I do hope that the charitable work in Ensilarum in which Rinaldo's wife has become involved is keeping her busy and occupied. I cannot help but think that the more occupied she is - and her daughter is - the easier my life may, in the end, turn out to be.
I am glad he has called off his vendetta with Caine, too. I understand his reasons, but still, if one is planning a murder, announcing it in advance to ones intended victim and, indeed, the rest of the family seems at best ... unwise. But in times such as these any potential intra-Family disruption caused by vendettas and the like would seem a very bad idea. Of course, others such as Eric may disagree, but clearly someone with the age and experience of Eric operates using an entirely different form of common sense to the rest of us...
One wonders whether anyone planning revenge upon Venus for her ... assault ... on Gabriel thinks likewise?
I could not help but voice to Rinaldo my concern that someone in the Family might attempt to betray Amber to the DarkWalkers and their Masters. After all, such a betrayal would hardly be without precedence in the annals of the Royal Family of Amber. Rinaldo seemed less than convinced, and did give a rather convincing reason why it might not happen this time - at PatternFall, there was a chance for power in a conquered or changed Amber; this time the DarkWalkers want, so it seems, nothing more than our destruction, and why should a Family member conspire in that? Perhaps so, but I cannot wonder as to what one of our more ... mad ... relatives might do, nonetheless...
Rinaldo makes a good point when he wonders whether, perhaps, the Sapphirians Mathematics of Order could be used to cause strife and disorder in a society. It would certainly make their Mathematics of Order a powerful weapon if so, and perhaps explain their reluctance to allow the likes of myself to see it...
Sapphire does seem quite regimented and militaristic. I wonder if that will be a problem in our future relations, and whether it will be possible to bring Amber and Sapphire together as Rinaldo wonders may be possible. That would certainly be my preferred course, rather than the conflict that will, I suspect, erupt otherwise.
Amber should learn from Sapphire. Think of what Amber alone - or the two realms together - could do if they worked as one...
Of course, a great deal of this relies upon Sapphire really being as they have described it. One hopes that, once Cerebaton has managed to copy a selection of their Trumps, Rinaldo and I will be able to gain access to their realm and find out for ourselves.
One hopes that Cerebaton's Trump spying on the DarkWalkers will also bear some fruit in the not-too-distant future.
I certainly look forward to learning more of the Trumps from Anubis, via Cerebaton. It is good to see this new stage of his growth occurring so soon - the student growing to the point of being able to educate the teacher. I wonder, the Gods form of Trumps seems more concerned with the Connections between things, but perhaps it will give an insight in the Location aspect embodied in the Tessaract. Perhaps allowing an understanding of how the Tessaract is both linked to and stores locational information on everything. How it is all locations, or at least so father speculates in his diary. Think of what one might learn (and the power one might gain) were one to understand such matters...
There were lines of the Pattern visible within it. Is it possible that the Pattern and the Tessaract are both parts of the Tree of Life, that is, the DarkWalker's Great Machine?
Rinaldo's concern, and warnings, regarding my arrangement to dine with Caine was appreciated. But still, the opportunity to listen and learn was too great. How could I refuse?
I was not expecting to meeting with him the 'Bureau of Dynamic Practical Political Theory and Deductive Reasoning', or the spying headquarters of Castle Amber is it might, more accurately, be known. I am, to be honest, quite surprised that they let me see as much as I did of the place. But it was certainly very interesting! Dossiers on people to the level of their individual preferences in food and drink, all assembled on the orders of King Random, or so it seemed, at least.
I was also not expecting to meet Caine's allegedly dead twin brother, Abel, distinguishable from him only in his choice of colours (red and brown as opposed to Caine's green and black). He claimed he pretended to be dead upon the orders of the late King Oberon, and for a master spy, one can see why that would be useful. Especially, given his identical appearance to Caine, the way in which such a ploy would allow 'Caine' to be in two places at once.
Abel claimed he would be out of a job soon, but would not explain why that should be so. Will it be because his existence will be revealed to the family as a whole (after all, they did not have me swear to keep his existence secret, or any such thing)? Or perhaps because of the impending end of intra-Family politics? This last I find quite hard to believe...
He was playing the role of interested uncle only. Not at all the spy master, oh no. Of course not.
I did find their (admittedly brief) description of the use of shadow doubles and other subterfuges in their work quite interesting, however...
One thing I did not expect to discover over dinner was Caine's liking - his secret vice - for chocolate. It is, I suppose, reassuring to discover that even Prince Caine has something that resembles a human side to him.
One thing the pair of them have pointed out are two annoying loopholes in the security of Ensilarum. One of which - the way in which visiting merchants can see and report things - is largely sealed already. The other, however, which appears to be a cloud of Pattern-enhanced nano-technological spying devices spread over the entire shadow, is much harder to counter. Enhancing the Royal Palace in Ensilarum to the level, perhaps, of a one-shadow version of Cerebaton might help in this, but stopping such intrusions entirely would be quite hard - after all, one cannot seal oneself off from the rest of the universe entirely!
Perhaps some form of filter could be set up at the entrance to Ensilarum to filter out dust, and dust-sized machines, from the air. That would doubtless serve to alert Caine and Abel that I had found a means to counter their spying, and would doubtless lead only to their infiltrating another and better means of spying. Perhaps, instead, one could create a device to cast a deceptive illusion around every such machine entering Ensilarum, to feed back the information I wished them to see. This would doubtless not be simple, and I would certainly need to examine a sample of such machines before I could determine an effective countermeasure to them...
It was quite vexing that, by these means, Caine and Abel were aware of the sword, 'O'Breaker of Brightness' found by the TickTockMen in Ensilarum, even before I was. One imagines such a sword, even if, the Sword of the Champion of Darkness despite its apparent origins as the weapon of the Champion of Light, shall come in quite useful in the conflicts which are inevitably to come. I wonder what powers it has? One imagines it is considerably more than a mere sword...
But off we went to dinner, to the Singing Wren inn, a place owned by Caine himself and, from what little I saw, a good place from which to observe the crowd without being observed oneself. The tunnel from the Bureau of Dynamic Practical Political Theory and Deductive Reasoning into the building opposite the main gate of Castle Amber was quite an interesting discovery also, though I imagine it is quite well defended against intruders.
Unfortunately, our evening at the Singing Wren was abruptly cut short by the attack of an assassin. Of course, he did not remain conscious for long, but nevertheless, we were able to learn that he was, apparently, an agent of Eric's given his last orders twenty years ago. I did not attempt to stop Caine and Abel dealing with the matter how they saw fit, and was, I must admit, rather surprised when they only wiped his memory of recent events. I had expected them to kill him out of hand.
Perhaps they intend to use him against Eric at some point in the future. Perhaps a living known agent is of more utility to them than an unknown replacement agent. Or perhaps the entire 'attack' was staged by them to judge my reaction to such as event, and the attacker was really one of their own agents, who they were thus reluctant to kill.
But still, it was interesting to watch two such ... competent ... Elders at work. Such opportunities are quite rare, and I did not waste mine.
But with our evening at the Singing Wren rather interrupted, we returned to the Castle for dinner instead.
Dinner was ordered from restaurants in the City. The service was quite fast - one of the benefits of being Royalty, of course!
I was very impressed with the Deep Dining Room to which Caine and Abel took me for dinner. The location, under the fountain in the main courtyard, with light coming down through the water and many crystals casting rainbows everywhere about the dining table, located in the centre of the room with water flowing about it, was quite enchanting. So much so that I might have to have a copy - an improved copy - built at the Royal Palace in Ensilarum.
When I expressed by delight at the location, Abel made the good and fair point that the Castle is far too big not to contain as much beauty as possible. Unique and special beauty, of the kind the Royal Family of Amber would desire.
With the food having been delivered, and dinner beginning in earnest, I was quite ... surprised ... to discover that I had been invited to dinner to be learnt from. Such candour was very unexpected. But also not entirely unwelcome.
So I gave them candour in return. That I do not see my current life out of Amber as a form of exile. That I have no desire to become involved in the political games of Amber, and do believe that I can avoid such, though I may wish to observe it.
Their response was less than flattering, treating me as if I were a small and ignorant child to be spoken down to. Betting on how I would react to their words. Most vexing, to say the least. But such, it would appear, are the ways of old, bored, jaded immortals, people bored almost to the level of suicide. Something I hope to be able to avoid when I am their age. I should hope that I will be able to avoid such - the realms of research, at the very least should provide one with a great many avenues by which one may avoid boredom and jadedness...
They do, so they say, retain an interest in new members of the Family of Amber. Perhaps I should be flattered that, of the various younger people with the blood of Amber, I am not the most boring in their eyes.
According to Caine and Abel, I was thought dead before my coming to Amber at the time of the Pattern sickness. This surprised me a little - I had been unaware that I was even known of in Amber before that point - but apparently people knew that Brand had a daughter, largely due to visits by Bleys and Fiona.
The Family had though I had died in the uprising that killed mother - Ashanah - and father had sensibly not disabused them of this notion. Apparently the revolt was an attempt on his life, but father was unsure who was behind it. Bleys or Eric stood out as obvious suspects, Bleys having visited B'leth-Shine shortly beforehand, and Eric apparently having had a desire to shore up his own claims on the throne by proving weakness, and thus a lack of fitness, in everyone else. Perhaps the times of Bleys' entry into and exit from father's shadow will tell me more once Caine provides them to me...
The size of Eric's ego continues to amaze me. Is he really so skilled, and wanted the throne so much, that he was willing to go against all of the Family in order to get it? It would appear so! He is simply far too proud, presumably far too proud to change, as, so I am told, Osric is too old to change.
I really do need to find out where B'leth-Shine was, so that I can visit it. Attempt to find out more about what happened then. Perhaps that is the price in information that I should demand from Caine and Abel.
One area in which the interests of Caine, Abel and I intersect would appear to be regarding the realm of Sapphire. They were aware of the offer made to me to visit Sapphire, the 'visitors pass', and wish for me to spy into Sapphire for them, perhaps carry along a 'device' or two for them, to learn about the place itself and the ways to and from that realm.
I cannot say that this idea fills me with too much in the way of moral outrage, given that Rinaldo and I are currently planning our own infiltration of the realm of Sapphire. But still, this will not stop me from attempting to extract payment from the pair of them for assisting them in this. Payment in information, I believe. Information on father and his shadow, and perhaps on Princess Havoc, too.
For some reason they are sceptical about the 'family act' which the Sapphirians have, so far, displayed. Their apparently united, friendly, front. They point out, correctly, that even did they not co-operate as they have described, pretending to so would be an advantageous stance to take. Of course, the advantages of such a stance apply equally well to Amber, and that does not stop those of Amber arguing before strangers!
It was interesting to learn that Amber is not the only source of variety in the universe. Apparently, so I am told, Chaos is infinite in and of itself, and there are also shadows that generate variety too, though I am not sure why either of these things should be so. I wonder if these are, perhaps, the shadows containing Broken Patterns? Or whether there are other such sources, too?
I wonder whether the very old and jaded of Amber would emigrate to Chaos to take advantage of the infinite variety there, to attempt to keep their lives ... interesting.
Apparently Eric survived his apparent death in a coma - a very deep coma, if none of the Family could detect it for what it was. And when he woke he fled to shadow to build his strength there, out of Amber.
Osric, on the other hand, faked his own death upon the orders of Oberon, and is the basis for the legends of the 'Once and Future King' one finds here and there across shadow, having also been the King of the Fire Pattern, Sol'Na Reg'th in some long-ago time. That being so, I cannot help but think that he must have been very unhappy when the Unicorn chose Random as King of Amber rather than himself. The one occasion upon which he was absent (or, to be more honest, trapped by Oberon as he had been for a very long time, and until Oberon died) turns out to be the one time at which he was needed to do his duty. And now he dares not go against the Unicorn and take the throne for which he has waited for so very, very long.
I wonder if he hates Random for being chosen by the Unicorn? And whether he might become a problem if and when 'the Unicorn bleeds tears of blood', whether he might attempt to take the throne of Amber for himself at that point? I certainly hope not...
I should certainly be interested to see the Fire Pattern should the chance arise. See how it differs, and resembles, the Pattern of Amber. But that is unlikely for the moment, at least. Apparently the way is blocked by the Lion, the Icon of the Fire Pattern as the Unicorn is the Icon of that of Amber.
The Lion has existed since Finndo somehow edited the Fire Pattern and made it separate from the other Patterns in and around Amber. Caine and Abel claim he was either mad, or a genius, or both, who claimed that there was something wrong with the Sol'Na Reg'th Pattern, which he then attempted to fix. I wonder if this editing, or indeed the wrong-ness which Finndo claimed to sense, is somehow linked to the Fague Blight and the damage to the Great Machine of the Dragosians?
The Icons of the Patterns sounds rather interesting entities, too. Apparently a Pattern either is or makes the Icon to act for it. Caine and Abel did not know which. And there is only one Unicorn because the other Patterns are all reflections of the Primal Pattern. That being so, I cannot help but wonder how the Black Unicorn of Sapphire fits into this scheme?
Talking with Caine and Abel has also raised a number of issues and questions that it would certainly be ... interesting ... to have resolved at some time.
Firstly, it appears that the current Pattern of Amber is based on the old one but is not actually the same Pattern. That is, the different artists of the two Patterns - Dworkin and Oberon - have drawn the same thing, but each in their own style, so that the end product, although having the same ... functionality ... is not the same. Apparently Corwin's Pattern is another example of this difference, arising out of the Pattern having yet a third artist. Quite interesting.
However, this becomes more serious when Caine and Abel speculated that the 'Pattern Sickness' was actually a ploy by the new Pattern to obtain recordings of all of the Family in the form of Pattern ghosts. This is quite an alarming prospect. How much control does the Pattern have over one once one has walked it? And how much does it know of one? I would certainly like to know more of this before I assay it myself.
Apparently the Pattern records those who walk it within itself, and itself within those who walk it, including the recording of oneself which it takes as one assays it. I wonder how recursive this becomes? Does the recording of oneself within the recording of the Pattern within oneself contain a recording of the Pattern, and does that 'lower level' recording then contain a recording of oneself, and so on ad infinitum? Very curious.
One wonders what the Pattern uses these recordings for. Caine and Abel did not know, and suggested that I ask Dworkin or the Pattern itself; allegedly any explanation is very complex, but perhaps Caine and Abel are simply not scholarly enough to understand. We shall see. Perhaps it is for some unknowable arcane reason. Or perhaps the Pattern has some aspect of its creator within it, and, one assumes, desires and motivations of its own...
I believe I shall assay the Pattern first, and then decide. After so long, I am not going to allow myself second thoughts now I am so close to assaying it as last.
But still, I wonder how accessible these recording within oneself are? And whether they include the recordings of everyone who has assayed the Pattern as part of them. If this data were accessible, think what one could learn!
Caine and Abel also claim that Blue is the key to preventing war. This came as rather a surprise to me, his having seemed, from my limited exposure to him, to be rather weak and ineffectual. One wonders if he can be trusted with such a responsibility, make peace and overcome the Dragosians all at once. Is it simply because Blue speaks their language where almost no-one else does?
It did not entirely surprise me to learn that despite the hope of peace, Caine and Abel are interested in conquering the Dragosians, though, for preference, without firing a shot. If peace is not possible, then I certainly agree with that hope, for the sake of efficiency if nothing else. However, when I raised this point, Caine and Abel disagreed with me; they want to conquer them, not simply assimilate them, but in a subtle fashion. They insisted that this was not merely a semantic difference, though I remain unconvinced that is truly a difference between our two points of view...
I was also surprised to discover that the seem to believe that the world responds to intent as much as action. I wonder what could have led them to believe this rather bizarre viewpoint?
But apparently the form of subtle conquest they describe has been performed before. The noble Houses Chantris and Karm of Amber are, allegedly, 'back-up Royal Lines'. I wonder. Could they be the former Royal Families of Sol'Na Reg'th and Tir-Na Nog'th? Or simply the descendants of old children or siblings of the late King Oberon? I have no evidence for the former, but it would, I think, tally with the discussion of subtle conquest better than the latter suppositions...
Caine and Abel scoffed at my suggestion that the members of Houses Chantris and Karm might possess the Royal Blood, but still, I think it is a valid suggestion. Of course, proving it might be rather hard without killing a member of two of each House, and, from what I was told might not work in any case, as the imprint of the Royal Blood can apparently be lost if it lies unused for too long, and becomes dormant, which can, apparently, fatally hinder one when the time comes to walk the Pattern. Not to mention the problems that might arise were Houses Karm and Chantris to learn that they had been denied their birthrights for so long...
And I have a chance to put a little more of the fruits of my researches into action.
First, my enhancement of the 'Dancing Objects' spell. Whereas before, it was merely a distraction, now it could actually be very dangerous. The possibilities of combination with 'Conjure Mundane Object' and 'Replicate Shadow Object' also lead to my belief that it could, under the correct circumstances, prove very useful.
Secondly, there are my 'multi-guns', which should all be complete by the morning. This is an example of how research on one area may lead to useful results in another. Initially a method for Cerebaton to defend himself (and others), with luck the guns will prove effective in the defence of Ensilarum, and for my own use also. I hope they live up to my expectations...