Seira's morning glow

[Corwin]

"You know, I keep on being asked that question?" Seira muses. "Astral is a realm where time, space and navigation hold no meaning. It's also infinite, so grabbing any finite part of it is literally meaningless. In that case, why not make infinite space within the bounds of what I have? After all, Astral does have landmarks, and the Cauldron is one of them! I aim to reach parity with the gith, and then Astral itself will shift towards my goals. I think that's where I can do the most good, rather than a quarter of Brightwater or a realm within Arborea."

[Anastasia]

"Standing on your own has more potential, but more dangers," Lathander notes, his normal humor gone in the blink of an eye. "Make strong allies who will stand with you and are willing to wage war if need be."

"Will it be that serious?" Amaryl asks, looking up at the sun.

"Yes," Lathander says, "Especially if you push the Astral towards being dominated. You will get increasing pushback, so understand that general agreement has the Astral as something of a frontier, save for the gith and Vlaakith. Vlaakith understands the limits of the game, so she is no great danger to that. Succeed, but know your boundaries so you do not bring woe onto yourselves." Then with a bit of a sudden grin, "Unless you can handle it all."

[Corwin]

"I guess we'll see! By the time I'll put this in motion, those who hate me will already decide to do that and the same goes for my supporters, so lines will be drawn in the sand."

[Anastasia]

"So long as you are aware,' Lathander says, "I'm pulling for you, turning the Astral brighter would benefit all of us. Yet the wheels of conflict and diplomacy will oppose you on this as you get closer to your goal. Too many have stakes in a neutral Astral Plane."

[Corwin]

"I get it, high risk, high reward," Seira responds. "I just feel like there's been too much status quo lately, alongside Hell pushing the boundaries a lot. Let's push back!"

[Anastasia]

"Now that sounds like a good idea," Lathander grins back, "So, any other world shaking plans that sound like good ideas, Seira?"

[Corwin]

"Working on a semi-secret plan to free the Inner Planes of slavery," Seira decides to fill him in, given that they're being drawn out longer than she had originally expected. "Going to hit the worst of the efreet slavers while working behind the scenes to use economic sanctions and other means to wean the bulk of the efreet off the idea. Gonna free the xorn from the dao while I'm at it, too."

[Anastasia]

"Good work," Lathander seconds, "Have you had any success yet?"

Amaryl says, "A little, we're still setting everything into motion.

[Corwin]

"Right now, Celestia's getting to shine while executing another part of the plan. But I'm hoping Zaaman Rul can help me with a chance to get Akil bin Faheem. Aside from being the worst, he's also their liaison with the devils, so we're talking two birds with one stone, here."

[Anastasia]

"Good! Zaaman Rul needs to purify Fire already," Lathander says, "I really need to pin Imix down and give him a long chastisement, he's really the underlying problem."

[Corwin]

"I think the problem is more with the efreet," Seira muses. "Still, one day! Once you feel the urge to beat Imix up, I'll be there~"

[Anastasia]

"I tried once," Lathander recalls, "When his forces were distracted, but Kossuth was a spoil sport," To this Lathander sighs wistfully, "Too bad, I had a clean shot at him, but Kossuth got touchy about me interfering in Fire's business."

[Corwin]

"Maybe just Zaaman Rul and I could do it?" Seira wonders. "I think I'm accepted as part of Fire. Though it does bring up a point that bothers me. Kossuth seems to be pretty hand-off on Fire, but isn't Fire itself tilted too far the wrong way? I'd have expected him to enforce balance of a sorts."

[Anastasia]

"I've been wondering about that, too," Amaryl pipes up, basking in the sunshine. "For that matter, why does Akadi do something about Air's tilt towards good?"

To this Lathander smiles, "Yes, I agree, but you answered your own question, Amaryl. Air tilts one way, Fire the other and the other two are neutral. Giving both sides some territory while keeping them balanced out but present - something supported by the tolerance of Elemental Princes of Good and Evil. Kossuth, Grumbar, Akadi and Istishia don't comment on it, but my belief is they balance it overall in the elements, not plane by plane."

[Corwin]

"Yes, I know that interpretation," Seira says, a touch of petulance entering her voice. "But it makes no sense! Water and Fire are commonly seen to oppose each other, outside of the Cauldron, so why would they be fine with a lack of parity? Unless you're saying that the elemental deities have no concept of ethics, and the great divide between Good and Evil is meaningless to them?" She frowns. "Yet if that is so, why bother maintaining parity through Air and Fire's shifts?"