(The angel nods at that question.)

"Sure, but why does it work like that, is the real question.  One that ought to have better answers than 'because somebody said so'.  And, I know, this is the worldbuilding team's job, but - somebody has to figure it out, and if it's me, I can use the information we develop.  Probably."

"Anyway, spacetime exists, sure.  ...Could probably play it like the infinite inflation hypothesis, actually, where what happens is that - you have ever-expanding infinite hyperenergetic space that collapses into bubbles of recognizable reality."

The angel nods tentatively.  "Or perhaps it is encouraged to do so by some entity - which would be us."

"I don't like 'a god did it' as an answer for 'why do things exist' even when it's true, honestly.  It's...The fundamental possibility of caprice upon the part of a creator, is...it has unpleasant onto-epistemical consequences.  Even if eventually something has to come down to 'because'."

"Huh.  So... it collapses into the sort of world we're all familiar with."

Lila thinks she understands what consequences Alicia's talking about.  If so, she doesn't mind them at all.  She's liked being in a story, and she's sure she'll like it inside Villarosa when she'll be even more sure of it.

But she doesn't want to delay the world-creation even more.

She doesn't mind being in a narrative; she just doesn't want to create a universe that stops existing when gods stop paying attention to it!

"I think so, if I understand what you mean by that.

"This isn't to say that there can't be meddling gods and grand plans and whatnot - just that...no fundament of the universe should rely upon ongoing divine intervention to continue functioning.  To analogize from Azeroth, the Titans weren't greater ontologies, they were just big fucking robots.  Elune was a goddess, but she was not a lynchpin of existence.

"Which reminds me, tell the worldbuilders that if they're consulting the source material to inform our stories that they should basically ignore - anything after Legion, really; the plot really started jumping sharks around then, and it just.  Wasn't any good, especially with the gacha mechanics gameplay-side.  And the slander of Sylvanas, who really deserved better than being some deathgod's fucked-up puppet for several expansions in a row.  Like fucking hell, she already broke free from Arthas, she should have actually won!  Not - kept descending into horribleness!

"Ahem.

"My opinions on the Forsaken's lore aside, and really I have no room to talk since I mained Alliance pretty much exclusively -

"Is there -

"Angel Lila, is there an ideal number of geopolitical forces for this sort of thing?  If you can give me a number of slots to fill I might do better at generation."

There isn't, except in the sense that Alicia wants a number, and it should be small enough to keep good track of.

"Let's have Villarosa itself, and five slots figuratively closer by, and five more in the background."

"...Hmm."

"That feels kind of too 'down pat', but I do like the framework of having near-neighbors and 'those guys way over there'...

"Should probably consider whether Villarosa is a world-scale polity or a region-scale polity, too.

"Thoughts, Princess Lila?"

"You mean something that's active and visible all over the world?  The world's large... though I guess if we had more communication-focused magic it could be smaller; I didn't really have that.

"Or maybe if our Villarosa is going to be a seagoing power, maybe like the Rodinites?  I know something about how their king runs things, but I'd hardly say I'm familiar with it."

(With the help of the unicorns' magic, while Lila was growing up in hiding, she ended up exchanging regular letters with Queen Jethelia of the Rodinite Isles.  She was rather too fond of lecturing, but it helped Lila so much to talk with a queen who cared.  Even if she was most of a continent away.)

"I mean...hm.

"How to explain...

"So on the one hand, yes, that's not wrong.  On the other hand, that's...

"It's missing something?

"A regional power is an area on a map; a world power is something you make a map of.  This is entirely wrong, but - still useful."

Lila's first thought is "but of course every kingdom makes a map of itself."

But then she tries to look through the eyes of someone from a smaller-through-communications world, or maybe a Rodinite; what sort of country would she make a map of?

"I think Villarosa would need to be that sort of... world-important... country if we want to win against the Dark Lord without Fate clearly helping us."

"Hmm.  It depends; I'm pretty sure you wouldn't make a map of Dalaran, City of Mages - but it sure packed one heck of a punch in a fight.  A small country that produces big damn heroes has a strength that could rival an Empire, if it's aimed appropriately.  That, and there's always mutual-defense treaties and 'cultists plotting to unseal the Demon Lord' and whatnot, that would allow a regional power to affect world events directly."

"Treaties are a lot more complicated - I'd rather defeat the Demon Lord ourselves, not just be the fulcrum pushing treaties around."

"I mean.  We wouldn't be the fulcrum in that analogy so much as the lever.  Being as we'd both be...pretty good adventurers, I think.  But I was thinking more along the lines of 'the plot prior to our arrival - and derailment thereof - is set up like "the Heroine derails a plot to unleash the Demon Lord that the Villainess was a co-conspirator of."'."

"Oh - before the Demon Lord is actually released?  That makes things... less fun in some ways, but a lot safer when we're outside the hands of Fate.

"All right - you want a smaller country with lots of good mages?  I'm fine with that."

"Demon Lords are pretty big threats for even, like, college students to go punch out on their own, so, yeah, I'd rather not be facing one at full power right out of the gate, you know?"

She shivers, remembering when she was suddenly unexpectedly facing Barvid at his full power.

"H-how's the cult trying to release him - should we decide that ourselves?"

"Presumably with some sort of ritual, possibly - tied to a royal artifact?"

She nods.  "A royal artifact; that'd get you squarely involved.  And something from my Heroic father, to get me involved - maybe another artifact, or maybe some notes about important information.  Or both."

"Notes about important information, I think; something he investigated and busted that got him elevated to the peerage, but now that he is or was a peer he found something more - corruption in the ranks."

"Yes!  And he wasn't able to expose these corrupt peers before dying - I don't think they killed him, but they might've helped nudge things toward his death - and now the demon lord's cultists are going to use these corrupt peers to help release the demon lord!

"And in the original story, of course, I would've unwisely mentioned them to you or your friends, and you would've stolen them."

"Or you simply would have been dismissed, with it being a matter of your word against the peers - who promptly cultivated my romantic acrimony in your general direction into 'my' own treason, in exchange for 'dealing with that impudent slattern', or whatever."

"If it was literally my word against theirs with no evidence...

"... all right, I wouldn't do it myself, but the other me who hasn't had good politics tutoring might!

"But let's keep it that way; if I did have evidence - and I'm sure my father would've kept it somewhere - then someone would've listened to me if Villarosa is run anywhere near as well as our angel has been saying."