Gerard’s Story: the Telemachy

Related by Gerard when trumped through to the army at Ygg

“We saw the Expeditionary Force off through Fiona’s Trump-gate and I took a couple of hours to brief the few nobles left, all white-haired, on how we’d govern until the Army came back. Then I retired to the Library; I’d intended to study some papers to get ready for the morrow but I couldn’t concentrate, worrying about the war.

“Then Dad trumped me to the Primal Pattern to give a few pointers on who to trust and what to keep tabs on. I asked why he was telling me all this when he’d be running things himself but he just grinned and said, ‘Just in case, son’. Then he set about repairing the Pattern. Dworkin was about, humming a tuneless ditty or mumbling nonsense rhymes – quite barmy.

“So me and Dworkin watched Dad walk the Pattern wearing the Jewel, rewriting the scorched parts as he went. I know I’m not the sharpest in the family but even I could see the effort was sapping him. The Jewel was pulsing like a slow heartbeat but every once in a while it flared brightly. I asked Dworkin in one of his lucid moments what this meant and he said it was Dad calling on the energies of the Jewel to replenish his own.

“The whole thing took nearly five hours, almost to dawn, and by the end the Jewel was flaring pretty much constantly. Then Dad reached the middle and kind of fell in a heap. He fell on top of the Jewel but it seemed to me that the light went out of it before he fell.

“It was funny… suddenly Dworkin seemed very different – no longer… mad! He sent me in to get Dad out. The Pattern felt odd, a little different to how it felt before; I think the new parts aren’t quite the same as the old.

“When I got to the centre I found Dad dead and the Jewel dark. I picked up his body and had the Pattern send me back to Dworkin. He said he’d prepare the body and make arrangements for the funeral. He said I should send word out to the Golden Circle that the King of Amber was dead and he would tell ‘the rest’, whoever they were.

“But then another funny thing happened: the Unicorn galloped up! She came real close. She knelt by Dad and touched her horn to his breast and the Jewel gave a little flash…

“You know, for a second I thought Dad might come back to life, but he stayed… still.

“Dworkin told me to give the Jewel to the Unicorn – ‘She knows what to do with it’, he said. So I took it from Dad and looped it over her horn. And she galloped up into the air to vanish into the stars – right there by the Pattern – amazing sight! I’ll never forget it.

“Dworkin sent me back to Amber. All this was still the same day, or rather night, that the Expeditionary Force trumped through to Benedict, 24^th Satyr 3654. I made it a public holiday, to commemorate Dad’s passing. But there was only a handful of us to toast the old man, just Martin and me and a few old fogies too old to march with the army, and Vialle, of course.

“A few days later I got reports that the Black Road was slowly withering but it was still there on the 28^th when the first envoys arrived.

“A week later Dworkin turned up on a cart bearing Dad’s coffin. Ambassadors and troops from all the Golden Circle plus some of the Far Realms followed the cortege down the last vestige of the Black Road, which finally vanished for good shortly after they’d left.

(If asked, Gerard doesn’t recall any dragons or other outlandish creatures, they must have joined en route.)

“For several years I governed as regent in Amber with only Martin to help and not so much as a trump call to let me know how things were going. Dad had said the Trumps wouldn’t work for a while, though Vialle seemed sure Random at least was still among the living.

“Then, more than three years after the Expeditionary Force left, I got a very strange trump contact, kind of like Dad could do, right at the end. But it turned out to be Random, wielding the Jewel of Judgement. This was 9^th Unicorn 3657 – Imbolc, the Festival of the Bride. He came through but no one else came with him, though I thought I saw Corwin in the background. He said the others had to attend Dad’s funeral but he thought he should see to the kingdom!” Gerard shrugs, “Well, of all of us, he had probably the most difficult relationship with Dad but all the same I was surprised he’d skipped the funeral – I wouldn’t if I’d had the choice. I was glad of the help, though – and for the company, truth to tell.

“But then Random told me he’d been acclaimed King by the family, after the Unicorn had given him the Jewel. Vialle supported her husband, of course, but I was frankly doubtful and I told Random I couldn’t accept him as monarch without confirmation from the rest of the family. We tried trumping you, even using the Jewel the same way he got through to me, but it was no use. So we came to an agreement whereby Random would be recognised as unofficial heir presumptive until other members of the family got back to confirm things.

“Random wanted to know how Dad had died so I told him. Then he said he wanted to check the Primal Pattern so we both went and I was really impressed how he used the Jewel to get us there.

“But, as we were looking at the new Pattern, damned if the Unicorn didn’t appear again; she knelt at Random’s feet! And then I knew he was telling the truth – about being King – and I knelt down right next to her and swore fealty myself. He was pretty nice about it and said he would still wait for the family to get back before making it official.

“So we went back to Amber and the mundane chores of running a kingdom. But then disaster struck the very next day: would you believe an earthquake? It caused a landslide on Kolvir, demolished the north wing of the castle, along with most of the family rooms – thank the Unicorn you were all on campaign or we’d have lost half the family.

And on top of that half the city fell into the sea. With Vine Street swept away, communications with the city were difficult for several days. Random, Martin and I and were very busy but after a few days ships arrived from the closer Golden Circle ports and we set about recovery and reconstruction.

“We found the tunnel to the Pattern Chamber had collapsed and it was impossible to say how long it would take to clear the debris. It’s not like we’ve got a mining industry.

“Then Vialle told Random that she thought something had happened to Rebma. The place has always given me the heeby-jeebies but at Random’s orders I sought Faiella-Bionin. I found the cairn on the beach broken by the earthquake and the tsunami that came after and when I walked into the sea I nearly drowned trying to find the stair – it was gone! And I guess Rebma with it!

“Back in Amber, Vialle confirmed something had happened to Rebma but she thought it still survived as she would just ‘know’ if certain people had died. Female intuition, I suppose.

“After a month or so of all this, Random became very worried at not hearing from any of you. He’d told me about the Battle and how Deirdre and Brand had died but everyone else, including Bleys and Caine, who were supposed to be dead, and even the long-lost Delwin and Sand, were alive when he left, but with the earthquake he really felt he needed the family to lend a hand.

“So Random asked me to follow the route of the Black Road to try and make contact with the Expeditionary Force. Although the Black Road had long vanished, I recalled its route from when Julian and I had followed it in Eric’s reign.

“Of course we already knew that Random’s trump no longer worked and we only had the one deck between us since all spare decks had gone with the Expeditionary Force. Obviously it had to stay in Amber so Random said he would trump me after a few days and maintain contact often. He would have given me his card but, like I said, we already knew it no longer worked.

“I rode off into Garnath and once there started shifting shadow, making very good progress indeed, which I put down to having walked the Primal Pattern – I understand Corwin could shift shadow on Kolvir once he’d taken the Primal.

“But the promised trump calls never came. I rode for a week with my misgivings slowly rising, but I didn’t want to turn back without more news, so I kept going…

“Although the Black Road was long gone, I found evidence of its past presence and quickly became adept at detecting its fading influence. I found the shadows along the way had changed, some of them profoundly. There was also evidence of the evil influence of the Black Road. Every once in a while I came on a stranded demon or two, which I put out of their misery.

“But then, perhaps ten days out, I met a… thing… a woman, maybe… but there were just empty holes where her eyes should be: she told me Amber had vanquished Chaos in a Battle at the End of the World, but that Amber had fallen nonetheless. I didn’t want to believe her but her words seemed to touch something inside – like she’d somehow tapped an old memory I’d forgotten.

“Now I was really worried that something had happened to Amber since I’d left, so I turned back, only to find the way blocked. I just can’t find Amber again. I’ve spent all the time since trying different routes. When I exhaust myself, I rest for a few days and try again but it’s no good – it’s as if it’s been erased!

“And I’ve heard rumours – some shadows have ancient folk tales speaking of legends of the Lost Tribe who wander the World seeking their home and of a man who searches endlessly for his brothers.”

[Llewella mutters, “But not his sisters? Typical!”]

“The tribe’s exact name varies: The Lost Tribe of various places (sometimes of Amber), The Lost Legion or Army, The Lost Brethren…, and so on.

“Sometimes the searcher’s name is given as Girart, Gerhardt, Gerald or even Gerard. The last one I heard was an urban legend among taxi drivers about a fare who says his address is ‘#1 Vine Street’ and gives directions when the driver says he doesn’t know it. After half an hour of ‘take this left’ and ‘right at the next junction’ the driver finds he doesn’t recognise the streets he’s driving through. Finally he runs out of gas. When he looks back at his fare the back seat is empty and the driver is lost in a strange city.

“I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you all – I thought I was alone!”