025.4 "How much do the two of you know about Celestia and the Hebdomad?"

[Corwin]

23:32] <Kotono> Thereafter, a simple invitation comes to both Afina and Jaela - to come to the War Room. Once there, they find Morniel awaiting them. He offers his hand out, "Morniel," he greets them, "I come from the Maimed God Tyr."
[23:33] <Jaela> "Welcome!" Jaela greets him, happy that their request was heard.
[23:34] <Afina> "Thank you for coming," Afina slips her tiny hand into his briefly before fluttering backwards. "I'm sorry we couldn't greet you, we just got back from hell and had to interrogate our prisoner quickly."
[23:35] <Jaela> "It's been a pretty great day," Jaela agrees.
[23:38] <Kotono> "It's fine," He smiles a moment to them, "To get to the point, it is our opinion that you could use an advisor and diplomat to help guide your actions. Your hearts may be in the right places, but you've also upset several entities so far and made enemies. If you're on the side of righteousness against the devils, there's no profit or gain for this to be happening, for anyone."
[23:40] <Afina> "Having been burnt by the planes, we're not about to show weakness a second time," Afina is firm on that. "But no, we don't need more enemies taking blows that we'd rather be delivering to hell itself."
[23:41] <Jaela> That was pretty much their argument, and Jaela can only nod. "There's no need for us to make enemies of anyone except devils and their pals. Is it too much to hope that you have an idea on what we can do where it comes to Helm?"
[23:41] <Kotono> "Of course," Morniel goes to sit down, "What happened to Lifasa is inexcusable. As a matter of fact, I do. Please, sit," Gesturing, "I'll explain the plan I have."
[23:42] * Jaela claims a seat for herself opposite him.
[23:42] * Afina lands on one of the seats between Jaela and Morniel to assert this as a balanced conversation rather than an interview between him and Aurora.
[23:46] <Kotono> "Celestia is more than Bahamut and Helm. There is the rest of the Triad and the Celestial Hebdomad. The dwarven power Moradin has his forges there as well, but he's not a serious player in the politics of the realm or in this particular squabble." Going on after a moment, "If you come to gain the approval of the rest of the Triad as well as the Hebdomad, it weakens Helm's position. Celestia is
[23:46] <Kotono> about cooperation for the greater good; the nature of Celestia means outliers are gently persuaded to question their views. In essence, we use that to leverage to improve our relations with Helm. As for Bahamut, I suspect he is a lost cause due to the incident with Baleruk. While you may not gain his approval, if the rest of Celestia approves of Aurora, it weakens his own position greatly."
[23:47] <Jaela> "Where it comes to the Triad, is that practical?" Jaela has to ask. "Helm sent his forces to arrest me while I came to Ilmater's realm."
[23:47] <Afina> "Ideally he'd realise he's better off fighting Tiamat than us," Afina opines in regards to Bahamut.
[23:48] <Kotono> "Yes, though going to the House of the Triad isn't an option," Shaking his head to Jaela, "What you did to save a worshiper of Tyr was a good first step. Proving your devotion to good causes and aiding the other deities gains you favor with them."
[23:50] <Jaela> "Oh, certainly," Jaela agrees. "Of course we'll help those that we don't have a beef with. It's more that we can't really do anything about this until it happens, right? I'm wondering if there's a way to be active instead of reactive, here.,"
[23:50] <Afina> "We're not cruel or savage," Afina frowns. "Bahamut's own followers who fought against us the first time were treated with respect and mercy."
[23:57] <Kotono> "In time," Morniel says, "Establish your credentials and motives first. As for the dragon gods..." Morniel looks down a moment, "They are bitter enemies - imagine spouses who hate one another beyond all words, and oppose each other in every word and deed. Yet, for the children, they'll cooperate when something threatens them. This is a split that needs to be muted. I assume Tiamat would be your enemy in any case, as she is hardly better than a devil and with Hell, and thus your enemy already."
[23:59] * Afina spends a moment picturing a two fey lovers, one of the Seelie and one of the Unseelie... she supposes it could happen. However it hasn't happened to her, so it's still hard to really get the ins and outs of it. "Anyway, if it was as simple as doing good deeds and fighting hell we'd be fine. But I'm not sure our new enemies will let it lie so easily."
[00:00] <Jaela> "We thought the same thing," Jaela agrees once more, where it comes to the analysis of the dragons. "And I think Afina's right, which is why I want us to do something instead of waiting for a chance. We've taken on the devils already, and I don't see how doing it a few more times will change things."
[00:01] <Kotono> "Yes. As a matter of fact," Morniel nods, "If I were hell, I'd be trying my hardest to turn Celestia and other lawfully aligned powers against you. Mechanus as well. In fact, your recent scrap with them could very well have come with a slight prod from Baator. Which is one reason why The Maimed God sent me. No one wants to see this become a war of law against chaos. None of the Heavens want that
[00:01] <Kotono> sort of war to happen instead of this being a crusade against good and evil. Which is why," Nodding to both of their words, "Mending some fences here is essential, especially towards law."
[00:03] <Jaela> "We'll establish our devil-killing credentials firmly soon enough, just as we did with our demon-killing ones," Jaela asserts. "So what we really need to work on is our appeal to the powers of Celestia and the Triad. Since we can't set foot in the Triad itself, that means going to Celestia?"
[00:04] <Kotono> "Yes. How much do the two of you know about Celestia and the Hebdomad?"
[00:05] * Afina carefully avoids looking blank despite her ignorance, hoping Jaela will answer quickly.
[00:07] <Jaela> "In short, the Hebdomad are powers in charge of the various mountains of Celestia, each follow its own ethos," Jaela muses. "So you're suggesting climbing Celestia as high as we can make it and appealing to each separately?"
[00:09] <Kotono> Morniel nods, "That's the essence of what I mean. A sincere soul who wishes to attempt to climb the Holy Mountain will never be turned away. Celestia respects the law, but is more open to mercy for the sake of good instead. They aren't another Mechanus. A more personal appeal can serve you better. So a personal appeal to Barachiel and his agents is likely your best option. It would involve a trip to Celestia. Bear in mind, any trip to Celestia is a spiritual journey. It is best to go with an open mind and seeking enlightenment as well as understanding. If you see it as a chore, or merely something to be bought off, you'll fail.
[00:10] * Jaela nods. "It's a heaven, after all. They tend to be like that."
[00:10] <Afina> "And if we bring Aurora to Celestia?" Afina asks, "Can it be guaranteed safe against assaults by forces loyal to Bahamaut or Helm looking to slay Baleruk or Annalise? What if either of those two wandered Celestia's slopes on their own?"
[00:12] <Jaela> "It'd probably be rude to take a fortress somewhere we weren't invited," Jaela muses. "But if they do invite us, diplomatic immunity should kick in. Right, Morniel?"
[00:13] <Afina> It was fine in Ysgard and Air, wasn't it? Afina keeps quiet, though. What does she know about these places?
[00:13] <Kotono> "It would be best not to bring Aurora to Celestia. Annalise alone could cause...problems." He drawls that out, "As long as you sincerely walk Celestial to learn and improve yourselves, you'll be fine. Indeed, you may come to answer and resolve your past sins as you ascend in any case."
[00:14] <Afina> "How long is climbing the mountain likely to take?" Afina cocks her head. "I understand what you said about not seeing it as a chore, but we are at war, so leaving our fortress for an extended period is problematic."
[00:16] * Jaela took a look at her past sins, and they didn't seem that horrible, really. But climbing a mountain could be fun, too. "Doesn't Lord Tyr have another realm on Lunia?" she decides to inquire.
[00:19] <Kotono> "It takes as long as it needs to take. I know of a woman who climbed to Jovar in a few days," Morniel says, "Others have spent lifetimes and not even ascended past Lunia." Tapping his gold covered chest with a finger, "It's about what's in here, not any schedule or agenda. Fortunately you don't need to do it all at once, and once you ascend to another level, returning to it later is usually simple. Also, you don't need to ascend at all to meet Barachiel."
[00:21] * Afina nods, satisfied. "It's worth pursuing, then. How do you suggest actually approaching the figures there?"
[00:23] <Kotono> "Barachiel's simple enough. He is the Celestial Messenger, the Herald of Hope. You spread a message of hope against Baator as well. There's a natural affinity." Steepling his hands together, "You could approach him asking for aid and understanding in your cause, or in some other way using that as a way to relate."
[00:25] <Jaela> "After the rescue, I think," Jaela muses, glancing at Afina. "Unless you think we need more time to come up with a good plan there?"
[00:28] <Afina> "No, we have as good information as we're likely to get," Afina shakes her head. "Thank you, Morniel, you and Tyr have been very helpful to us. We have an important attack on hell coming up, but afterwards a visit to Celestia sounds productive."