Chronias

[Anastasia]

"The Oinoloth rules with an iron fist, but one independent of Baator," Is the answer, "I know where Bel is," he then concurs, "He operates in the shadows of the Hells and the lower planes, under various new identities and faces. For now he marshals and prepares himself. He has fortresses in Acheron and Gehenna, as well as an abode within the Crawling City."

[Corwin]

"Is that all of them?"

[Anastasia]

"Within Carceri lies another, jailed within the First Prison," Zaphkiel goes on, "The Guardian is the prison itself, and holds far more than merely the seed. Pandemonium holds one, sealed within the Askaral Tomb deep within a forbidden portal. In the Abyss lies one as well, in the hands of a Guardian already known, who will confess to it if pressed properly." Is the answer to that, "There may be yet others, but as of yet we have no found signs of them."

[Ebiris]

"Why did the Guardian of 21 not also speak of the godseed then?" Alicia asks. "The Guardian of the Infinite Staircase was extremely forthcoming."

[Anastasia]

"He was commanded not to," Zaphkiel states, "I believe the Incarnation of Balance chose to use him rather than create another Guardian. Now that his duty with 21 is concluded, you will be able to make him speak of it."

[Corwin]

"Oh come on! I sent Kascha to talk to him about the notes that lead us to Sylvie! How come he kept silent then?! Who would even explicitly ask about a divine seed at random?!"

[Anastasia]

"That would be the point of a command from the Incarnation of Balance," Zaphkiel notes mildly. "You will need to press the point with him."

[Corwin]

"I shouldn't even bother getting angry at Incarnation logic," Seira says instead of a great many things she was thinking. "Is there more for us to learn before we get to ask you about other matters, such as Primus?"

[Anastasia]

"That is the crux of the seeds. Ask, for I know you all have many questions," Zaphkiel says.

[Corwin]

"I'm not actually going to try and ask everything, since I figure you'll be talking to us from now on when it's necessary," Seira muses. "For now, the thing I need to understand the most is how Primus is broken, what you suspect he knows, how much he can be told and what fault lies in his blasted numerology declaring Shar will win. For the latter, I'm pretty sure I have a lead but I'm not a real expert on that subject."

[Nephrite]

"I'd like to ask about the link between the Words of Creation and the power of anarchs." Moore says.

[Anastasia]

For a moment Zaphkiel is silent.

A blink.

Before you is an egg. A great golden egg the size of Hanna or so, one that Zaphkiel stands before. His hand rests on it and the egg becomes transparent. Within sleeps a great golden bird, deeply asleep.

"Imagine if this egg was Primus. Wounded and torn apart from the whole, it crashed down in the aftermath. Imagine then what would happen to an egg treated so and what lies within, already unspeakably torn and sundered by what lead to this fate. That is a small likeness of what happened to Primus. It extends to a metaphysical level, his body, mind and soul are all broken and incomplete, unable to restore themselves. He knows not enough and yet senses enough, enough to make things such as the Prophecy of Primus. He cannot be told anything - we will handle that when the time is right. I believe no true fault lies with Primus, as in his broken state he is drawn to destruction and ruin, a reflection of his own condition. He merely reflects what Shar is aimed to do, a useful tool to help ensure her victory."

After that and to Moore, "The Words of Creation and the power of anarchs share one important point: Both create and assert the will over reality. In the Beyond, there is no Weave and no magic. There is only the Enaction of Will, the metaphysical force to shape the emptiness to your desires. The act of creation is fundamental to any being in Beyond, no matter how profane and twisted they appear to us. The souls in Creation are protected from Beyond, but deep in your natures is still the metaphysical underpinnings and potential of any creature born, in Creation or outside of it. This includes the desire and ability to create. In this case, the primal nature of Limbo sometimes resonates with a soul and allows them to access some small ability there. Likewise, the Words of Creation create more profoundly, but in a way a soul from Creation is rarely able to handle. Both trace back to that point within, and the same features of the soul, and thus share some similarities in these matters, as you have noticed."

[Ebiris]

"Sylica possesses an artifact that can make anyone into an anarch," Alicia speaks up after that. "Should you or yours wish to make use of it, arrangements can be made," she tells Moore and Alyssa.

[Corwin]

"Do you want me to drop my efforts there altogether, then? Or are you suggesting there is a middle ground, of getting Primus onboard against Shar through defeating the Prophecy without going into the greater conflict?"

[Nephrite]

Moore blinks. "That... " He takes in a breath through his nose. "I can't just ignore it, but that certainly just feels like cheating, I admit." A small smile follows that. "Thank you for the offer, I will let the others know."