Pamphlet 2

All power comes from the divine, I am bound to agree. but the emperor's church casts her as both all powerful and helpless in the face of any incursions

If the goddess is all-powerful, why are plagues and illnesses out of her control? Why do we blame spirits and small gods when by the doctrine our divine goddess has power over all? The imperial army marches on those who live without the goddess to show them her goodness. But the goddess asks for peace if anyone from inside the empire asks for a better lot in life. What the goddess supports appears to be dependent largely on what her church's priests want; the Divine is used as a cudgel to beat us with, rather than a mother to love us.

We give the emperor power because he comes from the line of the goddess. As a human, perhaps my line also goes back to that of the goddess as we come from the same place, humans from the tribes of the Haim. Who is to say that I am not also in the line to succeed as emperor? Who is to say we are not all equal in divinity?

If the emperor gets his power from the goddess, why does he need an army? Why does he need to convince others of his own power with violence? Where is that power?