"Correct. Though an unhideable halo costs one, not three- If you went with that on Virata you would have twenty four, less nine for magic, less five for soul eye, leaving ten."

"So Virata's basic build has a little more wiggle room than Astrata's, that's neat. Can you tell me more about Virata?"

"There are dozens and more distinct races of people upon Virata- Many of them following the humanoid form, but not all. It may be best thought of as 'kitchen sink fantasy'. The most prominent species of peoples upon the planet would be humans, octopods, corvids, drakes and kobolds, the chitinate or insect-people, and elementals. Less common species include stitchfolk, myconids, florids, pebblacks, and centaurs. It's a very busy place. Much war, much chaos, much magic abounds. Any magic, no matter how petty or grand, has a tiny risk of allowing Demons to appear or influence the result, so the world of Virata is much contested between Heaven and Hell, and has been for centuries. We have made slow progress in pushing back barbarism, suffering, and cruelty, but must be always on guard."

"Why does magic have that chance?"

"It seems to be a natural feature of the world. Both Heaven and Hell can intervene more easily there- You would be able to be much more free with your miracles on Virata. The presence of an angel or consecrated ground- Consecration is one possible miracle- can reduce this risk."

"Reduce, but not eliminate? - could I do magic intended to summon demons specifically so I could entice them onto prepared ground and kill them right away?"

"A fine idea. I think it may only work the first few times until the demons catch on, but worth trying for certain. But also, no. It would be dark magic. You would have to find an accomplice or ally to do the summoning, and it would put them at severe risk of possession."

"I was thinking less dark magic and more magic that is also useful in some unrelated way, but performed under circumstances that increase rather than decrease the demon-appearance risk and allow swift dispatch. How does demonic possession work?"

"Demons can take physical form and disguise themselves, but they can also take insubstantial forms and... Inhabit magical items, influencing things around them for evil, altering effects to cause curses or pain, or to make it feel good to sin and bad to show mercy or virtue, leading people to ruin through conditioning. They speak lies and evil, tempting people in a mundane way by promising power, vengeance, appealing to lust or envy or greed, and amplifying such emotions and temptations in the minds of others. And they may go yet further to inhabit people, which gives them far greater access to one's emotions and can implant intrusive thoughts, or even outright control them if the possessed's will is weak or the demon is mighty. This last stage requires that the person let the demon enter their mind, or severe and repeated exposure. The Greater Miracle of Purification can allow you to expel even those demons who had been like burrowed ticks within their targets minds, if you can hold and touch them for several minutes."

"So an accomplice doing summonings plus that miracle might make a dent but only till they caught wise. Can you list me likely-looking miracles?"

"I think you had not much liking for direct combat or miracles related to it. Healing, Resurrection - requires a body - the Holy Feast, the Sun - shining like it as a great show and blinding foes - Protection, Ecogenesis - making life flourish around you and customizing what sort, Purification, Binding, Consecration, Peace - forcing everyone to take no hostile actions for a time - and the miracle of Prayer, which simply allots your favor for answering of strangers' prayers, not helping you. But it is generous."

"What's the holy feast?"

"Like Jesus Christ took five small loaves of bread and two small fish, and with them fed a crowd of teeming thousands, so can you do the same, and with as little favor as it might take to heal a single man from near death. The greater version requires much favor but allows the creation of blessed food that makes mortals akin to angels, shining with radiance and acting as if they have every Foundation at the first level for a year and a day, that being a time period with mystical significance that is easy to attach things to. You may choose one of the miracles you have access to to unlock the greater version of same in addition, though if you take two Vows or pay the unlock cost of a miracle a second time you may take a second greater miracle, as well."

"How does ecogenesis compare for hunger relief?"

"For restoring ruined land to something farmable, ecogenesis is much better in the longer term. But it will certainly not help nearly as much in the short term, even if hunters and gatherers seek the bounty of restored lands."

"How expensive are ecogenesis and healing?"

"Healing costs two Virtue to access and little favor to use. Ecogenesis costs three Virtue to access and a moderate amount of favor to use. It benefits from being used at long stretches at a time- Covering more area per second the longer you keep it going. But that requires more and more favor at a time too. Your vow of compassion grants three Virtue, and as said before you can also spend Quintessence for this cost. Normal healing does not cover chronic disease, crippling, or deep infection and poison especially well. Greater healing does, at higher favor cost. Greater ecogenesis is very expensive in favor but allows you to design specific features of the land instead of merely general biome, and also allows you access to 'Heavenly' as a biome. The land would be suffused with Heaven's light like a halo, stopping Demons, making healing fast and easy, and growing gardens where fruit is abundant and ever-ripe."

"Do I spend virtue to access greater miracles or are they just stronger and more favor-intensive versions that come with selecting it at all?"

"You get one greater copy for free, and another for free for every two vows, and can also instead buy a miracle twice to access its greater version."

"Huh, so it'd behoove me to take an even number of vows?"

"If you care about maximizing the number of greater miracles, perhaps. It would also behoove you not to take any vows you cannot live with."

"Oh, yeah, absolutely. I was looking at Compassion, and maybe Honesty or Charity, and I was like ninety-nine percent on Diligence being workable. Can you... explain Diligence again in different words, it might be totally fine and I was just reading into the phrasing too much?"

"You can't just do nothing for weeks at a time. 'Nothing' is, for example - having baths, eating, reading novels with little or no educational value, doing puzzles, socializing at parties. Things that are not 'nothing' are doing art with some amount of actual effort, administrating an empire or even just a village, fighting beasts or demons, healing people, travelling so you can go do good, consoling people, practicing magic or swordplay, making shoes, learning to make shoes, anything that has a purpose and direction outside of yourself. You have to spend at least a couple hours a day on that sort of thing, not counting Sundays. You don't have to do two hours every day, doing only a minute of perfunctory work on Saturdays would be fine if you do more than the bare minimum on other days, but taking a week off would require you to find a hobby that doesn't count as 'nothing' and do that some. And if you're incapable of not doing nothing, say if you're trapped somewhere, it doesn't count."

"But for example, is - self-reflection to sort out my thoughts and have them in good order, productive or self-improving? Will I be able to tell if I contemplate or begin a hobby if it counts as nothing?"

"You will be able to tell. I think I need to hear a little more about that to be certain but it doesn't sound like 'nothing'?"