or
Recorded for Posterity by Iain Walker.
Notes typed up by Jane Winter.
Session 2.6 Index Session 3.2
Or Events In The Eight Years Between
For the last six months or so Beltaine has been having dreams of crystalline things - creatures and structures - in Rosa and non-specific shadow landscapes.
At breakfast, to which everyone has been summoned, a grim-looking Random announces that "something is happening at Castle Rosa..."
"Yes," says Beltaine, "there are crystals growing all over it."
Random nods at this and confirms that Lord Rein's message does indeed say that crystals are growing out of the centre of Corwin's Pattern.
"Something from the other side of Corwin's Pattern has come through?" Tamarind suggests.
Notes on Rosa: Corwin's Pattern has grass growing around it and in between the lines. The tree that he planted beside it (a cutting of Ygg) calls itself Drasil and although sentient does not say much. There are no known reflections of Corwin's Pattern, or any shadow paths leading off from the shadow in which it was drawn. Castle Rosa is built around the Pattern, and Rosa Town around the Castle. The Pattern is too large to be roofed over, so is open to the sky; however, a latticework of ropes has been strung across above it from the walls, so that a large tarpaulin roof can be hauled across to cover it in case of need.
Random tells us that Lord Rein is planning to send another report soon, via Trump link. Rein reports that crystalline structures - but as yet no creatures - are growing up out of the centre of the Pattern.
"The prelude to colonisation?" wonders Tamarind.
Beltaine repeats her dreams, for those who hadn't heard about them. There is a brief academic discussion of whether some influence seeped through earlier to trigger these dreams, or whether Tir-Na Nog'th dreams are just genuinely precognitive. No real conclusion is reached.
Random orders Gerard, Caine and Julian to organise Amber's forces, just in case. Julian dragoons Margot. Flora dragoons Esmée to help with logistics and the diplomatic side of things. Altair intends to help Gerard, with Caleb staying 'in reserve'. Deirdre (currently aged twelve) is organising the Castle guard (as she has been for a while).
Damien, Tristan, Ibrahim, Tamarind and Beltaine will go and investigate what is happening in Rosa.
Damien checks that the plan is to make contact, attempt diplomacy and only then resort to other means of dissuasion. This is indeed the case.
Ibrahim wonders if we will need to go through to 'the other side' of Corwin's Pattern. If we do how (if at all) would we return? And how will people be sure it's really us? Caine says he will be able to check our bona fides, and smiles. How reassuring.
Various people collect equipment and so on prior to leaving. Damien picks up the musket Ibrahim hard-wired a militia spell into. Ibrahim brings his too. Beltaine brings Liberty (her pistol) and her armour.
And, using a super-Trump, we Trump off to Castle Rosa, arriving in a courtyard not unlike the arrival courtyard of Amber. The stone of the castle here is a rosy-gold in colour; no crystalline stuff is immediately in evidence.
Guards are just visible moving about behind arrow-slits. "HALT! WHO GOES THERE!" they challenge to us.
Tristan says we want to see Lord Rein.
Tamarind asks whether they have seen any crystalline entities recently?
"There's an alert by the Pattern," say the guards.
"Ask Lord Rein to meet us there," says Tristan, and as the gates of the arrival courtyard rumble aside we leave and head towards the Pattern. The tops of glittering crystal spikes are showing over the wall around the Pattern as we head that way.
Our course intersects with that of Lord Rein. He greets us.
"What can you tell us?" asks Damien.
He tells us that the guards on the walls around the Pattern reported crystalline spikes like plant shoots growing up through the centre of the Pattern earlier this morning. These have since got bigger and started linking up. The spires can be seen still growing over the wall.
Lord Rein leads us in through the gatehouse and we observe from by Corwin's Pattern.
"Bloody hell," mutters Beltaine. "It isn't exactly like my dream, but..."
Tamarind and Beltaine can sense a presence from the growths, as though they are in some way alive.
Tristan has a very strange sensation as we reach the area containing the Pattern.
The dozen or so crystal spires are so far limited to the central area of Corwin's Pattern (that is, the part one reaches through the final veil) and are not emerging through or touching the lines of the Pattern. The spikes have grown up above the level of the ropes that are strung in a latticework across the Pattern. The crystals are clear, facetted and colourless, and are irregular in shape, not perfectly geometrical in form. Each spire is about half a metre in diameter, so there is still plenty of space left in the centre of the Pattern (were anyone to try going there). Horizontal bridge-like branches cross-link the spires together at various points up their height.
To Tristan, the crystals feel like the exact reverse of the Abyss. Completely Real. Corwin's Pattern itself feels no different, and there is no Pattern in the crystal itself.
Tamarind and Beltaine feel that the crystals have a large psychic presence - a mind at least as powerful as Brand's. Tamarind begins a Trump sketch of this psychic presence.
As we watch, the dozen-odd spires start to branch out sideways at the top, growing outwards from the centre across above the Pattern to form something vaguely like the ribs of an umbrella.
"It seems to know what it's doing," comments Tristan.
Beltaine remarks that in her dream it covered the whole Castle, and suggests that Lord Rein might want to consider evacuation. He nods.
Tamarind's Trump sketch is now ready.
We wander over to the tree Drasil. Tamarind greets it, but gets no answer. He then touches its bark and tries to make psychic contact with it. As he does so he realises that it has a more powerful mind than he does! He senses concern, worry, maybe even fear from the tree. He also notices that Drasil contains some Trump energy, something he has not noticed on previous visits here (he thinks that this is because his Trump abilities have greatly improved since then, not that Drasil has developed Trump in the intervening time).
"Does Drasil know what the crystalline stuff is?" wonders Tamarind.
From Drasil he senses a feeling of 'badness', of danger to the Pattern and to Drasil itself. Drasil can't tell him where the crystal comes from, or what it wants. In response to what its weakness might be, Drasil communicates 'blood'.
Tamarind tells the others that Drasil is worried, the stuff is hostile, and that Drasil also has as much psyche as Brand. Its weakness might be 'blood'. He is not sure that even in successful meta-concert we could all match the crystal thing psychically.
The question is, should we try to contact it?
Tamarind says he is unwilling to try Trumping it.
Tristan's alternative is to go up onto the battlements and lasso the uppermost branches. Physical contact could then be initiated by our climbing across to it.
Walking the Pattern without bumping into the crystals at the centre would clearly be difficult. But one could walk another Pattern and 'plink' to the centre of this one from there.
Damien touches Drasil, and asks mentally what makes Drasil think blood would affect it. There's no answer; Damien gets the impression that Drasil doesn't know.
Tristan also makes contact. "Do you mean blood or sap?" he asks.
He gets the impression that Drasil means, "Blood - your blood."
Tamarind wants to try smearing blood on the crystals.
Ibrahim checks that he isn't suggesting wiping out the Pattern from beneath them. This is not Tamarind's plan.
Drasil's leaves rustle - it seems to approve of this idea.
Tristan suggests we try to contact Corwin, since this stuff coming through might indicate a weakening of the barrier.
Tamarind puts Corwin's Trump in the Frame and everyone tries to contact him. We don't get through, but Tamarind senses that the barrier to contact is definitely weakened.
There is more discussion of getting to the centre of the Pattern and trying to make contact from there.
Ibrahim and Tristan worry that we might get 'sucked through' to the other side if we get there.
"Could we break the link quickly if we Trump it and it attacks us?" Damien asks Tamarind.
Tamarind is not sure we could.
Ibrahim points out that someone could stay out of the link and cut the Trump in two if things go wrong. Quite so.
Damien is for investigating from a distance (by Trump) before getting up close and personal with the stuff.
Tamarind allows that this might be a not totally suicidal approach, and the link could probably be broken in extremis.
Ibrahim comes up with another worry - if the thing was exposed to (say) Tamarind's psyche, would it then get an imprint of him, which it could use against him? No one has any idea.
Tamarind decides it's worth the risk.
Tristan will stay out of the link.
Lord Rein orders the Castle evacuated, and brings in some troops to guard us while we work.
A quick report is sent off to Random, and then we attempt Trump contact with the crystal.
Tristan stands ready to flick the sketch out of the Frame.
We meet resistance, make no progress and give up.
The branches of the crystalline structure growing out over the Pattern are now dividing into further branches like fingers spreading out over Corwin's Pattern.
Ibrahim is reluctant to experiment too much.
Tristan is reluctant to Trump to the centre of the Pattern, as we don't know what would happen on arrival. He suggests instead Trumping to the top of the crystal spires and climbing down.
Tamarind agrees and does a sketch of that location.
We go through the Trump link and find ourselves balancing on crystalline branches near the top of the central spire. Which, we feel as we balance there, seems to be aware of us...
Wearing gloves to prevent flesh-to-crystal contact, we start to climb down.
As we go, we notice buds growing out of the main stem. As they grow they seem to be forming into little crystal wasps, or insects of some other kind, perhaps dragonflies. Tristan cuts off one of the buds; it is light crystal. The others are nearly fully formed now. They have little rotor blades instead of wings. Tristan drops the severed part of bud onto the Pattern - a miniature whirlwind forms and consumes the fragment.
Damien, Ibrahim and Tamarind drop the last few metres to the ground; Beltaine and Tristan jump to be caught by the others.
A swarm of the crystal wasps, which have now detached themselves from the main body of crystal, forms and dives for us. Swords are drawn to keep them at bay. Tristan senses that he (and everyone else) is infused with Pattern energy similar to that one has after getting to centre of a Pattern by walking it, and so could use this to teleport away. He also senses a route, or gateway, going through the Pattern ... to the other side? The rest of us feel the same sense of a route through, too.
Damien swats at the little insects, which are damnably fast and cut people with their razor-sharp rotors as they fly past, though they do smash on people's armour as they do this.
Tristan is cut, and quickly drips some blood onto the crystal trunk.
Ibrahim hacks at the crystal with his sword, but Chrysanthir barely dents the surface.
Tamarind is just keeping the insects from getting at Ibrahim and Beltaine, which means he is hit by more of them. They insects smash on his armour, but their razor-rotors do penetrate slightly, cutting him.
Tristan's blood has no obvious effect on the surface of the crystal; neither does Ibrahim's when smeared in the dent he made.
Most of the insects have been destroyed now, but more are forming out of the main bodies of crystal. All of us are bleeding, and though no blood has yet fallen onto the Pattern we need to make a quick decision - go through or retreat to the edge.
We decide to go through.
"Lord Rein!" calls Ibrahim, "Tell the King we're going through!"
"Destroy the Pattern if you have to!" adds Tamarind.
Lord Rein raises a hand in response. "Good Luck!" he shouts.
We link hands and follow the line of least resistance through the Pattern. We feel ourselves being pulled and twisted along some strange route, utterly different from normal Pattern teleportation ... and reappear in the centre of a Pattern. It looks like Corwin's, but in form it is as though we are seeing it from below (that is, as if it were drawn on a sheet of glass and now we are looking at it from the opposite side to that we would be seeing it from on the Amber side).
There are a lot of crystalline structures here - the dozen or so crystal shafts in the centre of the Pattern here correspond with those on the other side. They grow down from the centre of a huge clear crystal dome covering the whole Pattern, thinning as they approach ground level. Large crystal spider-things can be seen stalking around the area beyond the Pattern. Through the dome, beyond this chamber crystal spires, viaducts, buttresses and bridges stretch away as far as they eye can see under a blue sky flecked with clouds.
Tristan, Beltaine and Tamarind quickly try to Trump Corwin.
As they do this, Ibrahim and Damien try to scrape crystal wasps that are budding off the crystal shafts here, too. They notice larger things growing out of the crystal above us.
Despite their efforts, the Trump contact fails to get through. Tamarind thinks Corwin is alive but unconscious. Since he has a Trump of Merlin, we try that too, with the same result.
The large creatures - something like four-armed, four-legged crystal spider-centaurs, their arms tipped with long scythe-like blades - have now 'budded' from the stems above us.
"Back or explore?" wonders Damien.
"Getting back how?" wonders Ibrahim. "If we go and explore."
Tamarind says he could draw a Trump that will bring us back here to the centre of the Pattern. So we could teleport to a spot visible from here even if we know no specific locations on this side of Corwin's Pattern.
Beltaine wonders whether she could teleport us to places she recalls from her dreams, then concludes that she isn't sure.
Tristan suggests teleporting several miles away up in the air, and he'll start Shifting us all as we fall. Perhaps some griffins could be found ... or Tamarind could do a sketch in mid air and Trump us to the ground as we fall (momentum not being conserved through Trump links).
We join hands again, and teleport to above a previously selected cloud about three and a half miles away. We fall. As we drop, Tamarind lightning-sketches a piece of crystal-covered ground visible below us.
We fall through the cloud. As we do so, Tristan shifts us to a place with no ground and more clouds to fall through. Crystal things are visible hanging in the air off to one side.
After the next cloud, Tristan shifts us to a place where five friendly griffins are diving alongside us. We climb onto the griffins, and pull out of the dive. Tristan has also deleted any and all crystal stuff in the transition to this shadow.
People bind up their wounds, Damien even giving Tristan (the worst injured of us) his cravat to use as a bandage.
Tristan tries to summon Castle Corvallin, but she doesn't appear. He senses that this shadow has the same 'anti-Abyss' - ordered - feel to it as the crystals, though to a far lesser extent. In the same way, he now realises, that the shadows between Amber and Chaos have a feel of the Abyss - of disorder. Shifting toward the source of this feeling would take them away from Corwin's Pattern, he realises.
As we fly, Tamarind checks his Trumps. Caine's, for once, is not active. At Tristan's urging, he tries to Trump Evan. There is no response, but unlike in Amber, there is a feeling of distance ... so it would seem that he is in this universe.
Tristan finds a floating rock, so that we can all try Evan's Trump together. We land on the rock, a flat-topped griffin eyrie it turns out.
Those of a sorcerous bent can tell that magick works here. Damien checks his spells and finds that three of those he considers the least important have unravelled from lurking in the centre of a Pattern. The enchanted muskets have also lost their enchantments; in fact, Ibrahim has lost most of his enchanted items (he finds, upon checking).
Tristan's spell rack has completely gone and is now utterly non-magical; he throws it over the edge of the rock. Then he decides that the griffins sometimes feed on adventurers, and so looks in their nests for some armour. He finds some chain mail that seems the right size. However, he would have to evacuate the skeleton inside it, and clean off all the griffin guano. After consideration, he decides that perhaps he does not want the armour that badly...
Evan's Trump is put into the Frame, and everyone concentrates on it. Unfortunately, the distance still seems insurmountable.
Tristan says he could move us closer, by heading away from the Pattern and towards the source of the anti-Abyss feeling.
Tamarind suggests the creatures of crystal find the Pattern objectionable and are acting against it.
Ibrahim counters that this supposes that they existed before Corwin's Pattern.
"The Abyss existed before Amber's Pattern," points out Tamarind. Fair point.
Damien suggests that people drawing Patterns has disrupted a Previous Order of Things.
We re-mount the griffins and fly down to the ground, which is found by shifting shadow some more. Tristan wants to proceed by ground transport from here.
"You're very dull," sighs Beltaine, who likes the griffins.
"We'll travel on the backs of giant kangaroos with howdahs strapped to their backs, then," snaps Tristan. "Or we can go by carriage."
"I liked the giant kangaroos idea better." Beltaine is uncrushed.
"Oh bloody hell," mutters the put-upon Advanced Pattern Initiate.
But Tristan does indeed shift us to a shadow where we find such giant kangaroos, with howdahs strapped on their backs. One by one, the griffins deposit us into the howdah of one such kangaroo. The griffins fly away.
Tristan spurs the kangaroo into action. Boinng ... boinng ... boinnnng ... along through shadow we go. Tristan shifts shadow towards areas with an increasing feeling of the anti-Abyss.
As we go, Tamarind works on a better Trump of Evan.
After a couple of hours, we suddenly see a chasm ahead. This does feel like the Abyss, and is some two miles wide. Beyond it, the landscape seems flat and monochrome.
Tamarind suggests that the Pattern created an area of defined shadow, with this as its limit and the pre-existing state remaining on the other side.
Tristan thinks that this quasi-Abyss is artificial.
Tamarind tries Evan's Trump again, but again there is no response.
Damien suggests following the edge of the chasm to see if that takes them further from Corwin's pattern. If we seem to instead remain the same distance away, Tamarind's theory is most likely correct.
We shift shadow along the edge of the pseudo-Abyss. Tristan senses that the shadows here are weak and brittle (unlike shadows near Chaos, which are weak and insubstantial, like fog, whereas the ones here are like thin glass). He has to slow down to avoid leaving a trail of destruction through the structure of shadow itself.
After half an hour, glittering crystal structures can be seen ahead. We stop, and Damien studies them through his telescope. Up ahead the pseudo-Abyss stops and across the end of it is a massive crystal trunk, like a huge horizontal version of the shafts growing down through Corwin's Pattern. It looks as though something has grown across from the far side, then split up into branches, which spread off into shadow, vanishing as they do so. The main stem on the far side seems to enlarge and fade away (or, rather, to appear out of nothing). The air on the far side glitters slightly.
"This looks like its conduit in," says Tamarind.
Tristan says this pseudo-Abyss does seem to be constant in distance from Corwin's Pattern, so Tamarind's theory is provisionally accepted.
Magick seems to work here.
"Can you do a sketch of the far side?" Ibrahim asks Tamarind.
Tamarind worries that the entire 'far side' is part of The Thing. He's also worried that Evan is still very far away - so where is he? Out on the far side of this? Or on some 'island' in the middle of it?
Damien wants a closer look. We go closer, then send away the kangaroo (Beltaine waving 'goodbye') and continue on on foot.
Tamarind worries about the lack of cover.
Damien is unworried by this, but Tristan begins to weave an illusion spell. Everyone sits down to wait for him to do this.
Rather quickly, Ibrahim and Damien (who have worked together enough to know each others styles of magic) realise that they could together create a mass invisibility spell faster than Tristan alone, so they do this instead.
Tamarind checks his Trumps - none are currently active.
Tristan takes this opportunity to shift away and back to obtain some armour, non-guanoed this time, though he still has to remove the bones of the previous occupant.
After forty-five minutes, the spell is cast. We need to stay ten metres or so of each other to remain in the effect of the spell as we move up to the branching crystal shafts.
As we get closer, Tristan senses that the crystal feels like the anti-Abyss property of the shadows here, but concentrated and made solid.
"Does it feel artificial or organic?" Damien wants to know. "Is the psyche we sense a controlling creator, or the psyche of the crystal itself?"
No one is sure. Tristan is sure that the branches reach off through shadow; they seem to follow weak points in the shadow veils. He thinks that this trunk is the key, and severing it would be a good start in stopping it.
From here we can see that the pseudo-Abyss continues beyond this trunk, which lies on a piece of ground crossing the chasm of the pseudo-Abyss (as if a neck of land between the ends of two box canyons).
Tristan says he could use Pattern to undermine this bridge.
Damien suggests a diversion - perhaps a magickal cannonade?
Recalling his life-force lens, Tristan peers through it. He sees that the crystal is alive, and so to an equal extent is everything on the far side of the pseudo-Abyss.
Beltaine borrows Damien's telescope and announces that there's another big root-and-bridge arrangement in the distance. Damn.
Tristan notes that we didn't find these bridges in other shadows, so even though there are many bridges here, this may be the only bridge shadow.
We decide to retreat to a fast-time shadow to weigh up our options.
Before we go, Tristan has a last look at the crystal and senses that the branches are sucking 'disorder' out of shadow and passing it back into the pseudo-Abyss. There are little globules of Abyss-stuff floating back through the branches towards the 'bridge'. He can also tell that this shadow has been sucked largely dry of disorder.
As we head away, the mass invisibility spell instantly failing as we move through shadow, there is some discussion of how to 'poison' the crystal thing. Perhaps we could siphon off disorder from the pseudo-Abyss and feed it to the crystal in an endless loop?
We need to get quite a way away before Tristan can begin shifting shadow. The crystal branches seem to pass through shadow, but mainly head off in the direction of Corwin's Pattern. He leads us off through shadow, reaching a fast-time shadow quite soon. However, it takes much longer to find a fast-time shadow that also has life. There were certainly none such by the pseudo-Abyss.
When this becomes clear, Tamarind quickly sketches the kangaroo we were riding, overcomes its tiny mind and pulls it through to us by one big paw. Then we ride it off through shadow.
Eventually, we find a tree-house inn built onto one of many such trees dotting a grassy plain in a fast-time shadow inhabited by vaguely Koala-like people. There are also giant kangaroos not unlike the one we are riding wandering about. We release our kangaroo and book into the inn.
Once we are settled in Tamarind sketches, Tristan rests and the rest of us drink refreshing eucalyptus beer and wine. Or more expensive (and much nicer!) imported non-eucalyptus beer.
Time passes.
Since magick works here, Damien hangs three 36-pounder cannon shot spells.
Ibrahim also re-his hangs spells and remakes his enchanted items.
Over the course of a few days, Tristan gradually comes to realise that this shadow feels artificial. It's as if someone has changed this shadow to 'suck in' people using Pattern. In other words, we are in a well-disguised Shadow of Destiny. There seem to be no barriers to our leaving, however. When Tristan realises the true nature of this place, he quickly informs everyone else.
"Maybe someone wants to talk to us?" suggests Damien. He uses the Pattern and sends a message via kookaburra of desire to the creator of the Shadow of Destiny, telling them that we are here and willing to talk.
We congregate.
Damien thinks his bird headed off purposefully, possibly in the direction of Corwin's Pattern.
Tamarind does a Trump sketch of another shadow we passed though on the way here (an uninhabited one), so a quick exit can be available if needed. When he checks (in case the shadow is Trump-barred) the sketch does work. However, we decide not to leave just yet.
Tristan studies the shadow more closely. It has certainly been altered. In addition to its being a shadow of destiny it seems to have been altered so that under circumstances not immediately clear to Tristan all of the magick in the shadow can be focussed on this tree house.
Tamarind immediately activates the new sketch.
"Anyone staying, Trump us," he says. He, Ibrahim and Beltaine Trump away, leaving Damien and Tristan in the inn.
Tristan tells Damien that he wants to go to a nearby shadow leaving an obvious trail behind for anyone who turns up wanting to follow them.
Damien agrees that this is a reasonable idea.
Upon arrival in the escape shadow, Tamarind Trumps Tristan and when he gets through is told of their decision.
When the link drops, Tristan and Damien do indeed go to another nearby shadow, which is very similar to the one we were in but serves better (i.e. non-eucalyptus) beer. Tristan uses his mastery of Pattern to leave a blindingly obvious shadow trail from there to here.
Once there, Damien sends a kookaburra of desire (of the opposite sex) back to intercept the first if it returns to the Shadow of Destiny.
Tristan then Trumps Tamarind.
Meanwhile, the others are in a desolate shadow far away, looking for shelter. They find a cave and settle in.
In the inn, Damien opens another bottle of non-eucalyptus wine.
In the cave, Tamarind accepts Tristan's Trump call.
Tristan tells him he and Damien are in another shadow, which does not seem to have been interfered with.
Tamarind, Ibrahim and Beltaine consider this - bed and beer in an inn, or desolate cave? They join Tristan and Damien in the inn.
Tamarind sets to work turning the normal Trump of Evan which he made some years ago into a SuperTrump, by transferral of its psychic essence (this works with his own Trumps and Trumps he hasn't drawn personally).
While this is going on, Tristan tries a Trump reading. The question he poses is: 'Who set up the Shadow of Destiny next door?'
Beltaine offers him one of her remaining soulstones to represent the crystals, and peers over his shoulder as he casts the cards.
And slowly the reading forms, and is interpreted. It indicates that the person responsible is definitely an Amberite, but it is unclear who, beyond a possible connection with Benedict. It was definitely not the crystal entity, but this may perhaps have influenced the motive for setting the shadow up in the first place. It was also definitively not Corwin, who does not appear in the reading at all. No known Amberite seems responsible.
Tristan decides to try another reading, asking: 'Why was the Shadow of Destiny set up?'
Tamarind lends him his Trumps of Osric, Finndo and Oberon, to see if they turn up in the reading.
As the cards are laid out and interpreted, the answer to Tristan's 'Why...?' question appears to encompass a number of meanings, including 'warning, allies, disposing of enemies...' Oberon's Trump does appear in the reading, in connection with the things being warned about.
Beltaine then borrows the Trumps of Osric, Finndo and Oberon to repeat the original reading. She lays out the cards and studies them. "Oh, look," she says. Having repeated the first reading with more cards, Osric now features prominently in the spread.
We take Osric's Trump and put it into the Frame before trying to contact him. Tristan hangs back to keep an eye on things, just in case.
Unfortunately, the attempt fails - it seems to be the distance problem again. However, Tamarind has been working on turning the normal Trump of Evan into a SuperTrump, and with a bit more work, this change is completed...
Then we all try Trumping Evan again.
Very slowly, a link opens up, and there is Evan, who looks rather confused.
"Are you well?" asks Tamarind.
"Remember us?" asks Damien.
"You're the people from the cold place," says Evan, rather slowly and unemotionally.
"Is it safe where you are?" asks Tamarind.
"Yes," says Evan. From what is visible behind him, it seems that Evan is somewhere crystal-free. From his reaction to our call he seems to be familiar with Trump contacts, and, when asked, is willing to bring us all through. He stands and moves out from behind the desk he is sitting at, and does so. We join him.
We are somewhere almost as real as Amber itself, in an office. Tamarind can sense that he is carrying a Trump deck.
"This is Garrison Six," says Evan.
Tamarind shows Evan Trumps of Corwin and Osric and asks if he knows them.
He doesn't recognise Corwin, but does recognise 'King Osric', who he describes as his great half-uncle (that is, a grandparent's half-brother).
Damien introduces Beltaine to Evan. She has never met him, and he seems to only just recall the rest of us.
Tristan senses that we are in another Shadow of Destiny, that fact not being hidden here, as it seemed to be in the tree-house shadow. It seems that it can also focus all of its magick on one point 'over there'. He can feel that the whole shadow is a trap for the crystal entity.
Tamarind asks Evan about the crystal things.
"It's the Ordnung," replies Evan. "The Enemy of our Family."
When asked, Evan says that there are ten members of Evan's Family, including himself.
Evan says he will go and tell the King that we have arrived, and moves to leave.
When asked, he declines to let Tamarind look at his Trump deck.
Before Evan goes, Tristan asks him to tell Osric that Oberon is dead. Evan nods and goes out of the office, closing the door behind him.
Ibrahim looks out of the window. We seem to be high up, with a good view. The place appears to be a World War One-style fortress/factory. There is no sun, but the sky is full of glowing white cloud. The place is rocky and mountainous, sculpted to provide maximum cover and defence in one direction and none in the other. No vegetation is visible.
"It's the Maginot line," observes Damien.
Tristan senses a number of shadow paths leading off from this shadow.
With Evan up and about, we conclude that Osric will have knowledge of the whole 'Land of the Dead' situation, or at least some of it, as Evan does not seem entirely intact, mentally speaking.
"Would anyone like to tell Osric the 'getting back ritual' as a sign of good faith?" wonders Damien.
"No," is the general response.
Tristan suggests that we don't talk about such things in a room that might (might?!) be bugged...
After a few minutes, Evan returns. Tamarind can feel that he's in a trump link. From the Trump deck in his pocket he can tell that it is with Osric.
"The King wants to see you," announces Evan.
We look at one another and nod. And Evan then passes us all through the Trump link to Osric.
Osric looks much older than he does on his Trump - in shadow Earth terms, somewhere in his fifties. He is dressed in royal blue and, so Tristan senses, carries a Pattern sword.
We have appeared in a vaulted throne room, whose tall windows on each side show city and land on either side sloping steeply down to the sea, as if the place is on a headland. We are at one end of the room, at the foot of a dais that bears two thrones, on one of which a woman sits, looking interested down at us. She is dark-haired, beautiful, dressed in grey, and looks a character to be reckoned with.
Above the thrones is a large banner emblazoned with the symbol of the Unicorn, but unlike in Amber this banner has a silver Unicorn on a royal blue background, facing to the right, the opposite direction to Amber's. Unlike in Amber no banners and so on hang from the ceiling. A wide dark red carpet runs from the thrones, down the dais, under us and to a large set of double doors at the far end of the room.
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Tamarind can tell that both of them are carrying Trump decks. Everyone other than him can tell that they are carrying a lot of magickal equipment. Tristan senses that this place is exactly like Amber in its properties.
Osric introduces himself as King of Girasol, and the woman as Sandrine, Queen of Girasol, daughter of Oberon. None of us have ever heard of her.
We introduce ourselves. All of us but Damien give our lineages - he is, as usual, simply, "Damien, Lord Mortlake."
Osric appears surprised to see us. He says that we are the first people to visit from Amber in tens of thousands of years. When we ask him he says that he has not encountered - or indeed even heard of - Corwin, and didn't know he was responsible for the 'new' Pattern.
He says that Oberon trapped him (and Sandrine) here.
"Corwin can have known nothing about Patterns," he adds. Since in creating his he has also created an opening from here to Amber's universe. The Pattern appeared in the middle of the Ordnung's territory, he continues. It didn't create any shadows, just rearranged them. He tells us that they had Patterns here but had to destroy them in the fight against the Ordnung. Which, he says, wants to destroy all of shadow and return the universe here to the state of stable unchanging order it was in before the original Patterns of Amber were drawn.
"It's broken," says Beltaine, suddenly. She means the local Tir-Na Nog'th.
"Yes," says Osric. "Its Pattern had to be destroyed also."
He Summarises. A long time ago, the Primal Pattern was created and cast its reflections. At the same time, as far as is known, it created shadow. However, it turns out that this is not strictly the case. In fact the Patterns acted as gates between Amber's universe of Chaos and disorder and this one of structure and order, allowing the order and disorder to flow through in both directions until, close to the Patterns at least, there were quantities on both sides. It was out of this mix of order and disorder that shadow was formed, an intermediate state between pure order and pure chaos. On both side the flow of order and disorder through the Patterns pushed the pure forms of order and disorder far from them, giving a gradient away from the Patterns. The Ordnung was apparently badly hurt by this flow of raw chaos, having huge portions of itself burned away it. Which did not, it turns out, incline it well towards those it saw as responsible - those of Amber.
Unaware of all this, on the Amber side of the Patterns, Amber and the Golden Circle were formed. Then the Ordnung began to attack through the Patterns in a similar manner to how it is coming through Corwin's Pattern. It had to be stopped. And it was, but to cut a very long story short, in the process Finndo was lost, and Osric, Sandrine and her full-brother Delwin were trapped on this side of the Patterns.
Each pattern has two sides, Osric tells us, this being the side of order and Amber's the side of disorder. He has destroyed the Patterns (the Primal and four reflections) on this side. We notice he said four reflections, when as far as we know there are only three. Osric notices our reaction, and when we explain its cause he says that a place named Ht'Gon An-Rit was the fourth reflection of our Primal Pattern. In Arden. We tell him we have never heard of it.
Osric continues that they hoped they could destroy the Patterns on this side and still go home at the last moment, but Oberon blocked them from returning.
To stop the Ordnung from coming through Corwin's Pattern to Amber's universe, Corwin's Pattern must be destroyed on this side. Destruction on the other side won't work - as long as a Pattern exists here, the Ordnung can force it open. "The Ordnung cannot be negotiated with," says Osric. "It sees us - those who made and use the Pattern - as its mortal enemy who tried to destroy it, and from its point of view, perhaps we are."
Girasol is currently holding the Ordnung back with brute military power.
We ask about the Family here. "Delwin is dead," Osric tells us. "And another eleven children have died over the millennia." There are seven others still alive who we have not yet met, but of them all only Osric and Sandrine have Pattern imprints.
Osric asks about events on our side of the Patterns. We give them a summary of Patternfall and its aftermath. Osric and Sandrine look as if something has become clear to them, and says that they detected something happening at the sites of the Patterns at that time, but did not know what. Whatever it was did not open any paths to or from here. Which implies that Oberon specifically stopped them opening...
Tristan asks whether Anurerishkigal, Su-Chan or the Mera mean anything to them. They do not.
Ibrahim explains that Anurerishkigal is a very, very, very old and powerful creature of death.
Tristan shows Osric and Sandrine the spyglass, saying this is how to detect Anurerishkigal. In the process he checks them both, finding them to be clean.
Osric says they are in a state of cold war with the Ordnung. A stalemate was reached long ago, but they dare not relax their vigilance.
Tamarind suggests that perhaps everyone working together could overpower the Ordnung psychically.
Osric is dubious. "What would we do once this was achieved?" he asks. "However," he concedes. "You might be able to help."
Tristan asks whether Osric likes it here or if he and Sandrine would wish to return to Amber?
Osric is not sure about a return at this point.
"Our first priority is to protect Amber," Tristan makes clear.
Tamarind wonders whether destroying the Ordnung would destroy shadow here.
Osric thinks it grew here out of raw order and does not embody it. So it can probably be safely destroyed. If some way to do so can be found.
Tristan tells Osric that the Primal Pattern is now sealed away and Dworkin has disappeared.
It seems from Osric's reply that Oberon's 'divide-and-rule' policy towards his offspring post-dates Osric's disappearance.
He also mentions that the shadows of Destiny have occasionally found Children of the Blood, unknown descendants of the original three. But no one else from Amber has ever been found.
"You said we might be of help?" Tristan reminds Osric.
"Anyone with a Pattern imprint can help." Osric clarifies. Only he and Sandrine here have Pattern imprints, and so only they can create Trumps.
Sandrine invites us to dinner.
We accept this offer.
We mention that we want to rescue Corwin, Merlin and Owen.
"Is there a true Abyss here, not just the 'dumping ground' the Ordnung has created?" asks Tristan.
"Possibly" says Osric, but it may be unreachable given the way the Ordnung has delineated shadow. In particular, it has learnt how to extract and move the raw disorder from shadow, turning the shadows from which it is removed back into pure order. It has used this to revert its regime to a highly ordered state surrounded by moats of extracted disorder - the pseudo-Abysses. It can also use the raw chaos as a weapon against its enemies.
"Does the Ordnung have a centre, or hub?" we ask.
Again, Osric is not sure.
He does mention that they have reclaimed some shadows from the Ordnung.
"If we could reclaim Corwin's Pattern," Tristan suggests. "Your descendants could walk it."
"If those not descended from Corwin can walk it," cautions Tamarind.
Osric clarifies. It turns out that reclaiming a shadow involves rewriting it - thus, not really an option at Corwin's Pattern. Osric informs them that if bits of the Ordnung are separated from the main body, they die, and fade to nothingness.
"So," says Tamarind, "if we could cut off the segment in the shadow of Corwin's Pattern, it would die, and we could build a ring of defensive shadows around it."
"That is possible," says Osric. "But it would be dangerous. Some of us might well die doing so." Hmmm...
We ask Osric about the Ordnung's creatures.
He tells us that amongst the offshoots of the Ordnung that Osric and the family here have observed are the 'helicoptera' (which we met), skeletal assassin creatures, the heavier spider things, some human-sized, some much bigger. The creatures other than the helicoptera seem to be built to a vaguely spider-centaur-like design with four arms on a vertical torso and four spider-like legs.
"Immersing the Ordnung in the Abyss might destroy it," Osric says. But how to bring the two together? The Ordnung certainly cannot be manoeuvred through a trump link, being so vast.
The best option seem to remain wiping out Corwin's Pattern on this side. But that won't help Osric and the others here very much.
Ibrahim suggests that people could go to Amber, walk the Pattern there and return here thus empowered. And shadow defences like Osric's could be set up around Corwin's Pattern on the Amber side. This seems to be a sensible plan.
The conversation having largely run down at this point, Osric politely dismisses us until dinner...
Sandrine comes down off the dais and we leave with her. She offers to give us a tour of Girasol, which we accept. She leads us out of the throne room and about Girasol, telling us of it as we go.
Girasol is on a circular island off the coast, conical in shape, roughly like a huge version of Mont St Michael, covered in city and surrounded by harbours. Castle Girasol, where we arrived, sits atop the island. It is a large structure with its outer bailey in the shape of a large eight-pointed star around a circular central keep. It, and most of the other buildings here, seem to be built of a silvery-grey stone with reflective flecks inside it, which glitters in the sun. A causeway leads to the mainland with a large fortress with two keeps guarding the landward end. Huge, wickedly thorned honeysuckle bushes climb up the walls and entwine its towers, hiding the fairly harsh lines of the castle quite well. Honeysuckle and honeysuckle trees are also common in the city. "Osric likes honeysuckle," Sandrine explains.
There are lots of cats about, some normal, some with furry bat-like wings. Looking inland, the country is hilly, more than half of it farmland with woodland on the hilltops and terraced fields on some of the steeper slopes. Occasional castles are visible. In particular there is a semicircle of forts some miles inland from the end of the causeway, and some sea forts visible on the seaward side of Girasol. Roads lead inland and up and down the coast. Other islands, also fortified like this one, are visible in the distance offshore.
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"Is there still a city under the sea?" asks Tristan.
"Yes," replies Sandrine. "Named Losarig. We built it." In fact, it seems that they built the whole of civilisation here.
Beltaine points out a broken patch of sky. It looks as though someone had hit it with a hammer, star-like fractures radiating out from a central point.
"That's what happened when the Tir-Na Nog'th Pattern was destroyed," Sandrine tells her.
"It sounds wrong..." murmurs Beltaine.
Leading us back into Castle Girasol, Sandrine shows us a gallery of current Family Members, which consists of:
Nicolas' portrait shows him wearing very strange armour. Sandrine tells us that he was injured by the Ordnung a very long time ago and has never regenerated properly.
She also shows us a more sombre gallery of dead Family members, who consist of:
"You seem to dislike Oberon," comments Sandrine to Tristan.
He explains why.
Sandrine says Oberon was a just and fair King in her day - until he trapped them here, of course.
As we are led about we notice that the regime here is rather less relaxed than Amber's. The guards seem more afraid of Sandrine that Amber's are of Random. But nowhere near as afraid of her as the guards in Amber were of Oberon, Tristan points out.
With the tour over, Sandrine offers us some guest quarters in the Castle to freshen up before dinner.
We agree that this would be a good idea, and she leads us off.
On the way, Tristan asks whether the Ordnung recruits minions to infiltrate the city.
Sandrine says this does sometimes happen. In particular, Hugh the Traitor was an example of this. However, the Ordnung does not seem able to possess people.
"Where did Evan come back from the Land of the Dead?" Tristan wants to know.
"In shadow," Sandrine tells him.
He warns Sandrine of the likelihood of an opening to the Land of the dead being there.
We reach the guest quarters and in the guest rooms everyone washes up and then assembles to go down for dinner...
Session 2.6 Index Session 3.2
Or Events In The Eight Years Between