I sit at a strange desk in a guest room in the great fortress of Amber, although it is called the Castle here. I have been here a little over 24 hours having been kidnapped from my own realm and brought here for purposes that are still unclear, even after the gathering this afternoon.
This "gathering", a sort of informal meeting of a group of individuals, who I'm apparently related to on the grounds that one of them is my father, was arranged to do several things
If we fail to walk the Pattern then, for
the family
there will be no
consequence, for us it will mean our death.
Why am I writing this, because it was suggested by "King" Random that
we do so, partially as a means of coming to terms with what has
happened and will happen to us over the coming days, and partly as a
reminder of our beginnings, something we may look back on in the forth
coming centuries of our lives to remind us of what we once were and
where we came from. I cannot believe that I will live so long so as to
forget
who I am. To enable us to do this we, that is Cordelia,
Archibald, and myself were each provided with a bound leather book of
high quality, and a quill that carries its own ink to write with. This
quill, called a pen, is refillable, and has a cap which fits over the
metal nib to prevent leakage of the ink. The pages of the book are of
paper, the quality of which I have never seen, and which when held up
to the
light have an imprint of a beast which resembles a horned horse in them.
The paper that forms the pages of the book
is but a
small example of
the differences between this realm and Arunkadia. These differences
vary from both the simple and ridiculous to the truly marvelous and
debase. For example, the room with which I have been provided lacks
even basic facilities that I would expect to find in a grand villa on
Arunkadia. Whilst it is adequately furnished, with some truly
exquisite pieces of carved timber, there are no elekron illuminators,
nor hyper caustic heating, nor running water. In fact the fortress does
not even possess a proper set of baths, and I must make do with a metal
tub, brought in by servants, that I can neither understand nor
instruct,
which is then filled with water from jugs, and emptied in the same
manner. If this were not enough I must make do with an inefficient open
fire in a grate rather than a stove to provide heat to the room.
The fortress itself is another enigma. Why build it here at all? We are
told because of the Pattern several hundred feet below the fortress,
but then why create it hundreds of feet up a mountain in the first
place, where such an inadequately small and inaccessible fortified
building has to be built to protect it.
If the location and construction of the fortress are not strange enough, it's inhabitants are even more so. Apart from what appears to be their diverse ethnic origin, although they all appear to be able to converse in a language I cannot understand, their manner of dress varies wildly from shameless to genteelly refined. This also appears to hold true for the family members themselves. The two elder sisters Llewella and Fiona are finely dressed, even if the style is much simpler than I'm used to, but Flora, dresses in a manner most unbecoming, as I'm ashamed to admit does my cousin Cordelia. Their apparel today, whilst unbecoming, Cordelia dressing as a man would, was at least more respectable than the garments both chose to wear to the ball. Whilst there were other women, although most were of young age, perhaps no more than girls really, who dressed shamelessly, none matched these two in the amount of their bodies their gowns failed to cover. If this were not enough, Flora appeared to encourage those young men she danced with to place their hands in places where a mans hand should never go, let alone in public.
I should perhaps be thankful, that Cordelia did not indulge in this sort of display, in fact she seemed to carry herself with some confidence. She also attracted a fair degree of attention, although how much of this was due to her gown and how much to her unusual skin tone and facial characteristics I do not as yet know. I have glimpsed one other with similar characteristic amongst the servants but I do not know how common such individuals are amongst the local population. It is interesting to note that Cordelia also appears to have green eyes, a trait which is not common amongst my own people. Perhaps when we are more acquainted I can ask her about it.
The government here is also markedly different to Arunkadia. For a start the majority of the local population have no say in how the city is run. There are a number of wealthy merchants and a number of Lords who hold estates in the realm who may petition the King, but all decisions are made by him alone and his decision is final. However, he does have a number of advisers, principally his siblings, who are supposed to aid in the process of making a decision, such that the decision is seen to be fair. In fact it appears that Random apparently rules only because Cordelia's father did not want the position, and because he was the only one of the other siblings whose appointment would not start a civil war. It does not appear to be a very logical or sound way to govern the city, one with whose governance the three of us will be expected to aid.
Governance of the city is also only one aspect of what, we are expected to do here, should we succeed in walking the Pattern. We are also expected to aid in maintaining relationships with the neighbouring states that form something called the "Golden Circle", maintain law and order, both in Amber and in the Golden Circle, provide protection from denizens of the Courts of Chaos, and further the income of the family, so as to support the upkeep of the fortress and it's staff - garrison included.
Whatever is expected of us here, I shall have to return to Arunkadia as soon as is possible and deal with the consequences of my kidnap from the Senate.
We have done little today, other than tour
the castle,
grounds, and upper reaches of the city. Our tour ended with a visit to
the Pattern Room. I must admit there is some sort of magic quality
about it, the way it shimmers and glows in the dark of the cavern. It
is also considerably bigger than I expected. Tomorrow morning we are
expected to walk it under the guidance of Fiona.
I have also been assigned new quarters,
although they
are no better appointed than the guest room. They differ only in that
they are a suite of four rooms, consisting of an entrance room, a
receiving room, a bedroom, and a room containing a fixed bathing tub,
hand basin, and something called a toilet, which is designed to carry
waste to the castle sewers. It does appear to be better than a hole in
the floor and the trapped water means there are no unpleasant pungent
odors.
I sit now at my desk in my receiving room,
weak
sunlight streaming through the window, it's effect magnified by the
remnants of the snow fall yesterday morning. Looking out the window,
everything is sharper, clearer, and much more vibrant, even sounds. I
can also now converse with the servants who appeared within a few
minutes of me waking this afternoon. It seems I am not the first to
awaken from our ordeal of yesterday morning, that privilege appears to
have fallen to Cordelia.
I am requested to dine with Random and his wife Vialle this evening. Perhaps this will provide me the opportunity to find out why he is the only member of the family who appears to be married, despite him being the youngest of Oberon's children.
How to start, that is the question, for I
cannot find
the words to express how I feel at present. My current predicament
stems not from dinner with Vialle and Random, which was a reasonably
civilized affair, even if Random is rather casual in his attitude and
dealings, but from the behaviour of the harlot Cordelia who has
tarnished us all with her debauched behaviour.
It is now impossible to move through the castle without overhearing the
whispering and giggling of the servants, or their over loud comments on
her lewd behaviour. I will not even dignify it by committing it to
paper.
What is worse is that Florimel appears to
be renown for
this sort of
debauchery and yet the servants imply that Cordelia has outdone even
her exploits
I cannot think what possessed her but I shall have nothing to do with
her from now on.
We are to ride to Reba shortly, but first
I must
catheterize my emotions or I will surely lose my mind. If I were at
home I would at least have Jenivelle to converse with and get a
perspective on things but here, and for now I only have this book to
write in.
The more I have to do with the so called "Family" the less I wish to have to do with it. A family, at least a cohesive one it is not. Whilst Cordelia is a lewd debauched harlot, it appears she is not the only one to suffer this malady.
Whilst she arrived at breakfast after I did, and had the audacity to greet us, Random, Vialle, Archibald, and myself, as if nothing untoward had happened yesterday, it was the arrival of Randoms brothers Gerard and Benedict, that has given me further cause of anxiety.
Gerrard's first action on arrival was to
walk up behind
Cordelia and attempt to fondle her behind, at least that's what it
appeared he attempted. I could not then believe my hearing when first
he asked if she were going to procreate with the castle garrison today,
and if not with all the male members of the family. What was worse than
this was Benedict's behaviour, he simply told Gerard to be quiet.
We have spent the day riding with Fiona.
My initial
assumption that we were going to Remba turned out to be incorrect. The
horses are of very good quality and my mount has good temper and
stamina.
Our day's riding turned out to be pleasant enough, although the real
reason for the excursion did not become apparent until late this
afternoon.
Having stopped for luncheon at a wayside
hostelry we
had set off again, Cordelia struggling to control her mount, which was
even more placid than mine, and remain in the saddle, as she had all
day. I cannot believe that her upbringing lacks such a fundamental
skill. Despite her obvious inability in the saddle and the
fact
that she was having to concentrate to remain in control, she was the
first one to notice some strangeness in our progress. This brought her
a moment of praise, and a few of the total amount of words that Fiona
spoke to her all day.
I shall have to pay more attention to
Cordelia for what
she lacks in morals she appears to more than make up for in her ability
to notice things about her. It was during dinner that she gained a
second moment of praise from Fiona, and the remainder of the words she
spoke to her, when she noticed that all of the staff in the inn are
female and non-human.
The strangeness in our progress noticed by
Cordelia, is
the side effect of using the pattern to alter the components of the
local reality so as to move between realities. I still don't fully
grasp this even having attempted to do it myself. The process according
to Fiona is called "Shadow Walking", and I fear it is going to take
much more than the hour or sos practice Fiona allowed each of us this
afternoon for me to get to grips with it. Being able to hold an image
of the pattern in my mind is the first requisite to being able to
perform this "Shadow Walking" and I'm barely able to do even that.
Before I put down my pen, for that is what this quill like object is called, I must make one further observation about this Cordelia. She has some form of ability, used through a series of what could be dance movements, to ease strains on her body. What ever this ability is it caused Fiona to comment when she used it.
It has been a long and difficult day's
riding, and only
my ability to transform, armour myself, and create talons has kept me
safe. I am now warm, thanks to a dense coat of fur, and a fire built
from the splintered remains of a tree. If I'd been able to conjure
myself an axe I'd have been able to chop it into more usable pieces, as
opposed to having to shatter it with Elekron bolts.
I've also had to radically reassess my
opinion of Fiona.
I had considered her a reasonable woman espousing all that would be
considered good on my home world, but now she appears cold and
heartless a woman driven by power and the glorification of her own
abilities.
We left the inn this morning much as we
left the
stables in Amber yesterday, with Fiona waiting irritably whilst
Cordelia attempted to organize herself on her mount. That is not to say
that Archibald did not have trouble, but at least he appears to have a
basic knowledge of how to ride.
For the first hour, Fiona had lectured us,
with a few
simple demonstrations, on the principles of finding objects such as
coins, gems, and tools, in shadow, on further general
principles
of shadow walking, and on the fact that there were three places where
these rules did not hold, Amber, Carnelian, and the Courts of Chaos.
She called these places "Real" places. She then said that when you were
very good you could do something called "Hell Riding" a superior form
of shadow walking where you left minute the same and changed everything
else.
She had then spurred her horse and challenged us to keep up.
By the time I had my horse under control I
realized
that Cordelia was no longer along side us, and in a moment of concern
took my eyes off Fiona to see if I could see her. By the time I
realized what had then happened neither she nor Archibald were in sight
and I had no idea where I was.
It took me a well over an hour to work out how to hold
the pattern
in my mind so that I could think about traveling. I knew I had no
chance of being able to follow Fiona, where ever she had gone, so opted
to back track in an attempt to find Cordelia, reasoning that 2 of us
together would have a better chance than either of us alone.
It took me three hours to find her horse, although there was no sign of her. By the accumulation of snow on the saddle and blanket, it had been standing there for at least as long as it had taken me to find it. By this point I was tiring rapidly, but knew I couldn't stop until I got out of the blizzard.
I pressed on for another half an hour
before I was
forced to give up and let the pattern fade. I had by that point managed
to move myself to a shadow where the wind and snow had abated somewhat,
and where the beginnings of a forest were starting to provide a little
protection from the wind. Unfortunately it also provide cover to a pack
of creatures which attacked me a couple of hours later. Whilst
successful in defending myself and my horse, Cordelia's fared less well
and was fatally wounded.
I rode hard for an hour after that before slackening the pace and bringing up the pattern again. Unfortunately I was not able to maintain it for long. I just hope I've done enough to enable me to get a night's rest without being attacked.
I have fared better today, am now out of the snow and wind.Whilst I cannot maintain the pattern for any longer than I could yesterday I feel more confident in using it. What has happened to the others I do not know, but I have decided that my best option now is to try and return directly to Amber.
Today has been a day of minor
achievements. I managed
to locate myself a purse of coins, and to find an inn in which to spend
them. Should I desire I have enough coin to last another 2 nights but I
shall press on in the morning.
I have made good progress today. Again I managed to locate myself a purse of coins, a little more substantial than last time as well. I do however feel a little guilty in doing this, for me to find it surely somebody must have lost it. I also managed to locate a purveyor of clothing and have purchased myself some clean clothes, as my existing ones are in dire need of cleaning and repair. The inn I am staying in is of better quality than the last, although this and my purchases do leave me short of coin again.
I cannot help myself, but it feels good to be back in Amber once again. What is more, Cordelia has returned seemingly none the worse for her adventures. I must admit to a large degree of jealousy when she said she'd only taken as long to return as she had, as she'd been to her home shadow to collect a some things. I'm not sure I believe her as she could have gained the items anywhere along her route. If she weren't so smug about her achievements then perhaps I would feel guilty about being a little jealous. What joy I may feel over her return is tempered by the fact that Archibald has not yet returned. I hope nothing untoward has happened to him
Today, although apparently not designed as such, has been a day of rest. Random is annoyed with Fiona over her continued absence and her abandonment of us. I get the distinct impression that he was expecting her to provide us with a greater degree of training than she has.
Archibald has also returned to us, having riden into the castle mid morning. It appears that he had a run in with Julian in Arden yesterday evening and was forced to spend the night with him and his men.
With no set schedule I was able to explore the castle further and spend some time looking through the collection of books in the library. There are so many books in there on subjects that are completely foreign to me that I am having difficulty in deciding where to begin.
It has been another day where we've had little to do other than to amuse ourselves. I have selected half a dozen books from the library to study. The first relates to the development of something called a steam engine and it's effect on the industrial revolution. The second is on crop rotation and biodynamic sustainability, which have something to do with farming. The third is a text on Electricity and Electrical machines, which appears to be a text on a science which mirrors Eleckroneering. The fourth is on textiles, their use and application, and the fifth is a history of fashion from the 11th to 18th Century. The last book is one which Vialle suggested I read and is called "In Search of the Jade Dragon - a treatise on Far Eastern Culture".
By late this afternoon with still no sign of Fiona, Random decided our training would have to continue elsewhere, so we are to travel to Rebma, a city a few hours up the coast in the morning, where his sister Llewella will take over our training.
Tonight we find ourselves in Rebma, an
under ocean
version of Amber with it's own Pattern. Whilst most of the population
here are shape shifters, about a third are not, which is reflected in
the fact that about one third of the city, including the Royal Palace
are covered by air-tight domes. I have yet to determine how the
shimmering curtain doorways work. These allow traversal between
environments without allowing egress of one into the other.
Queen Moire is nothing like Random, and operates her realm with a combination of autocracy and enlightened governance, a subject that we conversed upon at some length. Whilst I am completely comfortable in her presence, feeling her to be almost a kindred spirit, much like Randoms sister Llewella, neither Archibald nor Cordelia are.
Given this state of affairs it strikes me
as a little
odd that Random should have entrusted the letters of state to Cordelia.
Whilst she made no errors of etiquette during our formal presentation
to the Court, she was exceedingly nervous throughout, and only appeared
to relax slightly when we adjourned to a side chamber.
She was also noticeably on edge during the state dinner this evening, and kept fidgeting in the dress she was wearing. Whilst this was very much less revealing than the one she wore at the Amber ball, it still managed to make her the target of much comment. It also appears that the details of the incident in the stables are well known here.
| Next |
|---|
| Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supporting Cast - Isla | The Keep of the Thirteenth Hour |