Meanwhile in Sylica

[Ebiris]

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Marie says, looking up from the cats cradle she'd been making between her fingers, relaxing them and pulling the string off as she stands up from a chair by that window. "My name's Marielle, and you're in Sylica. Do you know where that is?" He might've been in there since before Alicia ascended after all.

[Anastasia]

"...I'm..." A murmur.

Maleas stops. He rests his head in his hand, "I don't know what it is or where that is," he confesses, "I'm free?"

[Ebiris]

"You're free," Marie confirms with a gentle smile, looking every bit the radiant and reassuring presence of a high tier celestial being as she approaches his bed. "Sylica is a divine realm of several newly risen goddesses, it's a part of Ysgard. Tell me, how did you come to fall into Malcanthet's clutches?"

[Anastasia]

"I..." A rest back, "I fell in love with the wrong woman, how else? Her beauty hid a corrupted heart."

[Ebiris]

"Ohhh," Marie says with a look of dawning comprehension that undercuts the reassuring presence a bit but probably humanises her. "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope it doesn't put you off love entirely but I can see how that would be traumatic. Are you hungry or thirsty?"

[Anastasia]

"I could kill for a drink and a meal," Maleas agrees, "It's been so long since I've had anything to eat or drink."

[Ebiris]

"I'll be back in a minute then," Marie goes and sees herself out rather than just teleporting away and back so that he has a little bit of time with his thoughts. So it's closer to five minutes when Marie returns, the tulani proxy carrying a tray with a plate of steak, vegetables, and roasted potatoes and a big tankard of weak ale. That's surely the sort of hearty meal an adventurer held captive for a long time could appreciate, right?

[Anastasia]

By the way he tears into it, yes.

After eating most of it with a singleminded determination, "Do you know how long I've been held?" he asks.

[Ebiris]

Time for a belated knowledge check on who this guy is.

Marie takes 10 for 59 on planes (because tiefling) and religion (because paladin).

[Anastasia]

Meleas vanished about 500 years ago or so, give or take a decade. A paladin who did a fair deal of good, but his career beyond the Prime came to a sudden halt when he vanished. Not unusual.

[Ebiris]

What god/paladin order did he belong to?

"The last records we could find of you were from five hundred years ago," Marie admits. "Sylica's only been around for twenty years, so your ignorance there isn't surprising."

[Anastasia]

Faerinaal.

"Then I have a lot to catch up on. What has happened?" He asks right away.

[Ebiris]

"Hmm... well some good news first?" Marie smiles as she pulls a chair over beside the bed and sits down. "You were connected with the Court of Stars, weren't you? Well the Lost Children of Androlynne were rescued. I actually helped a little bit with that, along with those who would later ascend to become the goddesses of Sylica. That was a bit over twenty years ago, and quite a few new deities of righteousness arose around that time. Alicia, my patron, Syala, those two are the primary goddesses here, but Antenora and Jessica recently rose as well. Seira and Amaryl are another pair that helped with Androlynne and later ascended to their own realm, the Cauldron."

[Anastasia]

"Six total?" An open question, "I had not thought...that many? I didn't ever imagine that," he says, "Stars above." Sitting up, "They rescued the lost children, too? I had though to look into that crusade."

[Ebiris]

"There's a few others I didn't mention. Kascha, and... no I think Sulia was around before you vanished," Marie says. "It's been a busy time, but the forces of evil are busy too even if they don't have new champions on quite the same level. Creation still needs brave warriors like you in it, make no mistake."