Brú na Bóinne
and Woodstock
The personal diary of William, son of Finndo
The
Second Day since Amber came to Chaos
From
speaking to my cousins, it seems that several of them have difficulty marking
the passage of time here; they have seen that one may accomplish three times as
much as another in what appears to be the same amount of time - almost as if
Chaos were all the shadows of Amber wrapped together. Suffice it to say - I
awoke in the Hive after meeting my cousins and breakfasted with Grandmother.
She was in a good mood, and asked me what I would hope to achieve today. I confess
I had pondered this matter the previous day and answered quickly and politely “I
would speak with my Uncle Benedict, and visit Brú na Bóinne
and my relatives in House Barimen”. She told me that
she had something for me to deliver to Benedict, and that if I would wait
outside for a short time, she would prepare it.
I
stretched my legs around the Hive and returned to find my Grandmother brushing
her hair and next to her on a table a small wooden box, unlocked and unsealed,
light in weight and colour. She told me then that she would seek to arrange a
meeting with House Barimen, but that they had
suffered greatly at the hands of Amber, both in the recent battle and overall,
and in the past, and that therefore we might not be welcome there.
Finally,
she asked me to tell my Uncle that she missed him and that it has been too long
since she has seen him but to make no suggestion to invite him to House Ascaris - a faux pas I would obviously have made, and one
which might have upset House Hendrake.
As
we were preparing to leave, DeLambre handed me an
invitation from the High King to a formal ball, dinner and presentation -
seeing the look on my face DeLambre offered to polish
my armour. I suggested that he might polish some sabatons
for the feet of those unfortunate enough to dance with me, which he took with
his usual good grace.
We
approached Dragonhall, the home of Hendrake, and walked into the maw of the great beast. I met
with Braxinane of Hendrake
and oaths were swapped for safe conduct and my agreement not to raise a hand
against my Uncle during this visit. Knowing Benedict of old, and fully aware
that he would have spent the years as arduously in pursuit of martial prowess
as I had, and even more aware that he had had many more of those years than me,
I found it hard not to smile at such an oath. Shortly after that I was ushered
into the presence of one who I had not seen for some one hundred and fifty
years.
He
was older. There is no doubt in that. He bore the loss of an arm stoically and
moved as if it had never been there. On receiving Grandmother's gift he opened
it to display a pastry, apple from the aroma. His delight was tempered by
experience, and he requested I share it with him - courtesy and caution exemplified.
I drew a dagger, noting his slight shift in position, and cut it in two,
choosing the half nearest to me. The pastry was light and well formed, the fruit tart and firm. I do not have the
vocabulary to describe it fully, but it was real in the way that much food in
the Courts is not. Benedict obviously agreed, much taken that Cymnea had remembered his favourite delicacy. He bade me
tell her that he would visit with her soon, as his duties allowed.
He
then asked what I would have from him and I requested leave to return with him
to Amber - Chaos has been my prison, not my home, these past years, and I would
see my home again. Was there nothing else I wanted? I would earn whatever else
I needed through my actions, I told him, and he nodded. All business being
achieved, he then dismissed me and I returned to DeLambre,
pausing only to pass words with Braxinane again. He
wished me to know that Hendrake had respect for Amber
as foes and that they bore us no ill-will for their
losses in the battle. In fact, they would not be averse to the peace between us
and them continuing beyond the funeral of Oberon.
On
my return to House Ascaris I was shown into my
Grandmother's chambers to see her with my Uncle Caine.
I gave her Benedict's message and Caine told me that
his son, Dirk, was in the ante-chamber. Dismissed yet again I went to meet yet
another relative.
How
refreshing to find one so easy to dislike.
Caine is a diplomat. His son may have the glimmerings of that skill
but it will do him little good if he cannot hide his contempt for all those he deems lesser than he, which at present seems to
be almost anyone male. Anyone female is given the attention that a wolf gives
to a lamb. He was polite to Darig concerning his
conduct in battle, but even I with my known ability to say or do the wrong
thing winced when he completed the compliment with 'but of course there are
many who were not happy you were given command, thinking it should have been
someone elder. I could not say who they are, of course...' I snorted at that;
Benedict giving such a command to Darig is a
signifier of Darig's skill, not his years; the action
of a commander who seeks to win the war, not the politics amongst his own
forces.
Soon
all those I had met the day previous were here, except for
We
are of House Barimen; this the
histories tell us. But I am not sure I believed it until I set foot in Brú na Bóinne. I thought that all that was romantic or sentimental
had been knocked out of me in Diptera, but the clean
air and green grass of Brú na Bóinne told me that I
was wrong. If there is anywhere that is a land that demands heroes, it is this.
I strode taller as I walked towards the gong that would announce our arrival,
drawing Claideb to strike it when a creature unfolded
itself from the rock and rumbled a demand. “What is to stop me striking you
down here and now?”
I
reversed my grip, bringing my sword to bare, “Your inability to land a blow?” I
asked, preparing myself for a glorious fight. A cough stopped me. DeLambre brought forward a letter bearing my Grandmother's
seal and I groaned, inwardly, while accepting the true nature of strength and
power in Chaos. “And this letter from my Grandmother”, I added, showing the
creature the seal.
If
I groaned inwardly, this creature showed no such control of its emotions. Fear
blossomed on its face and it bowed its head, striking out at the gong to herald
our coming into the hall. “Your pardon, Lord; you will be met,” it croaked as
it tried to make itself as small as possible.
As
we walked through the dark hall we were met by Loeg,
a fox headed servitor of the House. He asked our names and our lineage and
while all others claimed to be the grandchildren of Oberon, I gave my heritage as
that descending from Cymnea.
As
we approached the Great Hall we heard two voices - one elder pressing the
younger to take up his heritage as the only way to rebuild his House and the
other, younger and whining like a child, crying that it would be too difficult.
The gong must have been heard, even here, and I could not help but think that
we were meant to hear this conversation.
We
were presented to two creatures who quickly took the forms of men; Sire Melvin,
the last survivor of the elder line of the House of Barimen
as he was quick to point out, and the third person I was drawn to dislike on
meeting - oh joyous day that brings such riches. He is no Chaos Lord, and his
house, it appeared, has but three demons to its name. Unlike House Minobee, who can reproduce by splitting in two, Barimen require a male and female pairing, and given how
pathetic he is, I cannot see any woman of note or value willing to pair with
him.
His
advisor was Lord Suhuy of House Winter; keeper of a
Power within Chaos, from what I know of him, and such a Power that it means
that he and his House are separate from the Games of the Courts as much as
anyone is. Suhuy was pressing Melvin still, so when Loeg took me to one side I went, glad not to be party to
such quarrels being carried out in public.
Loeg's question to me was simple; did I represent the most senior
line of Amber here? I nodded; my uncle Osric had no
children; my father only me. Any children of Benedict would come below me by
order of blood, if not Amber law. He gestured to Melvin and told me of his long
loyalty to House Barimen and his worry that they
could not be far from falling. He asked would I take him into service and I
answered that should Barimen fall, I would gladly do
so.
He
nodded, and then his eyes widened and I saw a flash of movement reflected in
his iris. I turned, drawing Claideb, as Der Rükenschild strengthened
itself against a treacherous blow. The shadow behind me was closing though and
bore me to the ground before I could assume a guard position. Dropping my blade
I grabbed hold of the darkness, its strength close to mine and its speed much
the same. Footsteps approached and light bloomed as we wrestled, poison
dripping from its dagger and multiple limbs striking me as I sought an
advantage. Soon, the travails of Diptera prevailed
and I gained the upper hand, freeing one hand and reaching towards where I was
sure its throat must be. It broke free at that point, knowing that it was
defeated and seeking only to escape but I gathered my will and threw power to
strike it, stunning it for a moment; long enough for Darig
to sink his blade into it and for a web of sorcery to entangle it; cast, I
found out later, by Suhuy.
Knowing
that it was caught and held, the creature began to writhe; switching between
shapes uncontrollably as the Protease poison it had ingested took hold. Suhuy stripped the glamour from it and we saw a lizard-like
creature writhing in the net, its shape like mercury. An assassin from House Spandrel,
as best I could tell. I rounded on Melvin; not that I expected one such as he
to behave like the lord of such a hall should, but wishing him to be aware of
what was required of the position. “Is there no protection in the hall of Brú na Bóinne
for a guest?” I demanded. Melvin looked as if I were about to kill him, but Suhuy calmed him, simply saying that Barimen
were in my debt and that there was a favour that could be called should I
request it. I nodded, happy that at least one was here to advise Melvin to
proper behaviour.
As
we left, I sought out Loeg again; he and his
companion demons would be welcome should Barimen
fall.
From
Brú na
Bóinne we headed to
Still,
we made our way to Woodstock where Mandor gave us a
history lesson to do with the High King and how he came to power; a lesson that
set bells ringing in my memory to do with the Coronation, bells similar in
sound enough to the ones that rang when I first met Darig
that I'm sure the two memories are connected somehow, despite how implausible
that might be. There is something there that I must think on, and perhaps talk
to my Grandmother about.
Mandor then, with breathtaking face, asked us to assassinate the
High King when we were presented to him at the forthcoming ball - Mandor would make sure that the outer guard would turn a
blind eye, leaving us to deal with Swayvil's personal
demons only. Mandor would then replace Swayvil with one of his own house who would be far better
deposed towards Amber, and to our release.
I
could not hold my incredulity in check - here was a senior Chaos Lord, bound by
oath to his King, seeking to use us as his dagger! Dirk, unsurprisingly, was
all for the plan, just so long as his hands could remain clean. He claimed not
to have the martial prowess for the task, though to my eye he is my equal if
not slightly better at the art of war than I, and certainly my master in
physical strength. I curtly told him that if he were not willing to wield the
blade, he didn't get a vote in the matter.
We
withdrew to Brú na
Bóinne once more, leaving
Using
Brú na
Bóinne as a quiet place to talk, we discussed Mandor's offer: Darig and I were
both of the opinion that it would be madness for us to assay this; much harm
would fall to Amber if we struck, taking Mandor's
sole word that he had sufficient support both to take the throne and to protect
us afterwards. I was reminded that following the death of the previous High
King, there had been several kinglings on the throne
before Swayvil gathered a strong enough alliance
amongst the lesser Houses to force the rest to acknowledge him; would Mandor's candidate be the first in a new line of those whose
vision outreached their grasp?
Bidding
farewell to my cousins, I headed towards Ascaris.
This was a matter on which I would wish to sleep before acting.