Raphael, who I had not until now recognised as one of the Ambassadors from Chaos who visited Ensilarum some time ago, tells Rinaldo and I that the rulers of his House, Sawall of Chaos, have matters they wish to discuss with the true heir of Brand. Whichever of Rinaldo or I that should be. Rinaldo told Raphael that we have not, as yet, made any decision on whom it should be, or even if we will remain as one 'house'. All true as far as it went, though I would have preferred to be consulted beforehand. Of course, without consultation Rinaldo was quite right - no decision had been made!
I wonder what Sawall wishes to discuss? Presumable some legacy or leavings of father's, but I wonder what? We shall, I hope, both have an opportunity to find out in time...
Our first large-scale test of Rinaldo's method for ejecting intruders from the waters of Amber went well. An infringing fleet from a Golden Circle kingdom was rejected from Amber's waters by the boosting of the Ideality of these waters via a combination of Trump, Pattern and Logrus power. Presumably they were sent back to their seas of origin - the place they belong - though their actual destination does remain rather unclear at this point.
However, the success of the test holds out the clear hope of doing the same with the DarkWalker fleets, though from this example the effort required to do so will be by no means trivial. I do wonder how much care we may have to take, though. I can foresee that this power, used carelessly, could result in our ejecting all foreign ships, and perhaps all foreigners full stop, from Amber and its waters!
In fact, all of the others seemed much more tired than I when we were done. I could feel that Werewindle had been feeding power to my actions. This was rather unexpected, to say the least! So I attempted mental contact with it, on the off-chance that something useful might come of it...
And it did! Father's sword, Werewindle, is, it seems, much more than just a sword. A slow, ancient, powerful intelligence of some kind, puissant in the Pattern, knowing a great deal of what is going on behind the scenes. A power source, when it chooses to be. A spikard, one of many.
Among other things, it tells me that it wants me to be its wielder. And that the ancient primal entities - unicorn, serpent, phoenix and so on - are watching what is going on. Waiting. And if we do not resolve matters in time then they will step in and do so. I cannot help but feel that if that should occur then the cure may well be worse than the disease. Who knows what these beings, so old and apparently so far over we mere Amberites, might choose to do in that case?
Then there is the question of what to do. Apparently the choice - the only choice - is between doing what the DarkWalkers want and destroying our Patterns and the universe they generated to restore their 'Great Machine' (also, so Werewindle tells me, known as the 'Tree of Life'), or to protect the Patterns and in some way maintain the status quo. Werewindle chooses not to tell me which of these options it favours, but I certainly prefer the latter - I like the universe the way it is now!
But precisely how either of these things might be done, given the current situation, I do not know...
I also feel rather concerned about Werewindle. It apparently has both the means and the will to coerce its bearers into doing its bidding. Rinaldo was clearly worried that after conversing with it I might not be me any more, but it, something that apparently happened, for a time at least, to a friend of his. One hopes that this will not become an issue between it and myself, but we shall have to see...
I really do not like Julian very much. He is so arrogant and high-handed, not to mention rude, when it comes to matters relating to Arden. And I cannot help but think that, for him, everything related to Arden. I admit that I was, perhaps, a little rude myself in having Cerebaton spy there, but it was only for information on the current situation. I have sent him a note, and we shall have to see what his response to it is...
Apparently I am not the only member of the family to have created a shadow-construct entity like Cerebaton. Apparently Khelladon, at least, has also created such an entity. One which is, it seems, less worried about the consequences of exposing itself openly to the Family than Cerebaton's sensible reticence.
I would certainly be most interested in meeting this other construct-entity, from a purely scientific point of view, and as a contrast to Cerebaton. To see another means of achieving what I assume is the same end.
I wonder if anything will come of Bleys' offer to vouch for me to Random in regard of my walking the Pattern? I should certainly be most appreciative, despite his earlier rantings against father, were I able to at last walk the Pattern without let or hindrance, as I vowed would be the only way I would ever walk it.
However, I now think that he is the one I must warn of this threat to him the next few days. Telling Venus is all very well, but surely he can best deal with his own safety. At least, let us hope so...
And his main reason for vouching for me? That I am not like father in terms of personality. Do not suffer from his mood swings and unpredictability. I am not sure whether to be flatters that I rate so ... highly ... in his eyes, or disappointed that I do not, as it turns out, take after father as much as I thought I did.
No, I am not sure.
But, from a purely practical perspective at least, the former would seem to be the most sensible approach to take...
The reports I receive from Ensilarum indicate that the Disjoiners have been successfully relocated, as a people, into Ensilarum, and their powers incorporated in out overall defensive planning.
This is definitely a good thing. Taking their powers into account should mean that Ensilarum is now essentially immune to magic-based threats. The only potential problem is that the loyalty of the Disjoiners is still not an entirely sure thing. I and my people are doing what we can to ensure it - I would be willing to grant them their own Duchy should they wish it - but still, for now at least, keeping their contribution something we do not rely on and not a route through which we are vulnerable, is definitely the most sensible way to proceed.
I do wonder at the rulers of their home shadow, though, for allowing such an invaluable resource to be lost to what sounds like petty inter-mage bickering and rivalries. Still, their loss is, let us hope, Ensilarum's gain...
It appears that Rinaldo's family are also settling in well in Ensilarum. There appears to have been only one slightly serious, but now resolved, incident involving one of my guards. Nothing, it seems, fortunately, to cause serious problems or repercussions, though it certainly confirms the Amberite heritage of Rinaldo's daughter!
I wonder how much of their language the Palace has, as yet, deciphered?
My people have also, it seems, made some progress regarding the powers of the tesseract-mage whose magics seemed so effective against the DarkWalkers. A pity they seem so reliant on a shadow-specific power source, but any information on this sort of topic is, I feel, useful information...