Thanks to the intervention of the patrol ship in the service of the Yodhrephath, Envoy and Rory have made it safely to the Guild Hall – and while polite thanks were given to the Yodhrephath for delivering the two mages, the tension between the Caroban mages and the priestesses of Rephath was obvious.

Nonetheless, Envoy and Rory can hardly be blamed for accepting the help of the Yodhrephath in preference to being gutted by renegade Babelite soldiers, or who-knows-what by angry Yodhzakaro. Once they are both tended to for minor cuts and bruises, Rory heads off on his quest to look up records to see if his friend, Skiree, has any surviving family in Babel. Envoy is left to her own devices.

To pass the time, Envoy catches up on the latest news in Babel. As it turns out, there actually is quite a bit of business for mages, but those who venture out into the city only do so with armed escorts. (Due to budget constraints, the Guild Hall can't provide these escorts, but it can at the very least screen potential bodyguards to make sure they're reliable.)

Insofar as the pirates that attacked her ship, Envoy can find nothing that seems to indicate that any renegade soldiers are operating with the help of magic, or "inside information", though the Yodhzakaro are repeatedly brought up as likely villains to be using unlicensed magic to act against members of the Mages' Guild. Nothing is conclusive, however – merely speculation based on too few facts. The only sure thing seems to be that while wages may be high from those that can still afford mages, the risks are high as well.

Envoy's attempt to secure a Dream Mage for a trip to Morpheus have been in vain. Quite simply, there aren't any hanging around the Guild Hall that have nothing better to do than to arrange a session with Envoy.

Her further adventures at the Guild Hall, in search of information, are interrupted by a visit not long before sundown by a page, who comes into the lounge where Envoy has been catching up on advisories. "Mage Envoy of Lothrhyn?" the white-furred bat girl, little more than a child, squeaks. "There are visitors who wish to meet with you, but they are prohibited from entering Guild Hall grounds, since they are in violation of Guild rules and regulations."

Envoy blinks at this. "In violation? Are they Yodh then?" she asks the page.

The page only nods in response, and her expression almost seems as if Envoy had said a "naughty word" by mentioning the title.

"Which ones then, and where can I meet them?" the Aeolun asks.

The page squeaks, "Uhm … well, they're on the Fire Apex," referring to the landing platform associated with that particular element.

"Alright, take me there so I can get a look at them then, please," Envoy requests, and smiles to the girl.

The page bows, and at Envoy's request, leads her through the Hall. Since they both have wings, they are able to take a number of shortcuts that make the trip rather short, and presently they make it out to the suspended platform, where rests a rakhtor-drawn airship, the Vigilant Eye – the same airship that came to the rescue of Envoy and Rory earlier this day, flanked by a couple of fire-red pteras. The same Yodh who plucked them off of Mount Zakaro stands beside her mount, grinning broadly at the page's discomfort leading Envoy out here in the presence of these not-wholly-welcome visitors.

Envoy bows to the rider, and then asks her, "Is this a social call, or are you here to haul me off to the Hall of Transgressions?"

"We had a more private meeting place in mind," the Yodh says, "someplace without ears in the walls. Since we saved your life, I hope that you can trust us enough to take you alone, without any escort."

The Aeolun turns to the page, and tells her, "I'll be going with these people for awhile, please let Mage Cyprian and Mage Rory know."

The page bristles at this. "Mage Envoy," she advises, whispering even though the Yodh can hear her voice plainly, "going along with them is breaching several advisories, I'm sure of it."

"I'm sure it does," Envoy replies, "but the Yodhrephath have done the most to try and keep the peace here in Babel, and I do owe them. Mage Cyprian will understand, and I'm sure I won't be in any unacceptable risk."

The page gulps. "It's almost Reckoning, Mage Envoy," she says, darting wide eyes over to the smirking Yodhrephath, and then back again.

"Yes, a day of forgiveness," the Aeolun agrees. "I trust the Yodhrephath, even though they don't like me." She pats the page on the head, and assures her, "Besides, I have friends with them."

The page frowns deeply. "Forgiveness isn't very popular with … with Rephath," she manages, as if mentioning the goddess's name went against some deeply held rules. She bites her lip as she looks up at the winged Aeolun. Envoy can be fairly certain she's never met this child before – certainly, no name springs to mind – but the child does look genuinely concerned.

"I'll be back, don't worry," Envoy tells her. "All I ever did was get on Rephath's nerves a little, but I did help her, I think. I'll send word back if I'm going to be away for more than a few hours, alright?"

The page nods submissively. "I still don't advise this, but whatever you bid, Mage Envoy."

The Yodh laughs. "Poor thing! Probably thinks we're going to sacrifice you on an altar and dance naked around your still-warm corpse! No, that's more Inala's style."

"You are very wise for your age then," Envoy tells the page, then takes a deep breath and walks over to the Yodhrephath. "Been there, nearly done that. It was Diphath, though, in that instance."

The Yodh's smirk abruptly vanishes at the mention of Diphath's name. "Let's be off," she says brusquely, making a sweeping gesture with mock deference toward the boarding ramp of the Vigilant Eye.

Envoy walks to the ramp and up onto the ship, turning to take a look at the Guild Hall again … just in case she doesn't get another chance.

A spined skirt along the bottom of the envelope serves to direct rainwater so that it does not drip down on the open deck of the small airship, the Vigilant Eye, as it makes its way through the still-stormy weather toward distant Mount Rephath. Two Yodhrephath fly on pteras, flanking the airship, and the airship itself has only a bare minimum of crew, and no familiar faces – Wynona has not come along to fetch Envoy, and neither has Captain Karada. The scarred warrior-bat that pilots the craft is fairly tight-lipped about the exact nature of what business the Yodhrephath have with Envoy, content to keep his attention on controlling the rakhtors in the midst of the less-than-friendly skies.

Envoy watches the approach of the mountain, and feels a bit of dread at having to actually enter the temple there again. She had figured the meeting would take place aboard the Eye while it went about its patrol. Otherwise, it would seem an awful lot of trouble to go through just to transport her.

The pilot gives no evidence of his opinion of the amount of trouble. A few fliers have made challenges along the way, but the pteras have so far successfully driven off any trouble-makers – and seem to have been readily expecting trouble when flying over certain parts of the city. It would seem that various unseemly forces have deigned to divide up portions of the city, claiming them as "turf", and jealously guarding against those who would fly over … but without enough power to really pose a challenge to a patrol craft and its armed escort.

"I hope mob-rule does not become entrenched here," Envoy comments to one of the male warriors on lookout.

The warrior, a fairly nondescript brown Eeee, only nods in agreement, watching some brightly-painted Eeee gang-members being driven off by a warning pass from the starboard ptera. Even though they seem to be fleeing, the warriors nonetheless keep their crossbows at the ready – They are not unfamiliar, after all, with the concept of distractions designed to lure away escorts, and Envoy has certainly heard more than enough tales of such things happening in Babel as well.

It's still not as bad as the Streets Below, Envoy thinks. If something could be done to diminish the desperation of the populace, then it might be easier to establish a new government. "What do they need most, besides food?" she asks the warrior again, while keeping an eye out for trouble as well.

As the last of the gang-members vanish from sight, the guard looks past them, over the darkened city (for so few bother to burn lights at night, for fear of attracting trouble these days), to the darkening sky, as sunset draws close. "Food, hope, order," the warrior says, in a cracked voice. He has the look about him of an older soldier, one who should have retired long ago, or some officer forced into mere sentry duty for an airship due to the topsy-turvy nature of Babel these days.

As the pteras come back to their flanking positions, Envoy can hear the voices of the Yodh cry out in eerie song. An answering cry reports from Mount Rephath, as the airship draws close, and lantern lights are revealed, one by one, at an open plaza near the Hall of Transgressions.

"Will you be going back on patrol soon?" Envoy asks as the Vigilant Eye approaches the lit plaza.

"Immediately after letting you off," the pilot cuts in – the first thing he's said to her during the entire trip.

Envoy swallows. Well, I guess I won't be travelling back anytime soon then, she thinks.

As the sun dips below the horizon, a chill wind blows across the deck of the ship, and Envoy picks up the distinct feeling of magic in the air, though an undirected, wild sort of magic, not the sort of thing tied to something as refined as a spell.

"Reckoning Day begins," the Aeolun mutters, wondering if Rephath herself will be waiting inside the temple now.

Aside from the fleeting feeling, which has vanished now, there seems to be no outward indication of anything particularly amiss as the airship settles down on the platform outside the temple. As the pteras land, and the boarding ramp drops, the captain looks to Envoy, regarding her with a weary gaze. "If you'd be changing your mind, miss," he says, "this would be your last chance for me to ferry you back off this mount again."

The brown-furred warrior that only briefly answered Envoy earlier casts a sharp glance to the pilot, but says nothing himself.

Envoy blinks, surprised at being given a choice. Still, she steps towards the ramp, and says, "They asked for my trust, and it would be rude for me to show my back now. Thank you for the offer, though."

The pilot just nods curtly, as the two ptera riders dismount and walk over to await Envoy at the bottom of the ramp.

The Aeolun bows to the escorts when she reaches the bottom, and waits to be led to her meeting.

Envoy is led by her silent companions into the Temple, under the watchful and wary gaze of many Yodhrephath, warriors and servants that they pass. At last, Envoy is led to a tall door, and one of the Yodhrephath knocks at the door. "Come in," comes a male voice from the other side, and the door is opened, revealing a russet-furred warrior, marked with many scars – including a patch over one eye and what is likely a prosthetic ear – seated at a desk.

The bat warrior rises. Envoy has little trouble placing his name, and a strange sensation runs down her spine. Of all the experiences she went through with that peculiar dream … most of those persons she went through the experiences of are quite dead now, and thus pose little risk that she should ever meet them in person. Somehow, Karada seems almost a ghost, for being such a curious exception.

"I will meet with her alone, if you will, Sister Xana," Captain Karada says, and Envoy finds it hard to place who may be showing deference to whom, and exactly who may be in charge here, based on body language alone.

Bowing to the scarred Eeee, Envoy says, "It is an honor to meet you, Captain Karada."

The two Yodhrephath step away from Envoy, out of the room. "She will be wanting to see the mage afterward, Captain Karada," one of the Yodh says – perhaps the one addressed as Sister Xana, perhaps not – as she closes the door.

The captain nods silently. "Please, sit down, Mage Envoy. In better times, I would offer you refreshment, but I must apologize that I am not accustomed to entertaining guests here, so I can offer you nothing more than a comfortable chair and a place out of the rain for now."

Envoy takes a seat, and lets some of the tension of the trip drain out of her. "I am grateful for whatever hospitality is offered, Captain. It is a rare and valuable thing nowadays."

The captain nods solemnly. "You have news of my son," he says.

"Well, possibly," Envoy says. "I have no way of knowing for sure, you see, since I had seen the child and his guardian before … dreaming … about them. How much did Wynona tell you already?"

"Enough that I know she was not telling me all she knew," the captain says, "so I would prefer to hear the whole story from you. I know that you saw my son in the Streets Below, and were able to identify him because of some sort of dream."

Envoy nods, and begins to relate the story to the Captain, being sure to describe Matra and the boy in detail, as she saw them in the dream and in life, as well as describing the priest that they were with. She also goes into much greater depth about what she supposedly "saw" through Karada's own memories.

"I do not know where they fled to after stabbing me however," she concludes. "Only that they were in enough of a hurry to leave behind the message for the Yodhbarada and some of their supplies."

The captain's face flushes with several emotions as he listens through Envoy's detailed narrative – detailed enough that no sane person should be able to doubt its veracity, especially the part about the actual parentage of "his" son. "And how many have you shared this information with?"

"I've told Wynona the gist of it, without going into any of the personal details," Envoy says. "I've shared the parts that relate to the dropping of the boomer and the apparently deliberate breach of the city patrol with the Rephidim Temple as well. Only you have heard the full story, since only you are entitled to it."

The captain nods. "And that message was delivered to the Yodhbarada, then."

Envoy nods. "I never found out the contents of it, but Wynona mentioned that you had visited them and came back less than happy. I assume now that it may have contained information about your son's true paternity."

The captain frowns. "That is true," he says, "and you already know enough that it can't possibly hurt to let you know that is not the only reason I am 'less than happy'. The Yodhbarada have my son."

Blinking, the Aeolun says, "I don't understand. If he is alive and well, isn't that a good thing? Or are they using him as a hostage?"

"A 'guest'," Karada says, sitting back down heavily behind his desk. "No doubt they see him as a tool for getting to me, and me as some handy tool within Rephath's temple … or perhaps it has something to do with the matter of succession to the throne. My house was never very powerful, but the people have a long-standing expectationthat those in power must be able to claim to be descendants of the gods – most likely in the form of noble blood, descending from the immortal Sabaoth. Every founder of a noble house in Babel, after all, was a Barsaboath."

"I hadn't considered that," Envoy admits, chewing on her lower lip. "By any chance was your late wife … er … close to the High Prince before his death?"

The captain laughs bitterly. "If she had, I would have been more surprised of the High Prince than of Jenera. No … that is a cruel thing for me to say." He sighs, shaking his head. "High Prince Boghaz was blindly in love with his bride. No ruler would have faked such devotion – to deliberately make himself seem vulnerable."

Envoy nods. "So then, the Yodhbarada do not hold the future of all Babel in their claws … at least as far as regards your son?"

Karada shakes his head. "I am not so important. My son is but another prize for them, and I am but another tool they have tried to dig their claws into. I will not betray Rephath, even for the sake of my son – for to do so would bring a worse fate than death upon him. The Kindly Ones hold the sons accountable for the sins of the fathers."

Frowning, Envoy says, "I wish I could help you get him back, but I don't know that I have anything of equal value to trade the Yodhbarada for your son – unless descriptions of Captain Rockmore's crew would be worth anything to them, or some secrets about the past of the Nagai."

Captain Karada says, "I appreciate your concern, Mage Envoy. I do not fear so much that the Yodhbarada will harm him, for to do so would leave me only with one option: bloody retribution. Rather, I more fear that the longer my son remains among them, the more time they will have to bring him up as a faithful little follower of Barada, a faithful little spy in Her service … " He rests his head in his hand. "… not entirely unlike being a faithful little devotee of House Tekkis in my own home, of course."

"If you could get him back, would you raise him here," Envoy asks, "or send him to someplace more stable to be brought up?"

"A temple of the Kindly Ones is no place to raise a male child," Karada says, "and I make no exception for the Children of Inala. But as much as I trust you with what you already know, the matter of what I would do with my son will remain my own secret."

The Aeolun nods, and offers, "If I get the opportunity, I will see if there is anything I can do to help you. After all, the Yodhbarada would likely not have your son if not for me in the first place."

"I do not hold you responsible for what has happened," Karada says. "You were delivering a message, and it is generally unwise to meddle in the affairs of the Kindly Ones. To fail to deliver that message would have brought you many troubles besides. I respect that you told me these things freely. You are either a remarkable liar with far more twisted objectives than I can discern, or else you are clearly unlike their kind."

"I trust to people's better nature, despite all evidence to the contrary," Envoy admits. "It's only right to be honest with them, be they mortal or deity."

"Would that more had such an attitude," Karada sighs, "and Babel might not be in such chaos."

"They've got your example to follow at least," Envoy says, quite seriously. "You were able to impress Wynona, and she used to be … fairly timid."

Karada only nods quietly at this. "Thank you. I think that is all I have to ask of you, Mage Envoy."

Envoy stands and bows once more. "I hope that I was of some use to you, Captain. I think Sister Xana mentioned that someone else wanted to see me. Wynona, I assume?"

"I think not," Karada says, soberly. "I believe she meant that She wishes to see you."

"Oh," is all Envoy can say to that, after straightening back up. "I guess I'd better not keep Her waiting then. Do you think She'll be in a good mood?"

Karada frowns. "I do not think She would be. I had only intended to meet with you myself, Mage Envoy."

"Well, I had some things to apologize to Her for anyway," Envoy says, trying to sound more cheerful than she feels. "And to thank Her for too, like sending you to rescue Wynona."

Karada nods quietly. "Reckoning Day is a good day for apologies and thanksgiving. I hope that it is accepted in that spirit."

"I really hope so, too!" Envoy says.

Once Envoy leaves Karada's office, she is escorted by the same two Yodhrephath through the temple, at last reaching a temple chamber that somehow has the air of not being nearly so used as the rest of this building – The floor shows less signs of wear, with relief-carved tiles that actually still have visible scenes from tales of Rephath (of course, exacting vengeance upon enemies in brutal ways), rather than being worn featureless like so much of the rest of the temple. However, these floor tiles only comprise a small part of the footing, for this chamber is clearly designed with fliers in mind, being a grand expanse with several suspended platforms on flying buttresses and tall columns here and there, with the only way to get across being by wing (or a grapple and a length of cord).

A throne is suspended by a circle of buttresses above a deep pit that seems to cut deep into the mountain, as the cut stone and arranged tiles give way to roughly hewn rock. Flickers of firelight from far below suggest that even that recessed place is not neglected, but rather a continuation of this temple.

Seated upon this throne is none other than Rephath Herself. When Envoy is brought to her, she only glances to the Yodhrephath about the room, and immediately they take wing, retreating to various gaps in the walls and ceiling, until there are naught but Envoy and the goddess present in the chamber.

Braziers burning incense light Rephath's features with aflickering, under-lit glow, and make the air smell more of ash and smoke than of whatever faintly fruity incense is meant to be conveyed.

Unsure of what to do with her hands, Envoy clasps them behind her back and bows to the Goddess of Vengeance. "H-Hello, Rephath," she manages to say.

"Hello, Earth-Shaper Envoy of Caroban," Rephath says, fixing her steely gaze on the winged Exile. "What a special day to come and pay homage to Me."

Envoy grins nervously, and wonders how to respond to that. "Well … I wanted to apologize for upsetting you in the Dream Realm that time, and for trying to manipulate you onto my side of things," the Aeolun says. "And, I wanted to thank you for saving Wynona from the Yodhinala. I don't know if that counts as homage, though."

"Apology accepted," Rephath says. "But it is a foreign tradition to respond to a favor by merely saying 'thank you'. In fact, if you were more versed in the stories about Me and My Sisters, you would know that to thank one of Us can be taken as an insult … because it implies that the speaker finds it enough to offer mere verbal thanks, and thus be free of any burden for recompense. But I will not hold this against you. You do not strike Me as one who is free with words and cheap with action."

Bowing her head again, Envoy says, "I hope that I had at least served You a little, in my actions. I'm not very proud of what I did here though, and can't say that I was thinking of Your interests at the time, either. But it's all I have to offer. I'm glad to see You weren't caught up in things like Inala was, at the end."

"I would not expect you to think of My interests all the time, Exile, unless you were truly one of Mine," Rephath says, "but I still have something to gain from you, Envoy of Caroban. My people have something to gain from you."

Envoy blinks, and looks up again. "What is it, what can I do?" she asks.

"You are widely known as a heroine," Rephath says, "that is, amongst those who do not count you as a villain or a renegade. Your opinion holds some weight – or at the very least, your notoriety guarantees that whatever you have to say, it will be heard. And there are things I wish you would say. You show Me respect, in a way I would not expect your fellow mages to do – fools, even with their lives in jeopardy. I think it would be very appropriate, if you would publicly state your desire to see to it that We and Our followers are respected … and not treated as witches and daemons to be hunted down by the Caroban Watch or the Knights of Rephidim."

"I … have said us much in private, to the Temple of Rephidim and to those in Caroban," Envoy says, "but not in public, in a loud voice."

"It would need to be on the heels of a notable deed on my part, I imagine," the Exile adds, "otherwise I might still be dismissed."

"Oh, I am certain that a notable deed will be forthcoming soon enough," Rephath says. "You are destined to be in the middle of many troubles, so you have no choice but to perform notable deeds, or disappear in your failure."

"There is … one thing more," Envoy says, trying not to sound too apologetic. "I suggested to the Rephidim Temple that they seek the aid of the Yodhrephath in continuing their investigations of the boomer conspiracy, and they asked if I might help them to that end. I've given them the descriptions of Rockmore's crew that I saw in the grand hunt You arranged, and also the details from the memories of those killed – I assume that You send me those – by the boomer that suggest a conspiracy within Babel and the College Esoterica. I don't suppose that is something You could help with? It would certainly help the Yodhrephath gain respect as far as the Temple in Rephidim is concerned."

Rephath smiles mirthlessly. "I do not think that involving yourself in unraveling the conspiracy within the College Esoterica would endear you much with them. The desire within the College to see My followers eradicated – even by means that seem to subvert their own principles – is more deeply seated, and more highly seated, than you might care to know. But you have a point. It would not do harm to toss a bone to Rephidim, especially when it already serves Our own purposes."

Envoy smiles with relief. "I am glad of that. The Temple and Caroban are allies, and if I can show that the Temple respects the Yodhrephath as a stabilizing force in Babel … well, it would certainly add weight to my arguments. I do believe that the persecution of shamans and priestesses is wrong-headed. That is where magic came from, after all."

"Tsk. The truth is so plain that you state it so freely: the Temple and Caroban are allies," Rephath echoes. "Somuch for Caroban's claimed 'neutrality', and I do not think that the leaders of Rephidim would be so quick to jeopardize this unique relationship, either. But just as a deity is measured by the number of Her worshippers, so the power of a leader is dependent upon his people. You are a heroine of the people, Envoy of Lothrhyn, and while leaders may cringe when you open your mouth, the people will listen to you. I am no fool to think that you bear no ill will against the Yodh, for the trespasses made against you in Babel, but I will appeal to your principles nonetheless: if Caroban seeks to eradicate My followers, and those of the other Yodh, it will not stop there. 'Hedge wizardry' and 'sorcery' are punishable by death, and it will be meted out to all who purport to draw power from any source other than Caroban, be it deity or petty spirit."

"Well, Caroban is difficult even with Rephidim," Envoy admits. "Still, I will try to win popular support for the cause of cooperation. I have too many friends counted amongthose who would be executed, after all. And I have no ill will towards Babel or the Yodh. There is nothing that happened to me here that I didn't bring about through my own actions, and much I need to atone for still."

"Good, good," Rephath says. "And should you be lacking for some public arena in which to voice your concerns, we of the Yodh will be more than happy to provide one, in a show of cooperation with an esteemed member of the College such as yourself. I would strongly request that you do not leave Babel without first making a public gesture of goodwill."

Envoy blinks at this suggestion. "Do you have any advice for me on that count?" she asks. "I'd need to survive the gesture, after all."

"Call an audience, tell them what you believe," Rephath says. "If you haven't the creativity or confidence that you can come up with such a situation, it can be arranged. Why, in fact, there is really no reason to delay. Let us go out, and We will make an announcement for the people. I will be by your side – truly a rare circumstance that will give you even more fame, I am sure."

Envoy blinks three times at this, but really can't argue with the logic. "Alright."

"Splendid. It will be a night of reconciliation to be remembered," Rephath says, and then she claps her hands loudly. At once, the room is no longer empty, as several Yodhrephath and attendants fly in. "Send out word that I, Rephath, have word for My people. Earth-Shaper Envoy of Caroban shall speak to the people as well, with My blessing. See to it that she is made presentable, and that she wants for nothing."

The Aeolun glances at her robes, and wonders just what would be needed to make her presentable, but doesn't say anything. Better to be at Rephath's side than under her blade, after all.

After considerable pampering, a perfumed bath, her claws, scales and horn polished, and having her robes cleaned with remarkable speed and thoroughness, Envoy is at last judged presentable by her attendants, even though she declined an offer to decorate her fur in attractive dyed patterns, or a more impressive set of raiment. She is borne on by a small contingent of male Eeee, with an armed escort, up to an elevated plaza somewhere not all that far from the location of the new Mages' Guild Hall. Most of the city is shrouded in darkness, the few points of light being sure indicators either of sources of concentrated power amidst the chaos … or wild-burning fires.

Looking out over the city as she is being brought to the platform, Envoy still wonders what to say. Finally, she decides to just speak plainly on how she feels, and not to try to actively appease the audience. Anything less would just seem hypocritical.

There is quite a crowd up on the plaza, most of them bats, though Envoy can see a number of Savanite slaves (slavery not having been abolished here just yet) and Naga servants. She also sees colored robes hinting at a very small contingent from the Mages' Guild, keeping quite apart from the others. And she can also see a few who must be priests and priestesses – some of more recognizable Babelite deities, but many of them impossible to place.

The litter settles down upon a raised platform, with a gentleness that speaks well of the skill of Envoy's bearers, and disproves the supposition some might make that they were chosen for their handsome features as "attractive accessories", rather than any particular skill. An Eeee manservant rolls out a black carpet from the top of the stone tier, rolling down a shallow walkway heading down to the stage and a podium. The "plaza" itself, while not strictly a theatre, is still structured with some similarity to one, having a general structure of having a low open area in its center, and progressively higher tiered areas radiating outward, bordered by various towers that rise up for even higher vantage-points. Most of those highest vantage-points, however, sport armored warriors with ranged weapons, looking as if ready to snipe any who might try to interfere with this presentation.

Envoy can't help put blush at the lavish treatment, and hopes it doesn't undermine her credibility with the masses. She steps out onto the carpet, and looks for Rephath near the podium. She's never spoken before a crowd like this before, and she tries to hide her nervousness as well.

As Envoy looks, she can see Rephath at the podium, finishing some speech to the people, and then stopping and turning and smiling(?) toward Envoy as she disembarks from the litter. She gestures for Envoy to approach.

The Aeolun makes her way to the Goddess, trying not to slouch or show fear. She does smile back, though; it's the first time she's ever seen Rephath smile, after all!

At one of the higher platforms, Envoy can see an assortment of the mages from the Guild. Some of them are more easily recognized than others. Gusty the Air Mage. Rory. The unicorn waves and one can imagine him crying out, "Hi, Envoy!" though the noise would be lost this far away, but he stops at a heavy hand being placed on his shoulder by one of the elders. Rory is the only one smiling, and that smile doesn't last long.

Rephath steps back from the podium, though without a head nod or any other sign of recognition to her audience or the next speaker. After all, she's a goddess. She isn't expected to be polite. "You have an audience, Mage Envoy of Caroban," Rephath says, and somehow Envoy gets the sense that despite so many Eeee ears around, only she can hear it.

Envoy steps up to the podium and smiles to the crowd, noting the some dour expressions worn by many of them. Always open with a joke, she recalls, and so with her left hand half raised, she says loudly, "By show of hands, how many here would like to see my head used for Blakatball?"

Actually, a few hands go up, and there's a momentary silence … but among those sections most dominated by "lower class", Envoy hears a ripple of laughter.

"Well, I guess some of you are shy," Envoy goes on. "I'm sure plenty of you have valid reasons to hate me, or want me dead – reasons that I respect. I wish I could say the same about the reasons Caroban has for wanting to kill the Yodh, Savanite Shamans, hedge-wizards and anyone else that doesn't practice their brand of magic – because they don't even have the honesty to hate those people."

There's a ripple of murmuring through the crowd, as the audience seems uncertain where Envoy is going with this. The Guild delegation, however, is most certainly displeased. It would be impossible for their frowns to get any longer without dubious application of Life magic.

"You see, the College thinks your gods are just powerful spirits," the Aeolun explains, "and maybe they are. I don't think it matters, personally, because that still wouldn't give them the right to dictate that someone's beliefs are wrong or dangerous. The Yodh aren't taking away work from mages, and they certainly haven't shown themselves to be dangerous to Babel. In the thousands of years of this city's history, the greatest magical disaster was brought about by College-trained Mages. They have no right to claim moral or magical superiority here, or anywhere else. The College Esoterica is not a god, and should therefore not try to act as if it has divine authority in all matters magical."

Oh, this really riles up the Guild representatives. Envoy can see several of them mouthing challenges to her claim, though their voices certainly don't carry this far. Gusty looks wounded. Rory looks lost. Envoy can sense a hint of magic from somewhere, probably only cantrip level, but she can also sense some counter-magic canceling it out, all in an instant. As for the Babelites, though, Envoy definitely has their attention.

Envoy turns to look directly up at the Guild members, and says, "Now, no fair trying to silence me with magic. That would be an insult to Rephath. Not the first one I've seen today, though. I felt ashamed that a representative of the Yodhrephath wasn't even allowed inside the building to see me! These people are part of Babel, and always have been, and always will be, and they deserve respect."

Several pairs of eyes and ears follow Envoy's gaze up to the mages. Her eyesight is not quite good enough, but she can clearly imagine a few veins bulging and ears blushing in reaction to her bold reaction.

"If the Guild does not respect Babel, then it has no place being here," Envoy accuses. "It could be a valuable part of this society, though, if it was willing to cooperate and give credit where it is due! And you'd all be amazed at how much more influence you can have when you work with people instead of shut them out or try to kill them."

Any "Yeah" responses to this are perhaps slightly muted. After all, a great many Babelites seem to be just fine with killing their opposition to deal with a problem in a permanent fashion. Still, the idea of criticizing some foreign authority sits well with the native Babelite majority of the audience.

Envoy turns her attention to the general audience again, and asks, "You wouldn't tear out the foundations of your towers just because you didn't like or trust or understand the people living in the levels below, would you?"

This doesn't prompt too loud a response, but there are a few head shakes amongst the more participatory members of her audience.

"Well, the Yodh, the shamans and hedge-wizards, they are all the roots of magic," the Aeolun claims. "Sure, their traditions are older, their goals are different, and maybe we mages would like to forget they exist. But they are where magic started, and should be respected, just as one respects their parents and elders. Especially when you realize that you'll be in their position when the next generation comes to power. And so, while I respect the College, I know that it is fallible and foolishly arrogant at times. But I also know that it too will be supplanted in time by some more advanced school, and that that one will hopefully show a little more tolerance to the backward, primitive mages that still follow the previous traditions."

Envoy takes a deep breath, surprised that she felt so strongly about things, and then looks up to the Guild representatives and adds, "And a little reparation for damage done by renegade Guild Mages wouldn't hurt either."

This does not go over well with the Guild representatives. A few of them with wings decide they've had enough, and take early leave of the speech. It brings a number of cheers (and jeers at the backs of those leaving) from the peanut gallery, though. Others can be seen speaking to each other, and it doesn't take much effort to imagine Gusty exclaiming, "Is she mad?" to the elder next to him.

I knew I shouldn't have brought money into it, Envoy thinks. Now I'll be in real trouble with the Guild.

Taking a step back from the podium, Envoy turns to see Rephath's reaction, hoping the goddess isn't upset.

Rephath isn't smiling quite the way she was earlier – if, in fact, she was genuinely smiling, and it wasn't just some trick of the light or hopeful thinking on Envoy's part – but whatever she thinks of it, her expression seems to be one of bemusement.

"Sorry if I got a little carried away there," Envoy says quietly to the Goddess. "Ever since Inala I haven't been in the best control of my mind."

Rephath makes a soft clucking noise with her tongue. "You're doing perfectly fine. If you've nothing more to say, perhaps you should wrap up with some parting thought. You might as well finish with … style."

Envoy hmms, and steps back up to the podium. "Well … I guess I'll be sleeping on the doorstep tonight. I'd like to point out that you all could do with a bit of being nicer to each other. If you all pull together, then you could probably have this city back in shape in no time at all. Then you could choose your own government, instead of waiting for one group to amass enough strength to force one on you. You deserve better than that." Thinking that might sound a bit harsh, she adds, "And if you do, I promise I'll come back and perform an opera for free."

Whether or not she intended it as a joke, this prompts a ripple of laughter amongst a large portion of the crowd.

"Thank you for hearing me out, and please get into the spirit of Reckoning Day by apologizing to or forgiving someone," Envoy concludes.

The reaction from the crowd is mixed. Rephath looks to Envoy.

Envoy steps back, and shrugs to Rephath. "Well … I know those aren't your favorite things, but it couldn't hurt for just one day, could it?"

At this, Rephath smiles. It's a creepy smile, looking very out of place. She steps up to the podium, and speaks, her voice projecting supernaturally beyond even the remarkable acoustics of the plaza. "It is Reckoning Day. This is My day of rest. Let Vengeance rest this day. I so command it to all My faithful followers."

Envoy smiles at that. Maybe I'm having a positive influence on Rephath?

At this, there is silence through the crowd. Rephath, looking satisfied, steps back down. "And with that, I shall retire to My temple," she says, her voice not carrying the same way it did at the podium. "I am in the mood for entertainment." The Yodhrephath and attendants all along her path bow and genuflect, and none meet her gaze.

"I know some songs, if you like," Envoy offers, following behind the goddess, "and lots of stories."

"Good, very good," Rephath says. "I will hear them, then – but lest you seem too tightly held within My thrall, you should take the litter that you were borne here on. If you follow Me about like a shadow, they may think I have merely possessed you as Inala did."

Envoy blinks at that. "Oh, you're right, of course," she says, blushing at having not thought of it. As she heads to the litter, she wonders if she'll be able to get Wynona to join in and tell about some of her own adventures. No sense letting an audience with the goddess go to waste, after all.