Everything is going very smoothly, he doesn't know why Nolofinwë spent so much time yelling at him that the logistics were very hard and complicated. The logistics of stage 3 will probably be nightmarish, because that's the part that's not with volunteers - and the work they're doing right now to deny Sauron civilian populations is going to cause them the same problem as it's causing Sauron, unless Vkandis is willing to let them use Karse and Isger. 

He feels upset about Nerdanel and all of his children being dead which is stupid because that was the plan and they'll be back soon. Luckily it looks like other people are also having a lot of stupid feelings about this.

They're nearly done. 

Telumë is still near the centre of a nexus of almost-unimaginable power. He's mostly not channeling it himself; his job is watching, supervising, doing all the verification steps, this is about ten times faster than he would really have preferred to do the second stage and he's had his math checked enough that it should hold up, it should be safe - so many of the extra stops and checkpoints in the process before were because he didn't have an entire team of brilliant alien researchers helping out...

- something very strange is happening. 

Telumë

–aaaaaaaaaaa it's talking to him a god is talking to him!

Telumë pushes away the panic. It's his god, that's the entire point, it's - safe - demonstrably safe, demonstrably on their side, he can - all right, he can't relax, his body doesn't seem to be obeying his commands to it anymore - his body isn't noticeably there anymore...

- He's in a place of endless light, shapes and lines and patterns - past and future all around him - 

(Everyone else will notice that Telumë has gone very still. Then he turns around. His body language is no longer particularly recognizable. His eyes are glowing.) 

You can call me Foundation, a very young god says through Telumë's lips. 

We are running out of time. Sauron is trying something different.

I need information on what is happening in the south.

Vanyel are you catching this -

:It would be pretty damned hard to miss it!: Wow this is kind of terrifying actually. :I - have Gate locations south of Rethwellan, I assume that's what They mean, Sauron must've decided to leave the areas where the Shadowgod has any influence - should I just Gate as far south as I can and try to figure out what he's up to...: 

Probably - what can we even do if Sauron's killing populations down there -

:I have no idea!: He's already building a terminus on the mouth of the nearest tent. Honestly it's going to be a relief to be anywhere other than a field of flowers and corpses. :I mean, the Star-Eyed has people there - I think the issue must be that She can't see what's going on, the gods' Foresight isn't that helpful with Sauron. Maybe if I come back and report to a god that's apparently way better at communicating with humans, They can tell her and do something: 

He will ask Telumë's research team if there's anyone to do all the rest of the checks at this stage since Telumë is possessed by the god, or whether Telumë being possessed by the god obviates the checks.

They can definitely do all of the checks; Telumë getting possessed by the god is a positive sign but doesn't mean they shouldn't check, although if they're really running short on time they could maybe afford to skip over some of them. 

The mages who aren't required for that will rest, and try to be ready to Gate somewhere on short notice since that seems like it might be what's happening next. 

I am not yet powerful enough to see a path to defeating Sauron, the god says. It seems the intention was for my ascent to be fuelled by the lives of mortals, and those gods who are my allies agree. Mortals who speak for Valdemar. Do I have your permission to do this. 

This is the worst ethical dilemma to have ended up in. "Y-yes," the King of Valdemar says. "But not yet - we need to run some checks first..." 

Of course. There is still a little time. 

Vanyel lands on the outskirts of Kata'shin'a'in, where Jkatha, belonging to who knows what god, borders the Dhorisha Plains, territory of the Star-Eyed Goddess (and also the location of a lot of weapons of mass destruction, albeit far underground.) 

He falls to his knees immediately, because that's what happens when you spend four hours feeding the equivalent of a million human lives worth of blood-power through yourself and then decide to Gate well over a thousand miles like some idiot. 

A man clad in the black of a Swordsworn on blood-feud is coincidentally nearby, and lunges to catch him.

"...Herald Vanyel?" Ke'valen says. 

"Emergency - evil torture spirit from another world is - about to bring back an evil torture god from the same place - who's currently trapped in the Void - I need to figure out what he's doing in Jkatha..." Vanyel digs in his pocket for his scrying artifact, he doesn't need a visual - he can adapt it to use mage-sight... "Where's the nearest temple in Jkatha itself? Find me a priest from there. Need to talk to a local god." 

He gets clear of the territory of the horrible Valdemar god, steers as far as he can away from the Star-Eyed's territory, gobbles up villages - the next major population center will be enough to do it, this is really annoying but they need to succeed every single time and he only needs to succeed once and they can't act here -

It's been maybe fifteen minutes. Ke'valen has brought him a drink of water and a blanket to lie on. Vanyel is scrying very quickly for magic - Sauron is in Jkatha, Sauron is moving through villages, he's fast but he's not infinitely fast and has no one to Gate him anymore...

And he's fumblingly talking to a priest of Anathei of the Purifying Flame. The poor man is so out of his depth, but he needs to get his attention - needs to get his god's attention, warn them to spend down all the luck and unlikely coincidence they have to make it even just a little more inconvenient for Sauron, because Sauron has so much less distance to cross than they do and he must be getting frighteningly close by now.

- which is when he gets a VERY STRONG PREMONITION. Vanyel has never gotten a premonition before in his life - there's the Foresight dream he shared with Leareth once, it feels like several lifetimes ago, but that's pretty different–

"I need to go," he tells the man in halting trade-tongue. "Ke'valen - I think I will probably be back, with more orders..." 

He gets up. He feels light all of a sudden, kind of giddy, but no longer too exhausted to manage another Gate. 

Foundation is still possessing Telumë. This seems to be the fastest way to do the checks, on a god-being which is no longer physically located in the material plane. 

What did you learn, Vanyel?

Vanyel stumbles through an explanation. "He only needs one more major city, he'll be there in less than an hour..." 

- he tumbles through light and dark, roads and dead ends, walls and doors - the way through is narrowing - there is a door he never wanted to open, all along he hoped there was another way, but every other way is blocked now - 

And one of the Tayledras mages responsible for channeling power during stage two walks forward to stand at Telumë's side.

His voice, when he speaks, is not his own. We join together now. We must.

We see only one path, the infant god says through Telumë's body.