Notes Taken by Samantha and Alastair Beadle.
We all stand around looking at the Pattern. Gil tells us that we will pass through three veils during the walking - they will be the hardest things we will ever have to do. Dolf asks how many people have actually survived walking the Pattern.
Gil goes on to tell us that we must not stop or step off the line or we will die. The general mood is that walking the Pattern doesn't sound like a very good idea. Gil is not selling it well. He tells us that if we don't do it we will spend the rest of our lives wondering what it is like.
Jihx goes and stands by the start, and as he leans down to it tiny sparks start to rise from the Pattern. Some time later Etienne says she will do it but will pray to her God for guidance first. This inspires Dolf who decides to walk the Pattern first.
Dolf steps onto the Pattern, he instantly feels a current pass through him and sparks rise from the floor. After 5-10 minutes he senses the first veil as the sensation of a black barrier ahead of him. He has to exert terrible effort to continue to raise his feet, but he forces his way through. The sparks now reach his knees and the feeling of a current increases. After another 5-10 minutes the second barrier is reached. His life starts to pass before his eyes as he pushes himself further on; he feels like he is walking in glue. He starts to feel the Pattern being burnt into his brain and sees a memory of his childhood, and of a red haired bearded man hugging him good-bye.
He continues on and eventually reaches the final barrier, the sparks are now up to his head. Suddenly the pressure drops and Dolf falls to the floor inside the glowing circle at the centre of the Pattern. The sparks instantly vanish. After a number of minutes Dolf concentrates on being back with the others and he disappears from the circle and appears near to Gil.
Dolf swings a punch at Gil which Gil avoids, before Dolf sits down totally exhausted. It has taken him in total 25 minutes to complete the Pattern. Gil orders some food for Dolf and the others for after the Pattern is walked.
Jihx then says he will walk it but he doesn't move. Caitlin decides to get it over with and starts the walk. She finds it more difficult than Dolf with his greater strength, and moves considerably more slowly. At the second veil she also sees a memory from her childhood. Among other things she sees a dark haired attractive white skinned woman with a red headed beardless man (shorter and more sleight than the woman). They are accompanied by a blond haired male child. The woman hugs and kisses Caitlin good-bye.
The walk continues and eventually after a total of thirty minutes she emerges in the centre and she also thinks herself back to the other side of the room and collapses against the wall.
Etienne then walks the Pattern. She has a memory of a short red-headed woman. Bidding her good-bye. Etienne is the slowest to complete the walk. Finally Jihx does it, he too has a memory of a red headed beardless man, an attractive dark haired woman, but this time there is a small dark haired girl in the background, and the man is wishing him good-bye. Jihx is slightly faster than Etienne but slower than the others to complete the walking. (Everyone was faster than when Gil did the Pattern).
After we have all completed the Pattern we all instinctively know the powers that go with it. After leaving the Pattern room, Gil uses the courtyard Trump to get us back upstairs quickly and we all then go to our rooms to recover. Gil sends word to Gerard that we had all completed the Pattern, Gil then retires to his room to paint.
The next day Gerard tells Gil that the fifth Amberite has been located and some of the Amber military have been sent to get him. He is in a shadow very near Amber.
Around midday the four young Amberites awake. Dolf has a bath, then takes the servants advice on the latest fashions, before feasting on a vast breakfast. Etienne gets up, prays, then orders a continental breakfast. Caitlin gets up, bathes, dresses then goes for a walk. Jihx finds his chef waiting with breakfast when he awakes.
Caitlin walks around the guest quarters and other parts of the castle, followed discretely by a servant or two, until she finds a garden courtyard that is overgrown and unused, when she goes and sits in the sun. She also requests more clothing as she feels it is very cold (i.e. not tropical) here. The servants following Caitlin soon bring her a long black coat and a fur hat. Caitlin decides the coat is good and wears it from then on.
Gerard sends word to Gil to assemble the others in conference room one in an hour. One hour later everyone assembles.
Etienne and Dolf have had a short tour (they learn that there are a million people in Amber and the Unicorn flag is the symbol of the family of Amber. The banners in the throne room are mostly those of the noble houses of Amber. They also hear about a mirror city called Rebma which is under the sea about 20 miles south of Amber. This city is reached via a long staircase and the people there consider the fishing rights in the sea to belong solely to them.).
Jihx has tried the brandy offered by Gil in the room and Caitlin has been sitting in the sun in her long coat.
Meanwhile somewhere in a shadow world called Jyretsu, a group of people from the tribe Akina are out fishing. The lookout sees a sail on the horizon which is heading for them. They cannot outrun the ship, a clipper, and soon the ship, which has green sails with a golden unicorn design emblazoned on them, is nearby. The Akina ships heave to. A row boat is lowered from the clipper and the captain comes over to speak to the captain of the Akina ship.
The captain of the clipper introduces himself as Harris of the ship 'North Star' out of Amber. Arun (who is leading the Akina) introduces himself under a pseudonym. Harris says they are looking for Arun of the Akina and produces a figurine. The figurine is obviously of the captain of the Akina ship, so Arun owns up. Harris tells Arun about Amber's problems and how he has been sent to ask Arun to come to Amber to help them. Arun does agree as long as he can bring some of his colleagues - ten of them. Captain Harris agrees.
Three days pass, Arun and his men are unnerved by the colour of the sky and sea changing every so often as they go. Harris explains this as passing between the different worlds/shadows. Arun is not totally convinced. Around midday on the third day the 'North Star' reaches Amber, and they enter the harbour under a vast golden metal Colossus.
There is a sedan chair waiting for Arun there. Arun is carried up from the docks, past warehouses and up a huge 100' wide staircase up the cliff to the plateau on which the city of Amber lies. They pass through a guarded golden arch, carved with some kind of mythological scenes, and up a long straight road with what were once parklands and which are now allotment gardens on both sides. There are a number of tree stumps, and a few burnt out buildings; patrols of soldiers are common, and there is a general air of tension. Eventually they reach the castle, after passing through the band of parkland (now allotments) around it. Arun is then escorted to a conference room to meet the Regent Gerard. Arun's ten men are taken to quarters elsewhere.
Inside the conference room the clock strikes one o'clock. Gerard arrives and tells us that the fifth Amberite has been found and should be arriving soon. Gerard also congratulates us on walking the Pattern successfully. There is a knock on the door and a servant escorts Arun in. We see a well built, tanned, blond haired man wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and sporting an ear-ring.
Gerard explains to Arun the problems that Amber is facing, about us all being of the same family, and that Arun must walk the Pattern first before we can do anything. We are told out powers don't work near the Pattern; instead we must move away from it before trying them out. Dolf and Etienne explain the difficulties and the rules of walking the Pattern. Arun agrees but will talk to his colleagues first.
Arun tells his friends that he is going to assist the people of Amber. He sends four of the ten home to tell the tribe about Amber and about what Arun is doing. The other six stay with him.
Arun is escorted by us down the long staircase to the Pattern room. Arun walks the Pattern. He takes some 35 minutes and he also sees (among other things) a memory of his childhood of a beautiful blond haired blue eyed woman tearfully saying good-bye.
When he reaches the centre we tell him how to get out (which we'd forgotten to do previously) and he appears next to us. He is totally exhausted.
Gil decides to take us to a pub in the city to celebrate and produces a picture of it. He concentrates, and we all hold hands and step through the picture. We arrive outside the Silver Swan Inn, and narrowly miss getting squashed by a passing horse and carriage (the horse treads on Dolfs foot, but he ignores it).
Arun is carried into the inn (he is very tired). The innkeeper greets Gil and drinks and food are quickly provided after a large table is found for us. Arun gets a carriage back to the castle after a fairly short time, and rests there.
The afternoon passes, Gil and Dolf drink a lot; the others watch. By the evening entertainment (some minstrels) is provided for us along with more drink and food where necessary.
Later we return to the castle. No payment is given to the inn keeper - we are later told that they simply bill the castle.
The next morning, Caitlin is up at sunrise to sit in the garden in the sun. Gil feels very ill and feels worse when Dolf and Gerard set about devouring mountains of food for breakfast. Jihx joins Caitlin in the garden. Gerard again requests everyone again assembles in the conference room, at ten o'clock.
At ten we all meet again. It is decided that we should accompany one of the convoys. About 50% of the convoys are vanishing on the way back to Amber. so we have a good chance of seeing what is going on.
One of the convoys is leaving later that day and we are joining it. Gil suggest s that we be issued with a pack of Trumps before we leave. Gerard says yes, he almost forgot, and produces five packs. The Trumps are a pack of tarot cards plus others. The other cards are those of various people and one of the Amber courtyard.
The people cards are:- Dworkin, Benedict, Prince Bleys, Princess Fiona, Princess Llewella, Prince Julian, Prince Random (husband of Lady Vialle), Prince Gerard, Prince Caine, Prince Corwin, Princess Florimel, King Oberon (father of all the others and son of Dworkin), Prince Brand, Princess Dierdre, and Prince Eric (dead).
From our memories while we were walking the Pattern we identify that Etienne's mother is Princess Fiona, Dolf's father is Prince Bleys, Arun's mother is Princess Florimel and Caitlin and Jihx's parents are Prince Brand and Princess Dierdre. Gerard is not happy about this, he tells us that Brand, Fiona and Bleys were behind the troubles that hit Amber, Brand is a bad egg, and Eric died whilst defending Amber.
He says he hopes we are all telling the true or we could be in trouble. Jihx is not overjoyed at being related to Caitlin. Gerard also says there are some other Amberites, of whom there are no cards - Prince Martin (son of Random), Princess Dara(some descendant of Benedict) and Prince Merlin (son of Corwin). At the present time only the courtyard and the card for Gerard work. We are told that Dworkin made these cards, and only a few can make them at all, such as Gil. Dolf wants Gil to show him how to make them.
Gil shows Dolf his room. He has lots of pictures of his homeland, Arcadia, none of which seem to work as Trumps, he explains. Gil has Trumps of himself which he gives to us all.
Gil and Dolf then decide to go fencing, Caitlin decides to watch. Jihx decides to pack and Etienne goes to check on her horse Electra. Gil finds that Dolf is too strong for him, he and Dolf challenge Caitlin, they find she is too quick for them both individually, but together they match her.
In the afternoon sedan chairs take us all to the harbour. There we see that the Colossus (which stands over one of the three entrances to the harbour) is of Oberon. There are six war ships waiting, all clippers with green sails bearing the unicorn insignia, armed with ballistae and catapults. The flagship is the 'Unicorn's Flight', to which we go. Captain Christian and his crew greet us as we board. The crew are all dressed in uniforms of green and gold, in something like 'Battle of Trafalgar', Napoleonic-Era style. The six warships set sail and meet up with twenty assorted cargo vessels waiting off shore.
We hear a distant cheer go out from the harbour walls as we sail off, away from Amber.