A Return

[Corwin]

"It's actually a lot of fun to finally be getting into the swing of things on my end," Seira muses. "And it seems pretty obvious that as Amaryl and I rise, so do you all alongside us." She snorts. "Not that it's the main reason I think all of you will stay at my side, but it's a nice thought."

Humming to herself, Seira says, "I've been mulling over a plan to act on a planar scale, as it happens. Donald brought word of the Xorn rallying against Dao slavery, and of a powerful efreet noble being on shaky ground. I intended to have Donald and Elle work with the Xorn to free them of their chains, and attacking Akim with Oraga and Antenora, pending Alicia's approval. The idea is to do this publicly, and send a clear message that slavery is no longer allowed or tolerated across the Inner Planes. And it occurs to me that Donald and Elle would appreciate help on Earth, if you're interested in making this your return to the planar stage."

[Anastasia]

Lady Sanzha smiles rather grimly at that, "We marid have no great use for efreet and dao slavery," she concurs, "I think that's a lovely idea - but I must warn you. If we press too far the Sultan of the Efreet or his counterpart with the Dao could declare war on us. That is a war we may not be able to win lightly, without plunging things into a greater war and hoping our allies are enough. We need to strike firmly but also within bounds they can accept, until we are strong enough to stand on our own."

[Corwin]

Seira nods, her smile dimming at Sanzha's words. "I will not be making demands or threats to the Sultan. That alone would make him lash out to avoid losing face. No. Instead, what I will do is kill that vile efreet slaver and then simply state that this was the reason he died. I will do this while accompanied by Alicia's right-hand woman, while Zaaman Rul strikes in tandem with me to free Akim's slaves. And coincidentally, Celestia's trading consortium and Brightwater's main trading houses will state their opposition in dealing with slaves... or those who deal with slaves. With luck, I'll be able to court enough of the Mercane Consortium as well, and then actual financial pressure will come to bear." She snorts. "I understand greed, and efreet are similar to dragons in that sense. We can accomplish much by cutting off their main link to devils and the slave trade with the Hells while subtly threatening their profits."

[Anastasia]

"That could work," Sanzha says, "But understand that efreeti politics are passionate. In the heat of passion, what seems like a carefully calculated gamble can explode into far more of a response than you gambled on. That was often a thorn in my side as Padisha, even when we were relatively getting along. Sometimes court intrigues ran high and turned a minor thing into a major deal. Be prepared that if you make this play, you may get unlucky. Do it, but make sure you know how to deal if the dice come up droplets."

[Corwin]

"The situation on Fire right now is uniquely favorable," Seira responds. "Akim is hated by all except the Sultan himself, and there has already been an attempt to take him out. He also has Razalim, so that would cause many of the locals to blame the situation on the curse and Akim. Finally, I'll be honest with Zaaman Rul, as he is the only one truly at stake here. That said, Aurora clashed with the efreet over their slaving not long ago, and while drawing the efreet into the devil camp had been a concern, to hear Kascha speak of it, their enemies would end up choosing our side in the process. And the efreet will also find that being in bed with the devils is not as rosy an existence as they might think. Finally, with nothing much to lose, celestial forces may well raid their slaving camps en masse, leading to a shift on Fire."

She frowns. "It's not ideal, but the current situation is intolerable. If we enter an age of changes, let's set in motion those we would wish to see rather than watch helplessly as our enemies do it to us first."

[Anastasia]

"Then let's," Lady Sanzha agrees, "To that I don't think there's any question of all...just be ready if it goes afoul. It may save you being sealed away for eons."

[Corwin]

"If it happens, you'll come rescue me, won't you?" Seira asks, her grin returning in force. "So this just leaves your part in it. Which role would you like, Sanzha? Securing support on Water? Liaising with Zaaman Rul? Handling the Earth side? Or something else entirely, after all?"

[Anastasia]

"Let me consider. How soon are we moving on this?" Sanzha asks back, instead.

[Corwin]

"Within a week, since I don't see the need to wait," Seira responds. "We just need to make sure Shar's offensive isn't the prelude to something larger. I'll probably first take a trip to our neighbors, the dragons, and spend a few days on research." Producing Yan-C-Bin's book for Sanzha to look through, she says, "This looks interesting."

[Anastasia]

Lady Sanzha nods and takes the book, flipping through. "Behemoths. I've heard of them - freaks of nature is my understanding of them. Something of a vanity project, though undeniably useful as targets or enduring guardians. Virtually invincible against lesser heroes and mortals, as they can't damage them fast enough."

[Corwin]

"Guardians are the main draw," Seira agrees, "although the applications of positive energy have interested me for a while. Could we apply these insights to our harmony project? Or use the positive energy to counter Shar's agents, by providing a natural defense?"

[Anastasia]

"I don't know. Ask me after some time to experiment and read all this," Sanzha says, flipping through the pages.

[Corwin]

"Sure. In the meantime, do we aim to replicate our feat with Omni, or prepare the ground for Elle? We'll need to detail the changes carefully so she could make an informed decision on a possible transformation."

[Anastasia]

"Ask her how fast she wants to take this." Not even looking up from the book, "Forcing a decision on archmages is usually more trouble than it's worth. Speaking of, are they back with Emily yet?"

[Corwin]

"I wouldn't think of forcing my friends," Seira responds, frowning as her daughter's situation is brought up again. "No, and I'm not going to look in on her. Elle and Oraga have my full trust. Anyway, I'm pretty sure Elle is looking for something like this. It's actually difficult to figure out, since her thoughts are filled with dragons and Donald." Wincing, she mutters, "Pretend I didn't say that in front of them, please."