If magic lessons take anyone to the library at any point, they're going to encounter Ione Sala, who has now been healed in flesh if not in spirit.

Very shortly after being healed, Ione Sala discovered that as soon as she gets a couple of dozen steps away from the library, she starts to feel a pull, a faint tingle, which she can intuitively feel would start to weaken her ability scores after a time, and eventually rip her soul out of her body.  She's going to need sleeping arrangements set up in here, or in a room connected to here, or for somebody to make her a bedroom that's also a library.  And it doesn't feel like books are enough to make a place a library; people would need to be able to wander into her bedroom and read books there.  Ione also knows that she needs to occasionally read some of the books, and get new books sometimes.  They have to be books she actually wants to read; she can't just be doing it out of duty.  Otherwise she'll die.

Oracles get curses, don't they.

...this curse isn't entirely a bad thing.  It feels like Cheliax would have a hard time making there be a library that's also a torture chamber, and force her to enjoy reading books while she'd rather have her soul torn away so that the pain stops - that it would be hard to torture her to death over years in a way that satisfies her curse.  Maybe she couldn't easily be maledicted either, with the grip that libraries now have on her soul?  Is her curse one that takes her straight to Nethys's afterlife, is that why it feels like the curse would tear out her soul and not just kill her?  Nethys - she's trying not to think thoughts like this, but they still bubble up in the back of her mind - Nethys may have a different attitude from Asmodeus about making sure that His own slaves, so long as they worked hard and did their best, get protected by Him from sufficiently painful fates?

No, she's being stupid.  Nethys wants her to be less afraid of Asmodeus and Cheliax, obviously, so that she doesn't treat them as having equal power with Nethys to threaten her and force her obedience.

...she wishes she hadn't thought that, it's going to make Cheliax trust her less after the next time they read her mind.  The problem is that Ione is now living in such strange new circumstances that she doesn't know yet which paths of thought will lead her to dangerous places before she starts to think them.  She does have to think now, and figure out what Nethys wants from her using her own wits.  Nethys can't give her specific instructions because anybody Nethys touches goes mad.

Ione has been taught since childhood that nobody really cares about her or ever would care about her, except for how she's of use to them; especially the gods, who could help, but don't.  It's pathetic to think that Nethys would give her that curse because Nethys cared about one tiny worm that didn't even ask to be His cleric.  Lots of mortals in the world die agonizing slow deaths and Nethys doesn't protect them.  Asmodeus is the only god who has enough use for mortals in general being competent, not just a few favored clerics, to make sure that children in Cheliax get an education.  And while it has occurred to Ione that this is propaganda, it has also occurred to her that it cannot just be a complete lie.  It's not like Nethys gave her any oracle levels, or helped her in any other way, before she was in a position to be useful to Him.

But it's still - a little warm - to have a master who took real, visible steps to protect her against the worst that other masters can do.

So she will do her very best for Nethys, as she has been thoroughly incentivized, which will include (Ione is very aware that she must think this and believe it as sincerely as she can) being very, very, very obedient to the Chelish government and not inconveniencing them at all, so they don't separate her from Keltham and replace her with an imposter.

If magic lessons take anyone to the library at any point, they're going to encounter Ione Sala, who has now been healed in flesh if not in spirit.

Very shortly after being healed, Ione Sala discovered that as soon as she gets a couple of dozen steps away from the library, she starts to feel a pull, a faint tingle, which she can intuitively feel would start to weaken her ability scores after a time, and eventually rip her soul out of her body.  She's going to need sleeping arrangements set up in here, or in a room connected to here, or for somebody to make her a bedroom that's also a library.  And it doesn't feel like books are enough to make a place a library; people would need to be able to wander into her bedroom and read books there.  Ione also knows that she needs to occasionally read some of the books, and get new books sometimes.  They have to be books she actually wants to read; she can't just be doing it out of duty.  Otherwise she'll die.

Oracles get curses, don't they.

...this curse isn't entirely a bad thing.  It feels like Cheliax would have a hard time making there be a library that's also a torture chamber, and force her to enjoy reading books while she'd rather have her soul torn away so that the pain stops - like it would be hard to torture her to death over years in a way that satisfies her curse.  Maybe she couldn't easily be maledicted either, with the grip that libraries now have on her soul?  Is her curse one that takes her straight to Nethys's afterlife, is that why it feels like the curse would tear out her soul and not just kill her?  Nethys - she's trying not to think thoughts like this, but they still bubble up in the back of her mind - Nethys may have a different attitude from Asmodeus about making sure that His own slaves, so long as they worked hard and did their best, get protected from sufficiently painful fates?

No, she's being stupid.  Nethys wants her to be less afraid of Asmodeus and Cheliax, obviously, so that she doesn't treat them as having equal power with Nethys to threaten her and force her obedience.

...she wishes she hadn't thought that, it's going to make Cheliax trust her less after the next time they read her mind.  The problem is that Ione is now living in such strange new circumstances that she doesn't know yet which paths of thought will lead her to dangerous places before she starts to think them.  She does have to think now, and figure out what Nethys wants from her using her own wits.  Nethys can't give her specific instructions because anybody Nethys touches goes mad.

Ione has been taught since childhood that nobody really cares about her or ever would care about her, except for how she's of use to them; especially the gods, who could help, but don't.  It's pathetic to think that Nethys would give her that curse because Nethys cared about one tiny worm that didn't even ask to be His cleric.  Lots of mortals in the world die agonizing slow deaths and Nethys doesn't protect them.  Asmodeus is the only god who has enough use for mortals in general being competent, not just a few favored clerics, to make sure that children in Cheliax get an education.  And while it has occurred to Ione that this is propaganda, it has also occurred to her that it cannot just be a complete lie.  It's not like Nethys gave her any oracle levels, or helped her in any other way, before she was in a position to be useful to Him.

But it's still - a little warm - to have a master who took real, visible steps to protect her against the worst that other masters can do.

So she will do her very best for Nethys, as she has been thoroughly incentivized, which will include (Ione is very aware that she must think this and believe it as sincerely as she can) being very, very, very obedient to the Chelish government and not inconveniencing them at all, so they don't separate her from Keltham and replace her with an imposter.

If magic lessons take anyone to the library at any point, they're going to encounter Ione Sala, who has now been healed in flesh if not in spirit.

Very shortly after being healed, Ione Sala discovered that as soon as she gets a couple of dozen steps away from the library, she starts to feel a pull, a faint tingle, which she can intuitively feel would start to weaken her ability scores after a time, and eventually rip her soul out of her body.  She's going to need sleeping arrangements set up in here, or in a room connected to here, or for somebody to make her a bedroom that's also a library.  And it doesn't feel like books are enough to make a place a library; people would need to be able to wander into her bedroom and read books there.  Ione also knows that she needs to occasionally read some of the books, and get new books sometimes.  They have to be books she actually wants to read; she can't just be doing it out of duty.  Otherwise she'll die.

Oracles get curses, don't they.

...this curse isn't entirely a bad thing.  It feels like Cheliax would have a hard time making there be a library that's also a torture chamber, and force her to enjoy reading books while she'd rather have her soul torn away so that the pain stops - like it would be hard to torture her to death over years in a way that satisfies her curse.  Maybe she couldn't easily be maledicted either, with the grip that libraries now have on her soul?  Is her curse one that takes her straight to Nethys's afterlife, is that why it feels like the curse would tear out her soul and not just kill her?  Nethys - she's trying not to think thoughts like this, but they still bubble up in the back of her mind - Nethys may have a different attitude from Asmodeus about making sure that His own slaves, so long as they worked hard and did their best, get protected from sufficiently painful fates?

No, she's being stupid.  Nethys wants her to be less afraid of Asmodeus and Cheliax, obviously, so that she doesn't treat them as having equal power with Nethys to threaten her and force her obedience.

...she wishes she hadn't thought that, it's going to make Cheliax trust her less after the next time they read her mind.  The problem is that Ione is now living in such strange new circumstances that she doesn't know yet which paths of thought will lead her to dangerous places before she starts to think them.  She does have to think now, and figure out what Nethys wants from her using her own wits.  Nethys can't give her specific instructions because anybody Nethys touches goes mad.

Ione has been taught since childhood that nobody really cares about her or ever would care about her, except for how she's of use to them; especially the gods, who could help, but don't.  It's pathetic to think that Nethys would give her that curse because Nethys cared about one tiny worm that didn't even ask to be His cleric.  Lots of mortals in the world die agonizing slow deaths and Nethys doesn't protect them.  Asmodeus is the only god who has enough use for mortals in general being competent, not just a few favored clerics, to make sure that children in Cheliax get an education.  And while it has occurred to Ione that this is propaganda, it has also occurred to her that it cannot just be a complete lie.  It's not like Nethys gave her any oracle levels, or helped her in any other way, before she was in a position to be useful to Him.

But it's still - a little warm - to have a master who took real, visible steps to protect her against the worst that other masters can do.

So she will do her very best for Nethys, as she has been thoroughly incentivized, which will include (Ione is very aware that she must think this and believe it as sincerely as she can) being very, very, very obedient to the Chelish government and not inconveniencing them at all, so they don't separate her from Keltham and replace her with an imposter.

If magic lessons take anyone to the library at any point, they're going to encounter Ione Sala, who has now been healed in flesh if not in spirit.

Very shortly after being healed, Ione Sala discovered that as soon as she gets a couple of dozen steps away from the library, she starts to feel a pull, a faint tingle, which she can intuitively feel would start to weaken her abilities after a time, and eventually rip her soul out of her body.  She's going to need sleeping arrangements set up in here, or in a room connected to here, or for somebody to make her a bedroom that's also a library.  And it doesn't feel like books are enough to make a place a library; people would need to be able to wander into her bedroom and read books there.  Ione also knows that she needs to occasionally read some of the books, and get new books sometimes.  They have to be books she actually wants to read; she can't just be doing it out of duty.  Otherwise she'll die.

Oracles get curses, don't they.

...this curse isn't entirely a bad thing.  It feels like Cheliax would have a hard time making there be a library that's also a torture chamber, and force her to enjoy reading books while she'd rather have her soul torn away so that the pain stops - like it would be hard to torture her to death over years in a way that satisfies her curse.  Maybe she couldn't easily be maledicted either, with the grip that libraries now have on her soul?  Is her curse one that takes her straight to Nethys's afterlife, is that why it feels like the curse would tear out her soul and not just kill her?  Nethys - she's trying not to think thoughts like this, but they still bubble up in the back of her mind - Nethys may have a different attitude from Asmodeus about making sure that His own slaves, so long as they worked hard and did their best, get protected from sufficiently painful fates?

No, she's being stupid.  Nethys wants her to be less afraid of Asmodeus and Cheliax, obviously, so that she doesn't treat them as having equal power with Nethys to threaten her and force her obedience.

...she wishes she hadn't thought that, it's going to make Cheliax trust her less after the next time they read her mind.  The problem is that Ione is now living in such strange new circumstances that she doesn't know yet which paths of thought will lead her to dangerous places before she starts to think them.  She does have to think now, and figure out what Nethys wants from her using her own wits.  Nethys can't give her specific instructions because anybody Nethys touches goes mad.

Ione has been taught since childhood that nobody really cares about her or ever would care about her, except for how she's of use to them; especially the gods, who could help, but don't.  It's pathetic to think that Nethys would give her that curse because Nethys cared about one tiny worm that didn't even ask to be His cleric.  Lots of mortals in the world die agonizing slow deaths and Nethys doesn't protect them.  Asmodeus is the only god who has enough use for mortals in general being competent, not just a few favored clerics, to make sure that children in Cheliax get an education.  And while it has occurred to Ione that this is propaganda, it has also occurred to her that it cannot just be a complete lie.  It's not like Nethys gave her any oracle levels, or helped her in any other way, before she was in a position to be useful to Him.

But it's still - a little warm - to have a master who took real, visible steps to protect her against the worst that other masters can do.

So she will do her very best for Nethys, as she has been thoroughly incentivized, which will include (Ione is very aware that she must think this and believe it as sincerely as she can) being very, very, very obedient to the Chelish government and not inconveniencing them at all, so they don't separate her from Keltham and replace her with an imposter.

If magic lessons take anyone to the library at any point, they're going to encounter Ione Sala, who has now been healed in flesh if not in spirit.

Very shortly after being healed, Ione Sala discovered that as soon as she gets a couple of dozen steps away from the library, she starts to feel a pull, a faint tingle, which she can intuitively feel would start to weaken her abilities after a time, and eventually rip her soul out of her body.  She's going to need sleeping arrangements set up in here, or in a room connected to here, or for somebody to make her a bedroom that's also a library.  And it doesn't feel like books are enough to make a place a library; people would need to be able to wander into her bedroom and read books there.  Ione also knows that she needs to occasionally read some of the books, and get new books sometimes.  They have to be books she actually wants to read; she can't just be doing it out of duty.  Otherwise she'll die.

Oracles get curses, don't they.

...this curse isn't entirely a bad thing.  It feels like Cheliax would have a hard time making there be a library that's also a torture chamber, and force her to enjoy reading books while she'd rather have her soul torn away so that the pain stops - like it would be hard to torture her to death over years in a way that satisfies her curse.  Maybe she couldn't easily be maledicted either, with the grip that libraries now have on her soul?  Is her curse one that takes her straight to Nethys's afterlife, is that why it feels like the curse would tear out her soul and not just kill her?  Nethys - she's trying not to think thoughts like this, but they still bubble up in the back of her mind - Nethys may have a different attitude from Asmodeus about making sure that His own slaves, so long as they worked hard and did their best, get protected from sufficiently painful fates?

No, she's being stupid.  Nethys wants her to be less afraid of Asmodeus and Cheliax, obviously, so that she doesn't treat them as having equal power with Nethys to threaten her and force her obedience.

...she wishes she hadn't thought that, it's going to make Cheliax trust her less after the next time they read her mind.  The problem is that Ione is now living in such strange new circumstances that she doesn't know yet which paths of thought will lead her to dangerous places before she starts to think them.  She does have to think now, and figure out what Nethys wants from her using her own wits.  Nethys can't give her specific instructions because anybody Nethys touches goes mad.

Ione has been taught since childhood that nobody really cares about her or ever would care about her, except for how she's of use to them; especially the gods, who could help, but don't.  It's pathetic to think that Nethys would give her that curse because Nethys cared about one tiny worm that didn't even ask to be His cleric.  Lots of mortals in the world die agonizing slow deaths and Nethys doesn't protect them.  Asmodeus is the only god who has enough use for mortals in general being competent, not just a few favored clerics, to make sure that children in Cheliax get an education.  And while it has occurred to Ione that this is propaganda, it has also occurred to her that it cannot just be a complete lie.  It's not like Nethys made her His oracle, or helped her in any other way, before she was in a position to be useful to Him.

But it's still - a little warm - to have a master who took real, visible steps to protect her against the worst that other masters can do.

So she will do her very best for Nethys, as she has been thoroughly incentivized, which will include (Ione is very aware that she must think this and believe it as sincerely as she can) being very, very, very obedient to the Chelish government and not inconveniencing them at all, so they don't separate her from Keltham and replace her with an imposter.