Well, with shadow Ensilarum left in safe hands (and thank you, Cornelius, for your kind words to me as I made ready to go; they were most appreciated), now I am come to Amber itself, for my second 'official' visit, and my first since I became Queen of Ensilarum.
I had not realised that they were in such a state of urgency. Sufficiently so as to forego formality, forego the form of address I had requested, and simply hustle us all on, into the dining room and, after a very brief session of introductions, to dinner.
I must, when the opportunity arises, thank Queen Vialle for her courtesy in privately apologising to me for the lack of formality being shown in the dining hall. I was slightly concerned that my requested form of address was not being used, but under the circumstances I am willing to give the monarchs of Amber the benefit of the doubt...
One of my fellow diners was announced as a
It was quite surprising when the oh-so-mysterious Masked Chancellor of Amber turned out to be the former King of Amber, Eric, apparently back from the dead. How, I wonder, did he survive? Or were reports of his death ... exaggerated? Also, based on what I have heard of him, what arrangement have he and Random come to which has avoided a civil war between them? Perhaps time will tell the tale.
A pity he did not have any more significant new information to reveal, at least as far as I was concerned (although it was quite useful to have what I already knew confirmed, and a few more details added to the overall picture). He - Amber - does not appear to be particularly aware of the presence and actions of the gods, particularly the Legions of Hades. I suppose I should tell them, at some appropriate point. But I cannot help feeling the urge to ask 'What is in it for me?' before doing so...
The omission of Rinaldo from this meeting also, at first, seemed rather ... I would have said 'unexpected', but perhaps 'typical' would have been closer to the mark. I did not expect my suggestion that he be invited to be accepted by either side, him or Amber though I admit I made it more to provoke a response than in the expectation of a sensible answer. Imagine my surprise when I was told that he was invited, but had simply not arrived yet (along with various others of the Amberites). I wonder what manner of reception he will get when he appears?
And indeed I shall not be, despite Osric's protestations that we are all descended from a sinner, held accountable for crimes committed by others, long before I was born! It is not as if I am unaware of problems arising from a 'criminal' parentage, which is why I absolutely refuse to have any truck with such ideas. We did not betray the Courts of Chaos; only those responsible did so. But I do wonder what their 'greatest ideal' was, which Dworkin betrayed so badly?
There is a definite contrast between the attitudes of Osric and Benedict in regard to this meeting that is quite interesting to see. Osric seems inclined towards the secretive, dramatic, and possibly overblown. Benedict seems the reverse - practical, to the point, and not averse to revealing secrets without hesitation should he feel it necessary, even to the point of publicly slighting his brother for his attitude. I think, perhaps, I could like this man if that is his attitude towards most matters, particularly the events which seem to be brewing...
Venus should really learn to hold her tongue more in such an august gathering where she is not terribly hard to overhear, even if she is the daughter of the King. I might have felt obliged to take issue with her words, but fortunately Prince Benedict saved me from having to do so by saying, essentially, what I might have. I suppose it is another sign of the seriousness of the situation that such a suggestion would be mouthed in all earnest, particularly by the likes of Prince Benedict. But perhaps father could one day be recovered. That would be a good thing, though I am sure there are those, presumably Venus among them, who would disagree with me on that proposition...
Damien, at least, seems to have a sensible head on his shoulders. His suggestion of our being given as much information as possible now has, rather to my surprise, been taken up by both Osric and Benedict, who have given us a good deal of information on events the last time the Dark Walkers attacked which may, one hopes, spark some ideas on how they may be confronted this time, and perhaps enable us to avoid trying paths which were shown to be useless last time.
It is ... interesting ... to see Benedict and Osric bicker. Makes them, perhaps, more human, if not as comfortingly infallible as we might wish them to be...
The only potential problem which I see is that, if they have attacked before, I cannot help but think that magic will have been used against them then. Which makes me, perhaps, a little worried about how useful Master Surgun's invisibility-penetrating spell will be, though it will still be worth trying. I wonder why Blue can see them when, it appears, no-one else can? And can that information - can he - be turned to our advantage in some manner?
Who is Blue?! What is his connection with the Dark Walkers? He can, so he says, see and talk with them, and has been through one of their gates (an example of which is presumably the ancient gate in Forest Arden that Cerebaton showed me). Does that make him on our side, or on theirs?