Io's Labyrinth

[Anastasia]

Amaryl has a hand to her mouth, stone silent and eyes wide. She listens to all the words, taking them in solemnly.

"Is everything..." Jetina begins, but can't seem to finish the thought. "Then...I..."

"It means we have so much more yet to do," Antenora's voice is firm. "But...how can we stop an Incarnation? Even if we slay Shar, surely that will get Ao's attention."

"A weapon to slay something from Beyond," Oberuth speaks up, "Ones and weapons to fight Beyond. Could that hurt Ao?"

[Ebiris]

"The Arbiter appears to operate on the same scale as an Incarnation, so some deities believe it to be the Incarnation of Neutrality. But no one actually knows. We can't fight Ao, the prospect is absurd - stopping Shar buys us time, but to stop Ao requires his equal and opposite. That is why we need to find the Incarnation of Law - and yes, because of the numbers given it's possible the Incarnation of Law has somehow sundered itself, but there is so much we do not know, operating on mere scraps of knowledge and riddle," Alicia adds her own piece.

[Corwin]

'No one' might not be quite correct, and Seira watches Io in hopes of being illuminated on these questions.

[Anastasia]

"I believe the Arbiter to be the Incarnation of Balance," Io says, "But I cannot prove it. It explains why he has vanished, as Ao seems to have found a way to restrain him. I have not met another as the Incarnations are in my travels, but I cannot say there are not others and the Arbiter is not one of them, working for his own reasons."

A pause, "But I believe I am correct, and it fits too smoothly into what is known. The Incarnations have taken different forms and names when it suits their purposes."

[Corwin]

"And Law?" Seira presses. "There's something different about the lowest plane of Baator and highest plane of Celestia. Do you know anything about them, or about the missing Incarnation of Law? Would we even have a way to know whether an Incarnation still lives, or whether one's left Creation behind?"

[Nephrite]

Moore just nods and takes in a breath.

He still has... a lot of questions, but for now he cedes the floor on them.

Wait... three into ... two and one? ...Could it..?

He blinks a few times. There's no way, right?

[Anastasia]

There is a long pause, longer yet. "I do." Io finally says, "But it is Zaphkiel's story to tell. That was his request. For you will meet him when you have met me, you have found 21 and are strong enough."

[Nephrite]

"Two and one, huh." Moore says quietly. "Was Sylvie intended to be part of all of this, or was she just an unfortunate side effect of taking on the mantle of 21?"

[Corwin]

"That nicely segues into another question I had," Seira notes, swallowing her unhappiness just as she ignores the involuntary reactions 21 causes in her. "Do you know where 21 is right now? How about its bearer, Sylvie? Are they together? In fact, is 21 the only such artifact in Creation, or did the Incarnations make others we could pursue?"

[Anastasia]

"I do not know," Io says, "For 21 is yet beyond me." A shake of his vast head, "I believe someone was meant to bear 21. I do not believe it was her in particular, from what I have seen of Sylvie before she vanished."

[Corwin]

Seira glances over at Moore, asking, "Do you think that reading twenty one as two and one connects to any of this, by the way? We saw the memory of 21's creation, and the Incarnations seemed to be there--"

Returning her attention to Io, she asks him, "All three were there as 21 was made, correct? And speaking of the Incarnations, what are their goals? Their natures? Know thy enemy is the basics, and knowing more about the other two might help us find Law or confirm Balance's identity. If you suspect it's the Arbiter, what caused you to think that?"

[Nephrite]

"I think it does." Moore says with a nod. "If you read what you all learned as 'Three into two and one' as 'Three into 21 into three,' I think.. it kind of makes sense that way. Almost like... 21 is eventually split back again into three somehow, maybe to make new Incarnations?" He shakes his head. "I find it... too convenient that you could read it that way, and it seems like everything we're doing is also pushing us to find 21. Considering it's a tool that was made by the Incarnations, I think it would stand to reason that it could be used against Ao somehow. ...Oh, uh, speaking of that..."

He looks over at Io. "Since not all of us can remember anathemic knowledge, are we going to forget most of what we discussed here when we leave?" He asks.

[Anastasia]

"You have to understand," Io begins, "The Incarnations do not think as we do. They do not act by emotion...or I thought that, but perhaps I was wrong and Ao has proven me wrong." Here the dragon deity bows his head a moment, as if mourning. "They act for a purpose. They have no concept of good or evil. Their concept is of Order of Chaos. Shall things be Orderly and Lawful, or Chaotic and Changing? It is something the Incarnations understand well and we do not understand as well, especially mortals. Yet good and evil are the fruit of Creation, understood by us well and not by the Incarnations. They will act without regard for good and evil because they had no concept of it until it came about in Creation."

After that and a moment, "They are driven to their goals and pursue them, relentless in their ways. For they are seekers of knowledge, ones who wish to find an Answer to the question they have proposed."

"Yet if Ao is as you said..." Amaryl says, "...could it be not that he was always corrupt and all is his distractions, but that he grew to embrace evil instead?"

"It may be so," Io replies. "I do not know. They only tell us what they wish, what I believe they believe will best serve their own goals. They are selfish without being selfish. They are not cruel by nature, but can inflict great cruelties in search of their Answer. Likewise they can make great mercies without being merciful. But above all, I believe them to be creators rather than destroyers, or I once did. They will destroy when needed, but are more inclined to create, to add, to let things grow and advance."

Moore's comment provides a pause for Io, "You will remember this. You will be incapable of forgetting, even if you were so callous as to care nothing of Creation. Guard this knowledge with your life and soul."

[Corwin]

Seira inclines her head, mulling on this knowledge. It will take time to truly consider, and she decides to change tracks. "Might I ask the question of whether other artifacts of 21's caliber exist? If you are aware of any, and we might pursue them, it might aid in our intermediate goal of taking Shar down."

[Anastasia]

"I do not know," Io confesses, "But...I have made something through great sacrifice, through great knowledge and a great amount of time that may equal one of their creations, if in some small way, by what they gave me."