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Back to the diary entry for 'Out Of The Frying Pan' (Part 1).
Well, we thought things could not get any worse. How wrong we were. It seems that there is no end to the depths into which we spiral. Where will this really extremely unpleasant helter-skelter ride have taken us by its end?
The worst thing was its suddenness. One moment he was talking to Arran, Khortez, Jay and myself outside the dining room, unwell, but conscious. The next he had fallen over, scattering his Trumps everywhere, shapeshifting wildly and uncontrollably as his body tried to fight off the Chaosite poison that had been administered to him. And then, despite the best efforts of Gerard, Robert and the doctors, he was dead.
Random is dead. The King is dead.
So why do I feel so little for him now he is gone? He was a good King and, I think, a friend to me. To us. To all of the younger generation, even those of us who, perhaps, deserved it less than others. And now he is gone, to wherever it is we of the Blood go when we die. To wherever Deirdre ... mother ... is. I have never really thought on this matter before now, but I hope that wherever it is ... it is a happy place.
What I find hardest to comprehend is why? It was so sudden, so out of the blue. Was it House Chanicut or their allies, wanting to throw us into confusion and disarray to prevent Amber from entering the war on Corwin's side? Or Cymnea? Or someone else? Some other utter unknown?
Whoever it was, they seem to have struck at the heart of Amber with remarkable ease, at the person who should be the best protected of us all. Using a poison made just for him, which indicates that this was a long time in the planning. So perhaps not House Chanicut at all. But even though the manner in which Random was killed implies a long-term plot, the nature of the poison used implies a good deal of short-term flexibility, too, given how recently he seems to have become a shapeshifter. That, or the ability to put in place detailed plans on very short notice. I think I greatly prefer the first of these two options...
And who, I wonder, was in charge of Random's security? If it was, for example, to pluck a name out of the air, Benedict, then that may give us some further clues.
Hmmm. Looking back at these words, I cannot help but think that despite my protestations, perhaps I did care, after all.
I can certainly see how it would be very much in the interests of Chaos to have a plan to remove Random - or whoever rules in Amber - in place, as a long-term 'investment'. The question I feel I must ask now is why do we not have such a scheme in place in Chaos? Simply a lack of shapeshifters? Or something deeper?
I must ask Mirelle when next I see her. Surely it cannot be simple fear of Chaos?
But before that, Khortez and I went to see Corwin, to see how Sal was doing since his rescue.
Parys was much harder to reach than I had anticipated. There appear to be no Trumps of the place itself, at least none in Random's possession. But he was at least able to Trump us to close to Parys, into one of its surrounding shadows. Some form of war zone, it appeared. Apparently Corwin is conducting war games, which is hardly surprising given the new state of war between Parys and House Chanicut. I was surprised to find that the entire boundary of the shadow in which his Pattern lies appears to be walled (though the term 'shadow' seems highly inadequate for something containing an actual Pattern). This is a sensible precaution, if a little unexpected. One assumes that his shadow is one of those of finite rather than infinite extent.
It was also surprising to find that Corwin's Pattern is so different from that of Amber. Hidden from Amber's Pattern, with different qualities to it, so that having walked it, moving through Amber's shadows becomes more difficult. And with four veils rather than the three of Amber's Pattern, each of which with, apparently, as much resistance as those of Amber's Pattern, making Corwin's Pattern harder to assay than it. And Unicorn only knows what lies 'behind' it!
I never thought that the day would ever come, but I felt sorry for Sal. Not when he mentioned, almost as an aside, how he had had to re-learn how to walk, how to hold a cup again, after what happened to him - what was done to him - in Chanicut. But when he mentioned having to learn not to cringe at the opening of a door.
What happened - what was done - to him for that to be so? To Sal. The hardest of us all. Who now looks so old. I am not sure I want to know, but I fear my imagination may need to be strictly leashed in the near future to prevent my unconscious speculating on the subject.
And I certainly see the need for his vengeance trail. I truly hope he succeeds. Perhaps it will give him back some of what he has lost - some of what has been taken from him.
I do wonder why, though, Sal did not Death Curse his tormentors? Or, for that matter, Death Bless Khortez, K'del and I (not that that is really Sal's style, though one may live in hope). Perhaps he did. I shall have to ask him.
Given the situation, what happened to Sal, the war between Parys and Chanicut, and the opinions I have developed regarding Chaos and the need for its eradication, I felt obliged to offer Corwin my help should he require it. I was glad to see that he took my offer seriously. We shall see if he calls upon me in his own good time.
It was my having done this that prompted Sal to walk Corwin's Pattern. It appears he nearly failed to do so. Nearly died.
And, though he did not mention it at the time, Sal apparently spoke to Corwin as he walked Corwin's Pattern. Or perhaps more accurately to some image or hallucination of him, Corwin being with Khortez and I watching Sal walk his Pattern at the time.
We are told that this image told Sal about three possible cures for our death curses, which he later passed on to Khortez and I. Two were those of which we were already aware - a death blessing, and the breath of the entire Serpent (whose other eye is, apparently, green). But there was additionally a third. The blessing of the Unicorn.
However, this also requires both eyes of the Serpent, the red and the green. But regardless, I think I prefer this option, even if it does originate from what may be a hallucination - the first two options are those we already know, and the third does not seem inconsistent with them.
I have no particular objection to the taking of the other eye of the Serpent, though the practical difficulties of doing so would doubtless be formidable! I imagine such a theft would do Chaos no good too, which makes me doubly prefer this new third option. Of course, it also involves finding the Unicorn and persuading it to aid us. But that, I hope, would be a minor matter, compared to the problems involved in obtaining the Serpent's green eye in the first place!
Although events are leading me to the unavoidable conclusion that a Death Blessing is the most likely means by which we shall be cured. However, I feel a cold, nagging doubt of the efficacy of a Death Blessing. Why cure one or two Amberites and a shadow when, with a Death Curse, one could do so much more to smite the enemies of Amber?
Sal's report of some aspect of Corwin living in his Pattern also raises the alarming question that perhaps there is also some image or aspect of Dworkin living in Amber's Pattern. If it is anything like its original it may not be the sanest mind in all the multiverse, which perhaps explains why we have not heard of it before...
And Jay has found that the forces of Dalt and Benedict are fighting in shadow Begma. But unfortunately it appears that that means nothing. Given the difference in time flows between Begma and Chaos one could do a great deal in Chaos and only be missing from Begma for minutes. So, alas, their fighting there does preclude their plotting elsewhere at the same time.
I should ask Ella about her father, too, when the opportunity arises. Is he the shit which all the evidence indicates him to be, or is there more to it than that?
I think Gerard must have lost control when he found that he could not save Random. Called in Mandor, despite his earlier objections to Chaos-style shapeshifting healing. Then further lost control when Mandor could not save him.
I hardly think Mandor can reasonably be blamed for, when dragged bodily in to Random's Infirmary room, failing to do the thing he had previously said several times that he was incapable of doing. I hope that Gerard sees it that way and my actions as being intended only to save him from himself, even if he only ever admits this to himself. Personally, I will be content simply with him not beating me to a pulp at some point in the future.
But even so, I went up against an enraged Gerard, and he barely laid a hand on me!
I had not realised I had become so fast! Of course, I am, though, not sure what I would have done had Robert not been able to sedate Gerard (and be knocked out by Gerard for his trouble, but after his surviving Tony's mind-controlled murder attempt in K'del, I was not too concerned for him). But nonetheless, I did it! Somehow it seemed so much more significant than my doing the same against Menace! or Dr Terror back in Gotham.
A pity it had to be against a background of the death of the King. That vastly outweighs any satisfaction I might otherwise obtain from this incident. But even so. It feels like some kind of defining moment, when I became an adult - really an adult, able to stand among my parents' generation as an equal.
And Tony. Tony helped the man we now assume was Suhey, Dworkin's father and teacher, the Master of the Logrus, Suhey Barimen, steal Winton's corpse from Dworkin.
Tony. Does nothing we say register on your tiny brain? Do you truly hear only that which you want to hear? Or are you really so craven, disloyal and treacherous that nothing we say or do will make you see matters in a light favourable to us rather than to the Courts?
I thought you were stupid, selectively deaf, perhaps gullible and naive. But never a traitor. Until now.
But ... I still do not feel hatred for you. Contempt is what I feel. Contempt and pity. As if for a mad dog. A mad dog that must be put down at the first available opportunity.
Was it then conscience, or cowardice, that had Tony Trump away before he could swear loyalty to Martin? And was that why he left dinner early, before Random's poisoning became apparent?
Of course, I suppose Delwin's mirrors could have lied. Delwin could be scheming too. But I feel not. Certainly the man we saw in his mirror with Tony, presumably a shapeshifted Suhey, appeared to be the same man we saw in Tony's company earlier, in the castle. And were Delwin wishing to pin the blame on anyone I would have thought Caine a far more likely choice.
I think it might be best to mention Tony's latest ... misdemeanour ... to his mother, too. I certainly mentioned the fact that he had a Trump of himself to Cymnea to Corwin, so perhaps that will be enough to get Tony killed. But it never hurts to be sure in these matters.
And I wonder how long it will be before Tony betrays his new masters in Chaos? And then where will he have left to turn? I do not know, but I do know that if I see him again then some brutal vigilante justice may well be in order...
And also, after having seen this, I cannot help wondering (completely irrelevantly) whether there is any connection between Delwin's Hall of Mirrors and Rebma, with its many mirrors?
The question remains, though as to why Suhey - assuming it was Suhey and not Cymnea or one of her followers in disguise - should want Winton's body (which, in further good news, Dworkin seemed to think might be indestructible)? Do they want to move Broken Pattern 17 from Winton's corpse and into Nicholas now that they have both it and him together?
I wonder if the 'deprogramming' Nicholas received while here in Amber might have an impact on their plans? Let us hope so. Though I am not sure how much deprogramming was actually done, and I suppose he could also be re-programmed. One might hope that his already containing half of Broken Pattern 19 might interfere with their plans, too. Or would that help them? Perhaps taking Broken Pattern 17 out of Winton's rotted corpse and putting it into Nicholas on top of part of Broken Pattern 19 will make him more powerful, more like the real Pattern than he would be with either one alone. And if so, I cannot help but think that that bodes very ill.
At least Arran seems to have tracked Nicholas down using the Pattern. Unfortunately, to somewhere which appears utterly inaccessible. Somewhere close to Chaos and protected not by mere Logrus storms, but by Primordial Logrus storms. Whatever Primordial Logrus is. Mandor claims not to know. Dworkin claims not to remember, but was able to demonstrate the difference by 'spraying' Khortez and I with 'normal' Logrus (painful and nauseating) and the 'Primordial' kind (extremely painful and nauseating). Thank you once again for your input, Dworkin.
It does make me wonder why Chaos did not 'hose down' the battlefield by the Abyss with Logrus all those years ago, if it has such a bad effect on we Amberites.
And apparently Dworkin is both an Advanced Pattern Initiate and a Logrus Master, which we did not know before. However, given what we know both of him and his history, it hardly comes as a surprise that he has these powers.
Apparently Sal, Merlin and Corwin tried to penetrate these Primordial Logrus storms in search of Nicholas. We are told things did not go well. Only Corwin had the sense to cut his losses and run, so that now Merlin has disappeared and Sal has become a shapeshifter, though with no skill in shifting, so that he seems to shift shape as his thoughts and feelings change. Unicorn only knows what he will wake up like in the morning...
I hope Delwin's advice, or lessons, will allow Sal to control this new power of his. It does seem to be one further humiliation on top of everything else that has happened to him recently.
We really are so pig-ignorant of the powers and the history of things. If the chance arises I feel a strong need to carry out some serious research. Doing so by picking over the burned-out remains of Chaos would be nice.
And now Random's will - as revealed to us by Benedict, so how much it may be trusted remains to be seen - names Martin as the new King (with Corwin to have been Regent had Martin died before or with Random).
I do not know Martin at all well, and from what little I know he and Random had an uneasy relationship. So I have no idea how good, or otherwise, a King he will make. Perhaps time will tell. Perhaps not. Given the current situation we may not have the time to find out.
The cats continue to excavate in the Library, though they stopped work, apparently as a sign of respect (as hard as that may be to believe, from cats) for the reading of Random's will. Apparently the thing they are excavating is part of some ancient rapid transit system dating from before the Pattern was drawn, linking not just to K'del (which presumably implies that 'shadow' K'del is not in fact a shadow of Amber but as old and real as Amber itself), but to Chaos and other places too. Perhaps it is how Dworkin came to what became Amber in the first place.
But what will it mean if that network is restored to function? A direct link which will allow the hordes of Chaos to come boiling out into the heart of Amber? Or something to allow us to do the same to them?
And it appears that I, at least, have three more specific reasons to work against Chaos, over and above my general belief that Chaos must be eradicated. Firstly, assisting Corwin in his war. Secondly, obtaining the green eye of the Serpent of Chaos to cure myself and Khortez. And thirdly, because Khortez and I told Dworkin we would destroy Suhey and all his works - the Logrus, Chaos, and all its related constructions.
Random, now being a shapeshifter and Logrus initiate and thus someone who could, perhaps fall within the remit of our agreement with Dworkin, did not seem terribly impressed when this, along with my lack of objection to doing so, was mentioned, so some hedging on my part became necessary at that point. And now it is all so terribly irrelevant..
At least we did not specify a time scale for our putative destruction of Chaos. Which is good, because Suhey is apparently Suhey Barimen, and House Barimen of Chaos is one of the Chaosite Houses who are nominally on our side, which would thus make the hunting of Suhey ill-advised, to say the least, at the present moment (even were we to ignore the vast powers he no doubt possesses). However, we may hope that circumstances may change...
At least we have the cheering news that Chaos is close to a state of civil war over recent events, split into three factions - 'Pro'-Amber, Anti-Amber, and Fence-Sitting. This latter group apparently includes the warlike House Hendrake, who are allegedly waiting to see which camp Benedict decides to support. Given that Cymnea's House falls firmly in the heart of the Anti-Amber faction I feel little doubt regarding the side of the fence upon which they will eventually fall.
Well, hopefully a full civil war will break out soon. In fact, perhaps we can provoke such. With luck they will destroy one another, and even if not, one may hope that they will weaken one another greatly. Perhaps enough so that those of us with the will to do so might destroy them utterly.
This is definitely a situation upon which I should keep a close eye...
Dworkin seems so frightened by so much in Chaos. Swayvil. Suhey. And what else? A great deal else, I would speculate. But still, I would like to know why? Not that I think we would obtain much useful information on the subject from Dworkin himself...
On to the diary entry for 'A New Hand On The Wheel'.