Notes Taken by Samantha and Alastair Beadle.
As we set off sailing through the sky towards shadow Belanoth - the closest shadow to Amber of the six from which trouble was reported - on the Golden Swan, Arun uses the Pattern to have a group of crows descend and perch on the ship.
As the crows land on the ship we wonder whether they are linked in the strange things that are happening, but Etienne says they are not - she can sense that they are somehow linked to Arun.
Etienne moves the ship through shadow at speed, though not as fast as she could - she is looking for something. The gem sand below us turns to waves of blue glass, then to a glassy blue sea. As we go, four Viking longships, flying through the air like us, appears from behind a cloud. Their sails are emblazoned with images of various heraldic animals. Etienne tells the rest of us that they are here to assist us. They move into formation with the Golden Swan.
Etienne calls out to a Viking who only has two fingers on one hand, who she names as Erik Halfhand, and asks if he and his men are interested in joining us for some fighting. He asks about pillage in addition to violence, and is quickly reassured that there will be some. He agrees that he and his men will assist, and the five ships sail on through the sky.
Those of us so trained can feel the magic level dropping as we near Belanoth. The ships sink gently down towards the water. As the ships settle into the water, the clouds clear and we see three massive pillars rising from the ocean off in the distance.
At Arun's command, a rolling mist rolls across the rolling ocean in a rolling sort of way. Very atmospheric. Sort of. The Vikings shout across and ask where the fight is. Etienne says over there, pointing towards the columns, and they start to row quickly off in that direction. However, Etienne tells them there is no hurry and to slow up, so they reluctantly agree, stop rowing and go under sail power alone.
Skyrie states that there are some raft-people nearby and lo and behold, two people on a raft appear, over the crest of a wave. They wave at as, and can faintly be heard shouting for help. At Jihx's orders the Golden Swan makes for them. We near the raft and Jihx throws over a net, up which the two men climb. He roughly pulls them onto the boat, assuming they are our enemies.
The pair are rather pathetic-looking, dirty, half-starved-looking, and in rags. They introduce themselves as Rosmig and Pifleo, and claim they were attacked by raft-people and set adrift. Caitlin asks them about Gerard. They say they have heard about him but have not heard about him coming to the shadow. They say that the raft-people are vicious fighters, very fast and strong, and that nothing is heard from the pillars they invade once they have taken them over. However, they believe that the people are enslaved.
Etienne goes off into a quiet area and prays to God. She can feel the presence of God here, but it is weaker here than in the Enchanted Earth, or in shadow Garramoth. But she prays she makes contact with God. She tells him that she is just making contact and asks if Uncle Gerard has paid a visit to this area. God asks why she is asking, and Etienne wonders what is going on in this area. God tells her that Gerard has not visited this area. He also says he has brought the raft-people here from another shadow, and He wants us to wage war on the locals to increase his support.
Skyrie asks Jihx if he can borrow his deck of Trumps. Jihx hands them over and Skyrie begin to lay out the cards to perform a tarot-like Trump reading. Some of the rest of us have learnt how to do this as well. As he examines the cards, Skyrie finds a Trump of the swarthy-skinned man who taught him how to draw Trumps, and who he remembered while walking the Pattern - Prince Caine.
As we sail along, Arun stands by the rail and stretches an arm until it reaches the water. He puts his fingers into the water and they turn into fish and swim away. He thinks this shadow needs more than just jellyfish living in its oceans. He continues to do this, turning sea water into fish, again and again.
As he lays out the cards, Skyrie asks the question 'What has happened to Gerard?' He includes the Trumps of all the missing Amberites plus all of us in the deck he uses to provide the cards he is laying out. And gradually the layout forms.
In the heart of the reading is the Tower card, a very bad sign, and the main answer to the question Skyrie asked. The Trumps of all the missing people appear in the reading, as if whatever has happened to Gerard has also happened to them. Additional cards indicate that a great power is in opposition to those missing. Etienne's Trump appears in a position indicative of the problem behind the power. The Trumps of the rest of us appear in positions indicating that perhaps we are the solution. Hmmm.
Caitlin decides to do a Trump reading too. As she lays out the cards, she asks the question 'Where is Gerard?' The cards suggest that Gerard is in the hands of great power, and dead, but also in a bad situation. The other missing people are also there in the layout, implying that they are in the same bad situation.
She re-shuffles the cards and does the same reading again, only asking about Jihx's children rather than Gerard this time. She gets the exact same reading, only with Connor and Nemain's Trumps replacing Gerard's in the layout, and Gerard's where theirs were.
She then does a third reading, asking if there is a way of saving them. The cards suggest that there are many solutions, some of which involve our deaths. Not good.
Etienne returns from her prayers. Jihx is a little unfriendly towards her, and in frustration blasts one of the more noisy of Arun's crows into bits when it annoys him.
We discuss what to do. Caitlin suggests that the solution is to wipe out all life in the six shadows we are interested in. The rest of us are not so sure this is a valid solution.
By this time we are near one of the pillars. It is several hundred metres in diameter, but kilometres tall, with a flat top. Windows and other opening can be seen cut into the side of the column above a row of arches which seem to be a harbour or docks. Two large rafts, each roughly a hundred metres long and seventy metres wide, made of huge logs bound together, are tethered by the docks. In the centre of each raft is a log-cabin-like structure, roughly fifty metres long and thirty metres wide, with at one end of the roof-ridge is a tall mast rigged with what seem to be a single huge square-rigged sail.
There are several people visible on the rafts, all big tanned men over six feet tall and very muscular, barefoot and dressed in loincloths with a sword belted about their waist and a square shield. The closest of these men to us, on a corner of the nearer raft, shouts out for us to stop. Skyrie uses the Pattern and one of Arun's crows takes flight and craps on the man. He ignores this. Jihx demands that their leader comes to meet us. The man on the raft demands to know who we are. Jihx says we are Amberites, but the man doesn't appear to know what that means, and calls us fools. At this point Jihx loses it and blasts the man with his sword, killing him instantly.
Arun decides he has had enough, shifts into dragon form, and flies off out to sea.
Etienne sends in the Vikings, and their longboats move to pull up alongside the rafts, two on each.
A large number of raft-people come running out of the cabin on the raft and take up an ordered formation, drawing big longbows. The raft-people open fire on us. Etienne, Skyrie and Caitlin take cover. Jihx takes stands there, and the arrows bounce off his armour, knocking him back slightly. Some of the crew of the Golden Swan are killed or injured; the survivors move to hide below deck.
Arun flies out over the sea, shifting shadow. Reed beds appear on the horizon as he goes, and before long he is flying over reed beds stretching off in all directions divided by channels of open water. He has arrived in the next shadow, Cilanar.
He can see a village which seems to consist of reed huts on a floating island made of reeds at the junction of several of the channels of open water off to one side. The huts seem to be arranges in a rough circle around the edge of the floating island with a (fairly small) open area in the middle. Further off in the distance he can made out a city of stone and brick towers and buildings, not unlike Venice.
Arun flies towards the floating village.
Back at the fight, Jihx sets his sword to wide beam energy blast and toasts a number of archers. Caitlin finds a variety of sharp objects to throw in her bag and takes out a number of archers with them, including several who seem to be commanders.
Meanwhile, while Skyrie and Etienne hide in cover they discuss God and how to contact him. Well, Skyrie talks to Etienne about this, but Etienne seems more concerned with dodging arrows and does not reply. Skyrie also heals the occasional sailor, but is not having a huge effect because of the very low level of magic which works here.
The Viking longboats also take casualties as the raft-people fire on them, but two of them grapple and board the closest raft whilst the other two head for the other one. Vikings pile off their ships onto the raft. This stops Jihx using wide-beam blasts, but he and Caitlin continue to pick off raft-people from amongst the Vikings, one by one.
Glancing up, Caitlin notices large rocks are plummeting down towards us from openings high up on the column! Fortunately a gust of wind (Etienne's) and a large wave (Jihx's) pushes the Golden Swan out of the way just in time, and the boulders splash into the water by the ship rather than into the ship. However, one of the Viking longboats is hit by a rock and quickly beings to sink.
On the raft the Vikings appear to be losing the fight.
The Golden Swan is fairly close to the raft now so Skyrie leaps the gap to join them on the raft and engages the raft-people in hand-to-hand combat. He starts to cut them down one by one. As he does so he notices that the raft-people are very efficient fighters, fast, and as strong as he is, although individually no match for him. Jihx orders the Golden Swan to head for the dock.
In shadow Cilanar, Arun shifts into his aquatic avatar form some distance from the floating village and swims towards it. He leaps from the water onto the floating island, having made sure no-one is around to see him do so, then shifts into human form. He walks out into the village and asks the first person he sees, a middle aged woman, to show him to the village leader.
She directs him towards 'Mother Smiknee', in a nearby hut, which is slightly larger than the others in the village. He enters the hut and finds Mother Smiknee inside. The interior of the hut is dark and smelly, lit by a smoky candle. Mother Smiknee is sitting on a pile of reeds. On the wall behind her is a banner with a Maltese cross type emblem.
Arun introduces himself as 'Prince Arun of the Akina, Child of Amber.' He politely asks her about the missing Amberites. She explains that they are simple God-fearing folk and know not of such things. However she has heard of 'the righteous war against the ungodly', which turns out to be a war against the city dwellers, fought under the blessing of God who answers their prayers and has been known to appear to them. She tries to convince Arun to join the crusade, but he politely declines. When asked, she says that she herself has not been blessed with a visitation from God, but gives him the names of two people who have been so blessed - a Mother Uddanoi in the village to the east, and Uncle Tegrit in village to the south-west. Arun bids her good day and leaves her hut. He heads back to the edge of the village and goes off towards the south-western village. Initially he does so discreetly in his avatar form.
Back in shadow Belanoth, Skyrie is viscously killing raft-people. He takes a few blows from their sheer weight of numbers, but they do not penetrate his armour. The raft-people are at least as strong as he is (which is very unusual) but not as skilled (though they are still unusually skilful fighters for shadow-dwellers). Etienne continues to watch from the Golden Swan.
The Vikings have been decimated on both rafts.
The number of arrows arriving from the rafts has dropped considerably, however. Jihx and Caitlin are still picking off raft-people, Caitlin focusing on anyone who is showing leadership qualities.
The Golden Swan arrives at the dock as more rocks rain down from above. The ship is close enough to the dock now not be hit but the Vikings long boats take more punishment. Only one is not sinking now.
Jihx leaps from the Golden Swan to the dock. Raft-people are piling out of the tunnels which lead further into the column and heading towards the dock. Jihx walks casually into the pillar, away from the dockside, still blasting and cutting down raft-people as he progresses. Caitlin stays on the ship, providing covering fire to Skyrie.
Skyrie is still holding his own against the raft-people, despite the loss of the last Viking on that particular raft. They attempt to surround him but he leaps over them.
Etienne starts using the Pattern to summon another storm.
Jihx finds the raft-people a lot more adept at combat than he expected, and is forced to stand and fight them off. He steps back a bit and uses his sword's blast in wide-beam mode to blast himself a bit more space. Many raft-people are killed. After a bit of this they stop advancing on him, but he is still on the edge of the dock.
Skyrie, on the raft, is seriously outnumbered and getting more and more bruised and battered as time goes by, is forced to take a slightly more defensive attitude. He does, however, manage to polish off the rest of the crew, with assistance from Caitlin on the nearby Golden Swan.
All the Vikings, on both rafts, are now dead.
The raft-people on the second raft are regrouping and going ashore.
Jihx is now being sniped at with arrows by the raft-people who are keeping their distance from him. They have little effect on his armour, however. He raises his sword and shouts, "Bring us your leader or we will destroy you all!"
Etienne's storm is blackening the sky, dark clouds gradually getting lower and lower, rumbling with thunder and running St Elmo's fire around the bottom of the cloud deck and across the masts of ship and rafts.
On the dock, Jihx is joined by Skyrie. They exchange opinions on the ability of the raft-people. Jihx compares them with the Moonriders out of Ghenesh.
An older-looking raft-man, large like them all, but more scarred and battle weary, appears from out of a tunnel deeper into the column and approaches Skyrie and Jihx. He is wearing a cloak of what appears to be iridescent fish scales and is escorted by two dozen heavily armed raft-person guards.
Back in shadow Cilanar, Arun arrives at the second floating reed village on a boat, formed by himself and modelled on those he saw at the first village. He lands stealthily, as before, and approaches the nearest person he sees. He asks to be taken to see Uncle Tegrit. The villager wants to know who he is. He tells them that he is Dakar of the Akina. They seem satisfied with this and lead him off to meet Uncle Tegrit, who lives in a somewhat larger reed hut than the others.
Inside, the hut is much the same as that of Mother Smiknee, including a banner with the Maltese-cross-like design. 'Dakar' is introduced and asks Uncle Tegrit about the crusade. Arun is posing as a potential follower with doubts about God.
Uncle Tegrit spouts a load of religious talk about having faith. He describes the visions and guidance he receives from God. "He sees all. He knows all. He is all powerful. He is all around us."
When 'Dakar' asks, Uncle Tegrit tells him that the last vision he received was two days ago, when God appeared out of a burning light in this very hut, and told him about the crusade, about the good work that they must do and of the ungodly that they must still convert.
'Dakar' asks if he may stay to see the next vision. Uncle Tegrit agrees, though he points out that there is no guarantee of when the next vision may be. Arun is shown to a reed bed and invited to stay for the night.
In shadow Belanoth, the older raft-person in the fish scale cloak, escorted by two dozen heavily armed guards, introduces himself as the Raft-Lord and demands to know what we want. He calls us 'Murderous Ones', and who can really blame him?
Jihx demands to know why they have invaded 'our protectorate' and what they have done with one of our 'family members'.
The Raft-Lord says they were guided here by 'Our God'.
Jihx shows clear disdain at the mention of 'God' again, much to the anger of the Raft-Lord.
Skyrie asks to be taken to their God.
The Raft-Lord mocks them and calls them fools.
Skyrie quizzes them, not too tactfully, about their 'all singing and all dancing God'.
The Raft-Lord agrees that their God is all powerful.
In order to test this Skyrie says to the sky, "OK, God, show yourself."
At this, a bolt of lightening strikes out to sea behind him.
"Ah!" Says Skyrie.
A few more experiments like this result in more lightening bolts raining down from the sky. Some strike the Golden Swan and shatter its mast. Etienne suggests that we stop mocking God now.
Jihx suggests that we should continue to mock in order to bring what is probably a false God out into the open. More lightening bolts rain down. The Golden Swan suffers more lightning strikes and begins to sink. Etienne, the remnants of its crew, plus Rosmig and Pifleo quickly evacuate the ship before it disappears beneath the water.
Caitlin asks if we can get rid of the storms. Etienne agrees, and applies herself to the Pattern. The dark clouds begin to dissipate, replaced by a sea fog.
On the dockside, a discussion ensues about this God. The raft-people watch impassively. It appears that He is the same God as is shadow Garramoth, moving from shadow to shadow and gaining power using His influence over armies and soon. Etienne is of the opinion that we should leave for another shadow and work out how to appease the new God and work within His new regime.
Jihx and Skyrie are far from convinced with this approach, but Caitlin also appears to want to depart. She and Etienne board the abandoned raft, taking the Golden Swan's remaining crew members with them (Jihx allows them to depart) and start readying it for departure.
Jihx shouts disagreements with their policy after them as they disappear into the fog. Skyrie, uncertain whether to stay or to go, finds the decision made for him as the raft moves out of jumping distance. He and Jihx discuss the situation. If the raft-people decide to attack the pair of them en masse they do not think they can hold them off. They decide to depart for Amber. Jihx pulls out the appropriate Trump and concentrates upon it. Before long the link opens up, and they step through to Amber to discuss what to do next.
On the raft, the remaining crew of the Golden Swan can just about manage to sail it, and the raft moves out to sea. Caitlin kicks some of the raft-people's and Viking's bodies into the sea. As she does this she notices something floating ahead of them in the fog. It appears to be an upturned ship. She fishes a telescope from her bag and focuses in on the object. This confirms that it is indeed the upturned hull of an iron-clad ship, wallowing very low in the water.
She orders the raft steered in that direction. Etienne uses the Pattern and brings the wind up in that direction to assist.
When the raft approaches the upturned ship Caitlin jumps in and swims towards it to investigate. The water is cold, but nothing she cannot handle. She heads for the stern underwater and reads the name plate. It says 'HMS Guardian Wolf, Amber' - it is Lillian's Ship!
She explores further and discovers that the ship has been very badly damaged, apparently by energy of some kind, and actual physical blows. There are several bodies tangled up in the wreckage of the rigging.
She swims towards the back of the ship and enters the deckhouse. Inside she finds the bodies of Lillian, who seems to have drowned, and Gerard, who seems to have been repeatedly struck by lightening. She drags the bodies out and back over to the raft one at a time. Both bodies appear to have been nibbled on by sea creatures.
Having done this, she re-boards the raft and Trumps Jihx.
In Amber, Jihx and Skyrie have just left the Arrival Courtyard when Jihx feels a Trump call coming on. He takes the call. It is Caitlin.
She explains the situation, then passes the two bodies and the remainder of Golden Swan's crew through the Trump call. Jihx is most distressed at the news and sight of the bodies. Caitlin suggests that he goes to see Vialle and states that she is going to look for more bodies. The link is cut off promptly by Jihx.
Caitlin dives back into the sea, and searches the HMS Guardian Wolf in more detail. She finds several more bodies, with the assistance of several mermaids (summoned by Etienne using the Pattern). All are crew members, or at least in appropriate uniforms.
She also searches for any of Gerard's and Lillian's personal effects that may need to be recovered. In the large cabin at the stern of the ship (clearly where Lillian lived) she finds some reports and various personal effects. In a smaller cabin close by, apparently inhabited by Gerard she finds some of his things. There are far fewer of Gerard's personal effects, presumably because he was just visiting rather than living here as Lillian clearly did. She collects the various items together and takes them back to the surface.
Etienne uses the Pattern to make a current push the upturned ship towards the beach of a nearby island (shifting through shadow to do this).
Having completed her search, Caitlin Trumps Jihx.
Once the raft has grounded, Etienne begins to rack some spells, having used quite a few recently.
In Cilanar, Arun is learning a lot about the culture of the region. He is also hypothesising about gods and shadows and their relationships. He has decided to wait for at least three days for God to make an appearance.
In Amber, Jihx heads off to see Vialle. Skyrie accompanies him, having searched the two bodies and taken both of the Trump decks from the bodies for later examination.
On the way Jihx gets a Trump call from Caitlin on the way. She passes the news and the things she has collected through the link, then comes through and joins him and Skyrie.
The three of the reach Vialle's office, and after knocking are admitted. Jihx passes on the news of the bodies to Vialle. Caitlin describes the discovery of the ship and the bodies. The three describe the 'God'-like entity that appears to be causing the problems and is prime suspect in the deaths of Lillian and Gerard. Having heard all this, Vialle advises:
Caitlin, Jihx and Skyrie agree wholeheartedly with these suggestions, particularly with the third of them.
The three of us and Vialle go to the Unicorn Chapel in the Castle to see the bodies, which have now been laid out in state. The chapel is a fairly small building built out from the castle into a small U-shaped garden with stained glass windows depicting the Unicorn and various mythological scenes.
Caitlin excuses herself to change out of her wet clothes and look through the recovered items from the ship.
Vialle runs her hands over the faces of the bodies. She does not look happy. "This is a black day for Amber," she says. "We must have our revenge."
Jihx agrees and goes to see whether Caitlin is ready. Skyrie, uncertain that discussing God with Etienne would be terribly productive, goes to the Library to do research on any events similar to this which have occurred in Amber's past.
Having reached the Library, Skyrie gives orders to the librarians to research God and God-like entities. Then he pulls out a mask-Trump of his second, Precursor Alexiun, and concentrates on it. He intends to warn his minions in the Fourteen Empires be wary of any outbreaks of 'God', particularly any God not previously encountered, and to give them orders to destroy any that occur.
In her rooms, Caitlin looks through the reports that she found on Lillian's ship. Unfortunately they do not add much to her knowledge - the reports seem to be more recent versions of the ones we found in Gerard's office. The last report has Lillian and Gerard just arriving in Belanoth from Amber.
Caitlin leaves her rooms, heading for the library. On route she and Jihx meet and talk. Caitlin continues on to the library to do some research.
Jihx goes down to the guard barracks, commandeers a squad of guards, and Trumps Etienne. When she takes the call he passes all the guards through the link then comes through himself to join her on the beach.
The mermaids Etienne summoned earlier are tasked with recovering the bodies from the ship and bringing them to the shore. The palace guards then take them ashore and make them ready for transport back to Amber.
While this is done Jihx quizzes Etienne about the Gods. She says she believes that they are responsible for the wars that have been reported from shadow. She says she does not know where they have come from. She is certain that they are the same entity on each shadow. She does not know if they were responsible for the deaths of Gerard and Lillian. She mentions the anti-God (Lucifer or Beelzebub) from her shadow.
Skyrie eventually gets a Trump contact with his second, Precursor Alexiun, back in Xanusia. It takes him a long time and a lot of effort to get through, but eventually the link does form.
He gives the Precursor his orders, and in return receives reports from his home world that a new religion has indeed arisen in Asiyta, which is rapidly gaining support from the common people. He sends orders to stamp it, any religions like it, out immediately.
Skyrie ends the Trump link and looks through Gerard's Trump deck. He finds it to be the same as Jihx's that he used earlier, that is the Trumps in it are in a number of noticeably different styles:
With, in addition to the Trumps a set of tarot-type cards.
He also looks through Lillian's Trump deck. This has similar Trumps to Gerard's, plus a number of others of people and places that Skyrie does not recognise, including what looks like the command deck of an airship. There are also some magical cards in the deck:
And various others with picture of things along those lines. At about this point Caitlin arrives in the library. She warns Skyrie to be careful of the wolves, as they are 'very vicious', but useful to the one who commands them.
Caitlin passes the information about the symbols seen in the warring shadows to the librarians assisting Skyrie. Their work continues. Food and drink is brought to Caitlin and Skyrie.
Librarians give Caitlin books on 'Christianity', and a bible. The book has a number of cross designs in it, which match the crosses and T-symbols up with Christian symbols from the books.
Together she and Skyrie form tactics and strategy to tackle this religious menace.
"It is vexing that the one person who would most assist us with this is the one I find it most difficult to trust," states Skyrie, meaning Etienne.
Back in Shadow, Jihx asks Etienne if she really believes in appeasing and bowing down to the will of this God. She says no, and Jihx expresses his relief at this.
Etienne hypothesises that someone has stumbled onto her home shadow, discovered the form of God which exists there, and taken it to use towards their own ends.
In both Amber and in the shadow there is much discussion about what may be behind this new God.
The librarians give Caitlin a report from Godofos on the earliest war reported from shadow, about fifteen years ago, in a shadow called Teleram. Other more recent reports then show wars and so on spreading out from that area as the years pass, in what, on close analysis, appears to be a distinct pattern. However, because all of these events took place out in shadow beyond the shadow paths that radiate out from Amber, the reports are really only a sample from those places visited by ourselves and the other Amberites over the years, so that until now no-one has really made the connection between these events and linked them all to give this pattern.
Skyrie Trumps Jihx, and when he gets through passes on the news of Teleram and the pattern of trouble radiating out from it.
He also passes on the theory that the spirits of Gerard and Lillian may still be present in an afterlife specific to the shadow that they died in.
By this time the bodies have all been recovered from the remains of the HMS Guardian Wolf so Jihx cuts the Trump link to Skyrie and he and Etienne Trump back to Amber via the Arrival Courtyard, bringing the guards and all the recovered bodies with them.
While the guards carry the bodies off the Morgue, Jihx and Etienne go to the Library and join Caitlin and Skyrie.
When the four of them are together, Etienne concentrates on Arun's Trump to pass on the bad news to him.
Session 3.2 Index Session 3.4
Skyrie's Diary for This Session