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Notes Taken by Samantha and Alastair Beadle.
Caitlin is in her rooms in Amber, tucked up in warm blankets in front of a roaring fire after having just eaten a heavy meal. She is still very tired from her Trumping efforts earlier in the day.
Nonetheless, she Trumps Whippoorwill so as to give the others a quick escape route from Tir-Na Nog'th if they need it.
Jihx, Whippoorwill (with Caitlin holding open a Trump link to him) and Godofos step off the staircase up to Tir-Na Nog'th and approach the shimmering white arch leading into Tir-Na Nog'th itself; it seems to be made of horn and ivory. We cannot focus on the details of the carvings on the arch; they seem to be clearer when looked at from the corner of one's than when looked at directly.
Godofos pauses to put a specially selected Trump onto the top of his deck in case he needs a quick escape route (not wanting to rely on a randomly selected Trump).
We step through the archway.
Inside the city, the world seems to shimmer. Like the archway, it appears in better focus where we are not looking at directly rather than where we are. Sound is muted, but we can hear each other quite clearly. The resemblance to Amber is vague but noticeable.
We begin make our way to what appears to be the equivalent of Amber Castle, looming over the buildings of Tir-Na Nog'th off in the distance.
There are people here, apparently going about their business in the city. Where they talk to each other we cannot hear what is said, and none of us know how to lip-read.
Godofos investigates one of the ghost-people, but they literally walk right through him. The buildings and ground are solid but all of the people appear to be insubstantial.
As we proceed through the city, down a side-street Whippoorwill recognises what appears to be a slave market. And when he looks more closely he seems to recognise a boy who is among those being sold as himself at the age of twelve or so, thin and in rags.
He checks with the others that there are no slave markets in Amber and is told that there are not. And the scene as a whole looks like something from the Tunnel, not from Amber. As they watch the boy is sold to a nasty-looking individual and with him disappears from sight into the crowd.
This is not something that actually happened to Whippoorwill...
We continue on towards the Castle.
At one point the street on our left opens out into a square with a large green landscape - much bigger than it would seem could fit into the square - in it. Jihx immediately recognises the landscape as that of Ahnel. The gate to Derris is visible off in the distance.
As we watch, the gate shimmers and opens and out pour a horde of Derrisians lead by Caitlin. Then the army of Ahnel appears, lead by Jihx, apparently coming out of a side street to one side of the square.
The two forces battle. The vision-Jihx trips as he and Caitlin fight, and is stabbed in the throat by Caitlin with her spear. He dies, bleeding profusely, and the Ahnelian forces are routed. The Derrisians chase then off down the same side street through which they emerged.
Whippoorwill (having Caitlin watching through his mind) cheers on Caitlin's army.
Again, this is not something that actually happened to Jihx...
We continue down the street. We pass another open area opening off on the other side of the street. Again, it contains a landscape that seems much large than the square could contain - a scene of moorlands and mountains that Godofos immediately recognises as those of his home shadow of Bergamer.
A village - Godofos' home village - is visible. We all see him (in his original body) as a priest with a family, looking happy. Obviously this never happened either. Suddenly a wind seems to pass over the vision and the scene is in darkness. Shadowy figures on predatory, skeletal steeds flit through the darkness - the MoonRiders out of Ghenesh. The vision-Godofos and his family do not look so happy any more...
We carry on. As we go, we discuss the alternative histories we are viewing.
Whippoorwill gives a long story about the things that shape history, people and events, even a butterfly flapping its wings somewhere causing storms elsewhere. A giant butterfly changing history by flapping its wings somehow makes its way into the conversation too.
Godofos is unsure about all this.
Whippoorwill goes on to say that perhaps these are our worst fears, or perhaps what might happen in the future if time becomes screwed up in some way. As we talk about this, we remember a story Gerard told us, of how Corwin obtained a prosthetic arm for Prince Benedict from Tir-Na Nog'th using his sword, Greyswandir, which allowed him to interact with the visions there, and of how a strange 'bubble' of Tir-Na Nog'th later appeared in the Amber Throne Room in which a ghostly Greyswandir appeared and cut off Benedict's prosthetic arm...
Godofos thinks that what we are seeing are possible pasts.
Jihx thinks we are reading too much into the visions without exploring more.
And suddenly we arrive at the main gates of Amber Castle. The distance to the Castle seems to have passed far more quickly than it should.
Godofos feels lucky today.
Whippoorwill decides to test this and three coins are tossed.
Godofos says they will all come up heads. In fact only one head comes up.
We go in through the main gates and into the Castle's Main Courtyard. Shadowy people are going about their business around the Castle.
Over the Trump link, Caitlin suggests that they head for the library. This seems like a good idea.
We walk into the Castle buildings, and Jihx imagines that he is in the Library, trying to influence our path in a Pattern-like manner. But as we turn a corner we are suddenly in a room that Jihx recognises as the bedroom of Moire and himself in Rebma. Fish flit through the air. The shadowy figures of Godofos and Moire are visible in the bed, having sex. Most of the group thinks this is worth watching, Jihx doesn't, and stays by the door.
A shadowy Jihx suddenly bursts through the door by which we entered, in armour, sword at the ready. The vision-Godofos says something that does not seem to mollify the vision-Jihx, and the vision-Godofos is stabbed repeatedly, his blood blooming out through the water in the vision. Moire appears to try and reason with Jihx, but he beats her to a pulp with his armoured gloves and rips the Eye of Peace from her neck before storming out.
Jihx doesn't believe he would act like this.
Godofos takes note of this for future reference.
We continue on, still trying to get to the Library, only the Rebman one now.
We emerge through a door into a large eight-sided room with tall pointed windows in every wall, and doorways (including the one through which we have just emerged) in the angles between them.
Jihx looks out of a window. Below him he see Amber, as if viewed from a very high tower in the Castle. However, it is Amber as it was before Etienne invaded, and over the city flies Finndo's flag...
Jihx and Whippoorwill look out of the other windows around the room. They each appear to give a view down over Amber from the same place and in the same direction, regardless of the apparent direction the window is facing, but each view appears to be of a different Amber:
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We decide that we do not really like any of these alternative Ambers.
Whippoorwill thinks that the worm-riddled Amber may be one that is useful to our current discoveries. We try the door nearest to that window.
Beyond it, a corridor leads off. Suddenly a group of servants and guards come running around a corner towards us. The stones of the floor are pushed up as something emerges from below. One of the armoured worms appears and pursues the servants and guards, the stone appearing to dissolve beneath it. It charges straight through the people, and they disappear, apparently dissolved. The worm carries on, through the doorway into the eight-sided room and disappears out of it on the other side.
We decide to follow the tunnel back the way it came from.
We climb down and find ourselves descending through the Castle. The tunnel goes down and down, and is joined by other tunnels, which interweave around and through one another. We discuss trying to find ourselves and talk to ourselves in order to find out where the worms have come from.
By now the tunnels are running through the bedrock below the Castle, and there are a lot of them. Glancing down a side tunnel Whippoorwill sees himself leading troops from the Tunnel in some kind of battle, in the Tunnel; he recognises himself by his personal symbol on his gas cape - a crescent moon with an angry face on it. Who they are fighting against is not clear. The shadowy army rides off into attack and is quickly lost to sight as they move off past the end of the side-tunnel.
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We discuss going to the Castle's Command Centre (in the main Keep) or to the Pattern room as either might be a good source of information on what is happening.
We decide on the Pattern room for now, and wander on. More tunnels appear and then a milky mist. Out of the mist appear patches of blackness, like the black of space, and filled with stars that move, appear, disappear, and twinkle a great deal. We feel that this is a bad thing.
Whippoorwill speculates that this is the Courts of Chaos. We decide to carry on regardless.
Back in her chair in Amber, Caitlin is feeling very sleepy. She struggles to stay awake, but the effort she is putting into the Trump link is not helping. She notes that it is roughly midnight now.
We carry on into the bad place, into the mist and patches of starry space. These become larger and more frequent as we go on, and the bad feeling gets worse, then seems to level off.
We continue on into the flickering swirling starryness, then emerge back into mist, through which a blue glow is visible. Its colour matches that of Amber's Pattern.
We emerge from the mist into an open area. Ahead is indeed what appears to be the Pattern of Amber. But like Amber itself in the vision, it seems to be suffering from wormholes having been burrowed through it. There are large armoured worms coiled up on and by the Pattern, and yet not dying. Some seem to be laying eggs on the Pattern and not dying.
Whippoorwill draws his sword and in a loud voice bids the worms leave. They ignore him, so he hits one. His sword bounces off the floor after passing straight through the worm. Ouch.
Jihx looks around the place, then draws his sword and attempts to chip away at the rock they are standing on. This does not work. Jihx then reaches to touch the Pattern, but as his hand approaches he feels a tingle from it like a more mild version of the tingle one gets from the real Pattern, and he does not actually touch it.
We decide to try to find the stairs upward, and wander back into the mist, then the swirling starryness. Eventually this appears to work, and we find ourselves going up some stairs.
To arrive in a library. This is another tower room, and is also eight-sided. Four walls have bookshelves on them; the others have windows which show a shadowy world that no-one recognises - a grassy, flat landscape dotted with large bushes of some kind and a small town below. The landscape only seems to stretch for a mile or two, before fading away into shimmering starryness.
In the room is a stooped figure dressed in monochrome colours with a cloak and a sword at his side, wearing a glowing gem not unlike the Eye of Peace on a chain around his neck. The clasp on his cloak is a silver rose, and we recognise him as Prince Corwin of Amber, but aged, and tired-looking. He is holding a single book, which we recognise as being like the ones we found before, but intact. There is also a scent of roses in the room, the first thing we have smelt since entering Tir-Na Nog'th.
Corwin puts the book on a lectern in the centre of the room, and grasps the glowing gem in one hand, putting his other hand on the book. He concentrates on the gem and it radiates power; we feel a resonance of this from his sword.
Whippoorwill attempts to grab Corwin's sword. Godofos moves to grab the book from the lectern.
Before either of them reach their goals, the gem Corwin is holding seems to shimmer and blur, and the book appears to join in, seeming to shimmer into multiple images of itself before snapping back into a single book again.
Godofos' hand passes through the book. However, Whippoorwill does manage to grasp the hilt of Corwin's sword. Corwin seems to feel this, though, and also grabs the hilt of his sword, and shimmers into solidity before us. "Who are you?!" he demands.
We explain who we are and how we came to be here.
Corwin tells us that he is the only survivor of the Family of Amber. He seems to think that we are members of the Family lost long ago and that we are the visions. This place is the last fragment of shadow, which he has managed to protect using the Pattern.
Whippoorwill asks whether the sorry future in which the Family is wiped out is certain or not.
Corwin explains that the book is a warning of the past in an attempt to avert that future.
Godofos asks for the book, but Corwin says it has already been sent into the past.
Regardless, Whippoorwill reaches for the book and does actually pick it up.
In response to our questions, Corwin explains that he was in Chaos when the worms appeared in Amber. They had won the war against Chaos and managed to make Trump contact with Gerard in order to return home.
Jihx asks about the book.
Corwin tells us that he wrote the book, and sent it back through time in the hope it would affect things so that it would never be created.
Whippoorwill asks about the worms eating the Pattern, and how that is possible if he is using the Pattern to protect this place.
In response, Corwin says that if the Pattern is used in the right way it is dangerous to them - that is what he has done here. He then says he is tired and must rest before the end. He steps away from us, and is only a Tir-Na Nog'th vision once more. He leaves the tower room via the stairs in the floor through which we arrived.
Whippoorwill opens the book, but the words shimmer before his eyes.
Jihx suggests that now that we have the book, we should all return to Amber by way of Caitlin and carry on from there.
This seems like a sensible plan. Whippoorwill passes the book through his Trump link to Caitlin.
She takes the book, then opens it and sees its title:
"On The End Of Everything And Its Aversion"
Then, before anyone can come through to her, Caitlin's eyes go out of focus and the Trump link is broken as she falls asleep. Damn.
However, a vision of Caitlin, wide awake, unexpectedly appears in the tower with the rest of us. She seems to be not entirely solid, but also not a completely intangible vision. Caitlin avoids Godofos' attempts to find out more about her 'half and half' state by prodding her with his finger.
Jihx quickly pulls out a Trump of the Amber Arrival Courtyard and begins to concentrate on it. He quickly opens a Trump link to the Amber Arrival Courtyard and steps through. Unfortunately, he seems to have arrived in a shadow Tir-Na Nog'th version of the real thing. Damn again.
He Trump Caitlin instead, and when she takes the call he goes through to her instead.
We decide that we need to walk out of Tir-Na Nog'th instead.
We leave the tower via a door that was previously a bookshelf. Going downstairs, we wander for a little before arriving in something like three Amber Throne Rooms laid side-by-side.
In the left-hand Throne Room is Skyrie, seated on the throne with various followers below him on the dais. Some of the have a definite family resemblance to him. Others seem to be nobles or military people. Instead of the large Unicorn banner, on the wall above the throne is a huge banner bearing Skyrie's personal symbol, a stylised black sun containing a yin-yang symbol over the motto 'No Fear For Consequence Remains', all on a white background.
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In the right-hand Throne Room, the wall behind the throne bears a huge banner with the serpent insignia that we saw before upon it. Again, nobles and military people are gathered about the throne, upon which sits a tall thin woman with grey-streaked dark hair, in a long robe.
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In the middle throne room we immediately notice Gilgamesh the Green Knight sitting on a throne at the right hand of a man who bears a distinct resemblance to both Finndo and Trump of Prince Benedict. He wears a lustrous pearly-white version of Moire's Eye of Peace, and a crown of platinum and diamonds. Deirdre and Brand stand nearby. Behind the dais with the throne is a large banner depicting a silver unicorn on a star-speckled black background. We remember that Gilgamesh thought his father was Osric, full brother of Finndo and Benedict, so perhaps this is him...
As we step into the triple Throne Rooms, Osric turns and sees us. Gilgamesh waves to us.
So we go over and speak to them.
Godofos attempts to climb the dais to Osric to see if he is as 'squishy' as Caitlin. However, the Dais seems to become higher and higher the more he climbs, and he is getting no closer to Osric. So he gives up.
There does not seem to be a problem in communicating with the 'visions' here.
Jihx steps forward and addresses Brand and Osric.
Osric tells us that he knows who we all are, and that Amber is in danger from the worms. He tells us that we must go and read the book we have if we wish to know more.
When Jihx asks why, he tells us that they cannot tell us more as Corwin has already disrupted the continuity of time more than enough by the sending of his book.
Jihx then turns to Brand and asks him of events in Chaos.
Brand tells him that he does not know what happened to the others down at the Courts of Chaos. He also tells Jihx that he is his father, and that Deirdre is Caitlin's mother.
Jihx asks him why they were raised as they were.
Brand says that it was done, that they were hidden in shadow, to stop the other Amberites learning of them and using them as pawns in their schemes.
At this point Osric chips in and tells us that we should watch Arun. He is apparently trying to change things in a way more extreme and far-reaching than Etienne. We have no idea what he is talking about.
Caitlin worries that she is now trapped here in Tir-Na Nog'th.
Osric reassures her that she is not trapped here. Her being here like this is apparently a side effect of her falling asleep while in a Trump link to someone who is in Tir-Na Nog'th, and that she should fade away here when she wakes up in Amber.
Whippoorwill asks about Oberon's ban on incest within the Family.
Osric tells us that he agrees with Oberon's ruling that the family shouldn't interbreed, looking at Brand as he does so. In fact, he goes beyond Oberon's writ to state that in his view no-one in the family should interbreed.
Whippoorwill asks if, if we come back to Tir-Na Nog'th, they will still be here.
Osric says that his Court generally progress around the Country of the Mind, particularly now, since the actions of the Eater have caused a great disruption there, but that they are generally in Tir-Na Nog'th at the full moon.
Whippoorwill asks if there is anything we should bring with us next time.
Osric requests some barrels of a beer from the Golden Circle shadow of Tashira. Whippoorwill promises to bring some. He continues to say that perhaps next time we visit we will have the opportunity to also meet his queen, Selene.
It is decided that we should leave Tir-Na Nog'th before the sunrise.
Osric tells us to take a straight path of the Castle and Tir-Na Nog'th, and that that will us safely out of Tir-Na Nog'th. He points us to the main doors of the Throne Room, through which we entered in the first place.
We say our goodbyes to Caitlin, who decides that, as she will apparently fade with the dawn anyway, and return to her body in Amber, she will stay a while longer. Then we leave the Throne Room and head down the wide, straight corridor beyond, our into the Tir-Na Nog'th version of the Main Courtyard, across it, out of the main gates of the Castle and down what seems to be the Tir-Na Nog'th version of the Royal Way of Amber out of the city.
As we walk on down the road, down a side-street we see a shadow of Whippoorwill in his robes of Consul for Life of the Tunnel being stabbed by a group of his followers. He falls and is lost to sight.
We reach the archway at the edge of Tir-Na Nog'th and go through, then down the stairs, reaching the bottom as quickly as we ascended and stepping off onto the top of Mount Kolvir. The Moon is sinking in the west and a pre-down glow is suffusing the eastern horizon, out to sea.
Our horses are still there, but rather than ride down Mount Kolvir, Godofos gets out his Trump of the Arrival Courtyard, opens a link, and we and the horses pass through into Castle Amber.
After the guards let us out of the Courtyard and servants see to the stabling of our horses, we head up to Caitlin's rooms. Whippoorwill is a little reluctant to do this as he believes that Caitlin may have booby-trapped the door...
In Tir-Na Nog'th, Caitlin talks to Deirdre. Brand stands nearby, blatantly listening in.
Deirdre tells Caitlin that she is very proud of her. Brand agrees with this assessment and says the same about Jihx. "He's certainly turned out better than that oafish son of my brother," he comments, referring to Godofos.
Caitlin attempts to hug Deirdre, and succeeds against Deirdre's better judgement.
The conversation is stilted and full of sarcastic tones.
Caitlin tells them that she is letting the others wear themselves out trying to take over Amber before she does so and succeeds.
Deirdre and Brand agree that this is a good idea.
Osric watches them from across the room. The conversation continues.
In Amber, the others reach Caitlin's room just as the first rays of the rising sun strike in through the windows along the corridor.
In Tir-Na Nog'th, Caitlin begins to fade away as the sun rises. She says goodbye to Deirdre, Brand and Osric. Deirdre grips her hand, and presses something into it. Then Tir-Na Nog'th fades away...
In Amber, Jihx knocks on Caitlin's door.
Inside, Caitlin wakes in her armchair, feeling quite well rested. She has a small silvery-green apple clutched in her right hand.
She goes and opens the door. Seeing who is there, she hands the book to Jihx and slams the door in their faces. Then she goes and sits on the bed and considers the apple.
Jihx is also quite tired by now, and goes off to his rooms for a sleep.
Godofos and Whippoorwill feel fine, and head for the library to read the book.
The library is deserted at this early hour, but Whippoorwill and Godofos go in anyway, sit down and begin to read. Upon examination, the book is all hand-written, though flicking through it shows that different sections are in different styles of hand-writing. The title page is signed 'Corwin'; this is in different hand than those in the rest of the book.
The introduction to the book tells how the worms, called the Vadgaon, were released on shadow without anyone being aware of it or of how to stop them. Before anyone became aware of them they had bred out of control, their numbers too great to control. As the book is being written Corwin is sitting in Rosa Town, watching shadow being eaten around him and as the last member of the Family of Amber has decided to do something to try and stop them.
Thus the book is an attempt to describe to the Amber of the past the events that led to these circumstances so that they can stop them from happening in the first place.
Corwin acknowledges that this is a paradox and that he does not know what will happen if the book succeeds in its task. However he considers that it could be no worse than what has happened without the book...
After flicking through the introduction Godofos and Whippoorwill conclude that it appears to be the real thing and decide to have some copies of it made, for safety.
Godofos has a Trump of a shadow where simple, quick magical copying and duplication of items is possible, a place he found in his travels. This he uses, and he Trumps himself and Whippoorwill there. They take the book to an alchemist's shop that Godofos knows. The proprietor, a spry old woman in a robe with a magician's wand at her belt greets them from behind the counter as they enter. The shop is packed with all type of magical accoutrements, in boxes and bags, on shelves and hanging from the ceiling.
Godofos tells the proprietor that we want four copies of the book, and also asks for a bag of newts eyes, which are like sweets here, and which he quite likes. The proprietor tells him that she can do what he wants, and persuades Godofos to take a bag of salamanders eyes too. These prove to have a fiery taste.
The book is handed over to the proprietor. She waves her wand and speaks an enchantment. The book flies into the air, spins and tumbles, and then falls to the counter in a neat stack of five books, the original and four copes.
Godofos hands over the charge of two gold pieces, takes his books and ocular treats, and he and Whippoorwill leave the shop after popping a few eyes.
Once outside, they Trump back to the Amber Arrival Courtyard.
In her room, Caitlin considers the silvery-green apple Deirdre gave her, and finally decides to eat it. She pops it into her mouth and chews it whole, seeds and all, checking briefly that the crunchy bits are pips. They are, but are a metallic silver in colour.
As she finishes eating the apple and swallows it, she feels a faint silvery coldness spread out from her stomach and through her whole body. Brrr...
Now she wonders whether this was a good idea, then puts that thought from her mind.
She gets up and goes to find Gerard and a more carnivorous breakfast - something to take the taste of fruit from her mouth.
Godofos and Whippoorwill arrive in Amber and return to the New Library, which is a little more busy now.
The librarians are given a copy of the book but are instructed not it use it in the actual reconstruction of the book Jihx found in the Old Library, but rather to use it to look for discrepancies between the two versions of the book that we have.
Servants tell Caitlin that Gerard is in the Throne Room at the moment. Today is an audience day, where nobles and so on can talk to Amber's ruler and have disputes resolved.
She enters the Throne Room to see Gerard and Vialle are on their thrones on the dais at the far end of the room under the huge Unicorn banner, surrounded by a crowd of nobles, military men and guards.
Caitlin approaches and waits for her turn to speak to the couple.
Vialle notices her before Gerard, dismisses the nobles that she was talking to, greets Caitlin.
Caitlin ascends the dais to Vialle and describes our trip to Tir-Na Nog'th to her, including the meetings with Corwin, Osric, Deirdre, Brand and Gilgamesh.
Vialle is more than a little surprised at this news, and asks for more details.
Caitlin goes on to describe the worms and Corwin's book.
Vialle promises to pass her information on the Gerard when a chance arises.
Caitlin promises more details later, then says goodbye and leaves for the kitchens.
On her way out of the Throne Room she notices a couple of tattered serpent banners hanging from the ceiling along with the other banners captured in Amber's past wars.
Picking up a quick breakfast at the kitchens, spurning the attempts of the kitchen staff to assist her, Caitlin heads off for the New Library.
Entering the Library, she greets Godofos and Whippoorwill, accepts a salamander eye, which she crunches, and asks about the book.
She is given a copy of it and starts to flick through it, looking for names that she recognises.
She finds references to the first attack or appearance of the Vadgaon in the year 67 PPF, that is, ten years from now, in which Benedict, Bleys, Connor, Nemain, Finndo Junior, Florimel, Jihx, Palidor and Vialle were all killed and many more Amberites injured and maimed.
As they are discussing these points, alarm bells begin to ring in the Castle, their tone indicating an alert rather than an immediate attack.
Godofos Trumps Gerard, who, when he takes the call, tells him that he doesn't know what is going on either but is heading for the Command Centre to find out.
Godofos, Whippoorwill and Caitlin leave the Library and also head for the Command Centre.
Elsewhere, Jihx is also woken by the alarms.
He also Trumps Gerard and gains the same information as Godofos. He gets up and he too heads for the Castle Command Centre...
The "Now These Her Princes Are Come Home Again" Top Page.
The pictures on this page all belong to someone other than me. They are used here, without permission, for personal game use only and not for profit or commercial gain.
