A Day at the Races
The personal diary of Margrath,
son of Sand
During
the breakfast of the day after my meeting with my cousins at Brú na Bóinne, I noticed what I should have suspected before. The
members of house Sumi are gathered in the same room,
but are eating different meals. That is not all are eating breakfast as I am,
and as Hiyobashi Mikado and Mokoto
are. The House seems to run on various different schedules but Hiyobashi Mikado and Mokoto have
brought their schedules in line with me. I cannot think that this is
coincidence so must be deliberate.
Are
they doing this to make me feel more 'at home' and let my guard down, or are
they just keeping a close eye on me? Or both?
After
breakfast I asked about the possibility of visiting House Raven that had been
mentioned before. Apparently Houses Sumi and Raven
have no close contacts, but also have no enmities, so there is the possibility
that a meeting can be arranged. They will look into this and let me know if it
can be arranged.
They
have asked if I would like to visit the sights of the Thelbane,
which I agreed would be interesting.
Hiyobashi Mikado and Mokoto
talked about the re-building of House Sumi and the
part I have previously agreed to take in that re-building. They wished to
introduce me to someone who could be the co-respondent in this undertaking, and
so I was taken to a room by Mokoto. This room was
similar to a sparring room and there was another member of House Sumi there, sitting in lotus. I do not know the inner
workings of the biology of the members of House Sumi,
and I am not sure if they really follow our division into male and female, but
I was introduced to this individual in a way that indicated this was a female
(although this could not be determined from 'her' outward appearance by me, as
all members of House Sumi adopt (?) much the same physicality).
Her name is Haruka Kakka. I
was introduced to her as Margrath Daifu,
a title within the House that I have apparently acquired.
We
sat in a triangle and Mokoto explained the
ceremony/ritual that we would be taking part in. When the time is right we will
meet; I will summon a creature of my choosing; aspects of House Sumi will then be instilled into it; I will be asked to
name the creature; then Hiyobashi Mikado will welcome
it into the House.
Mokoto then told Haruka that I would be
interested in visiting the Thelbane and she agreed to
show me the sights. Mokoto also said that Haruka had something for me and she unfolded her arms and
handed me an invitation to a Day at the Races, at the Zoodrome.
The
Thelbane has a number of locations, though I do not
believe they are always the same locations. Haruka
asked me which parts of the Thelbane I wished to
visit.
The
first part we visited was reached through an archway which led to a central
chamber of white marble. This was a five-sided room where each corner was a
right-angle. Another reminder, if such were needed,
that we are in a place of Chaos. Each of the other four walls also held an
archway, above which was written a word – HEARTBREAK, DESPAIR, DOUBT and
BETRAYAL. Beyond each archway was a room of a different colour – Heartbreak was
red, Despair was yellow, Doubt was grey and Betrayal was blue. I believe Haruka mentioned something about the rooms and archways
being different at different times, so even here Chaos holds sway.
I
chose to pass through the archway of Heartbreak into the room beyond. The room
was square, although on the one side it was open to swirling mists. There was
something calling me to step into the mists and I knew that if I did so, that
would be the end. I had the distinct feeling while standing there, that there
were things out there in the mists – shapes and eyes, or just shadows of eyes. I
stepped back into the white marble room, although I am not sure if others who
ventured into one of these rooms could resists the call to enter the mists and
end.
Back
in the central, white marble room I found Haruka
standing before the archway of Doubt. Interesting. Does
she doubt what is planned for House Sumi? Does she
doubt her part in this? Or is there some other doubt that plagues her?
It
would seem that this place, Worldsend, is where
inhabitants of the Courts of Chaos come when they wish to end. Not a place for
the unwary to come.
Next
we visited the
At
the end you can just discern a general whispering, with the occasional clear
word or phrase- 'she rides the forest', 'dagger in the eye'…
Next
we visited the Hall of Memories. This is a long hall, a gallery with openings,
pictures and statues along its walls. I came to a picture and saw that it was a
stylised representation of spiderwebs. For a moment
there was the feeling of Trump contact with Sand. The next picture I looked at
showed a vista of Corillaine which appeared to have
some aspect of a Trump to it. I wonder if others would see the same pictures in
these places. As this is called the Hall of Memories I would assume that the
depictions are formed partly from the mind of the viewer.
I
looked around and noticed that Haruka was looking at
a scene that contained some aspects that resembled parts of House Sumi.
A
little further along the Hall we came upon Darig and Sorashi who was now carrying a large axe which I had not
seen before. They were with Niko of House Petrus and an elderly, stately lady who was looking at Darig and claiming to have seen him before, a long time
ago.
As
I listened she was claiming to have seen Darig just
after the coronation of the High King Augustus Swayvill.
As was customary, the three Norns appeared to give
the newly crowned High King, prophecies, but only two uttered their prophecies
while the third said it would be for another to utter the third prophecy. Then Darig appeared over the throne and said something that
caused consternation at the time, but she could not remember what he had said.
At
this point Darig noticed me and we greeted each
other. I introduced Haruka to them and Darig and Sorashi to Haruka.
Then
The
elderly lady, who was introduced as Countess Larsa of
House Minobee, warned us that staying here in the
Hall of Memories for too long may show you your death. So we decided to leave,
and visit the Council Chamber. On the way there we met
The
Chamber is an irregular octagonal room with a lectern and a man-sized insect of
some sort (I gathered the insect looked like a praying mantis).
On
the left hand side there was: a tree growing out of the wall; a serpent man
wearing clerical robes and a mitre; a bloated spider thing; a woman in gilded
plate who bore some resemblance to Larsa; an ethereal
spirit wearing a crown; a man-sized crystal which was changing colour.
On
the right hand side there was: a frog-headed man wearing fish-scaled armour and
odd jewellery; a metal pentagram with a central eye; a man-high flame; a
rotting lich; a floating eye with tentacles.
Mandor came out into the Chamber and joined the group on the left
hand side. The praying mantis morphed into Mantissa, the Grand Vizier. Mantissa
said, to Mandor, that it is bad to be late to a
meeting that he had called. Mandor then laid claims
of two recent acts of treason.
First
Mandor told the others of
The
second issue Mandor brought up was the treatment of
After
the others had left Mandor joined us in the gallery,
greeted us and asked about the proposition that he had put to us. We informed
him that we are not interested, which he took surprisingly well, considering
that what he had proposed could well be treated as an act of treason should we
be brought to relate it at a later date. He does not seem to be the sort that
would leave such loose ends loose.
Mandor led us from the gallery and outside the Chamber he introduced
Once
back at House Sumi, Haruka
left me to prepare for the Day at the Races.
We
journeyed in the usual manner for the Courts, to the Zoodrome.
In the Zoodrome there are various archways for people
to enter and the whole place is under the Courts, somehow, with a full view of
the Abyss around and above/below. Before the Royal pavilion there is an
enclosure. Small demons were hurrying here and there, carrying refreshments for
the guests while also being unobtrusive.
There
were four groups of guests – us, the cousins; our parents; ambassadors of the
far realms: Faerie, gods of the Norse, Egyptians and Greeks, and a being I was
told was Gabriel; and all of our escorts.
We
mingled with the other guests and I had a talk with the Goddess Isis and her
escort, Rameses, about spirit and why dead bodies
(like Oberon) should need guards.
Then
there was the parade of the mounts, which passed before us and which we were
told about, including their respective Houses (although I must admit I was not
paying quite the attention I should have been, and am not sure of some of the
details)
a
large reptile with 3 horns on its head, House Jesby
(triceratops)
an
enormous coiling snake, House Amblerash
(python)
a
reptile, like a lizard but walking like a mammal, House Ophir
(some
referred to this as a slizzard)
a
weird cross between a tiger and a giraffe, House Helgram
(body
of a tiger, markings of a giraffe, a long/medium neck and
a
stylised tiger head, referred to as a Ky-Rin)
a
shark-toothed lion with a scorpion's tail, House Lanfranc
(a
Manticore)
a 10
foot tall, flightless bird of prey, House Zephyra
(claws
on wings and feet, axe-like beak, designed for running)
an
Elephant, but 150% of the normal size, House Hendrake
(four
tusks, sawn off and replaced with swords)
a
flying piranha, House Chanicut
a
skeletal horse, House Karm
a great
demonic wolf, House Sawall
a
great spider, House Askaris
a
mechanical camel, House Zigo
a
praying mantis, the King's racer
The
Races were composed of elimination rounds. First were six races where two of
the House beasts would race against each other, though these races were not
simple tests of speed, the racers were pitted against each other in various,
somewhat indecipherable ways, as it would seem is the custom in the Courts –
the races are Chaotic. In the second round of races, the winners from the first
round and the two best losers, raced against each other, and so on until there
is one racer left for the final race against the King's steed.
Bets
were being taken and we were encouraged to take part.
In
the third race between the python and the mechanical camel, I bet took a bet
with the representative of House Lanfranc, Prince Sigebert. Spiritual training from Lanfranc if I won vs. a favour from me if they won. I
took the python and Prince Sigebert took the camel. The
python won and I am now owed some spiritual training from House Lanfranc.
Later
Argoleb offered me a bet – training for me in
Atlantis vs. a demonstration of Amber magic in Argoleb's
tower in Atlantis. I took the wager and took the Amarok
(the great wolf of House Sawall) which won, giving me
more training and a chance to visit Atlantis. Personally I am glad that I won
this bet as I am not sure what the reaction of Amber would be to Argoleb gleaning the working of the special magic of Amber.
I
managed to have a talk with Delwin during the event
and he was interested in whether I was planning to visit Amber. I told him I
was. He then warned me that mother has been hit harder by Oberon's death than
she is letting others see. I am going to have to take this into account when I
come to tell her about my involvement in the re-building of House Sumi. Technically she will be becoming a grandmother and I
am not sure how she will take that.
The
races were interrupted by a disturbance which drew people's attention. Bubbles
rose from the Abyss and descended towards us. Inside one of the bubbles there
was a person. The bubbles continued to descend towards the Royal pavilion and a
figure got out. The figure was an older version of
Our
My
perception told me that these bubbles were the remnants of a magical working,
but that the bubbles themselves were not part of that working, they were part
of something else. My familiarity with spirit made it clear that the bubbles
were the manifestation of a very powerful spiritual entity, far beyond my
abilities and far outside my understanding. This entity is beyond Order or
Chaos and very likely inimical to both. It may be one of the beings written of
as 'outside' the Great Spirit and physical reality. The bubbles exuded an
overpowering spiritual stink, and spiritual uncleanliness.
I
suspect that whoever interacted with this entity must be using sorcery to
enhance their control and that they are undoubtedly some form of demonologist.
Whatever
this entity is, I do not want to come face-to-face with it, metaphorically or
in any psychic sense, and I would have to take all the precautions I could if I
were to meet the person or persons who have been interacting with it.
I
brought myself back from my magical sensory state, not wishing to prolong
contact with this phenomenon in case it drew the entity’s attention.
When
I became focused again on the physical world, or as much of the world of the
Courts that is physical, Darig and undead
After
the fight Mandor picked up undead
The
final race of the day was run between the Slizzard
and the Royal racer and the Slizzard won. A good sign or not? Time will tell, though in this place
what time will tell is anybody's guess.