[to be fair he doesn't yet realize the emperor and 'god' are the same person, so that's fun. it's definitely less stressful imagining this is talk of a being far away and not literally in the same neighborhood.

he can't help a snort at that. not paying attention.] Ah, an absent god rather than a cruel one. That's certainly a way to spin it in a less damning light.

What exactly happened on the First? I suppose this explains why you've always seemed to shy away from speaking of it much. I thought it was just a wasteland.