A neverending field

[Corwin]

"It's not quite that open," Seira responds, shaking her head. "The knowledge is anathemic, and so it won't just escape out into the wild. Not in any prominence above the other conspiracy theories about the recent ascensions. While it's true that deities are not restricted in this way, Queen Morwel would need to make a personal choice in dispatching someone like this. And while it's true that evil deities might conceivably decide to actually throw their top followers's lives, we really had no way to prevent that since Asmodeus knows what to do."

She sighs again. "I fully know this is a gamble. You know, I've been wondering if this is how Lathander feels? Except I'm going to own the mess and do what I can to fix it if things turn south instead of ignoring it...."

[Ebiris]

Alicia blinks. Anathemic? "But... if it's anathemic doesn't that mean everyone in Aurora will forget it too? Ebony might not because she's my proxy but the rest..."

She wonders if Asmodeus has told anyone outside of his two champions or Lords of the Nine that might then forget it now. Everyone on their side that knows is a deity by now, she thinks, or at least a proxy.

[Corwin]

"That's why I explicitely invited the leadership," Seira responds. "Since I made the knowledge anathemic, they are excepted from it, and could discuss it normally with those in the know or those immune such as deities. If they wish to suggest a candidate, I will help them out by allowing for the retention of the knowledge properly. I'm going to help with security for any Far Realm excursion, and provide advice to them. I didn't intend to just throw some bits of lore at them and have them stumble through everything on their own."

[Anastasia]

Small DM interrupt here. Just for clarity for everyone and I have a post to point to if it's needed, what precisely did you make anathemic knowledge here? You mentioned the lore in your IRC PM to me, but I'd like something in the game text to verify this.

[Corwin]

Everything about our notes and related information. I don't believe I can make the knowledge of One itself existing anathemic, but the rest.

[Ebiris]

Alicia is unfortunately not well versed in how anathemic knowledge actually works or can be worked around so she's unfortunately unable to meaningfully debate this point other than being left with a vague sense of unease over the entire concept that knowledge can be erased in such a manner. If someone had done so previously then she and Antenora wouldn't have been able to learn anything from Eblis in the first place.

Why hadn't someone done this previously? Can it be undone? It seems a startlingly big deal that Seira can just unilaterally excise information from Creation!

"I see..." she says, discomfited but unable to go anywhere with the thought. "Well... you wanted to talk about the Abyss?"

[Corwin]

Seira nods. "This came up when we approached the Guardian of the Abyss. What it had to say was a warning to never address or name what lies on layer 666. It is a thing that can reverse truth and lies. The problem comes from how it said Shar might use it to threaten Creation, and that the very topic came up when I asked for information on legacies on par with 21." Looking over at Kascha, she adds, "Please tell us what you've learned of it from Muirfinn?"

[Ebiris]

"Odd timing," Alicia says. "I just had a meeting with Malcanthet where she offered to trade a thing from that layer for Violet. It could make lies into truths and truths into lies - she demonstrated by changing the form of various objects and even their magical natures. But it was a magical effect like an artifact, not... well, the tools of the incarnations and guardians simply work without magic. I could analyze its dweomer and it couldn't affect actual beings."

[Corwin]

"Perhaps it wasn't this thing, but merely something forged from materials harvested near it? I would imagine such artifacts would have lesser effects on their surroundings."

[Ebiris]

"It did have the feel of being incomplete, or part of something larger," she agrees. "Malcanthet talked it up a lot but it didn't seem as destabilising a threat as Violet is so there was no exchange. It just seemed an interesting artifact to me."

[Anastasia]

"Ahem," Kascha clears her throat, having kept out of the current scuffle entirely. "While we investigated Kina-Ja, we came on an old man in Pandemonium. He was known as the Man of the Winds and knew things he had no business to know. I've met many seers before but this one was different." A breath out.

"He called Muirfinn Muirfinn-Dying-In-Void. It reminds me all too well of his fate after his encounter with Asmodeus. It rattles me to this day," Kascha quietly admits. "He called Baleruk Baleruk-Screaming-Of-Rainbows and Syala Syala-Who-Cannot-Be-Seen. He knew of both 27 and 21 in spite of them being well kept secrets. He spoke of one of Muirfinn's sons dying to erinyes during the invasion of Lifasa. He spoke of Kina-Ja's search to defeat Sharess and that she went to the 666th layer of the Abyss. She found something there - him. He told us to never speak its name, because it was a lie spoken by a liar. Then the Man of the Winds smiled and asked Muirfinn to ask him for the name of what lies in that layer. It also said the absolute light was key to it all against Kina-Ja, even if we didn't end up employing it to defeat her."

With a long look to Alicia and then Seira, "He is mad, but he knows things somehow. The winds tell him secrets. Yet...he couldn't have known some of what he knew. Muirfinn and his fate must be a coincidence. No one could predict Asmodeus like that, not with what he is, unless Asmodeus wanted to be predicted. But I can't stop that feeling of disquiet when I think about it. He helped us, but he was malicious. More, another there spoken of strange numbers of magic, that could only be recovered through magic to rejuvenate Muirfinn's mind.  493. 5. 3. 390944. 5920. 49. 580284208424. 54935. 5938. 0928300. 384. 589382984298. 49. 1. I don't know what any of them mean, and Glitterosm - our numerologist on Aurora - came to naught in his efforts to decode them. It could be mad gibberish, but I feel that nothing that man said was meaningless."

[Ebiris]

"Syala mentioned Kina-Ja as well when Malcanthet showed off her thing," Alicia says, looking unashamedly lost at the numerology. "Actually she might have been quoting the same source, some of the terms she used matched up."

[Corwin]

I'll take ten on this int check for 53, boosted by Good Hope and Improvisation.

[Anastasia]

"Probably, Syala was involved in the Kina-Ja incidents," Kascha agrees. "He even wanted us to kill Kina-Ja and said our promise to do so made him content."

Int check for what?

[Corwin]

Numerology on these numbers. Actually, let's drop a princess spell here for a rounder 55.