"Back to the private sanctum, first," and when they are there,

"A hundred thousand soldiers, four teleportation circles, a miracle to stop planar travel and communications in and around Egorian, you and Karlenius and Arnisant and Marit and anyone else who's as good in a fight but didn't get into the histories, a top-rate navy, and a gold dragon. Mengkare doesn't respond to my letters but he's worked with you in the past so you might have a better shot at convincing him to leave his utopian project for a week. If your archmage does necromancy some soul binds and trap the soul spells will come in handy."

"...Also a plan for what comes next, because I was not expecting to need one of those soon and was certainly not expecting to get to make one unconstrained by the demands of allies who aren't in it for purely Good reasons."

"I don't have a navy," she says. "And the Shining Crusade is not, in fact, over, though it seems likely some combination of notes on all of its remaining major engagements and some help from the future can bring it to a close in less than the five more years it took in your world's history. I would experience some logistical difficulty in bringing the whole force through once it's over but it probably wouldn't be impossible.

We by coincidence possess several dozen cursed soul-trapping rings that activate remotely at a time of our choosing, and the means to make more of them, and the means to make them closely resemble any magic or nonmagic item we'd like. 

Two Miracle diamonds. Having fewer than we think Tar-Baphon has is putting the Crusade at risk, though. I suspect I can scare up some more. I don't know if I can call Miracles here; does the goddess have a ninth-circle cleric? I'm not sure Who else would bar communications and planar travel around Egorian. …we could try it as a Wish, at considerable risk to Egorian…

You have the Shining Crusade's heroes, of course, and Alfirin who managed to slip the history books, and I can talk to Mengkare though when we parted he was very unimpressed with me. - correctly so. 

I also don't really have - a plan for what comes next, yet. I don't think I understand the scope of the damage well enough, and - I had a conception of what country I was going to build, I'm very happy about how it apparently turned out, I'm not sure the western Empire should be another of it. The claim has been made to me that it's easy enough to convince Asmodeans someone else is on top - well, if you beat Asmodeus squarely first - and very hard to convince them of things other than that.

If I did it right, you'll know more than me, about how to build Good institutions. And either way you know a lot more about Cheliax."

"I suppose the navy's optional, if we've got the teleportation circles on a more ongoing basis. I wasn't expecting to be get the teleportation circles at all, you need two archmages and Clepati won't do them. She said - what was it, 'You are going to have to wait for someone even older and more foolish than me, or someone younger, or someone wiser, or they aren't here and you will die.' Which was not the most encouraging response."

"All of it's optional, really, just the less you can bring the longer it will take - If you don't have the men to spare we can get them from Galt, which, good news, will come with three dozen plans for how to rebuild the country better, bad news is that none of them will work and the one that'll be pushed the hardest is 'Cyprian declares it a republic-in-name, kingdom-in-all-but and finds some niece somewhere to stick on the throne.' If you haven't heard of him yet, everyone outside the war college says he's the best general since you. And a warlord with dreams of empire, but before you showed up I was inclined to let him have it, I've seen worse and I'm not just talking about the Thrunes."

"A wish might do for Egorian but we'd have to come up with a plan that's not the one that's mostly for stress-relieving fantasy. The important part there - and with the soul traps is to not let Asmodeus' favorites escape to prolong the fight. He's got a ninth-circle we'd want to take out quickly, and the new queen who's - no threat at all, really, apart from being the embodiment of His pact with House Thrune, trapping her would make it much more expensive for Him to interfere - A pair of greater devils sent here to advise and direct Cheliax, and then a lot of nice-to-haves who are - competent and loyal mortals, or powerful-but-not-ninth-circle clerics, or faces would be good puppets for Hell and that the remaining loyalists would rally behind. I have a list. I don't think we should use the jewelry, though, Cheliax has a very competent spymistress and it seems like it has a big risk of tipping our hand."

"I don't know that Lastwall is perfect, but you did better than anyone else. Someone - many someones - know better than you how to build Good institutions, now. It's just not me, I specialized differently."

"And I imagine they're in Lastwall and cannot advise us until after the fact," she says. "Well, as a starting point I am in the middle of doubling my administrative staff at home so I can bring those people over and start to build Lastwall, and then someone can come and tell me what's better than that. 

I am formally committed to not starting this with Shining Crusade resources until it's our honest, competent guess - and that of some arbiters-  that the fighting will be over inside six weeks and Cheliax's Worldwound forts hold through it. Is that realistic, if I get you what you named? If I get you most of it?"

"Yes. I'm sure if left without any of your help I would eventually start something that would take more than half a season to finish, but - All the plans I'm happy with that involve open fighting at all are very likely to take much less time than that. Because the ones where it takes a season or more - those aren't the ones that are close to certain. Too much time for Hell to turn it around, I know they've got surprises for us and I don't want them to have time to trigger more than half of them. And starting something and failing could be a lot worse than trying nothing at all."

"That's about what I expected. - pending confirmation that it serves Good to notify Aroden that He shouldn't try the Age of Glory, which is confirmation I expect to get, we're going to try to get it established that people who've sold their soul in one timeline haven't, and are fine, in a different timeline where Hell possesses no contract. How much will that help, I can't fathom any other reason why even selfish people would serve Hell but I assume Hell has had some time to improve its pitch compared to my day."

"Hell has a lot of different pitches. 'Most people are damned anyways', 'even if some idiot peasant has affected the world so little that they can be redeemed, you've done enough evil that you don't stand a chance', 'Heaven is just as bad, but with feathers instead of scales', 'Hell's victory is inevitable, so even if you wind up in a different afterlife for a bit Asmodeus will still get you eventually and it's better to come to Him willingly' - Mostly variations on the theme 'Asmodeus will get your soul anyways, faithful service will be rewarded, trying to escape your fate will just mean you get a worse one.' 'Hell only tortures weak people who deserve it, if you are a strong person who hurts and enslaves others then you won't be hurt and enslaved yourself.' "

"If I can get the diamonds I'd be tempted to take the major cities with - five, six Miracles, very flashy ones. It's going to be very ugly, countering that slowly across an entire society and I am unusually well-equipped to counter it in the direct 'no, we're the side whose victory is inevitable' way. I'm not sure how many diamonds I can squeeze out of interworld arbitrages of various kinds, it depends whether Aroden's Court is allowed to pay me for telling Aroden not to smash all their property values to smithereens, and if not on whether there are large exploitable disparities or ancient ruins we can immediately go loot in our world, and if not on how many parties here would back an effort to retake Cheliax if they found it credible that it'll succeed cleanly and are possible to negotiate with in advance. 

The other large remaining unknown is what if anything Alfirin is up to in the present day. I know she does not particularly plan to face judgment."

"...Was that a question? I've still never heard of her besides what you've said so far in this conversation. I could list off every lich I've heard of in case any sound like her. Or every archmage, if you think she'd find a way to remain still properly alive." Most people who don't plan to face judgement face it anyways. Even archmages.

"Marit and I are betting, though not confidently, that she is responsible for the mysterious incident in which the holy books lost all mentions of her, a few centuries after my ascension. I don't expect you know, but - if there are plans that work with three archmages I'd say there's an outside chance we'll have them, potentially at the cost of a True Resurrection, and we can look more urgently if it's of immediate use for the war."

"OK, off the top of my head - Morgethai, Clepati, obviously. Vorlesh, if you're not very sure of her. Acacia, she fought on the side of Hell in the civil war, definitely an archmage, very secretive, dead but not very thoroughly confirmed so. Manohar, chelish wizard, probably only eighth circle though. Also a man, obviously that wouldn't be an impediment for an archmage but you'd know better than me whether that's something she'd be likely to change. The Hellknight order of the Gate was founded by an archmage, he supposedly died of old age but there are recorded sightings of him decades later, probably a lich, if he's still running the order he's not doing it openly. Mirabelle, another Chelish mage, I think only eighth circle, but - eighth circle quite young, could have hit ninth and hidden it, less confirmed dead than I'd like given that she's probably got a grudge. There was a shadow-magic specialist in the five kings mountains about fifty years ago. Confirmed ninth circle. Hasn't been heard of for half a century. If Alfirin might predate you by a lot, uh. Baba yaga. Any of the seven runelords. I assume you would have noticed if she were Tar-Baphon or Arazni. Nex. Geb. I think I'm out of plausible archmages and well into the implausible ones now."

"I'll pass those along for us to look into. - she wouldn't have served Hell, not to Hell's genuine benefit. I am uncertain of her in some respects but not that one. 

Arazni's - the other person to contemplate trying to get back. I bet I could win that fight but irritating Geb does not seem like an acceptable risk with this many pieces in midair."

"In Iomedae's name please don't. I - I guess you know already that that's how she wound up Geb's slave in the first place -"

"Yes." A flash of deep grief. "I wish you could've known Her. I wish you could've known Aroden. It's - a horror I doubt will sit quietly as long as I'm mortal. We could do almost anything if we had Her back and I believe you it's not worth trying.  I broadly won't try things in this world against your counsel and will certainly not in a case like that.

"My grandfather was a priest of Aroden. I - can see what's missing, now that He's gone. But even if He were still alive I doubt we'd be personally acquainted."

Yes. Because this man is very, very Hers, conceivably more Hers than she herself is because - because it's there, now, to build on. It feels simultaneously like a homecoming and like the fundamental anchoring facts of the universe on which she built her life are false. 

They aren't, though, because Good hasn't won yet.

"I want to talk to Morgethai and Clepati before I return home in the evening unless you think that's a bad idea. I can take anyone back with me who thinks it's indicated. I don't know if you'd find it useful to visit, but you are welcome; otherwise we'll send Alfirin through next, so you should think about any ninth circle operational support you want, and she may have some questions for you about some of those names. It sounds like I need to get up to speed on - Cyprian, and how much we'd be paying to use his soldiers, and how likely I am to be able to bring him around to - well, ideally to travelling back in time to show me he can command the Shining Crusade better than I can, that seems like the ideal thing to do with a person like that. But at least towards letting Cheliax have Good institutions."

"I can come with you to introduce you to today's archmages, I've met with them before and can make an introduction. I would definitely like to visit the shining crusade some day but I think I cannot spare the time right now so it can wait until I actually need to be there. Cyprian would command the Shining Crusade worse than you, but that's because it's your crusade and your crusaders are there for you. If you can talk him into an advisory role or a smaller command he'd be a great asset, but I doubt you can in fact do that."

She nods. "I'm going to have less context than you on almost everything for a long while. Is there anything else we should discuss before we go visit some archmages?"

"No, the archmages are important and I don't have anything urgent. I can send their secretaries now so we'll be expected."

It transpires that Morgethai will be free this evening and that Cansellarion is almost late for his scheduled meeting with Clepati today. He'll change boots and teleport the two of them to the temple of the all-seeing eye in Sothis.

"Hello, hello, come in! Alex! Being a boy works so well for you, I don't know why you don't do it more often!

He forgot to forewarn Iomedae that Clepati is insane but he supposes that is apparent now.

Only his friends call him 'Alex' and Nefreti Clepati could be a wonderful ally if she wanted to but is not his friend.

"Eminence. I am pleased to introduce - I know this sounds unbelievable, but it's true - Iomedae. Before she Ascends."

"Does that sound unbelievable? I'm going to skip the disbelieving it, and tell Felandriel to do so as well, because it's getting a bit wearisome, and when Her people do it it's very emotionally moving but that's not so true of me. You look well," she adds to Iomedae. 

"Eminence. I take it we're acquainted." She has dealt with Nethysians before, though this is not precisely Syhten's deal. "I don't suppose, as what remains of prophecy in this world" and how the fuck is she doing that anyway, "you would be interested in advising our planning to free Cheliax."

"If I answer your highest-priority question truthfully up front it'll actually make everything go worse! As someone who serves all Knowledge but also likes you personally I'm genuinely torn."