A blessed homefront

[Anastasia]

That evening you paint with Syala. Both of you have a separate canvass as you work away. Syala's drawing a sunrise, a beautiful sunrise over a seashore. What do you paint?

[Ebiris]

Has it been that long? She probably would've gotten back to Mystra sooner to let her know Aurora's taking a long time to deliberate, since their discussion was rather important.

[Anastasia]

Easily enough done.

I understand. I will motivate them to haste should they dally overlong.

[Ebiris]

Well, assuming Mystra doesn't want to continue the discussion until Aurora's decision is settled...

Alicia's painting an optical illusion of sorts. A group of dogs except they don't quite match up, legs not really attached to their bodies even if it sort of looks like that when the eye passes over them.

[Anastasia]

A pause. Syala turns to study your work, "Martin influencing you?" she asks curiously.

[Ebiris]

Alicia shakes her head. "Trickery. Illusion. Lies our eyes tell us," she explains, leaning back from her canvas, focusing and unfocusing on it. "There's no magic here, no godly power obscuring the truth. Just something that cannot exist, yet your eyes accept it at a glance."

Then she turns to Syala, "It's fresh to mind after recent events, although I wouldn't be terribly surprised if I ran into something like this in the Beyond one day."

[Anastasia]

"A matter of time," Syala agrees thoughtfully, brush put down. She studies yours more further, "Absolute good, absolute evil. Zaphkiel and Asmodeus. Two sides of the same lawful coin. Both would agree there is an absolute truth and Answer, but not on what that should be. I imagine both would find that painting disagreeable."

A pause to think, "Morwel would love it. The variable meaning, the variable possibilities of it. A demon would understand the lie instinctively and how to use it against those who live with truth. Am I anywhere close to your thoughts on the painting, Alicia?"

[Ebiris]

"Those are other people's thoughts, not mine," Alicia points out. "But yes I'm confident Marie is going to love it as well. If you want me to assign a moral myself though..." she holds her brush up before the painting and considers a moment. "The truth is easy to hide with a palatable lie. A painting of three dogs is far more reasonable than... whatever this actually is."

[Anastasia]

A chuckle.

A slow and deep one, "We want what we want, not what is necessarily true. There's a good moral wrapped up in there, Alicia. Better a pretty lie than an ugly truth. The ugly truth is that it's easier to hit something than to reason with it and understand it. I'm good at that."

[Ebiris]

"Good art can inspire a multitude of thoughts and feelings in the viewer," Alicia says, satisfied with that as she dabs some more paint on her brush and resumes working on the background elements of her painting.

[Anastasia]

It's peaceful as you work on it. A reverie away from troubles.

You faced a Grand Sultan in single combat and held your own well.

[Ebiris]

Oh, is this that pretender who may or may not be the original Crimson Firebrand come to take back his throne? It has that sort of fiery genie feel to it.

It did have quite an audience, though forgive me if I don't recall your presence.

[Anastasia]

I see many things on Fire.

Tell me, are you still interested in the affairs of Fire?

[Ebiris]

Lets just get to brass tacks, shall we?

What are you offering and what will it cost me?

[Anastasia]

Friendly neutrality. Stay out of Fire's business and your business will be left alone.