Astarion reaches down to give Mae a little fuss.

"Earth seems...smaller, than Toril. I don't mean that in a derogatory way, more that - well, we have gods and devils and races of other planes, using its people as pieces on some grand chessboard. Some of those people are made kings and knights, while others are simply pawns for strategic disposal. And that's without accounting for the power politics going on within Toril itself."