"I have Healer and Infusion Priest."

"That's great, child."

"I want to learn Necromancy and Divination."

"I am father Ewing, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm always happy to meet new prospective members of our order."

"No, I definitely do not want to join your order."

"You don't believe in Ishmael?"

"I don't believe that humans are well suited to interpreting the thoughts and opinions of divinities."

"Divinity. Ishmael is the only god of goodness and light."

"See, that's what exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about where I won't always come to the same conclusions. I mean, you say Ishmael is the only god of goodness and light, but what about his sister?"

"She died creating the system and giving us a chance against the invasion."

"Does Ishmael bleed?"

"I would expect not, he's a god, not a human. And you can stop now, I see what you're trying to do."

"Indeed, if a deity doesn't have a body in the same sense that we understand it, how can we be certain of any details regarding their life and death, much less their thoughts and opinions. I'm not even qualified to represent your personal opinions, much less the opinions of a being that I've never spoken with and who is inherently unknowable. I'd be a terrible addition to your order."

"We speak to him and he speaks to us, that's why we pray."

"And somehow you're certain that this great divine being can be bothered to personally respond to every little question you have, rather than accepting that we all have internal voices and the ability to hold entire conversations with ourselves. Yes yes divine guidance, I know, I'm just not sold on everyone who believes they have spoken with a god actually having done so. I would imagine a deity would either be able to communicate with us rather clearly, or there was some form of barrier or cost associated with direct communication. Either way, it's my opinion that an assumption of our internal conversations being deific intervention is something of a stretch."

"You're clearly not here to learn anything, so why are you here?"

"I want to learn Necromancy and Divination. How can I make that happen?"

"As you currently are, you cannot. Necromancy is the study of the soul and, to a much smaller degree, its unification with flesh. As for divination? Even the name itself makes it clear that the acceptance of divinity is a core element to the skill. If your faith is lacking, no amount of training will be enough for you to learn the skill."

"What do I need to do in order to be allowed to try and learn the skill?"

"You'd need to embrace the faith. When you felt you were ready, you could then request to join the clergy, and if you were a member in good standing, the bishop would determine your suitability, as well as -"

"Stop." A deep and sonorous sounding voice interrupted.

Both the priest and I turned to face a true antediluvian, his face covered in wrinkle tracks so deep they could have been ploughed into place. We continued watching patiently as the elderly man performed a dignified amble from behind the pulpit and into the main chamber of the church, gracefully skirting around the altar to Ishmael. He wore a loose fitting and regal white and gold threaded robe, and his measured approach carried with it a deep solemnity, as though his every motion or word might contain profound wisdom and inestimable significance.

"What is your name, child."

"Han Kenta or Kenta Han, it seems that customs differ depending on location and culture. May I know your name?"

"I'm the Archbishop Canrise. It is a pleasure to meet you, Han Kenta or Kenta Han. I apologize for interrupting so late, I'd been looking for something around here and was sufficiently distracted I'd not realized you were in here asking favors until the last few moments. Why do you wish to learn to be a Necromancer and a Diviner if you have no faith?"

"It's not that I have no faith whatsoever, it's that I simply don't view things in the same way as your clergy or church would. For instance, I do not believe that any human church would actually be qualified to consistently and accurately represent a deities thoughts and opinions, nor do I believe that if there are any true deities, they are omniscient and omnipotent, nor do I believe that they would be particularly concerned about most of the things we might think they should be concerned about."

"So you don't believe in any gods? Not Ishmael, and not the Four?"

"If I were to hazard a guess, I would suggest that there likely are incredibly powerful beings who may have a lot in common with our characterizations of those figures. I've never met any of the deities you mentioned, and if I'm being honest I'd prefer not to meet anyone who could convincingly portray one of those figures."

"Why are you being so evasive, my son?"

"Because I don't know the truth about anything related to deities, and I'm just as happy not to convince myself that I have learned the truth about them. Unless one of them appears before me and announces themselves, I'm perfectly content going through my life ignoring their existence, just as I suspect that the majority of beings we might consider to be gods would be happy to ignore my existence. I see little potential gain in drawing their attention directly to myself, if attempts to do so even stood a chance of success."

"That's a better response than I'd expected, actually. I find your choice of words particularly interesting."

A few uncomfortable seconds pass in silence, before I finally accept that he isn't planning to speak until I respond.

"Which words, I beseech thee do tell, hath drawn thy interest."

"I found it curious that you spoke to the majority of deities ignoring your existence. A majority ignoring you implies that a minority do not, wouldn't that be right?"

"I think that's enough mincing words, your grace. You know why I stand here. What exactly are you hoping to achieve in this conversation?"

"I am a Saint, and as a Saint, I am also a Diviner. Even I am uncertain as to why I am here right now, but I divined that there was a purpose in coming to this city. I'd been at a loss as to what the purpose was, but now I believe that it likely relates to you."

"So you… Came here because your god told you to?"

"No, I've never once heard Lord Ishmael's voice. You were right about that, you know. That speaking with us directly comes at a price? I don't know what the price is, but he is able to communicate, and in extremely rare cases he will talk to one of the Saints. But not this time. This was a run of the mill passive divination. It feels similar to any other hunch, but when it comes from a divination it provides hints of possible futures, and a sense of things to come. Let me ask you again, why do you wish to learn to be a Necromancer and a Diviner?"

"Because I want to be able to heal myself when I am injured, and strengthen myself when I need to be stronger, and if I already intend to practice those abilities, increasing my skill levels as part of a tier 4 skill will result in higher attributes, thereby mitigating the importance of the skills I just described."

"You have no interest in creating hordes of loyal followers, nor resurrecting a dead companion?"

"Creating a follower without a mind is essentially useless to me at this time, though I won't rule out the possibility that I might change my mind on that if I had good cause. A follower with a mind but no will of their own is not a follower at all, and I would view their existence as the greatest possible disservice to them. That's a fate I'd not wish on anyone, though once more I'll not unequivocally state that there is no chance I would ever do such a thing. I can only say that it's not a decision I'd make lightly, and I hope never to find myself in a position where I might believe that enslaving someone else to my will is something worth doing."

The Archbishop grimaces, it is clear he truly did not like those answers.

"You are coming across as someone of questionable morals. It's all too easy to believe that it's ok to enslave others if it'll save lives, and to believe that it's better to force your enemies to your own will and have them die on your behalf than your friends, family, and lovers. Once you've started rationalizing those decisions, in short order you'll have fallen."

"There are few who would question their own morality as often as I do. I'm not offended by your interpretation of my answers, but I suspect it would be worse to lie than to tell you things I know you don't want to hear."

"You are not a follower of Ishmael, and the more I speak with you, the more I realize he would never want to use you."

"Well, I appreciate your time. Do you have any suggestions for someone else who might be more willing to work with me on learning these skills?"

"Yes you insolent brat," the archbishop calmly replied even as he turned and began his return to the back of the church, "Father Ewing will be your instructor in learning Necromancy, and he can take you as far as space and time magic as well. For the rest of the divination skill you'll need to figure the details out on your own, those aren't skills which can truly be taught, we can only provide some guidance. Aside from that guidance, everything else will be between you and God."

Neither Father Ewing nor I moved until long after he was out of sight, at which point we shared a meaningful look. Although nothing was said aloud, in that moment we both knew exactly what was going through the others heads… It's not hard to piece together, we were merely wondering what the fuck, exactly, just happened?