This is somewhat more hands on than most gods would like, but you can be an excellent method of distribution for things that your mortals make."

"Interesting. I believe I will begin by implying that crafters who insult and cheat tend to produce poor goods and must do something more impressive than usual for it to count as a blessing-earning masterwork. If that does not change this trend of behavior, I will make it known that I will answer prayers asking my opinion on particular crafters, which may encourage them to be more professional. But the second option is invasive enough - to me and to them - that it will be a second resort."

Tisvetaia nods. "Yes, that's fair. I hope the problem is soon solved."

"As do I. Have you thought of any problems that might be solved with a tool, construction, or device?"

"Sometimes my followers have problems transporting injured from one place to another. We have stretchers, but the physical labor involved slows things down. I've had them create stretchers with wheels attached, but those are somewhat unwieldy to use. I am unsure of how to solve the problem, but I suspect it is in your area of expertise."

"My first instinct is a vehicle of some kind, but I will have to think about the problem more."

"Certainly. Thank you."

After a while, "I don't know if this will solve the problem of stretchers being unwieldy, but if you built a sort of mobile hospital... A horse-drawn wagon that contains within it a medic, stretchers, and whatever medicine and other things they need. It may improve the speed you get injured people any sort of medical attention, even if the first response they get is not as high-quality as it could be in a full hospital."

"I can provide plans for a wagon chassis that handles rough terrain relatively well and does not shock and shake its occupants quite as much as those in common use. If you suspended the stretchers from a sufficiently clever arrangement of ropes within the wagon, you could reduce the shaking to no more than it would be if they were manually carried on a stretcher."

Edited 2015-09-23 01:02 (UTC)

"That is a good idea. I was getting around the problem by pointing out that offerings of medical supplies are an excellent idea, and then dropping them off myself where they were needed. But I can't do that with people, and there is something to be said for having something already equipped to move them and contain the necessary supplies. Thank you."

"By the way, making it more generally known that I dislike crafters who insult and undermine their peers has sufficiently solved the behavior problem"

"Glad to hear it! Hopefully it won't crop up again."

"An acolyte will meet you at the next temple you encounter along this road. He will give you the plans I mentioned."

And apparently that's all the interaction Zenikiel wants right now.

That is fine by her. She continues down the road and retrieves the plans, and somewhat predictably offers the acolyte another ten years of lifespan.

The acolyte accepts. Zenikiel does not say anything especially significant for a long while after that.

When Tisvet's manifestation is about to leave his domain, one of Zenikiel's manifestations meets her. "I would like to offer you one of my blessings. They are improved procedural memory, intuition that might be called innovation or creativity, improved spatial awareness, nimble hands, improved endurance, and knowledge of how to use almost any tool as well as knowledge of what tools would be best for a particular task."

Edited 2015-09-23 01:27 (UTC)

...

This is surprising!

"Thank you," she says, the surprise leaking through to her manifestation's voice. This is the first time she's gotten a blessing from a god. "Ah - knowledge of tools, please."

Then, because fair is fair: "Would you like one of my blessings in return? I offer improved luck, strength, sense of direction, memory, a resistance to mindless panic, and mildly improved healing."

Zenikiel calmly regards her, having expected the surprise. "I offer this only because I philosophically agree with your stated mission, and you seemed to live up to it as well as you could during your time in my domain. And because I expected you to offer the reciprocal. Trade is give and take, if I never give I cannot take."

"Of those six... A god has little need for strength or sense of direction or healing. I doubt any amount of panic will drive me mindless. Of the remaining two, I would like luck." Zenikiel blesses her and waits expectantly.

Edited 2015-09-23 02:00 (UTC)

He doesn't need to wait very long; she blesses him right back. Luck, as promised.

She seems to find his explanation somewhat amusing. "Fair enough. Likewise, as to why I am willing to accept and return your blessing at all."

"Fare well, Tisvetaia. I may visit your domain at some point in the future, and you are welcome to visit mine again under the same conditions."

Pity domains don't have doorbells

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