Moving spheres

[Anastasia]

It is a triumphant Alicia who emerges with the Warrior's Spelltome. Another step forward, another wrong righted. As she strides forward, "Sister!" Jessica approaches as you emerge from your study, "With Marie busy elsewhere, I'm handling much of the intelligence work, and there's a few things that need your attention."

[Ebiris]

"Oh, thank you Jessica," Alicia says, pleased to see her sister volunteering extra responsibility. "Come in then, lets sit down and you can tell me about it?" she about turns back into her study so they can get comfortable for news to be passed on.

[Anastasia]

"First of all, the Cauldron and Celestia have moved against the efreet over slavery. It's ugly, though Romiel has informed us there's diplomacy in the welling. The efreet also launched counter attacks and reprisals, though for the moment it's not bubbling over into a general conflict," Jessica begins with.

[Ebiris]

Alicia nods as she sits down again facing Jessica. "Antenora was going to be involved in that before her ascension. Seira hasn't asked for aid beyond that, and we don't really have much spare capacity to help between our other commitments. If needed we'll help how we can, though."

[Anastasia]

A nod to that, "That's my own thought, sister. Secondly, Oberuth rounded up and routed a Sharran scheme involving an attack to destroy Chyral. I've heard he's been more vigorous than he has been in a decade, in spite of only spending a few hours there a day. According to Eudard, he's spending as much time as he can spare in the Deep Ethereal."

[Ebiris]

"To destroy Chyral? Do you have any details on how?" Alicia asks, a bit surprised at that one.

[Anastasia]

"Eudard didn't go into details," Jessica admits, "It wasn't a long conversation, sister. I can get better information if you'd like me to investigate."

[Ebiris]

"Mmm... no," she shakes her head. "If it's been handled then it's been handled. No need to spend time going over what's already sorted. Anything else new, then?"

[Anastasia]

"Yes, one more thing," Jessica says, "Sister..." A pause here, "I'm so strong now. So are you. What do you do with the power to change Creation?"

[Ebiris]

"What do you to with the power to change a town, or a city, or a nation?" Alicia asks right back. "You make it better. As much as we love Creation, it's riddled with flaws and threats. People just getting by who could perhaps do so much more if they had the right inspiration and guidance. It's up to us to give them that, and protect them so they can flourish and make their own changes at those lower scales. Everything's linked Jessica - from the humble mother who raises her son with an understanding of virtue so he grows up to be a world-walking champion, to the downtrodden woman saved by that champion who becomes a zealous leader who's words move nations, the boy in that nation who would have died young in the mines as a slave but instead was given his freedom and becomes a scholar who's discoveries make life easier for millions..."

She trails off her chain of examples and looks back at her sister. "Any pebble can start an avalanche, but it has no idea where it'll end up. You're a bigger rock so you're better able to see which part of the mountain to aim for, but you're still at the mercy of how all those disparate pebbles and boulders and rocks interact together down the slope."

[Anastasia]

"So in the end, it's a question of aim and persistence, and do enough good and more good will follow in your wake?" Jessica asks.

[Ebiris]

"That's how I see it," Alicia nods. "Ultimately you're just one person. You could say I'm two people because I have an avatar, but still... Creation's so vast that any one individual's reach, no matter how strong, is almost irrelevant. It's only by influencing others that you can really change Creation."

[Anastasia]

Jessica's eyes open wide at that, silence. Dead silence. "I think I grasped something important, sister."

[Ebiris]

"Well I'm always on hand for dispensing profound insights to you, sister," Alicia returns amiably. "But please, share your thoughts!"

[Anastasia]

"You sit atop a great realm, where your reach extends countless times over. You control your own storm of pebbles going down hill now, sister. So do all of the divine." Jessica says, "You make up for that by having so many follow you willingly. Even if only one person can do so much, others inspired or bound to them can do more."