A letter - two letters - have arrived from Amber.
So, the King of Amber wishes my attendance at an 'important family gathering', does he? I wonder what is the cause of this sudden, out of the blue, invitation? The letters imply more than the simply the possibility of a treaty between Amber and Ensilarum which Random mentions in his letter, although that, in itself, would be more than reason enough to go.
Random's pleas for me to go there as a member of the family of Amber, while true in purely factual terms, also rings strongly of some form of concern on his part. Perhaps even desperation.
And his claim that it is not myself he is worried about, but the line of Brand, simply rings as nonsensical in my mind. I am the line of Brand, or least half of it, so concern regarding Brand's line - the line of my father - is concern regarding myself however much it may be denied. And that I do not like.
Amber seems to consistently forget that although Brand was hardly a paragon of virtue, with his (apparent) attempt to destroy the universe and rebuild a new one in his own image, and his conspiracy with the Courts of Chaos against Amber, HE WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE!!
Simply because they decided to turn their coats and join the winning side does not mean that Fiona and Bleys, the other children of Clarissa, did not equally conspire with Chaos against Amber until their second thoughts (apparently) changed their minds. Bleys even attempted to invade Amber! And Fiona attempted to murder my father to ensure his silence.
So it appears to me, King Random, that it is not the line of Brand alone that one should be concerned about, if one should be concerned about it at all, but more the entire line of Clarissa! And judging by what I know of the history of Amber the line of Clarissa is only marginally more to be worried about than any other line of Amber - any other member of the family of Amber.
And although his parenting skills were hardly of the finest, it appears that Brand did, at least, care for me enough to put me into a place of safety when he saw himself becoming dangerous. Mad.
An unpleasant though occurs. Perhaps he did something to my mother (whoever she was) and that is what convinced him to put me where he did, somewhere safe and out of his immediate reach? Regardless, I wonder who she was?
I cannot help, too, but wonder about Rinaldo's upbringing. How it compared with mine, to make him what he is today. And who his mother was. The same woman my own mother? Or someone else?
I am tempted to bring copies of those of Brand's notebooks, those which are relevant, to Amber with me. If proof that Brand's insanity, and by implication, that of his 'line', was not derived from his blood were needed, then there it lies. But I do not think I shall. Let them learn it by example, or not at all.