Dear AoA,
I’m leaving on my vagary soon, and I want to travel far and wide… but my parents are telling me that 6 months in the Gothic slums are good enough for me, and that I need to come back to Lethia as soon as possible. They say I have duties to my family, to the city, and to God, but I think that the purpose of a vagary is to experience as much as possible and choose to come home. I can’t “choose” if someone else has already made my choice for me! My parents even sent my little sister in to tell me how much she’ll miss me and how much she looks up to me!
Help!
~Salgothic Oldest Sibling
Dear SOS,
Faith is purest when it is unquestioning.
God speaks through the faithful voices of his devoted, and thus one must obey their parents, the elders of the community, and the law. Spend six months among the Gothic people and not one day more.
Priestess Sacer of the Sepharihim
Dear SOS,
As someone who has wandered all throughout the land that was once the Throne of God, I think it’s important to give your parents a bit of consideration here. The world outside our enclaves is so much larger and more dangerous than even the stories make it seem- and there is hardly a family among us who has not lost a relative to their vagary. And of those that do manage to return there are those who end up haunted by the things they have seen and the deaths they have experienced.
That said, “All Roads lead to the Lord.” If this is the road that calls you, then you would do yourself and the world a disservice to close your ears to that calling. Perhaps it is your vagary that will find us a new defense for the enclaves, or a great protective herb. Perhaps you will find one of the lost gospels and return it to us. Vagaries are more than just a chance for us to choose what we want to do, they are also a way to bring resources back to the enclaves.
I understand why your parents want you to remain safe, but it is always necessary to stand up, take the next step, and do better for the sake of mankind and our world. Perhaps a compromise could be reached? You could stand firm in your desire to travel the road that calls to you- but agree to accompany a caravan or ship where your parents could pay for protection.
And if you can’t convince them- well, the Melandhim could always use another traveler.
I wish you luck!
Priestess Adrion of the Melandhim
Dear SOS,
You can do so much good, even in the darkest of situations. You have the chance to right wrongs, to save the unfaithful. It is always frustrating to have autonomy stripped from you, but it is important to see dire situations as opportunities to share glory and mercy.
Just, uh…don’t eat the meat pies…
Redfern of the Sanctum (also known as Priestess Schola)