You must be able to make the choices that must be made.

No! Not Jasana! He had chosen his duty, and it had cost Faalken his life! He had chosen his duty, and it had nearly killed Kimmie! He would not make a choice that would kill his daughter. He would not! The entire world did not matter more than his precious child, because the world would not be worth continuing if Jasana was not there to share in it.

In a flash, an instant, a plan formed in his mind. It was a simple plan, an elegant plan, yet a plan carrying flavors of nuance and subtlety that would make Keritanima proud. It was a plan that addressed all the problems of rescuing Jasana without getting her killed, and after going through it in that instant, he realized that it was a plan that would work, no matter if it was a god that would be the one trying to defeat it or not. The simplicity of it made it almost infallible.

He had to be able to make the choices that must be made. In that instant, he made his choice, and that choice was Jasana.

Quickly, he buried the plan in the deepest parts of his mind, submerging it into the Cat, the one place where no one, not even the Goddess, could dig it out. He knew that if she knew what he intended, she would not allow it. She would stop him, and he would not be denied.

If Val wanted the Firestaff, Tarrin would give it to him. It was not worth the life of his daughter.

"If there's one thing that you should have learned about me by now, Spyder," he said in a voice that held absolutely no emotion, "is that the world does not matter to me." He looked at her. "Val has my daughter, and I'm going to get her out of there alive. That's all that matters to me. The world can go to the Nine Hells for all I care."

"Then your daughter will grow up in a blasted wasteland."

"As long as she grows up, I don't give a damn about where it happens to be," he said, looking over the army one more time.

"You are foolish to say that to me," she said, drawing herself up. "I will not permit you to decide the fate of us all, Tarrin."

He felt her power build up, felt the terrible might of it even though both of them were working through projections. But he ignored her, keeping his back to her. "I'm not going to go out and intentionally destroy the world, fool woman," he said with a snort. "But I won't abandon my daughter. If it would have been anything else, anyone else, I would have let it go. But not Jasana. Not one of my children. I'll find a way to get her back. I'll do my best to keep the Firestaff away from Val. But if it comes down to it, I'll hand it over to him without hesitation."

"Then you doom us all."

"Then we all die," he said grimly. "That doesn't matter to me in the slightest."

"Then you leave me little choice, my brother," she said with terrible finality. He felt her power immediately build up to its peak, felt her half a world away, probably doing the same thing he was doing, sitting somewhere in a small room in a nice comfortable chair, projecting herself out across the vast distance between them.

"Go ahead," he told her without emotion. "Let's just get it all out of the way now, woman. It doesn't matter to me anymore. Nothing matters to me anymore except my daughter," he said in a dead tone. "Strike at me, Spyder, and I'll tear the Weave. I know how it's done. Try to stop me, and I'll cause another Breaking. You won't have to worry about Val destroying the world." He turned on her, and there was awful burning fanaticism in his eyes that took her aback. "If you deny me the chance to save my daughter, I'll destroy the world myself!"

There was a shocked silence from Spyder, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. "Mother!" she gasped in consternation. "This cannot be!"

I cannot interfere, the voice of the Goddess touched them both, a very subdued, serious voice, nothing like the voice he was so accustomed to hearing. You understand the rules, daughter. I cannot directly interfere. I cannot demand. I can only ask. If Tarrin decides to defy me, I can do nothing but deny him his powers. And he does not need Sorcery to tear the Weave, daughter. He's a strong enough Druid to do it. It will kill him, but he can do it.

"What must I do, Mother?"she asked in confusion. That was something he never thought he'd see. Spyder was at a loss as to what to do.

I suggest you withdraw your threat and release your power, she replied dryly. If my kitten is this determined, then I say give him his chance. He has proven again and again that he can find ways to accomplish his goals. We must all have faith that this time will be no different.

"I do not like it, Mother. It takes an awful risk."

I don't like it either, she said with a rueful chuckle. But if there's one thing I've learned about my kitten, Spyder, it's that once he truly sets his mind to accomplishing a goal, he finds a way to succeed. Just as he has faith in me, now I must show faith in him. I won't interfere, kitten, she told him directly. I disagree with what you're doing, you must know that. I love Jasana too, but I can think of no way to safely get her out. But I'm going to trust you on this, Tarrin. If you believe with all your heart that you can get her back without giving the Firestaff to Val, then I'll support you, and I'll do everything in my power to make it happen.

"I can do it, Mother," he said confidently. "I swear it."

Then that is good enough for me, she said simply. All you need to do is ask, Tarrin, and I will help you as much as I'm allowed. Because of what Val is doing, he is forcing us to directly interfere anyway, so I'll be able to help you alot more than usual.

"What is he doing?"

"The Demons, Tarrin," Spyder said. "He is Conjuring Demons by the dozens every day. He already has a force of nearly a thousand, and they grow by the hour. The gods themselves must take steps now to prevent another Blood War. It is why I am here. It's why I've shown you what's before us. I am the Guardian, and now I am summoned to execute my duties. To defend our world against incursion from hostile extra-dimensional invaders. That is my purpose."

The weight of that was not lost on him, no matter how adamant he was about rescuing his daughter. The possibility of Val getting the Firestaff was only one of the dangers presented in this very delicate situation. If Val raised enough Demons, he could threaten the entire world whether he was freed or not. And now that the Weave was restored, he would bet that the same lack of magic that kept the dragons trapped in the form of drakes was keeping Val's icon rooted to his spot. The Goddess was animating her icon now, moving it around. Val couldn't move it around the way she did, but he could move. He'd be at least as mobile now as any other living thing with arms and legs.

Even if they kept the Firestaff away from Val, they were going to have to deal with him and the army he had amassed.

"You already have a force at hand to deal with Val," Tarrin told them both absently. "I think the battle at Suld showed how effective it is to bring the Wikuni, Ungardt, Knights, Selani, and Arakites together. Assemble them again in greater numbers, and you'll have an army that even Val is going to fear."

I already realized that, kitten. I'm already starting to make some arrangements with their gods. The Younger Gods have a stake in this too, and they'll help. They rule as patrons of the mortals, so it is through them that we must act. Karas, Dallstad, Kikkalli, and Fara'Nae have already pledged their children to the cause. I'm even asking Neme for her Amazons and for the outworlder god that commands the Wizards to release them to my charge. Every Elder and Younger God both are going to be devoting a block of their priesthood to the cause to serve as magical assistance along with my Children and the Wizards. We may even get assistance from the Druids and Fae-da'Nar, this is so serious. I've yet to approach Shiika over her Legions, though. Because the Arakites really have no one god that could force such a large empire to mobilize, it forces me to deal with their Demon Empress. Tarrin could sense the intense distaste present in her voice.