"There are three kinds of daeva! I'm an apsel, we make things; angels change things, fairies move things."

"Can you explain more specifically what 'changing things' means, here?" 

"They transmute matter into other matter. They're usually where you wanna go for medical applications, though apsels are ideal if you're, say, missing a limb, and there are some uses for medical fairies too. I went to med school myself."

Shavri immediately lights up, looking a bit like she wants to reach into his skull and drag out the contents of his entire brain to spread out on the table. 

"Your world has specialized schooling for that? That's incredible! I have so many questions! ...Although maybe now isn't the time. Our biggest problems right now aren't really cutting-edge Healing, just - crop failures on the Border, the usual illnesses you get in overcrowded military camps, most of our mages out of commission with serious injuries..." 

"I can do my best with the injuries on not much research and assuming you eat what I expect based on your human-looking-ness I can also do food and more robust higher yield seeds! Diseases may be trickier if I don't know what they are but I can look at 'em under a microscope and stuff and see where I get. I'm not super prepared to take sides in this war that I met half an hour ago though."

Unhappy frown. 

Shavri, though, nods and smiles at this. "Of course. And, I mean, I would understand if you wanted to go talk to the Karsites too -" 

Her smile fades. "Though, er, they're likely to be a lot less friendly than us. Especially if they find out that Vanyel summoned you."  

Vanyel winces. 

"...It would mean a lot if you could help with their crop problems too," he says quietly. "It's - they've got children starving too, and it - just, I'd sleep better at night if I didn't...know that was happening and mostly my fault." 

"Vanyel, it's not your fault." 

"What is the war about, anyway?"

Savil rolls her eyes. "Gods, I wish I knew." 

Shrug. "What are wars ever about? Land and resources, politics, which gods people worship... Reckon this one's a mix of all of them. But right now it's mostly the politics and religion, I think. There was a coup by the priesthood, they killed the King and elevated the Son of the Sun as ruler of the country, and...now they're being even less reasonable than before." 

"Gosh. Okay. Uh, I might want to have some controlled tests done on my vulnerability to local magic - daeva are indestructible but this hasn't been tested against your kind of magic in particular, you see - before I go through a warzone to offer them famine relief."

"Daeva are indestructible? What, er, sorts of weapons has that been tested against?" 

"...probably most of them at this point, I'd expect there's some weird project somebody is doing somewhere where they get their friend to attack them with everything anyone has ever heard of being used as a weapon. Including some stuff you almost certainly do not have here. The risk would be if your magic goes around or through that in some way, but we can test it on one of my wings, which are pretty easy to replace."

"Right." Glance at Vanyel. "Well, conveniently, we do have the most powerful mage in the known world right here." 

Vanyel makes SUCH a face. 

Tantras, belatedly, grumbles and sits forward in his chair. "I know you'd rather not take sides, here, but - look, I don't think this is symmetrical. The Karsites attacked first, and we're not trying to take their territory. Valdemar does not invade and conquer." The last bit comes out in a somewhat rote, singsong voice, like it's a long-memorized saying. 

"I'm glad that your go-to story is that and not something nastier but it is in fact just a thing you are telling me."

"That - is a difficulty we have here," Randi agrees. "Do any of the kinds of daeva have something like Truth Spell?" 

"No, we do not. Apsels have forensic applications but not to the point of determining who in a war is right."

"Does knowing the languages I know cover writing as well? Because you'd be welcome to make, oh, all the diplomatic correspondence sent back and forth between Valdemar and Karse in the last twenty years - and there's no way I could be altering that now after the fact to account for you arriving, right..." 

Vanyel trails off. Shrugs. "Although I don't think 'Cam determines who's right in this war' should be the top priority, right now. Honestly, at this point both kingdoms are being stupid." 

...Oops, he probably wouldn't have said that out loud if he were any less sick and tired of the Border. He doesn't care enough to take it back, though. 

Tran scowls, but doesn't say anything. 

Savil reaches under the table to squeeze Vanyel's hand.