The Battle of the Abyssal Plain

The personal diary of Margrath, son of Sand

Sand and Delwin have brought me and our troops, to the field of a battle, the outcome of which, we hope, will seal the fate of the Black Invasion that is attacking Corillaine. They have said that we are on the borders of Chaos, although since they have, until recently, not told me much of the worlds beyond Corillaine, I am not really sure what that means. No doubt I will find out. For now it is just a place very different from what I know.

They tell me that the Black Road here is a part of the Black Invasion and that by winning here we can eradicate it and return to the peace of Corillaine. We can withdraw from all this new family. The size of this new family is a little overpowering, although I have only had other members pointed out. I am not sure that I fully agree with leaving as soon as the battle is won, and not getting a chance to meet my other uncles and aunts.

During the battle Sand was surprised at the skill shown by a soldier who she did not recognise. She suspects that he is a later son of Oberon, born after we broke contact with Amber. This is another thing we will not find out about if we leave precipitously.

The battle seemed to me to be progressing well. At least it was progressing. When things came to a standstill, a projection of a face appeared in the sky. I believe this to have been the face of Oberon, although there are no likenesses of him at home, and nobody in my hearing commented on whose face it was. This occurrence preceded Oberon's funeral procession, which passed as we stood or bowed. Some prostrated themselves I think, before the spectacle. The procession was long and made up of all sorts of strange beings, some impressive, some grotesque.

After the procession had passed, there was some sort of altercation by the edge of the Abyss. We could see something was going on though I couldn't see just what it was. Then, from out of the Abyss, the Unicorn arose. She looked around at all of us. She appeared to be looking for something, in some way measuring us up. What she sought she did not find in me but it seems she found whatever it was in one of my uncles, Random I am told, for She knelt before him.

When She looked at me, She looked into my deeper being, and She is greater than Great Spirit. Her eye burns within my being still and always will. She has made a deeper impression on me than anything I have encountered before. At some time I will have to meditate on this and see if there is a path there that I should investigate further.

It was at this time that I found that, beyond the storm behind us, there was nothing. No Corillaine. No connection to Great Spirit. No magic. Nothing. My life and studies up to now, snuffed out. Great Spirit, if you still exist, lead us forward. Or should that be a plea to the Unicorn?

The battle was over as there seems to be nothing now beyond Chaos. Amber and the worlds between have been wiped out by the storm and only time will tell if anything will return, so we retreated to the Courts of Chaos. We found ourselves in a huge cavern containing a throne, where it was decided that talks would be held between the elders of Amber, the nobles of Chaos and the King of Chaos. Us younger Amberites were left to aid our elders in whatever way we could find.

Demons appeared and we were told they had been assigned to us, as chaperones, each of us being separated and sent to separate houses of Chaos. Younger Amberites split from each other and from their elder relatives. Divide and conquer.

I was greeted by Chang, a big/fat (more muscle than fat) demon with narrow eyes, partway to a squint, wearing a loincloth. He (she/it?) led me to the palace of House Sumi, which is carved from a single piece of green stone which I believe is Jade.

At the Palace I was greeted by Mokoto of House Sumi. He acts with subservience – bowing to me, saying things like 'it is my shame to…', 'We are honoured to have you stay with us.' I cannot tell if this is real or just an act put on to impress, but it seems to come naturally to him. He welcomed me and informed me that this was House Sumi, also known as the Jade Palace.

I was led through the Palace to the room assigned to me. Inside the walls are all apparently made of paper stretched over frames. This place gets more confusing by the minute.

In my room there was a garment laid out for me, in my colours. Obviously these people know much more about me than I do about them, Chang informed me that it is called a kimono and is a common form of dress within House Sumi.

After I had refreshed myself, Chang led me through more corridors with paper walls, to a hall where members of House Sumi had gathered to dine. Mokoto was there to greet me and introduce me to the head of House Sumi, Hyobashi Mikado. All of the members of House Sumi and their demons look very alike. All are heavily built, though like Chang I would say that this is more muscle than fat. All also have the same narrow eyes. During dinner I noticed that they all convey themselves with a formality that leads me to believe that Mokoto's display of subservience to me was not an act, but part of the way of life in House Sumi. There is also a distinct hierarchy evident in their actions.

After the meal a number of dances were staged, in which I was asked to take part, a request that I hope I accepted with grace. These dances were very stylised and I became aware that they were depicting, in an almost ritualistic way, the battles from earlier in the day, against Sand and Delwin. In conversation I learned that House Sumi seems to take fighting against Delwin's troops as fighting against Delwin himself. This could be of great significance in dealings with this House.

During the conversation I was referred to as a member of House Barimen, a House I had no knowledge of and so I inquired further and found that House Barimen committed what some call heresy, long ago. This was to do with something they were looking after, connected to the Serpent. The way the Serpent was referred to I can only imagine that this is the major cult of the Courts.

After all the evening's entertainment was over Chang took me on a tour of parts of the Jade Palace. I forget now who brought up the subject, but Chang also agreed to lead me to see my mother. Chang took me through some very odd and obviously quite magical, ways, and we arrived somehow in my mother's rooms. Her rooms are very different from those of House Sumi and she mentioned that this was House Lanfranc. I recalled then that House Lanfranc had been mentioned over dinner as a Rim House and one that House Sumi has an undertaking with.

Mother was interested in what had happened to me. She was also interested in me seeking out my cousins, including Darig, the soldier who had shown such excellent martial abilities during the battle. She also said that Uncle Delwin was being courted by the high priest of the Serpent.

After meeting with mother, I asked Chang if it was possible to find in which House Darig was being hosted, and if he could lead me there. He agreed that this was possible and so I found myself outside Stoneguard, the seat of House Petrus. This place is nothing like the Jade Palace, but does resemble some of the old remains that have been found on Corillaine.

I was admitted to meet with Darig and quite soon afterwards, other cousins arrived seeking a meeting with his as well. So I was introduced to my cousins Havelock, Sorashi, Constance and William.

There was much talk about how well we had all been treated and the variety of different styles of Houses we were being hosted by.

William brought up what may turn out to be a significant point. He claims to have seen Darig before, but they have never been in the same place as each other, at the same time before.

We all retired to our own Houses to sleep, agreeing to meet up again. Chang led me back, although I would say this was by a different route than the one by which we came.

When 'morning' came and I awoke from my sleep two things struck me. Firstly the connection to Corillaine and Great Spirit had returned and secondly I had had a striking dream. In this dream I was walking an endless road, striving to reach something that was constantly out of reach. I knew I had never seen it before but I knew that I really, really wanted it, if only I knew what it was.