But have you really understood how powerless the gods are, when the lowest slave may exclude them from his heart? And if from his heart, then from th… - Lois McMaster Bujold

"The Father of Winter says tells Ista,
"...For my great-souled child is very late, and lost upon his road. My calling voice cannot reach him. He cannot see the light in my window, for he is sundered from me, blind and deaf and stumbling, with none to take his hand and guide him. Yet you may touch him, in his darkness. And I may touch you, in yours. Then take you this thread to draw him through the maze, where I cannot go."

Later, Ista delivers the message,

"Your Father calls you to His Court. You need not pack; you go garbed in glory as you stand. He waits eagerly by His palace doors to welcome you, and has prepared a place at His high table by His side, in the company of the great-souled, honored, and best-beloved. In this I speak true. Bend your head.

“You? I know you! You trust beyond reason.”
She met his eyes steadily. “Yes. It’s how I get results beyond hope. As you may recall.”

I wonder if we should add a box to tick off — Reason for travel: creepy planetary conquest... no, I suppose not.