So I am now back within the confines of the castle, and in new permanent quarters, at least for as long as I choose to call Amber home.
Random is exceedingly displeased with Fiona, although he has no idea with what to do with us now.
Isla and I have spoken at a little length and exchanged stories, although neither of us has offered more than courteous greeting to Cordelia. Where ever she comes from appears to be such an alien world that neither of us can comprehend or relate to, at least in terms of her attitudes and dress - she seems to prefer dressing as a labourer would on a warm day, not as a woman should.
According to Isla, Cordelia rather than returning directly to Amber as both of us did, returned first to her home shadow to retrieve a sword - she does indeed now appear to wear one where ever she goes - before returning to Amber, arriving late yesterday afternoon.
When Fiona spurred her horse and challenged us to follow her, Isla had seen Cordelia thrown fro her horse almost immediately and torn between following Fiona and trying to help Cordellia had lost both in a snow storm, eventually finding Cordelia's horse, which was subsequently lost after she was attacked by a pack of wolves. I have to admit that she was a little evasive as to how she manged to survive and for the time being I will not press the matter. I am certain that when she is ready she will tell the story in its entirity.
It was late this afternoonbefore Random came to a decision as to what to do next with us, and tomorrow we are to travel to Remba, a short distance up the coast, to continue our training under the guidance of his sister Llewella.
With nothing explicitly organised for us to do, we have been left to our own devices. Isla has taken to exploring the vast collection of books in the library, but I have never been a great reader and would rather use my time in a more practical manner.
I did spend sometime in conversation with Vialle, who it turns out is from Remba, a place different yet similar in many respects to Amber. It was during this discussion that the subject of cultures arose, and in this respect Cordelia. Vialle appears both knowledgable and perceptive in this area and appears to know considerably more about events than I imagined she could.
Her first comments, that Cordelia was as moralistic as either myself of Isla and her opinions as the morals and motives of certain our relatives were likely to be similar took me completely by surprise, especially in light of her behaviour recently. I was forced to disagree thereby instigating a rather prolonged discussion. Certainly our cultures are vastly different although my shadow appears to be on a course which mirrors hers, and certainly the recent war has triggered considerable changes in my culture the ramifications of which are as yet fully unknown.
On Cordelia's shadow this world war was followed 20 years later by a second that resulted in women doing 90% of jobs that men did simply on the grounds that no men were available to do them, which in turn lead to a revolution in social culture that eventually resulted in the complete freedom of woman from under the yoke of male dominatiom. However, compared to some cultures even with Amber's Golden cirle, the realms that have direct shadow connecction to Amber by virtue of centuraries of trade and shadow travel, even her culture would be considered archaic and backwards, and no one would comment at all on her behaviour it being entirely her choice.
Whilst I and to a greater degree Isla may have difficulties with her culture she will have as many difficulties with cultures not only in the Golden Circle but also in Shadow, but also in Amber or more particularly Remba. She is used to the freedom, within the bounds of law to dress and do as she pleases, which includes in certain areas and circumstances not wearig clothes. When placed in an enviroment such as exists in Remba, where such activities are distinctly viewed as antisocial, depraved, immoral, and corrupt she will find such constraints highly aggrevating.
She also implied something else in her comparison of Cordelia and Flora. Flora was a product of the family she was brought up in. The promiscious father, married multiple times who dropped his wives at the drop of a hat if something more interesting came along. A set of squabbling male siblings all vieing for their fathers attention with a view to succession, and a set of sisters she either doesn't get along with or despises. She always was and is extremely attracive something that she uses to her full advantage, something which allowed her coupled with the pattern to find a form of rebellion that ensures she is not only talked about but gets a significant amount of attention as a result. Cordelia on the other hand dresses as she does because she knows it will get her attention but not as a statement of rebellion but either of calculculation as she knows it will put the majority of men off-balance or simply because that is what she is comfortable wearing, again a product of the culture that exists on her shadow. But in regards to her behaviour immediatly after walking the Pattern that did not fit with her personality profile, so did the Pattern change her in some way, and if so did it fashion changes, as yet unrecognised or unrevealed in both Isla and myself, and to what purpose.
Tonight we are in Remba, and tommorow we shall learn something of Trump. It is certainly a much different place to the city above, not that we are underground but rather under the ocean.
I am remined as I sit down to write my entry for today of yesterday's conversation with Vialle and how predictively correct she was. Today Cordelia was definately not within her confort zone, but then neither was I, whilst Isla appeared to be completely in here element.
I our discussions earlier neither she nor I could fathom why Random chose to give the letters of state to her. The logical choice should have been Isla but I think I now see why, and if I am correct, I suspect that this was not Random's doing but Vialle's.
Today was about ceremony, something I am more than familiar with. Ceremonial Guards, Ceremonial Greetings, State functions. The latter appeared to particularly irk Cordelia, even if she did manage to make herself the centre of attention with the dress she wore. Without yesterdays conversation with Vialle my perspective would have been considerably different but laced with the knowlegde I had it was interesting to observe the disruptive effect she actually had on proceedings. It is this that now gives me reason to suspect that the letters of state were given to her deliberatly, but for what reason I cannot yet determine.
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