Cauldron Festival

[Corwin]

"I believe I can spare you for this, since it means so much to you," Seira tells Oraga. She'll be safe enough in her inner sanctum, and the staring contest looks fun!

Thus, trusting that the dragons are good in Sanzha's hands, she transports herself towards Amaryl!

[Anastasia]

There are four guests here.

Before them drinks and snacks are laid out.

Marianne is here, sipping a glass of tea and slowly savoring it. She sits primly, awaiting.

Lyris sits back, an arm over her chair as she foregoes a snack, saying, "About as much good as telling a cat to roll over."

Calley is here, nibbling on some sugar and cream confectionery. "Mom was right about willpower. Otherwise you get rolled over."

"Oh?" Amaryl asks, "What did your Mom say about willpower, Calley dear?" She sits next to him, smiling as she wipes his nose clean of cream with a kerchief.

Dawnhope happily gnaws on some apple slices, giving you a wave as you appear.

[Corwin]

"That it could drive you to ridiculous feats, I'd wager?" Seira voices, nodding at Dawnhope. A cup of tea sounds perfect after her busy day, and she comes over to pour one for herself.

[Anastasia]

"Mom's really strong and stubborn, smart too, but she's really kind of dumb." Calley says. "Has Imix ever confronted you over the Cauldron, Seira? He isn't the type to like to share, is he?"

"Sorry," Dawnhope pipes in, "I can't do much when he's throwing around powerful magic. I'm supposed to keep an eye on him."

Marianne dabs her lips clean with a napkin and clears her throat. "Mentioning we were going out to Anna while in earshot of Calley was a tactical misstep. I declare, such magic in such hands."

Amaryl smiles at Calley, "Really? Well, we can handle Imix, even if he wants to be a bully."

[Corwin]

"It's a problem for Imix, because while he's not the sharing type, to bring it up now would be the same as publicly digging up his past failures," Seira responds to Calley. "That means it's not a black and white choice for him. He's also aware that while at present he's stronger than I am, victory is undecided given the disparity in the allies we both could bring to the table. From his perspective, why bother betting everything on a point of contention outside Fire?"

Turning towards Marianne, Seira tells her with a shrug, "It happens, best to just roll with it."

That just leaves Dawnhope, and she asks curiously, "Powerful magic? Like what?"

[Anastasia]

"That's stupid. Imix is stupid," Calley declares, with total certainty.

"Um, he's close to the end of mortal magic," Dawnhope says, "If not past it. Both arcane magic and divine magic, and I've seen him smite evil too."

"Imix is not stupid," Amaryl chides gently, "He's cruel, hateful but he's intelligent. Don't underestimate your opponents, Calley."

[Corwin]

"If you're going to use little kid words, wouldn't lazy work better here?" Seira proposes. "It would be too much work for an uncertain reward, so Imix doesn't want to bother. That's laziness right there!"

[Anastasia]

"Yeah, I'd be really happy if you can tell Calley more about laziness," Dawnhope calls. "PLEASE."

Meanwhile, Lyris clears her throat loudly.

[Corwin]

Seira looks at Lyris over her tea cup, having taken a sip.

[Anastasia]

"We're interested," Lyris says, "As long as we can spend a good deal of time home."

"Quite so," Marianne smiles, "Everything else being equal, we have roots there we don't want to lose. With what's happened to so many from Whimsical Sweets, we don't want to hurt our friends by losing more."

[Corwin]

A difficult proposition, but not an impossible one. And Seira does have an idea, given what happened on Lifasa....

"I'm glad to hear it," she tells the pair with an answering smile. "I don't think this would be a problem, and furthermore, you girls can hit the ground running. What do you know about the gnomish ruins near Balmuria?"

[Anastasia]

"Enough," Marianne says, "We've heard things, the stories of the previous Guard."

Calley perks his head up, "They're the ones you want to challenge it, Seira?"

[Corwin]

"Together with Oberuth, that makes three very capable people. We were three when we made our run at it. It's a good number."

Deciding to expand on her request, Seira says, "The gnomes on our Prime of birth were at one point in time lead by a mad king that attained the power of divinity. Rather than use it for the betterment of the world or even of his own people, he chose to kill all dissenters and form the rest into a xenophobic army that warred against the other races to exterminate them while he challenged the gods themselves. The wastelands we are hard at rehabilitating came as the result of divine clashes on Prime, spiritual wounds on a grand scale. Eventually, however, he was defeated and sealed within the ruins, while the Overdeity declared that only mortal hands may decide his fate. Regrettably, my ascension prevented me from finishing the job, but I certainly can and will sponsor those capable of following through and protecting Creation. And, as a nice bonus, upon success you would be able to strengthen my power over our world of birth while choosing to exile Shar from it!"

[Anastasia]

"It always comes back to that, doesn't it? Mortal hands, the tools of greater powers to find resolution and answers," Calley says. "Does power make you dumber?"

"Shh," Amaryl murmurs, "We'll talk about that afterwards, and have another pastry." She smiles radiantly as meanwhile Marianne and Lyris listen.

"Well, striking back against Shar is a lovely idea. We all owe her a great deal of revenge," Marianne says, glancing sidelong at Calley. "You'd have a step dad right now if not for Shar, Calley."

"I know. It's a shame," Calley remarks, blowing out a breath and kicking his legs in the air after, a little too short to reach the ground from his chair. "I think Moms need Dads to keep from doing stupid things, like meddling with artifacts of the Incarnations."

[Corwin]

"Wow, you're the rudest kid I've ever met, and I grew up as a half-elf among elves," Seira says in awe. "Did you come here because everyone is stepping on eggshells around you and you're looking for someone brave enough to spank you?"