The duty to live

[Ebiris]

"What happened? Was Shar actually in Elysium?" Alicia asks, helping Marie up as she stands a bit woozily and leans on Alicia.

"I'm okay now," she manages, before looking entirely glamorous and put together and divine. Unless one can see past her illusions of course, in which case she looks kind of strung out. Insect related fallen angels with image problems aren't the only ones who can use that trick!

[Anastasia]

"Not directly," Mystra explains as she stands, then sits back on a cushioned throne that appears from nowhere. She rests a few moments before, "She projected herself through a spell. I did not think even Shar could manage such a feat, but she surprised me. A mistake I will not make again and not allow to come to pass again."

"That can be done?" Savras murmurs quietly.

"The theory is sound. The Weave is everywhere," Azuth replies, standing upright now. "In a sense we are all connected to it, and a connection need not only be one way. There are many and myriad safeguards to prevent this, but it is proven that it is not impossible, at least for powerful god with stealth, skill and fortune, as well as that weapon she used against Mystra. It reminded me of the Blade of Endings that the Aurora recovered. Was it the same?"

"No, it was more. I have not seen something as such before, but it would be within Shar's domain of oblivion." Mystra concedes. She rests heavily back on the throne, eyes closed. "It was theft and assassination. It was an open challenge against us and magic itself."

[Ebiris]

"It happened while I was meeting with Beezlebub about a plot Shar had against Malodomini and Sylica, a fruitless plot but one she discarded one of her Dark Twelve to carry out. Perhaps that was an element of distraction, to keep us busy with that?" she smiles wryly, "Fortunately I didn't have the patience to sit and speculate for hours about her machinations so I cut the meeting short, I received your word just as soon as we returned to Sylica."

"What did she steal then, if it was a theft?" Marie asks, focusing on that since at least the assassination angle has been beaten.

[Anastasia]

"My blood," Mystra answers, simply.

[Ebiris]

"There's no end to the mischief she could do with that, is there?" Alicia asks grimly. "We can't let this go unanswered."

[Anastasia]

"Far too much," Mystra concurs, "But I must rest first. Azuth, see to it and Dweomerheart's defenses."

"It will be done," Azuth agrees. "Savras, see to the future. Velsharoon, see to the defenses as well."

Both do not argue and in an instant are gone. Once they are, "Alicia, Marie..." Mystra pauses, "I'm proud of you. Both of you. You've grown so far."

[Ebiris]

"Not far enough to stop something like this from happening, but we're working on it," Alicia says.

"What was the spell Shar used? Like a projected image she could control even across planar boundaries?" Marie asks, since she's been getting a lot of recent use from that spell so such a version of it would be... well, really good. So good it would be impossible to defend against.

[Anastasia]

Mystra rests, silent a moment before she replies. "A disintegrate spell," Mystra replies, "I believe she imbued a tiny bit of herself, a calculated gamble, and used to that to empower the spell."

"Rather like a proxy spark?" Azuth questions.

"Yes," Mystra agrees.

[Ebiris]

"But it didn't disintegrate it though, did it? It took your blood back to where she was?" Alicia asks.

"That's even worse, she can just keep doing that can't she? It's not like it'd be hard for Shar to rebuild herself from the cost of using that magic," Marie frets over the fact that Shar can now straight up disintegrate anyone at any time or place with no way to defend against it.

"But maybe we can stop it? If there's some kind of tell as the magic manifests but before it strikes, might it be possible to... snip it off? And steal the essence expended?" Alicia speculates over a countermeasure. "Was there dimensional warding in place when you were struck, Mystra?" That at least might offer a way to simply prevent attack at the very least.

[Anastasia]

"No," Mystra answers to the last first, "You're correct, Alicia, and I'm taking precautions to stop it again." She offers her hand out, "Take my hand, I will show you the spell."

[Ebiris]

Alicia reaches out to take Mystra's hand in her own, giving it a comforting squeeze and smiling at her.

[Anastasia]

You see the spell.

In the first moment you see nothing wrong at all. It's just a spell. A disintegration, nothing more - but your gaze is taken within. Like a tumor within a body, you see a deeper rot within. A tiny shard of evil, a shard of Shar. As if the entire spell is nothing more than a vessel for this, carefullly crafted. The work is incredible, enough to fool all but the best.

You're lucky you're one of the best.

As you do, Mystra gives Marie a look, "Marie," she chides ever so gently, offering her other hand out. "Azuth is already familiar with the concept and I have two hands."

[Ebiris]

Marie wasn't invited and only one hand was offered out! "Thank you Mystra," she says meekly, taking the other.

Alicia of course had thought Mystra was sharing the counter-spell she'd devised to stop Shar doing this so easily again, but she'll take the information she's given. "Disintegration doesn't even normally work on deities," she comments. So what does that disintegrate spell do? Is it just there for flavour or does it serve any purpose to what that shard of Shar actually does?

[Anastasia]

It's essentially flavor, a false wrapping for the bit of Shar. Thematic flavor at least.

Then it blossoms in your mind as you watch - an array of counter spells and rituals. Purifications, woven nets of spell energy.

[Ebiris]

How was it aimed though? Was there a scrying component? Alicia puzzles over that  before studying the counters Mystra is offering. With how her magic works it won't be as easy as just preparing it from a spellbook but she can absorb it over time enough to be able to replicate it.

Hopefully.