Prelude - Meeting Cousin Winnow

The next day was spent largely on my own, which I had no problems with since I was so used to being on my own that it was no burden whatsoever. I was talking with people I had issues with, the constant barrage during the day of servants asking whether I required anything frayed my nerves and I was short with several of them and sent them from the room. I was not some pampered King who needed chattels to wait on me hand and foot. I had to do what I could to ensure that I did not burden others such that I could avoid the fate that destiny had set for me.

It was the day after that when Gerard knocked on my door and invited me to attend a morning breakfast with him. Outside my room with the fire it was cold in the corridoors and I shivered slightly as I went. The questions that had been burning in my mind for the past two days were still begging to be answered. Who were my parents and why had they not been here to receive me? Moreso how had this man Gerard known where I was to come and rescue me?

Breakfast was held in a tent errected by a wall attached to the castle. After a while another large tattooed man wearing a seeming blue and silver skirt. The man looked strong and Gerard introduced him to me as Cousin Winnow and announced that he was in fact my uncle. Winnow grasped my hand very firmly so not wishing to offend I did the same in return. I exchanged stories with with of how we came to Amber, he having arrived here first a year ago. He talked of strange things - Shadows, the Courts and the Patternfall War of which I would learn the truth later and I told him of my doom.

It seemed that Benedict had heard stories of me and had done some investigating. That would be the taciturn man that I met at the Ball then. Winnow proclaimed that I was in the world of the Gods (which was clearly nonsense) but I did not want to offend the man that I had only just met.

Winnow offered to be my guide for the day which seemed like a good enough idea since the man was pleasant enough company, though he used words which were strange to me. Gerard announced that I was family and ss he did so Vialle arrived and apologised for our brief introdcution the day before last. It was impossible not to like her and her husband despite my dislike of the principle of Kings lording it over the masses. She told me that investigations were ongoing into my parenthood though that it might take some time. As we spoke the man mountain Winnow ate at the breakfast with gusto.

I asked Winnow about his tattoes on his body. I admit I was cheeky in asking whether they had no paper where he was from but I had no clue having seen so many strange things on the way here whether they truly did or not. He told me that it contained his life story and he took some pride in the marks that showed that he had killed a man. I was wary of this as killing a man was not something to be done lightly if at all. Still it showed to me that the man took pride in his achievements.

Wiinow took his leave of Gerard and Vialle and as we got up to go I realised that the I put down the plate and knife that I had used at breakfast. I did not want some servant (nee slave) being made to clear up after me. I had made the mess so it should be me who clears it up. I had to start to order my life such that I could avoid my fate and the smallest of things would be the way to begin. I asked Winnow to show me to the Kitchens so that I may clear up after myself and whilst he agreed he began to argue for the servitude of men. It is sheer laziness that has men get others to do things that they could do for themselves and I was determined to settle my account and my peace of mind.

After debating the philosphy of man's labours I asked Winnow about the Unicorn as I washed the dishes. He claimed that the Unicorn was real and had chosen Random from amongst the Gods to be King. I dislike the notion of Gods and Kings as both are there to Lord it over the ordinary man. Winnow continued to argue that the staff here were happy and content, but I was sure they would be even happier and content to mind for their own families or have people to wait on them.

Winnow took me down several more corridoors to a room of typewriters, cabinets and bookshelves. I picked up a scroll detailing crop yields and noted that they were not using the most efficient farming methods prescribed by J S Haslem in 'Farming Techniques for Greater Yield'. I think Winnow mistook my comment on improvement to think that this was an area I was particulalry interested in. I had read so many books and learned so many things over the years that knowledge such as this would come to me unbidden at times and it was meant as friendly help.

Winnow told me that people of the family had great abilities, but then I already knew that and my goalers had taken great precautions to prevent me from using my powers. I spoke once again of my fear of the prophecy and asked Winnow (who I now trusted had a good heart) to promise that if I ever let go of my balance to bring me back from the brink. I could not know where this would lead me but I needed a safety valve in case I started on down the wrong path and started to listen too intently to my 2nd and 3rd voices.

Next Winnow took me to a practise area just outside the Castle itself. There he bid me choose armour and weapon to mock fight him in a practise yard. I had never really used metal armour before and had not been allowed to hurt my instructor so I wondered how this would go. There was a number of other guardsmen around watching us as I started to spar him. It was quickly obvious that perhaps he had the edge, but I did not want to show Winnow my full capability. This man had already said that he was a killer of men and I did not want to show him all the moves I had learnt in case we were at odds later.

After that Winnow made me fight Marshall Jeems who I dispatched quickly, though I was careful to try not to hurt the man. Winnow proclaimed that this proved I was of the blood and therefore a son of a God. No I thought this just proves that I am strong and capable but I did not discount that I was from the family that ran this place.

After the practice we bathed in a nice nearby bath-house. Once again over-eager servants tried to do for me things that I can do for myself. Winnow asked me as we bathed what I would do if I had the power and I told him that I would track down those that had chosen to imprison me and get answers from them. Winnow was satisfied with that and agreed to accompany me on my quest. I then asked about the dark times that Vialle had implied that had occured in Amber and Winnow gave me a brief description of how Amber was founded and the event they call the Patternfall war. There were volumes in the library that went into greater detail and I resolved before the week was out to find these and read these accounts.

When Winnow mentioned the Pattern I enquired about it and Winnow used a thing called Trump to ask Gerard whether I could see it. We had permission and I gather a paper and pencil to draw it on the way. Down the corridor I passed a picture of a woman with green hair whom Winnow named as Aunt Llewella who lived under the sea in a place called Rebma. The way to the Pattern was down a long winding stair and as we approached the door my 2nd and 3rd voices came through to me louder than they had ever been. I pushed them back down and held my centre. Winnow suddenly materialised a more fuller armour set and he proclaimed that this was another gift of the Gods.

When we got there we found that Random was there waiting for us and showed us the pattern.  It is the most incredible thing I have ever seen and I really wanted to draw it but Random refused telling me it was dangerous to do so. Someone named Fiona knew more on this and I was keen to meet her and discuss the power flowing through this wonderous thing. Random explained how it was created and how it was part of all of the family of Amber to me. He described how the Courts of Chaos were the polar opposite to Amber and the effect of walking the Pattern to me and I still could not help but wonder. I asked whether you could take a picture of the Pattern but Random told me that such electronics did not work here and even it they did it would be as dangerous as drawing it. I resolved to see whether a pin hole camera would work here at some later point as well as try and find Fiona to talk in more detail of this marvel.

After we left Random and the Pattern Winnow took me to one of the libraries where I read half of a very nice book on the animals and plants of Amber. It was hard to get the ordering of the library and I knew I would need to ask someone the system in time. Winnow had lunch brought to us and as we ate he explained about the strange communication cards he called Trumps. It seems that certain of the family could draw them and imbue them with power that would allow for the communication and ability to teleport to the person at the other contact. I was so fascinated with this that in my haste I forgot my plate and when we teleported through Winnow's trump we were already just outside Amber and the plate was far away. Winnow consoled me that by telling me that I could head back to the kitchens later and I realised I would have to make do with that.

As we stood on the hillside some soldiers approached from a watch-tower and Winnow gave them a signal that I reassured them. I decided it best if I remember that signal in case I found myself alone near Amber at some later date. Winnow made a show of inspecting the post, though in reality there was little to inspect.

To get back to Amber Winnow made a trump call to Gerard and I realised then that Winnow must be the son of Gerard. It was the third time that day that he had gone directly to Gerard and the familiarity showed in his actions. We were brought through the trump by Gerard into a room close to the throne room. I headed back to the kitchens to find and wash my plate and Winnow said that he wanted to work out in the Gym. I left him there and made my way to the kitchens promising to catch back up with him later to continue the tour of the Castle. 

The Grand Ball

Another servant came to fetch me to the Ball that evening. I told him I could find my own way back to the throne room. Nervously the man told me that the ball was to be located in a different place and so I was forced to trail along after the man like a lost lonely sheep.

The Ballroom was splenderously decorated with ribbons in green and white and tables with food were neatly lain out around the sides of the room. I had turned away several sevants bringing food to my room so by now I was ravenously hungry and filled the plate up with foods that did not look too suspiciously foreign to me.

I always ate sat at my table in the house that was my prison though in the main ballroom area I could see no tables to eat at. I needed to ensure that I did things that were familiar to me so I took a number of pieces of cutlery and went to a side area where I found a table that I supposed was used for private meetings. I then carefully laid the table ensuring that the larger knives and forks were on the outside and that the glass of water I had procured was around 2 inches above and to the right of the outer knife. Then I tucked into the food in predetermined order eating the vegeatble substances first followed by the meats.

As I was finishing a tall thin man with brown hair, a strong jaw a dour look on his face came and sat at my table. He was wearing a doublet of orange, yellow and brown and for the longest time just sat and watched me. Eventually I was forced to ask him.

"My name is Fergus, I have newly arrived here. Might I ask who you are?"

"You can" the man replied simply but unhelpfully. I waited for him to continue but was eventually forced to ask again.

"What is your name?"

"Benedict" he replied offering me no more information. This man was frustrating yet at the same time I got the impression he was weighing me up.

"Is there something I can help you with?" I asked to keep the conversion going.

"No" was all he replied. After a long pause he added "I just wanted to see." And that was the only eight words I got from the man before he got up from my table to return to the main ballroom.

I sat and watched the rest of the ball from the sidelines. The woman called Flora was busying herself going round and talking to as many people as she could. She came up to me eventually and asked me loads of questions about myself, giving me little chance to ask anything myself. What little I did manage to ask was what the ball was for, and she told me that it was to honour the visit of Mircalla, a Priestess of some sort it seemed.

There seemed to be much in the way of drinking of alcoholic liquids and dancing going on. I had never been allowed alcohol in the prison though I had heard of the intoxicating effects that ethanol could produce so I decided it best to avoid that. Indeed I had seen people dance on Holo-Vids but the dancing that they performed here was most unlike any that I had seen before. Not wishing to embaress myself I decided to forgo that as well.

So it was that I took to watching the goings on from the sidelines of the ball. Vialle was kind enough to come over to me and ask if I was alright at some point. As I talked to her I wondered how she could move around so easily with obviously blind eyes. As I was about to ask her some questions of this place though she was dragged away by three giggling ladies who told her that she must see what her husband was doing.

With naught else to do I decided to leave the ball early and retire to bed. An officious servant wanted to show me back to my quarters but I told him in no uncertain manner that I was perfectly capable of finding my own way back to my allotted room. I did not after all have the memory of a golden fish! I noted that the man trailed along behind me nervously, and I wondered if he had received orders to see that I did not wander off. I had no intention of wandering since I had not slept for some time and was looking forward to the comforts of the bed that had been provided.

The Journey to Amber

The night I was taken from the place that had been my prison for my entire life was a night I will never forgot. The large man Gerard who rescued me brushed past the guards as though they were paper and told my that he was my kin as was rescuing me. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask at that time but not the time to ask them. There was also no time to remove the blue restrainers on my wrists and neck that they had put on me when they had discovered my talent and I had to satisfy myself in quietly following my rescuer.

We moved in the darkness of the Night Cycle through the Nexus to a place on the outskirts far from the Neon lights of the Casino's and bars that I had seen on Holo-TV. There The landscape suddenly shifted and into a place that was similar in architecture yet unfamiliar to me.

"I should have warned you about moving through Shadow" Gerard told me making it sound like fact rather than an apology.

Whatever this moving through Shadow was we certainly seemed to do a lot of it during the journey. Places became more and more unfamiliar too me as well as the peoples that inhabited them. We went through a place where the people all had skin tones of greens and blues with great horns atop their heads. They bowed to the man Gerard and some ran from their houses to sing a strange song that I did not understand. 

Finally we took ship in a place that Gerard called Eregnor. The ship was a small vessel with a crew of about six men and women who all knew Gerard by name and called him Prince Gerard. Prince Gerard explained that we would be sailing across the Circle Sea to his home which was called Amber. The transitions in Shadow were disconcerting to me but even more so whilst we were at sea. By now the Day Cycle had come and the sun was shining down. I could not understand where Gerard was finding the Shadows to make whatever transition he was doing, but since he was busy with the ship I could not question him.

Eventually we passed a small lighthouse on a rock mounted on a peninsula that Gerard named Carba to me. In the distance I could see a city with a white castle in the distance atop the hill. It was unlike anything I had seen in the books I had read or on the Holo-Vids. The city, which could be seen more clearly as we approached the harbour, was a mish-mash of styles. It seemed that there were people in the city who wanted to impress and had been trying to outdo each other in their ostentatiousness.  When we travelled through the city however I had to revise my opinion. It was only certain houses of a larger nature that had been so designed. The smaller dwellings were more uniform in design and functional. Such is the nature of power and wealth.

We travelled quickly up to the Castle which was guarded by men in armor with a green livery and a white unicorn on it. Gerard nodded to the guards as we passed who saluted him in return. We first headed to a place Gerard called the armoury where another strong looking man with thinning hair whom Gerard called Edron was working at a forge. Gerard asked to borrow the mans tools and made short work of the bracelet and neck brace, something I could not do even though I knew that I was strong.

After the armoury I was taken to an ornate hall and told by Gerard to wait whilst he consulted with the King and Queen. A man wearing a similar green tabbard approached me with a tray and offered me a glass containing a golden liquid. I took the glass and sniffed at it suspiciously. It had a pungent smell that reminded me slightly of apples. The man's quiet subservient attitude reminded me of the books I have read that contained desciptions of servants. Man should be able to think and do for himself so I told the man. "If you can tell me where the kitchens are I will fetch for myself next time thank you."

The man looked shocked and did not know what to reply, instead bowing and beating a hasty retreat. A short while later Gerard returned and told me that we had an audience with King Random and Queen Vialle.

We entered into what I guessed was the throne room as there was a shortish man with straw coloured hair and a mouth almost bursting out in a grin sat sideways with legs over the armrest upon a large ornate chair. Beside him on a similar chair sat more demurely was a small slender red-brown haired pale lady with pale blue eyes that were unfocused.

"So I gather that your own of the family then; welcome to Amber Fergus!" The young man said to me his face stretching so that the grin burst forth. It was not quite what I expected of a King but since I had only read of them before I guess I truly did not know what to expect.

"Thank you Random. I do not know if I am related to you or how you know but I thank you and Mr Gerard for rescuing me from my prison." I said. I noted that there were some in the room who bristled at my words but not it seemed the King or Queen.

"I'm sure that you are tired and require refreshment" Queen Vialle said in a kindly voice "we will have a guest room prepared for you." She make the smallest of motions and one of the green liveried servants dissappeared from the room.

"You are most kind Vialle. I do have many questions that I would like to ask."

"All in good time my dear Fergus. There will be time for questions later. Alas we have a ball to finish organising for tonight which you are welcome to attend, but the arrangements are taking more of King Random and my time than I would like. My sister in-law Flora here has done a fantastic job but there are certain things that I need to attend to myself." The Queen replied kindly pointing to a beautiful lady with long blond tresses who I took to be Flora.

"In which case I will not take up more of your valuable time and will look forward to talking later at the ball." I replied.

"Oh yeah, about the ball" Random started "Could you just stay at the back and observe for now. By all means help yourself to food and the like but don't wander too far. The guards don't really know who you are yet eh?" With that he winked at me in a conspiritoral manner that was so outrageous that I had to stop myself from laughing.

"I will do as you bid and will see you both later." With that I waited to take my cue to Gerard to withdraw.

Outside the throne room was another of the green liveried servants who Gerard said would take me to my room. I followed the man through a series of corridoors until we arrived at a large oaken door that he opened for me.

"Please Sir if you require anything just call for me outside your room and I will fetch it." The man said.

"I am perfectly capable of getting anything I want for myself. I have two arms and legs don't I? I am not a cripple." I bit back at the servant who struggled to hide the shock on his face. He scampered away quickly before I could say anything more and I was left on my own to explore the room assigned to me.

This place was colder than I was used to with no centralised heating system and only a fire to keep me warm. There also seemed to be no Holo-TV or Vids and I could find no books in the room to read so I spent a while exercising using two chair backs to do push ups. I did not like having my normal routines being broken but there were some things that were imposible here that I used to do in the prison. I decided to improvise as best I could else my nerves would fray.

Sometime later a different servant knocked on my door carrying a pail and asked if I would like hot water for a bath. I told him that I was capable of heating water myself and took the pail off him before he scuttled off quickly not knowing where to look. It was slow going heating water in a pail over a fire and the earlier buckets had started to cool when I finally got the last one into the bath in my suite. That had the effect of making the water manageably warm as I relaxed and scrubbed myself before the evening's festivities.