He was up and in her face before she finished the last sentence, rage clear on his face. "How dare..."<br/><br/>He took a deep breath, and moved back, considering the last moment, before smiling and nodding. "My apologies. I am usually the smart ass in the conversation, so having it turned on me is a bit unsettling. Your choice."<br/><br/>He reached over and tapped her armor over her heart, where the rune was. "That rune is written in a dead language. The closest ones I know of are draconic, and a bit closer is the language of the illithid, psionic abberations that existed when the planes were formed. Since this rune has bits of both, and I, a god of knowledge, don't recognize the language, I can only guess as to its origins."<br/><br/>He paused, staring in the distance, the finger idly tapping her breastplate, unconsciously falling into the soothing rhythm of a song he could dimly remember his mother singing. Only the beat, none of the words or the tune. "I think it is the original language of the gods. One that allowed for perfect communication between individuals. Language itself is 10% what is said, about 35% how you say it, I think, and 55% nonverbal gestures and stances. This language would have allowed for as precise a communication as when face to face, maybe even more so than that. I am not even sure I am translating all the little nuances in the rune properly, but that was the general message."<br/><br/>He paused, and turned back to the gnoll, something she had said earlier finally coming to. "Wait, freedom from oppression? Then explain the slaves, the sacrifice of people, the fear of the younger priestesses of the higher ones? If that is because the priesthood has become corrupt, then they should keep manuscripts somewhere that tell what the real message should have been. If so, why haven't you demanded to see them, seeing how you are the person that the god decided to bring his priesthood back into line. Or do you not have that freedom, to call out the priesthood for perceived wrongs?"