Cauldron Festival

[Anastasia]

"Ah, I see, I knew this day would come," Marianne concurs, having a seat. She sits primly and smiles, hands in her lap.

[Corwin]

"It was pretty obvious," Seira agrees, nodding her head for good measure. "Before anything else, I'd like to ask the two of you this. Are you happy? I'm not talking about living a gilded life of sunshine and rainbows, but are you happy with your lives, right where it counts?"

[Anastasia]

A pause at that, but Lyris speaks first. "Of course we are. If we weren't, why would we still be here? Honestly." Lyris exhales, "That's obvious."

Marianne smiles faintly, "Lyris speaks truly. We could forge a new life if we needed to."

[Corwin]

"I'm glad to hear it! And with the most important thing out of the way, do the two of you have any questions for me, first, before I get into the rest?"

[Anastasia]

"Why?" Marianne says, "To everything. That's the question we'd like answered most of all."

[Corwin]

"Your past selves committed atrocities and had to be stopped," Seira responds. "Since it didn't quite take the first time, we did it more thoroughly. But then I was touched by your bond. I can't speak for Alicia, but I thought that the way you two cared for each other showed you weren't beyond redemption. Since some of the root causes were with your upbringing, we decided to offer the two of you the chance to be reincarnated and grow up again together, in a much more ordinary setting."

Her smile is wry as she goes on to say, "I didn't truly doubt that you would seek out power once more, and Balmuria is hardly a distant farm in the middle of nowhere, but we hadn't interfered directly. That was, in part, a concession to keeping you safe from outside influence on the same level, even though that bitch Shar tried anyway. Still, you made your choices, and I'm happy with them."

Just as with Oraga and Antenora, it is important when someone turns away from a bad path and chooses something better for themselves of their own will. More important than even a martial defeat of a tarrasque. Seira can only hope Marianne and Lyris understand that.

[Anastasia]

"Of course," Marianne smiles at that, "These times have been instructive, if nothing else."

Lyris nods a bit, "Yeah, I'm still cleaning up Marianne's messes," she chimes on in.

[Corwin]

Seira grins at that. "The people that support us make all the difference, don't they?"

Shaking her head in amusement, she continues, "I think that's your question answered, and we can proceed to the other reason I wanted to see you. Even here on a Prime, you might've seen a change is coming to the Planes?"

[Anastasia]

"Yes, sadly so. I do miss dear Balyss," Marianne says, "But events got away from her, Simmer as well. Not to mention Sylvie - our band depletes itself through demise or ascension, and is there truly much difference?"

[Corwin]

"They aren't beyond you if all you want is a visit," Seira muses. "Except, perhaps, Sylvie, who chose to stay away. Still, it would only be a visit. Your group's been staying within the limitations placed upon Prime-based powers. You could stay where you are and be a force for Good in Balmuria and its surroundings, or you could step onto the planar stage. But they are mutually-exclusive, as you've seen from the departure of your friends."

She snorts all of a sudden. "I wish someone had told me all that clearly before my ascension, so I wouldn't have been caught off guard the way I was. Still, might I inquire as to your future plans?"

[Anastasia]

The two exchange a look, before Lyris says, "It sounds like you have heady plans for us, so why not tell us that first?"

[Corwin]

"My plans for you... were to let you have a normal childhood, grow up happy and have the freedom to choose the lives you want to live!" Seira announces, throwing her arms wide to the sides in celebration. "That's it! That was the plan, and now the plan is done." She shrugs after that. "Don't get me wrong, I would be happy if you chose to take a stand against Shar and other evils out there with me, where the stakes are higher, but you have absolutely no obligation to do that. And if you do want to make a big difference but don't want to leave Balmuria, there's an interesting opportunity I could offer you as well."

[Anastasia]

"Go on," Marianne invites, "What about you, Marie, you're representing Alicia here?"

[Corwin]

"Once you leave the Prime Material behind, you will gain in power," Seira elaborates. "We'll need that, because Shar's endgame is the destruction of everyone through torture and degradation. Everyone across the planes is moving ahead with their plans, and we're getting a sense that confrontation is fast approaching. Beyond the immediate goal, the Hells haven't been quiet, either, while the Abyss had been, which automatically makes anyone sane nervous. I could talk about glory until I'm blue in the face, but in the end opposing these threats and making sure the future is free of them is the right thing to do. If you agree, I would love to have you at my side."

[Ebiris]

"Oh, no!" Marie shakes her head, coughing and patting her chest as she swallows a sweet. "Alicia has no idea about any of this. I was mostly here to investigate Sylvie and keep Seira company, this is all her."