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Welcome, Sister Melisha. Or, should I say, Superior Melisha?

As you know, your years of faithful service in Her name have been recognized, and by the next dawn's light you will be a part of the College of our faith. Now, I am sure you would expect me to talk to you about this new stage in your service AFTER tonight's... pleasantries, but there are things I need to speak with you before our celebration commences.

The reason I speak with you is that with the elevation of your status and stature comes a new arena in which you will serve our Beloved, and to serve effectively you need to know and understand many aspects of Her that even our lower clergy gloss over and do not fully understand. In short, to serve Her effectively, you must know Her. She will be very happy to teach you, Herself, after She joins us in celebration.

Why, of course our Goddess will attend, and of course She will attend to you. This is one of the privileges She grants to Her highest clergy: the privilege of Her presence, for whatever need you may require. It will not matter if you need Her advice, Her companionship, or simply for Her to fill your bed on a lonely night: She will grant your desire. Merely ask for Her presence, and She will come to you, in any form that you may require.

As with all great privileges, this is also a great responsibility: you shall have Her attentions upon you at all times, thus it behooves you to act as appropriate, with Her wishes and desires in all things. This is not to say that you will not be allowed your own desires, of course! However, you are as close to a direct agent of a higher power as any mortal person can be without divine investiture, and thus you must act to advance Her will. As such acting against Her, or BETRAYING Her is most emphatically forbidden and will be punished. While She deplores killing, She is not adverse to it. That is providing She does not decide it would be more pleasing to engage in a more creative punishment.

I do not mean to insinuate that you will betray Her, of course! After all, you would not have been offered the position if you were not been deemed trustworthy: not just by Her, but the College as well. And yes, the College influences Her decisions: as mortals, we have perspectives She does not. There will be--have been--times where the College will overrule Her immediate desires!

While She is indeed wise and loving, the simple fact is that She watches all over creation. She finds it all too easy to miss the details that, while small and inconsequential to her, are all-consuming to those She wishes to aid. It will be easy to remember, as She will remind you Herself: She is knowledgeable and observant, but not omniscient. She is powerful and capable, but not omnipotent: understanding that while She is a deity, She has limits and restrictions will help you act in Her will.

And so it is. As you will call upon her, she will call upon you, for your advice, or your companionship, or simply because She needs to fill a bed for a lonely night. But further than that, you are an agent of Her will, acting to spread Her teachings and Her vision to a world that will, at times, seem completely unwilling to accept them.

I will get to the subject of Her teachings in short order, but right now I think I should begin with the subject of WHAT She is, and what She represents. And the first thing I must tell you is this: She does not NEED us to survive.

Much has been discussed and discovered about the nature of divinity and deities, but the most well-known and accepted idea is that gods need worship to survive. This is true, to an extent: each mortal being generates a spiritual energy can be offered to a deity. Surprisingly, this does not require DIRECT worship: while ritualism generates a great amount of spiritual energy, simple belief and faith in a deity can provide energy at a lesser level. Needless to say while most deities would love to have as many rituals as possible, to generate vast amounts of energy, this is wearying to worshippers and quickly causes all but the most devoted to abandon them. So most deities pick appropriate times to hold observances, within tolerances, and otherwise subsist on the passive energy granted by a large number of followers.

Yet, by now, you have noticed that while we do a lot of what MIGHT be charitably called "rituals", in that we hold celebrations in Her name, we do not devote ourselves to the obsessive ritualism of other faiths. Futhermore, She does not actively seek converts, either from those without faith and those in other faiths. Those who join her come to her of their own will, under various circumstances.

Certainly, a church built of stragglers and the interested is not enough to sustain a deity, is it not? I know you have asked this question, as well as others: this is another of the reasons why you have been offered your position. To state it simply, no, it is not. However, there is a third source of power, often ignored in favor of direct infusions of worship and the low hum of belief: the deity may bind itself to a concept.

This is a very small source of power, and tied to the corporeal manifestation of that concept. A deity who binds itself to the concept of Fire must continually encourage fires and blazes, which is one of the reasons deities associated with fire are destructive. Furthermore, it is tied to the mortal understanding of that concept: a deity bound to oceans will receive no strength from those who have not so much as seen an ocean. In the end, it is often better for a deity to bind itself to overt religion: many may start with a concept, but quickly abandon it as their existence is further tied to the existence of that concept even if they amass enough followers to feed scores of deities. Most deities would rather survive beyond minor elemental spirits, really.

By now, you have realized that She is bound to the concept of Lust itself, and you begin to see where Her great power comes from. It does not matter if you believe in Her or not: any act of lust gives her power, and greatness of the act or the actor does not matter. A follower initiates an orgy, and all the acts of lust committed make Her stronger, regardless of the belief of the participants. The pious prude looks upon another with lust in their heart and immediately squashes it, praying to their deity for strength to resist: but the act has been committed, and it pleases and strengthens Her.

And there are many, so very many, acts of lust in this world. All of them ranging from small desires to great orgies, all of them giving Her strength. Yet, you do not understand the vastness of Her power: that is completely understandable as She, and we, deliberately understate Her source.

You see, Lust encompasses many things beyond simple sex, even though our church seems to focus upon that concept. For example, the concepts of bloodlust and goldlust: while She is not particularly bloodthirsty or greedy, those ideas still fall upon the concept of Lust. Furthermore, "Lust" is a misnomer: a better way to describe the concept to which She is bound is "taking pleasure in an action".

If you ask Her--do not fret, we all ask Her about it eventually--how She came to existence, Her answer is always the same, and these will be Her exact words: "When the first wee beastie realized it could enjoy what it was doing for itself, instead of just survival." She does not remember what that "wee beastie" was, but She does remember it had been devoured a few days later. In any case, it was long before recorded history.

Now most, if not all, creatures feel pleasure when they perform an act that encourages their own survival: if a creature feels good, they are more likely to perform that act. Going further, however: pleasure for the sake that you enjoy the act beyond its' function, pleasure for its' own sake, pleasure in the act in and of itself?

Think beyond sex: remember the pleasure you felt when you would be accepted into our church. Remember the pleasure you felt when you mastered your first spell. Remember the pleasure you felt when you had a perfect meal. All of that pleases and strengthens her: every act of pleasure, if it was the purpose or ancillary to the act. Every pleasure gives her just a tiny bit of power, just a tiny portion of what a person could give with overt worship or passive belief. And there is SO much pleasure in the world!

Now, you have a better idea of the power available to Her: She does not need our worship to survive as She can thrive simply on the pleasure of the world itself. Furthermore, is it not a lovely message to spread? She does not NEED us, but She wants us anyway, and She wants to share Her joy and pleasure with us!

And yet, despite the fact that She does not require us for Her survival, She still requires us in order to exert influence upon the mortal realm. Like all deities, She has an ideal She wishes to bring to existence. Of course, like all deities, Her ideal is tied to Her existence and would contribute to Her ascendancy. And like many deities would claim, such an event would not be a bad thing, but in this case it has the ring of truth upon it.

So what is that ideal? You know this, of course: it is to create a world of pleasure, where all beings can enjoy themselves and the world without harm, judgment, guilt or shame. She wishes for a world where all may share pleasure and joy, in the way that they wish to experience, without worry. A world where suffering is a lost concept, misery wiped away, and pain simply a word relegated to ancient dictionaries. In such a world She would be enormously powerful--if not the dominant deity--but She does not care. She does so because she believes that it is RIGHT.

You will see this in the actions She takes, and soon in the actions you take as well. As She says, "There is no greater pleasure in doing what is right, and having it benefit you as well." Many times you will have to forgo your own pleasures to facilitate the pleasures of others, or make Her desires a reality. But you will also indulge your own pleasures in ways that are undeniably right and good, and She encourages this.

So, we follow a deity who is powerful but cares naught for Her own power save for a way to bring good and pleasure into the world, and encourages pleasure for the benefit of all, which grants her further power to bring more good and pleasure into the world. You would think that all rational beings would flock to Her and exalt Her.

Needless to say, this is not always the case. I do not speak of those who do not follow Her (or at least, most of them): they contribute to Her by seeking their own pleasures, and they are free to worship how they please, especially if they find pleasure in their worship (which gives Her no small amount of amusement). They are not the Enemy, not of Her or our church.

Those who ARE the Enemy are those who are against universal pleasure, for any reason. There are those who believe that joyful pleasure is sinful and a distraction to worship. This would not be a problem if they were not dedicated to the eradication of shared pleasure in the name of physical or spiritual purity. There are those who wish to reserve pleasure to themselves, and relegate others to a grim existence simply because they believe others do not deserve pleasure. The reason why they believe others are undeserving is immaterial, but it is more often than not because they are not like them.

But, perhaps the worst and most pernicious Enemy are those who derive pleasure from the denial of pleasure to others, or worse the misery and harm of others. Make no mistake, She derives power from these unholy pleasures, but it is tainted strength that sickens and angers Her. This is not to say that there are not people who wish to be denied, or find their pleasure in physical pain and harm, but I speak of those whose pleasures come at the price upon those unwilling to pay. Our Goddess truly hates sadists, needless to say!

The halls of power are all too full of people who would extract their pleasure from the suffering of those under them, as well as people who believe that their pleasures would be inexorably tainted should those under them share in them. Far too many powers in the world see pleasure not derived from themselves, if not pleasure itself, as a thing to be eradicated and replaced with a focus on that power. And of course, there's those who rape and take without regards to the needs and sanctity of others.

Thus, the existence of the church. It is not a tool to give Her sustenance and purpose. It is Her tool to project influence into the mortal realm and realize Her ideals. Her clergy are not proselytizers, but agents of Her will. You have realized this upon some level: all of Her Superiors are well acquainted with the halls of power, and often have lists of contacts and lovers that could be read as a Who's Who of the local area. Those who do not are well connected to many peaceful movements and influences upon the populace and halls of power.

A simple healer to a general counsels mercy and respect to a defeated enemy. A trusted advisor and friend of a senator offers a change in policy that would improve the lives of their constituents. The mistress of a King suggests a law that would bring pleasure to the masses, for the sake of his popularity, of course! Among the masses, we disperse and agitate, bringing to the fore the suffering of the marginalized and oppressed, telling the world that they have every right to pleasure and joy as those in power and pushing various movements to achieve her ideals. A simple healer to protestors encourages them to stand up for themselves and others. A trusted advisor and friend of an activist offers a change in policy to encourage the right to pleasure for the oppressed. The mistress of a leader suggests the movement stand up against abuse and harassment, encouraging a safer movement that all can enjoy and take part in, of course!

And step, by step, by step, we encourage and cajole. We open our doors to feed the hungry, proclaiming to the world that we will not simply feed them, they will feast and leave with full bellies and happy memories. We hold orgies, encouraging pleasure with respect and orgasmic joy with blossoming love. A priestess shows a man the pleasures of the flesh and bids him to share the pleasure he has experienced with others. An Oracle advises a Duchess, divining her future and encouraging her to make her duchy fruitful and joyous. And She, in the heavens, advises and argues and loves among the deities, leaving behind fond memories which are called upon when the deities take actions that would harm the pleasure of others.

As we influence, we do not make demands of our faith. The hungry feast without sermon of the clergy but basked in the love they have of pleasure and cooking for others. The orgy holds the most minor of invocations, simply to announce the beginning of the night's activities. The priestess shares not her Goddess but her pleasure in her lover and the world. The Oracle does not demand fealty to Her before he dispenses his advice, only stating that it would please Her if he is asked. And She makes no demands of fealty to Her brethren and expects none, relying on respect and care for each other and mutual pleasures.

Perhaps now you see Her wisdom: by seeking pleasure instead of power, we gain both the temporal power (through influence) and spiritual power (through the increased power of our Goddess) to make her ideal into reality. And as the world grows closer to her ideal, we can indulge ourselves even more, sharing our pleasures with the world.

So what will we do once Her desire is achieved? We will enjoy the world, just as She bids us now, but we will no longer have to work as hard to give everyone else pleasure, because it will come as naturally as breathing. And in the end, that's all that matters.

But until that happy day where everything in creation sings with Her joy and passion and pleasure and love--ah! But I have nattered too long! Do you feel that? She has arrived to greet you Herself! It will soon be time to celebrate your ascension, Sister, we shan't keep everyone waiting.

I know that you will serve Her in the best manner that you see fit, Sister, as does She. That is why we celebrate now. But let us set our duties to Her and all aside, and enjoy ourselves. There is always time for business, after all.