So, now we know that Rinaldo's plan is a good one, and that it can eject those not of Amber out of its environs and into others far less hospitable. With the suitably large amounts of power required being available, of course...
I only regret, slightly, having to make an arrangement with Werewindle in order to obtain power from it. Although the terms were far from onerous, still, I would prefer not to have had to make it. But having entered into the agreement, I shall do my best to keep Bleys' grandson in Amber for the allotted time. Once he arrives in Amber, of course. Reading between the lines of what was said, this does not bode well for Bleys' continuing good health.
I only wonder what the meeting of the various Pattern blades portends. A discussion relating to the New Age, perhaps? One related to the discussions of the Great Iconic Beings, perhaps?
And, as an unexpected bonus of Rinaldo's plan, I now know considerably more about the Dragosian Clan Minds than I did before. They are not all alike, or as frightening as the one we encountered in Amber. Rather than powers, observing the battle in the harbour was a Clan Mind seemingly specialised for more conventional battles, and unable to discern what we were doing to eject its minions.
Curiously, it seems independent of the Dragosians making it up - they are part of it, but it does not depend on them for its existence. And they are only barely sentient sub-units who are, I suspect, absorbed into it when they die physically. This led to the thought that, perhaps, it could be defeated by simply engaging all of its constituent bodies at once, holing all of its attention for a killing strike of some kind. Unfortunately, as it seems to have hundreds of such bodies, scattered across all of shadow, this would probably not be a simple task.
However, more encouragingly, it seems that it (and by extension all of the other Clan Minds, too) exist entirely within the Country of the Mind. And I know where it, at least, exists there. With luck, it should be possible to create a self-adjusting Trump of its location (in addition to the Trump of it, itself, which I already have), and via it insert something to spy upon, and perhaps attack, the Clan Mind there. Perhaps find others, too.
If it is possible, using an enhanced native of the Country of the Mind would probably be best. A thought, or a feeling. Intelligent, hungry scientific curiosity would seem to be a good choice, if I can find such.
I most certainly did not expect Dworkin to intervene so ... suddenly ... in events. Carrying us all along with him into the Country of the Mind, with him as a vast giant there and we 'on his shoulders', thus able to see further and better through the Country of the Mind than I, at least, have ever been able to before. To see a version of the Pattern, the Logrus and the Tessaract there. Along with several Icons of Power which I have never seen before. Some kind of 'All-Seeing Eye'. A power constantly destroying, reshaping and renewing itself - that linked to the Phoenix, perhaps? Something behind the Dragosian Clan Minds (of which, it would seem, there are nine, or at least nine involved in current events), something they seem able to manipulate to destructive ends. And something which separates things, presumably a power complementary to the Tessaract; as it is all places at once, so, I assume, this other power allows there to be individual locations rather than all merged into one. I noted what I could of these, for future reference, but events did not allow me to make a full study of them.
The Clan Minds were not pleased to see Dworkin. It would seem, from their words, that it is he who broke their Great Machine so long ago, apparently thinking he could improve on what was present before. I suppose one cannot blame them for being annoyed at that, even if I disagree with, and oppose, their intentions, particularly their stated aim to kill him and all of 'his' until his 'mistake' is corrected. They seemed more powerful than him, but he seemed more skilled.
I was surprised that Dworkin accepted this censure, being ready to accept 'his due'. I find it rather disturbing that so many, at present, seem all too willing to accept their 'pre-ordained' fate - Hades, perhaps Bleys, and now Dworkin too. Even though it is possible that I am not seeing the full picture, still, there must be a better way.
But all thought of such things was driven from my mind by the interruption of the confrontation between Dworkin and the Clan Minds by the arrival of five Great Iconic Beings - the Great Unicorn, the Serpent, the Phoenix, the Dragon and the Muse.
I was unsure as to what the Muse would look like, unlike the other Icons. But a beautiful woman, shifting between all of the Ideals of womanhood certainly fits with what one might expect...
Their entry shook the Country of the Mind more than anything I have ever seen. And, I suspect, much of Physical Reality too. Their words instantly stopped the confrontation and threw us all out of the Country of the Mind and back into the Physical World.
Again ominously, their words implied that only when they have decided what the results of the meeting will be, and what they will mean, will Dworkin and the Clan Minds be allowed to meet to finally decide matters between them. Rather alarming. And, again, something which rather gives the impression of our being puppets, dancing on the end of the their strings.
And I wonder, are all of the Great Icons of Power female? The Muse certainly is, and given what I know of the ancient history of Amber, one could certainly make a case for the Unicorn being likewise. Are they all the progenitors of their various races? It would make some degree of logical sense were that to be so, I suppose. Perhaps we shall see, in time...
It is also rather alarming to find oneself even further down in the hierarchy of the universe than one believed. I had thought that it was simply Dworkin, Oberon, the Elders, and then my generation. Now, above Dworkin we have the Unicorn of Amber, the Great Unicorn, and its Father (who is, it seems, also the Father of the other Great Iconic Beings). Whatever that Father may be.
Whatever it is, from their words the Great Iconic Beings seem opposed to him. Apparently, if all of one or more of 'their' races should die out, their Father will take everything back 'within his reach'. This sounds ominous, to say the least, and most certainly something to be avoided.
But what is this 'Father'? Where is it? What can it do? What does it want? I suppose that it cannot be the omniscient, omnipotent One God in which some shadow-folk believe, or, one assumes, it could not be opposed at all. And does it simply wait, or is it acting against the Great Iconic Beings? Is it simply some First Being, from which all others have sprung? And which now lurks, a shadowy, menacing presence, behind all the other powerful entities. I do not know. But I should very much like to!
I wonder what the Iconic Being of the Fey is? The Muse is that of the Gods; the Unicorn and Serpent are those of Amber and Chaos; the Dragon is, one assumes, that of the Dragosians. Is it the Phoenix? Or is it something else? Or do they simply not possess such an Icon of their own?
I certainly did not expect Lord Anubis to appear at the harbour and use a combination of Ideal and Tessaract power to send invading ships away en masse. He seemed quite pleased with this achievement, commenting on its like not having been since the 'mythic past' of the Gods. So it would appear that Lord Anubis has been using my Trump of the Tessaract wisely, and learning a great deal since I gave it to him, despite the slow rate of time flow at the Tessaract itself. To restore some ancient Godly ability. Or perhaps he already possessed the knowledge to use the ability, and only needed to re-attune to the Tessaract to regain the ability to accompany said knowledge. Perhaps this is part of the impending New Age...
I cannot help but wonder whether the Great Iconic Powers fought amongst themselves in ancient times. After all, Lord Anubis claimed that the Serpent hid the Tessaract where my people found it, so one assumes that they ... disagreed ... to say the least. Perhaps over Dworkin's ... breaking ... of the Great Machine?
I do not know, but let us hope that the likes of the Serpent do not object to Lord Anubis' new knowledge of the Tessaract, or if so, will at least wait for the current ... crisis ... to be resolved before ... expressing their opinion.
One hopes that Dworkin has not been permanently harmed by his (our) sudden expulsion from the Country of the Mind, and that his comatose state will not last long. Perhaps Arestis will be able to tell us, his filial loyalty surprising me, at least, a little, perhaps because of my knowledge of the Elder Amberites affecting my point of view...
But still, putting anything ahead of one's own life seems so ... at odds with my understanding of the Elders. Perhaps I need to adjust me preconceptions. After all, I am not so pre-judging the likes of Hades. Or perhaps it is simply that Arestis is not an Elder Amberite, but something else...
Unexpectedly, Fiona appears to possess an emerald twin to Amber's Jewel of Judgement, with which she was able to drain the excess of power which was keeping Dworkin comatose. Apparently it is the Earth-based equivalent of the Jewel of Judgement. I wonder from where she obtained it, and what else she can do with it? And, for that matter, which of the Patterns is the Earth-based one. I had assumed that the Amber Pattern was Earth-based, but this implies that either the Jewel of Judgement is not associated with Amber's Pattern, or that the Pattern of Amber is not Earth-based. I wonder which?
Khelladon's Anntha seems to be a most ... useful ... entity, too. Not quite, so far as I can see, as useful as Cerebaton, but nonetheless, a most interesting being.
I wonder, based on her example, whether I should attempt to persuade Cerebaton to be more public in his actions, too. It is not, after all, as if he is not known of to some people already, and it might, perhaps, make him more useful. Perhaps.