Strange relays what's going on to Cap and Tony.

"Everyone but me, Tony, Strange, and these three—" he gestures to Leareth, Vanyel, and Savil—"take another five, please."

Everyone leaves except Nat.

"No. What's going on?"

"The Soul Stone. It—demands a sacrifice. Someone the wielder loves."

"And you didn't tell me so I couldn't volunteer, I presume—who did you have in mind—"

And she goes silent as she realizes.

"We don't trade lives." He echoes this in his public thoughts as he says it, so that the Valdemarans can understand. It's an answer for Savil as well as Nat.

Leareth is...just going to stay out of this argument, maybe. 

Savil, on the other hand, gives Captain America an incredibly dubious look. 

:...I mean, it's not a comfortable way to think of it. I get that. And - I get that it's different, when it's just - choosing your personnel deployments, who gets sent into danger when, and it's not for sure. But, I don't know – it never feels that different, in the end, when you put a name on a list to send your student to the border, and six months later the Death Bell rings for them, and you know it was your decision...: 

:I let one of my closest friends call a Final Strike, once. I didn't even try to talk her out of it. Because the alternative - me pulling a bunch of power myself - would've caused a lot of collateral damage and probably killed hundreds of innocent civilians. And it - just made more sense, strategically, for her to make that sacrifice: 

Vanyel's mindvoice is very level. There's grief, there, but it's a long time ago. Water under the bridge. 

:There's a saying, you know, that Heralds almost never die in our beds. We made a vow, and we trade our lives for Valdemar. Usually for so, so much less than what's at stake here - gods, and without even knowing if it'll work out and buy anything at all: 

She glances at Captain America, then at the others. 

:Honestly, if we're going to send anyone to do this, I reckon we should send someone who's comfortable with the concept: 

"I was a soldier once, as well. Still am. I know what it means to give up everything for my country. I meant to do it, seventy-five years ago. I crashed my plane into the ice. Somehow I survived and they managed to unfreeze me decades later, but—that was a miracle, and not, to tell the truth, always a welcome one. The life I gave up, the woman I loved, the things I meant to die for, are all still back there in 1943. I meant—I've been meaning, now that we have time travel, to go back there when this is over. Live it through properly. But that's selfish. My country—my universe, as things are now—needs me now, and I'm prepared to pay the ultimate price for it.

"But if you're prepared to do the same, it's not my place to tell you no."

Savil meets his eyes, levelly, through that whole speech. 

:Listen, young man– how old are you anyway? I don't mean how many years ago you were born, I mean how many you've lived. Because I've lived a lot more. I've had my lovers. Outlived a few of them. I've looked death in the face, thought I was about to give my life for my kingdom, gods, must be dozens of times - I could be a little reckless in my youth, fine. I've had my time. More of it than I ever thought I'd get. I've had almost eighteen years with Vanyel, here, and obviously I'd take more years, but...it's enough. I'm not waiting for anything, anymore. Last thing was - being there for Vanyel, when he was destined to fight Leareth, but that's clearly not going to happen. If I can - be there with him in this fight, that's - I won't be breaking any promises to him. It's all right:

She rests her hands on her hips. :And you, young man, need to survive this thing and go live that life you never got to have. All right? If you won't do it for yourself, can you do it to make an old woman happy?: 

Kellan coached her through a LOT of that spiel. She hopes he's right that it's convincing and not just absurdly melodramatic and stupid-sounding. 

Vanyel turns his head away. He's not quite crying but he's close. 

Captain America sighs deeply.

"If it's what you want. I—I agree that I would be giving up more than you by sacrificing myself."

:What I 'want' is putting it strongly, but - I figure this makes the most sense. Vanyel?: 

After a long pause,

:- Can we do it after New York? I - it would be easier. If you were with me: 

:...In all honesty I'm a little old for a battlefield. Still. A battle with aliens? Reckon I've got one last fight in me, and I wouldn't miss it for the world, ke'chara: 

Vanyel glances over at Leareth. 

It's very tempting to say that if Captain America wants to sacrifice himself for his country so badly then he should just do it, but. 

:Leareth: he sends privately. :I'm - a bit worried these people aren't - used to thinking about this kind of trade. And might have - more trouble than Savil and I would, going through with it: 

:- People are often capable of doing what is necessary when the future of the universe is at stake, whether or not they are used to sending their friends out to die: 

:I guess. I don't know. Maybe you're right, I just...: Shrug. :Captain America might've been a soldier, but Tony isn't, and I - think he's lost a lot less than I have: 

:And thus would be more traumatized by making that call than you expect to be? I - suppose that is a factor that could make sense to take into account: 

Sigh. 

:I don't even know Captain America. I literally just met him, and I - I already don't want him to feel like he has to do this. I'm...not sure he even understands how much he'd be giving up. Savil does: 

After a moment, he turns back to the Avengers. 

:Savil and I will go. After New York, since I don't think there's any reason to do those in parallel: 

"Okay."

He signals the rest of the group to rejoin them.

"So it's just been pointed out that we don't actually need to do this in parallel," he tells the group. "In light of that, I think we should send as many as we can to New York and then get the other stones after returning from there. Speaking just in terms of usefulness, I think the team should be me, Tony, Thor, Strange, Scott, and five Velgarthians—if Bruce and Natasha are okay with being left behind, and Velgarth can come up with five people objectively more useful than them."

Bruce and Natasha don't want to be left behind but are aware that, at least at the moment, neither of them have any special powers and a lot of other people here do.

"Oh yeah, this actually solves another problem. The time travel doesn't do space travel, and our only spaceship capable of reaching Morag or Vormir was collateral damage of Varda's overly bright assassination attempt on Thanos. We can solve that problem by getting the Space Stone first."