A neverending field

[Corwin]

I cannot enter a place desecrated to her, Seira speaks in Annerose's mind. I leave the choice of proceeding to you, but I'll always support your efforts.

[Anastasia]

Annerose's answer is faith and conviction as she strides forward into the dark unknown.

[Corwin]

Seira sighs, even as she continues to wait. Prayers should still get through, so if Auril is doing anything too underhanded, Seia might hear about it and escalate appropriately.

Aside from this, I'm basically waiting on either Alicia stopping by like I asked in a previous thread, or on the Dis strategy meeting with Amaryl, Xera and Zariel.

[Anastasia]

Sure, I suspect Alicia's going to do something in a few posts and if so we'll roll into that. For the next few we'll resolve this with Annerose.

> roll 1d100 low is good
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 88 > [d100=88]

Waiting. Prayers from afar - prayers for protection. In the end, you can suddenly see them - an escape through the snow and away. Wounded but alive, a tactical withdrawal when the enemy was far stronger than anticipated. No intervention that you noted, just mortal matters working out. A small victory for Auril perhaps, but hardly a triumph as your chosen heroine escapes to fight another day.

[Corwin]

Not traveling alone is an important lesson Seira is happy that Annerose has learned in the past, but she makes a suggestion that she travels with more allies when she can afford to. With friends who fight side by side, the sum is often greater than its parts.

[Anastasia]

If only everyone else wasn't defending against Umberlant troubles on the coast - but she takes your lesson well.

Such is the life of a hero.

Alicia's coming your way shortly so gimme a few to wind down the Ebony discussion in her threat real quick.

[Anastasia]

Soon enough Alicia approaches the Cauldron and...

Okay you two, go ahead and set up and I'll roll with it, since you two wanted to meet.

[Corwin]

Once more, Vayley is sent to guide Seira's guest to her! Seira decides to meet her friend in a cosy library on the top floor of her palace, refreshments already provided for the two of them and Kascha.

[Ebiris]

After admiring the Cauldron's new placement, Alicia will go to wherever Seira directs her while Ebony goes to Aurora.

"Seira," she greets, taking a seat in the library once they're inside. "It's funny you wanted to talk to me about the 666th layer of the Abyss. I just had a meeting with Malcanthet where she showed me something from there. Although before that, couldn't you have warned me you were going to give away all our knowledge of One to Aurora? I don't have anything against them," a nod to Kascha there, "But it's a big risk to spread it so freely like that."

[Corwin]

Seira freezes at the rebuke before grimacing. "My sincerest apologies," she tells Alicia, deciding to set aside her matters and deal with the problem she had created first. "I should have talked to Antenora and you, and to Sylvie as well. After what I've seen, I realized that this was a gamble I had to make, but I did not consider how rude it would be to my friends. Or that you wouldn't understand why I needed to help Aurora. Still, these are only excuses. The fault for this lies solely with myself, so please tell me how I might make it up for you."

[Ebiris]

"I'm not going to hold it over you," Alicia says with a soft exhale, "We've been through too much for that. Fortunately Ebony took it gracefully - Marie had to prevaricate on her last visit to Aurora when Ebony tried to probe, and it's nice to clear the air even if the situation means I still have to keep secrets from her. Just please don't give up the fruits of collaborative efforts without asking the rest of us? And don't forget Io as well as Antenora and Sylvie," she reminds her of the main contributor to all that lore. "What's your goal for them anyway? Do you want all of them to ascend?"

[Corwin]

Ah, damn, it really was worse than she thought.

"I want Afina to ascend if she makes the choice herself, and I wouldn't mind if Jaela and that Mei girl do it too. Afterwards, in the long term, I want to give the same chance to exceptional, heroic mortals who fought to save a Prime when we gods had to abstain for the longest time. We should've been there, you know? At the time, we would've died in the face of the opposition, but we stll should've fought from the very start."

[Ebiris]

"So you want to set yourself up as arbiter of divinity in place of the Incarnations?" Alicia asks after digesting Seira's argument. "You're playing a dangerous game, even leaving aside the risks undertaken by anyone who attempts the ritual, it's going to attract attention and spread the knowledge to their own patron deities, we can't even discount it rousing a reaction from Ao if we start seeing large numbers of deities and abominations arising from this."

[Corwin]

"Gathgorian is still after Afina," Seira tells Alicia with a sigh. "After consulting with Zaphkiel, I took Asmodeus up on his offer. He claimed he wanted help with a seed, but I wasn't really needed there for any of the challenges. I think he just wanted to show how much stronger Bel and Gathgorian were than I, and possibly to spread rumors that I've been corrupted or such trash. I visited Nessus twice, and each time that shitty devil would pretend to be above it all and tell me creepy messages to pass on to her. It's one thing if the survival of all Creation relies on letting them go, but quite another to just stand there watching again while Aurora's heroes are defenseless!"

She deflates, leaning back in her armchair. "Zaphkiel forced Asmodeus into forbidding blatant action over Primes, but that's a deal that favors the Hells. I'm doing my best to stop any subtle efforts on Primes to cover that stupid loophole, but they're not a group to stay quiet and ride this out on some Prime. I trust that Aurora's leaders will make the right choices, and the net result on Creation will be overwhelmingly positive."

[Ebiris]

"I hope so too, but the more that information is spread the harder it becomes to control. Just from this we can assume that Tyr, Gwynharwyf, and Tempus all know what's involved now. They might well tell the rest of the Triad, or Morwel, or Red Knight. If it spreads further from there? Only the mad pursue the secrets of the Far Realm right now, but if it becomes known that godhood lies there? We won't just see the result of failed apotheoses, but botched transits tearing open rifts as well from every archmage with more ambition than sense.

"I understand wanting to stop Gathgorian. I wish I'd struck him down when I saw him skulking at Eblis's feet months ago. But you've set events in motion that we can't predict or control."