A light filled wandering

[Anastasia]

"Don't be daft," Dolmaya says, stepping forward and jabbing her finger at you, before turning to Io.

"I regret there is no better way," Io agrees, "We must make do with what we have, rather than what we wish we had. It is imperative that you all continue to grow closer bonds and continue to grow stronger. You will find no inhibition against this, no great lassitude in growth as most in Creation find in time."

"And?" Dolmaya asks, "AND?" She points her finger at Io, "I will not accept this lying down and acting pretty, like a blushing princess for whatever prince wooed her."

"And there are goal being done now. Are you aware of the search for lore Moore, Seira and others have begun, Alyssa?" Io asks.

[Iron Dragoon]

"I think I recall them mentioning it, but we didn't go into details. I had quite a bit going on."

[Anastasia]

"This memory of Moore's will prove edifying," Io declares, as it flows into you, into your mind.

---

Moore makes sure everyone is settled in -- Jetina, Cresiel, Xandra and Kaja with Grias and likely Wood there as well.

The others don't need to be bogged down with all of this right now.

Moore clears his throat as he takes out a piece of parchment.

"I need to explain something to all of you about why I'm doing what I'm doing." He begins.

"When I was with Aurora, I worked with a woman named Sylvie, who had the... mixed blessing of coming into contact with something known as 21. For those of you who do not know, 21 is a tool that was created by the Incarnations to understand good and evil. It is a tool that is so far beyond the understanding of mortals, it could likely warp Creation itself."

A breath at that. "The price of using 21 came... all the time. Sylvie could never do anything except speak the full truth of anything she was asked. As time went on, she and 21 became more and more... one thing. I think it's fair to say Sylvie became an extension of 21's will, rather than the other way around.  Near the end of the time she was with Aurora, she had affected an ability to see into the future in some ways."

He takes in a breath again. "She disappeared after Aurora's battle on Lifasa and hasn't been seen since. Calley..." He looks over at Kaja. "Calley is her son. I guess... she didn't really want a child originally, so... she probably didn't treat him well. It seems like she gifted him all the knowledge she had... and maybe continues to do so even now -- Sylvie didn't know I was a Duke when she left, so... there's some wiggle room there."

He shakes his head. "Anyway, our goal right now is to find her, and find 21. I think the both of them are together. I don't intend to let her live the rest of her existence out as a tool for something she doesn't want to be part of... and if that means I have to find a way to go beyond Creation itself to rescue her, then I will."

He unfolds the parchment and puts it on the table for everyone to see. "This is some sort of ritual that Calley was writing. I think it has the potential to lead us to the solution to find her. I am going to need a lot of help to solve this... and it's probably going to be something I need to spend some time on. I don't want to let our mission falter in the meantime, so that's why I wanted you all to be aware of my short-term plans. We're still waiting on someone to join us as an information broker, so once we have that I think we can really begin in earnest." Moore explains to everyone.

---

A few moments of silence follow that before Dolmaya says, "A goal I can work with. Lore it is."

Bastian scowls, "How useful is her child? Another warrior could be useful."

At this Emily frowns, "He's....a child. Perhaps 8 years as humans reckon it? Ah, he also has Sylvie's power and ability, he's powerfully capable at everything he wants to be. Sylvie was a skilled hero of Aurora before she left."

[Iron Dragoon]

"He is. He visited me in the tower once. He was looking for something specific, but wouldn't say. His knowledge is a curse to him, but it may be a blessing in the long run. I don't want a child fighting, but... Maybe we could find a way to help him. Foster him, perhaps. But yes, lore is a thing Dolmaya and I excel at. We'll certainly offer help with it."

[Anastasia]

"That and lore," Dolmaya agrees.

"It's a start, and researching lore could be useful," Jarem seconds, "There should be some libraries in the Gates of the Moon we can check, and I can also nose around the ones back in Warrior's Rest."

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa rolls her eyes. "You just want to tweak the nose of that librarian... Speaking of, Dolmaya, how are you at chess?"

[Anastasia]

"Experienced," Dolmaya says, glancing to you. "Why, do we have to play chess with Shar now?"

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa chuckles, "You're going with Jarem to that library."

[Anastasia]

"Fine," Dolmaya says without missing a beat.

Jarem smiles ever so faintly but says not a word.

[Iron Dragoon]

"Emily, you're on the Aurora library. I'll check at the Gates of the Moon. That gives us access to three significant libraries, and we can also visit Queen Morwel's if need be. She still wants you to visit, Dolmaya.

Now, for the more unpleasant thing. Lord Io, it's been suggested to me a couple of times now that I attempt an alliance with Malcanthet. What's your opinion?"

[Anastasia]

Io slowly breathes out and says, "I would only consider two reasons to ally with her, and I do not see either as applying to you."

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa nods, "I don't like the ide either, but I can't help but ask the question 'Can we afford to have anyone on the sidelines?' I'll leave it to you to decide who to pull in, but... They have as much at stake as we do. It's just a question of can we trust them to remember that."

[Anastasia]

"For now, go forward and focus on your tasks," Io advises, "My council is to deal with the succubus queen when needs must but not before then."

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa nods. "I'm making progress with the Words of Creation, but I'm meeting resistance. I'm going to start working on The One soon, if you have any advice."

[Anastasia]

"Read the book I provided about it," Io councils, "Work with Moore on that as you can, for he studies both."