Another thing that may be useful in the context of this discussion is the FANBOYS mnemonic--for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. When one of these separates two independent clauses, a comma is always correct. The OP is also correct in that some house styles allow the omitting of the comma if the clauses are very short (four words or less), as in this example: John drove and Mary walked.
But if this messes with your head, forget about it. "John drove, and Mary walked" is also correct. This is something that if you successfully navigate the trade publication route, editors will put your manuscript into the preferred house style. But an agent shouldn't wrinkle their nose over you separating every independent clause joined by a FANBOYS conjunction with a comma. If they rejected you for that sort of thing, it truly would be game over.
If you decide to go the self-publishing route, it's a little more involved. Essentially, you have to decide what your house style is and stick with it. You don't like the Oxford comma? After burying yourself in shame (just kidding, mostly), then you can simply decide not to use it. But don't use an Oxford comma in some sentences and not in others. That will lead people to believe you don't understand comma use. The same applies to commas that separate short independent clauses or any other comma rule that involves discretion, like whether or not you use a comma before trailing adverbs.
But if this messes with your head, forget about it. "John drove, and Mary walked" is also correct. This is something that if you successfully navigate the trade publication route, editors will put your manuscript into the preferred house style. But an agent shouldn't wrinkle their nose over you separating every independent clause joined by a FANBOYS conjunction with a comma. If they rejected you for that sort of thing, it truly would be game over.
If you decide to go the self-publishing route, it's a little more involved. Essentially, you have to decide what your house style is and stick with it. You don't like the Oxford comma? After burying yourself in shame (just kidding, mostly), then you can simply decide not to use it. But don't use an Oxford comma in some sentences and not in others. That will lead people to believe you don't understand comma use. The same applies to commas that separate short independent clauses or any other comma rule that involves discretion, like whether or not you use a comma before trailing adverbs.
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You technically do need a comma after Savior as well. The phrase "the inscription read" serves the same function as "he said" or "she thought," both of which would be preceded by commas.
