We're now back at the Courts again after several more days and a trump ride. Mandor and Merlin seemed strangely preoccupied although the revelations regarding Coral's son and Mandor's responsibility seemed to spark some kind of family argument. I really aught to write more as I realize that I'm leaving big gaps but I'm often too tired at the end of a day's long ride to write anything, despite the strange worlds we pass through on our journey. Admittedly most of it passes as almost a blur as Cordelia, Charity, or Allagahn shift landscape features at a remarkable pace.
.We discussed our plans over breakfast this morning. There seem to be too many questions and not enough answers and most of them seem to involve this Brand character. Neither Charity nor Cordelia want to have anything to do with him. I'd say they were almost scared of him. Anyway we're going back to my mother's for which we'll have to wait until the next 13th Hour in six days time. In the mean time we're stuck here again. Cordelia apparently wants to get some more Trumps drawn and will therefore be spending most of the next 3 days in her room. Alfred is off to continue his magic studies leaving Allagahn and I to find ways to occupy our time. For me that means avoiding Suhey and his cohorts.
Cordelia's has obviously decided that she is going to spend the remainder of her time here chasing Hinkin. She hasn't worn her armour today but some form of all in one suit and has spent the day roaming about the palace and its surrounds. Hinkin has been forced on several to divert into areas that Cordelia doesn't appear to be able to follow him into.
Cordelia's preoccupation reached a new low this morning. She had changed tack and had a shortish all in one dress on that barely covered her. In fact from behind most of her back wasn't covered and it was fairly obvious that she wasn't wearing anything underneath it. She had finally managed to work a few other things out an pursued Hinkin relentlessly about the castle.
If this charade had gone on till this evening then I would have told Hinkin to stop hiding and deal with the situation. However, Cordelia managed to corner him, literally, about mid afternoon. I couldn't tell exactly what went on but her behaviour and morals were and are severely questionable. For a start a woman should not remove the garments she is wearing in front of a man and then sit so that he can clearly see between her legs. What else she did with her hand I was not in a position to see and Hinkin has refused to tell me, suggesting only that if I didn't know my education was "lacking". Anyway after doing whatever it was for a couple of minutes she put her dress back on and they sat and talked for nearly half an hour after which she left.
I managed to corner Hinkin myself after she left but he wasn't forthcoming about their discussions. I lost track of her for the rest of the afternoon but at dinner she was in one of her long oriental dresses and Hinkin even joined us. He sat next to her throughout and they seemed to share some private joke that the rest of us were not party too.
After the space of the Courts we're all finding the confinement of the inside of my mother's tower a little stressful. Although the condo as Cordelia calls it has sleeping rooms for all of us, the one Cordelia has reserved as herself is by far the largest, and actually has room in which one can work. The others have barely enough room for a large bed and dresser. This means that we are either forced to work in the open living space downstairs, on the balcony, or in the rest of the main chamber of the tower, none of which is really suitable for tasks requiring a lot of undisturbed concentration.
We had returned expecting to find Charity waiting for us but my mother hasn't seen her. It would appear that travel via the Abyss is not as quick as she first thought. Her not being here does cause us a few problems as we can't really make a decision as to what to do next. Therefore we are going to wait here and hope she arrives before the next 13th Hour occurs in just over 5 days time.
With time to think and talk to my mother we have come to a tentative decision as to what we should do next. How I came to volunteer I do not currently understand but in the heat of the moment it seemed the right thing to do.
Having decided that we needed to do something we could reasonably expect to achieve with limited powers and resources, we reached the decision that we needed to summon the Unicorn .This appears to be the first step in gathering the resources we need to restore the seal and put Rodian back in his prison.
In order to summon the Unicorn a sacrifice would have to bind themselves to the alter in the Unicorn Grove in Amber and then recite a ritual. When the Unicorn arrived the sacrifice would have to then recite a second ritual whilst surviving what ever punishment the Unicorn chose to inflict upon them. Given the ritual requires the sacrifice to be pure of heart and body this is likely to be the loss of their purity or innocence. If they survived this then the Unicorn would be magically bound to them until they died or released it.
Cordelia was the first person to rule herself out, and from the behaviour I have seen from her she is definitely far from innocent. She also believes that Charity is unlikely to be a suitable candidate. This led to a raucous discussion with Allagahn making snide jokes and everyone talking at once. In the midst of all this I chose to quietly announce that I would do it. I had to repeat myself three times before silence fell and then Allagahn started his "Yes Sorcha should do it" routine. If he ever grows up or grows a spine he may be dangerous but as of now he is nothing but a spiteful little boy.
What I have let myself in for only time will tell.
The only problem with having time is that you find yourself recriminating over your decisions and playing mental what if games. Have I been stupid ?. Have I made the wrong decision ? What will happen to my Kingdom now? Perhaps I was rash but I cannot go back on the decision now.
Alfred has spent the day walking me through the three stages of the ritual. The first stage seems quite easy and generates some kind of protective field about the Grove. The second stage summons the Unicorn and consists of seven stanza's that must be repeated seven times. The third stage actually binds the Unicorn and consists of a single stanza that must be repeated seven times.
He has spent most of the day getting me to learn this ritual as he doesn't think he'll be in a position to help me by this point in the ritual.
Another day of coaching by Alfred. I can now repeat the third ritual without error and have committed most of the second ritual to memory . I only hope its enough.
We are all set to go in the morning as Charity arrived this evening. We have modified the plan slightly due to the fact that we will be traveling during the 13th Hour and she freezes if outside the tower.
I am now having serious doubts about my decision but cannot think of a way to escape my mother's tower.
I have not slept much during the night and there is the distinct possibility that this is the last entry I shall make in this diary. In little over an hour the 13th Hour will be upon us and we shall travel via a trump gate to the Unicorn Grove near Amber. Once there I shall carry out the ritual as detailed in the book of Selheim to summon the Unicorn. My knowledge of these things is based solely on legend from my own world but the sacrifice willing or not does not usually survive. The fact that this ritual requires a woman of pure heart and body indicates that my fate will not be one I shall enjoy or care to remember should I survive. As to why I am doing this, I am now sure this is my fate and I really have no choice in the matter.
Allagahn thinks I do this expecting roses, fame, and glory. I have no such illusions and his continuing actions and statements mark him for the shallow, callous, spineless, spiteful, heartless, individual he has so often demonstrated in the past weeks. That he has a son I cannot believe for I could conceive of no woman in her right mind that would chose to remain with him for any length of time, but then accidents I'm told do happen.
If I should fail to survive the upcoming ordeal then this will at least serve as a record of my life since I learnt of the true origins of my parents. I trust that whoever finds this thinks no ill of me.
Forever in Peace
Sorcha Ballentine
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