Phoenix

[Corwin]

"All in good time~" Seira grins at Kascha. "I'll let you lead."

I'd appreciate a quick recap there, if possible.

[Anastasia]

'For the record,' Antenora sends back to you, 'Is that why you shot me in the back when we first met? I do recall my lack of attire at the time.' Her mental voice isn't mad or accusatory, rather mildly amused, as if some jest she found pleasing.

Antenora sits and after a moment to refresh herself, begins her story.

"As you may know, we found out about 666 from Malcanthet and that curious trinket she had from it. Eventually we obtained knowledge of the Man of the Winds, and in doing that, found out more about 666 and how it was a living lie." Antenora pauses here a moment, "I believe you're familiar with that, Kascha?"

"I am," Kascha agrees, "Along with what the Man of the Winds said to Muirfinn, and it matches his message to us back then. You also know that I know that." With a little smile, "Did you forget?"

"Hardly." Antenora retorts, a less than impressed look that fades to a softer nod. "Any good story can do with setting the table for it. No, the Man of the Winds had a particular style of speaking as you said, Kascha. To cut a very long story short, we eventually consulted with Zaphkiel about 666. It's not a tool of the Incarnations. In his words..."  A wave of her hand, a memory unfolded before the four of you.

Mount Celestia, the waters of Lunia. Alicia, Antenora and Jessica stand there even as a fourth it felt by unseen presence: Zaphkiel.

You all did well to bring her here.

All of evil is ultimately negation and destruction, to rebel against what is right. Without good, evil cannot exist, but good does not need evil to exist. Where lies ultimate truth, the opposite must be the ultimate lies.

"It's all a trick," Alicia whispers ruefully.

I should have just asked you to begin with, but I don't like to be over-reliant. The 666th layer is no tool of the Incarnations, is it?

Your desire to stand on your own and learn is a credit to you. Should I feel the need to speak up for your sake, I will.

It is not, but it is closer than other things in Creation, just as Chronias is closer.

There are no glories there, no promises of a perfect eternity. All that lies there is hatred, loathing and the defeated acceptance of that sole keeper of the realm. He knows he's lost, hasn't he? He knows he made the wrong choice. All he can do is lie and try to desperately make what is wrong correct.

Even my counterpart knows that in his heart. The darkest evil is that which accepts darkness in place of the light and seeks to spread. Baator is the ultimate expression of his conclusion and his false Answer. You understood this anew when you spoke of the glories if even one in a thousand could be saved that would otherwise be damned.

Shall we slay him? It is bad enough we have to cooperate with evil that can at last recognize that we must stop Ao.

You may try, but know his power is extreme. He will fight you with every lie that has can make true. You very natures may change as you battle him, as his power alters reality. The Abyss itself will not take his death lightly, and will oppose your efforts. Demon princes will be birthed as you battle, new horrors created to destroy you, and the designs of the Abyss will strive to bring great evils to challenge you as you fight on.

Kascha writes feverishly as she watches and listens, "Ooooooh. I see now!"

"It's true, too. The Abyss itself resisted us. Horrors were birthed as we reached for 666 and in our second trip there." Antenora closes her eyes, "Newborn, larval demon lords. It may not be a tool of the Incarnations, but 666 is valuable to the Abyss."

A pause.

"In the end, the master of 666 resisted us. Warred with us and played with us until we reached deeper in, having fought past the nightmares." Antenora's expression becomes solemn. "We reached it. A False Celestial, a corpse larger than a world, a dead thing that produced smaller copies of itself like infection from a wound. Dead as the lies it champions. That place...do you remember the Apex of Prayer in Chronias, Seira? Where every prayer of the righteous could be heard? It was the opposite. I heard so many vile wishes, desires for darkness and destruction. A place where every evil intent in Creation sinks to. In that moment we competed against the master of 666 and held our own, and in that we triumphed enough to escape with what we desired."

Elle looks rather lost but listens to it while Kascha keeps on writing. "Oh, no one else can see this book," she sighs, "It's too sensitive. What a pity!"

"Alicia and I both advanced from this triumph." Antenora continues, "Our rejection of 666 was enough for Lord Zaphkiel to chide the master of 666 as well."

[Corwin]

It had nothing to do with your hobbies, Seira responds to Antenora with a mental shake of her head. Donald was murdered by devils invading our world, which was vulnerable due to its long period of isolation. You were, at the time, a hostile devil up to no good on our Prime, and I had a duty to protect it. Since my style of combat closely resembled Jessica's at the time, shooting from ambush was in fact the proper way I fought and it remains a perfectly valid combat style. Ah, but I should've held back and trusted in Alicia that time, so that's why I believe after the fact that shooting you was wrong.

From experience, when people joke about such matters, there sometimes are unresolved issues, so the best she can do is respond properly and calmly but not defensively. And so she does, and then settles to review the recorded memory.

"Mmm, I must say I'm glad that advanced. I consulted a talented numerologist I know about the nonsense Windman talked about, and asked Sylvie to take a glance as well, but in the end that was the extent of attention I could devote to 666. So you went to that creepy place and triumphed... but what does it mean, Antenora? 666's master is rebuked by Zaphkiel, and that's the proper state of affairs? Or are you going to mount a follow up expedition? And what of Malcanthet's toy, is it still working as it was before?"

[Anastasia]

Antenora doesn't sound mad and just slightly nods at you before she continus.

"It means that when ever lie, every malediction in Creation stood against us?" Antenora says, "Alicia and I resisted. That all the hatred in Creation was not enough to make us succumb. That in the end, what is good and what is true is stronger than that."

Kascha writes away before, nose almost in her book entirely, close to it as she scribbles, "Do you think we may have trouble out of him in the future, before this is all done?"

"I think it comes down to the False Celestial, the master of that place. To it every lie will become true and every truth will become a lie. We angered it greatly in our triumph, and in the end all it wanted us to do was leave it. Powerful as it is, it is piteous. It is pathetic." Antenora declares, every word emphasized there. "It had to confront that when it saw us. It couldn't twist the truths that we were into lies that it wanted. One day I would like to confront it, but not as we are now. We aren't even close to strong enough to challenge it. For now we leave it be. I only worry that we may be forced to confront it in the last battles."

After that and a moment, "As far as I know, Malcanthet's toy still works. Distasteful but that's a relatively minor part of this business."

[Corwin]

"It's quite belated, but it appears that congratulations are in order for you and Alicia," Seira muses. "Please relay them for me once you're back home? That said, it appears that we don't need to intervene in 666 at present, Kascha. Perhaps it would be best to focus on a different Evil to correct in Creation?"

Glancing between the phoenix and Antenora, Seira adds, "We might even collaborate again, if it's something a bit out of our individual reach."

[Anastasia]

"I'd be happy to," Antenora agrees at that as Kascha writes away. "Do you have anything in mind?"

Meanwhile Kascha finishes her notes and closes her book. "Just be clear, 666 is best kept unknown?"

"Absolutely." No hesitation from Antenora, "Colke learned of it and traveled to it, and gained sorrows great and overflowing. Alicia and I are the exceptions. Let the knowledge of 666 stay in your minds and away from others."

[Corwin]

"When in doubt, choose to mess with Shar! Elle, did Donald say anything about our investigation into her proxies?"

[Anastasia]

"No, we've been tied up with finishing the fallout of Imix," Elle says.

[Corwin]

"Alas. Anything open on your end, Antenora? I know you've been working hard on that front while we were slacking."

[Anastasia]

"Yes," Antenora smiles, "We captured Zylvelyn."

After a moment Elle clears her throat, "I don't have encyclopedic knowledge of Sharrans," she confesses, "Details."

"One of the Shadows and a proxy of Shar," Antenora elaborates, "Marie and I captured her on Ice. She is now in Mystra's custody and will be no threat to anyone."

[Corwin]

"Any chance you have actionable intel on others?"

[Anastasia]

"We got some information on the others," Antenora admits, "I'd be happy to share it with you."

[Corwin]

"Sounds like a good chance for a bit of cultural exchange, too, if you or Jessica are free for it."

[Anastasia]

"I am," Antenora answers.

Ready for info dumping? It'll mostly be just in one post.

[Corwin]

Yes