Mystran rest

[Anastasia]

Syala pauses under the tree. "Here Shar, have a magical artifact. Another, another, another."

Jessica rolls a berry between her fingers, "Well, what is the opposite of oblivion, sister? What is the opposite of loss? Gain, life, creation. In a sense every moment we live is a defiance of Shar."

"Which helps how?" Antenora questions, finishing her tea before the cup is put down and aside.

"Not in the slightest," Jessica admits, "I go around and around on this, from kindness to her opposite and come around with nothing. The only idea I have is to copy Shar, to ask for some of Mystra's blood. Yet should we succeed...what would that do to us and what would that do to Sylica? Even then, could we compete with Shar's far greater age and power, versus Sylica's youth?"

[Ebiris]

"An arms race that could have horrible consequences on the planes... to say nothing of how apocalyptic it sounds. The very planes themselves garbing the gods as arms and armour for the final battle to decide Creation's fate?" Alicia asks. "It feels like the sort of thing that invites a tomorrow no one can imagine."

"Like you'd see on the last day before an Answer or oblivion," Marie agrees. "But then Shar has been talking like we're on the verge of that anyway, saying how it's her final victory."

[Anastasia]

"Could that be her plan? Force us all to escalate and destroy us along with our very planes?" Jessica asks, "To make her greatest victory come to her in desperation? If such should come to pass, no one has an Answer yet. There could be only one result."

"It could be," Antenora weighs it slowly, "If she's found a way to merge with one, perhaps she's found the means to wound or destroy one."

"At worst, our plan may not even have the time it needs," Latha says, "But...fearful as this is, I do not believe it is her true aim here. Not on a scale that fast. Shar wants us to suffer, no matter how she dresses it up. One only needs to observe her faithful to see that." She looks up, "No. Should we fail, I do not believe our end will be clean nor fast, not in one Final Day where we strive and lose."

"That's a vast deal of optimism to append to Shar's cruelty, when we already risk so much on Ao's cruelty," Syala turns, "But, perhaps that's why we have hope yet. Our enemies do not wish to merely win, they wish to torment us. Whatever false Answer Ao found, it is proven false by this. Alicia, why did Shar not go to greater lengths to detain you in her demiplane on top of this grand, vain presentation? Her goal was never to slay you that day. Her goal was to assail you in body in mind, to slay your soul's hope."

[Ebiris]

"Lots of other people live in Sylica too, and we don't know what consequences using the plane like that would have for them," Marie speaks up. "Or even if it'd do us any good outside of Sylica."

"I don't think it's a productive approach, we can't match Shar blow for blow, trying to copy her weapons and tactics only cedes the advantage of experience and power to her," Alicia says, not getting drawn on whether Shar's sadism would prolong their deaths. "Lets look at our resources, and what remains to be tapped? We have two single charge divine seeds reserved... and unaccounted for we know at least that two exist in Acheron and Gehenna, and that Primus holds one. Since I haven't heard of the Hecatoncheires being slain or reformed, nor of the seraphs being defeated by Bel and Gathgorian, we can assume the one in Elysium still remains."

"That's actually quite a lot when you say it like that," Marie says. "But we don't really have leads on the Acheron and Gehenna ones. And you know, if there was one for the plane of Shadow that Shar found, she might've found those two as well for those new deities we heard about."

"Maybe, but it's something to consider, in case we can find any clues. Also... there's the thing on the 666th layer of the Abyss, that Malcanthet showed us a fragment of. It was a simple toy, but the greater whole it came from? We're at the point where I'm desperate enough to go looking for it in case it can be used against Shar," Alicia says, still running down the possibilities of things that could be used to tilt the scales more in their favour.

[Anastasia]

"We have options," Antenora reckons, "First, do any of you feel stronger or closer?"

"I do," Syala says, "But I need a triumph of some kind, I can feel it, like last time." She reaches up and grabs an apple, "And I don't think just wrestling Alicia will do."

Antenora smiles back slightly at that.

"I do as well. In spite of it all, I feel our survival and defiance of Shar was a small victory," Latha speaks up, "My light endured the pitch black night."

"That's something we should do as well," Jessica agrees, "Advance our portfolios, we can't forget that."

[Ebiris]

Do Alicia or Marie feel especially close to breakthroughs there?

[Anastasia]

Not that close, no.

[Ebiris]

"That takes years though, unless you're close already. And seeds aside it hasn't been long since my last natural growth," Alicia says.

"I'm just starting out," Marie adds. "As a goddess anyway."

[Anastasia]

"It's still an aspect to consider," Syala says, "In the meantime, what do we know about the 666th layer of the Abyss?"

[Ebiris]

Alicia takes 10 for 105 with divine insight/guidance of avatar and misc buffs for knowledge (planes) on the topic.

[Anastasia]

You know what you know about it from Malcanthet. It's said to be a terminus.

You know that you can't just go there normally, nor plane shift to it under normal conditions.

You know Kascha knows more about it from her studies as well as her experience with the Man of the Winds with Muirfinn, who seemed to know more of it and cautioned against learning more, for what lies there can turn lies into truth and truth into lies.

[Ebiris]

"Not much, Malcanthet said a little bit when we met her last time. It's inaccessible normally and she didn't give away any routes she knows of," Alicia says. "Kascha is probably our best bet, she's an expert at these things."

[Anastasia]

"Let me invite her," Antenora speaks up here. "We can get it all right from her."

[Ebiris]

"Go ahead, we might even need her to guide us on a trip if we go there," Alicia gives permission.

[Anastasia]

It's not too long until Kascha arrives. Antenora stands to meet her, "Thank you for coming," she says, offering a hand.

Kascha takes it and smiles, "Oh, it's no trouble, and it's for a good reason." She goes and takes a seat at the table, "Alicia and everyone, what is it you need to know?"