Asmark’s Diary
part 20: The Awakening
in Brave New Worlds
The Awakening – New Year’s Day 3659 – (Absinthe)
I awoke in Cerridwen. None of my trumps were working, perhaps Dworkin’s new world does not have trump? Perhaps I, like Aylwin, have been excommunicated by Mira’s church? However
I found that trump sketching still reveals insights about the place, so the
failure is not complete. I quickly identified this place for what it is. It is
my new domain, part of Absinthe, the realm of Princess Fiona (however she now
chooses to style herself). I was alone, so I had to fetch my own meals from the
castle kitchens.
On the second day,
I transformed to an eagle and soared over the island. On the third day, I flew
in the same form to the mainland, and spend a night in
On the fourth,
when the people were starting to form around me now, I rode down to Great Tullyport. I rowed across the river and landed in the
parkland beyond. In the distance was a very large country house, I had covered
about half the distance to it when a rider approached, not a semi-formed ghosts
but a real man.
For a moment I
was apprehensive, but it was Algar, who was delighted
to see me and invited me back to his home. It was clearly precisely what he
wished Waterworth Hall had been. I stayed a few days,
by which time the servants were performing their tasks, albeit you can still
see through them. There were also a number of guests present,
including at least two ambitious mothers with daughters they would like to
marry to Algar, or myself, although both seem to
think Algar a more realistic prospect.
I travelled on
to Payree, where I met up with Jomes
and then Bleys. Then on to Absinthe itself where I found
Raymond and Fiona. Fiona was concerned about the whereabouts of Anya and Luke (as she calls Rinaldo).
Back in Payree, I suddenly had a trump call. It was Fiona to tell
me that trumps are now working. She also indicated that I would be called upon
to do a number of trump commissions although she gave no indication of precisely
what.
The first person
I trumped was Falasia. It seems that she, Montford and their father are in Amber, and that she is
assumed to be of the Blood. She reports that Random is King and Llewella, Gerard, Vialle, Ann (Dworkin’s candidate as sacrifice), Peter, Terisa, Alexander (and his troops) and Gilgamesh are all
there too. Falasia seems to be rather more bubbly than previously. It may be the effect of meeting
on reasonably equal terms several men that she wouldn’t dare cross swords with,
and is having to fall back on her version of feminine charm. She has clearly
heard some very guarded references to the Pattern, so I explained roughly what
the Pattern is about and the implications if she really is of the Blood.
Then I trumped
Random. He was glad to hear from me but disappointed that I am in Absinthe
rather then in Amber. He seems worried about the loss of Elders to other
Pattern realms and the presence of new forces of unknown loyalty in Amber. He
swore me to secrecy before telling me that he doubts the loyalty of Alexander
and Gilgamesh. He was trying to keep the Pattern under wraps as far as the new
arrivals are concerned.
I had to admit
that I had significantly blown his cover with respect to Falasia
and advised that he is probably better being open with her now and asking her
to keep it to herself. Random seems disturbed that Falasia
wants legal duelling. I pointed out ‘legal’ is not the same as ‘unregulated’.
Indeed in my view, if duelling is going to take place, it is better in the open
where it can be kept in check, and rarely lethal. Fewer good men are lost that
way.
He told me that
his Amber has simple firearms, but not automatic ones, and is worried the
effect this would have on legal duels. I recommended simply insisting on
duelling with blades; I can see no virtue in duelling with fire-arms. The
mention of fire-arms also seemed to be intended as a threat. He seems very
concerned that there will be wars between the new realms. If other elders are
of the same opinion it risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Random was
also potentially interested in commissioning some trumps.
I must have a
word with Fiona about Falasia. Bleys seems very
concerned that we are short of people of the Blood in Absinthe. If Falasia (and potentially Montford
as well) is someone’s by-blow, then Fiona might consider allowing her to walk
the Absinthe Pattern. I am not sure if she would entirely change loyalty, but
she would be likely to spend at least some of her time here. After all most of
her and my friends are here. I think Random would consider it rather a hostile
move so it would need to be handled with some delicacy. If presented to Random
correctly he might accept it as a way in which Falasia
can be allowed to walk the Pattern without setting a precedent for Alexander
and Gilgamesh. This is slightly complicated by my promise of confidentiality to
Random that means I cannot explain this fully to Fiona or Bleys. In any case, I
must invite her here to meet Fiona.
On a more
general point, preventing war between the realms will be far easier if as many
of the younger generation as possible have their loyalty shared between the
realms, at least to the extent of agreeing not to take part in any wars between
realms. I think it will be very much easier to arrange a general non-aggression
pact between a large number of brats, than between the
Elders who seem too set in their back-biting ways. We can move from there to
agreements on mutual support in the case of an attack.
Then I trumped
Bathsheba. She is in a realm of her own called Ellas,
in a city called Kenossa. She also has Dalt and Luke with her though she seems less than
enthusiastic about them. She also has Helga and Grimm from the Amber nobility.
She seemed fine, and would appreciate a trump or two (albeit presumably Luke
will be her first resort). Bathsheba also returned my trumps of Montford and Algar. As soon as I
had dropped the connection, I trumped Fiona to tell her where Luke is.
With trump
working, my first priority was a trump of Cerridwen,
specifically the interior of the arrival hall off the outer bailey in Seti castle. This place is specifically designed as a trump
arrival point. Having created this trump I turned to spare copies of all of my
own working trumps, ten in all.
By this time I
had been commissioned by Bleys to produce a trump of
Strangely I find
that I have no recollection of the nominal main representative, nor can I
remember any of the representatives that we met at the more official meeting.
As one of the
preliminary sketches, I sketched the meeting as a trump. The sketch is of a
table and three chairs, two occupied by Bathsheba and Harold. In the third
there sits a ghostly figure, too indistinct to see any features. I cannot even
determine whether it is a man or a woman. I begin to suspect that Dworkin was right, so people are not merely ‘no-more’, but
now ‘never-have-been’. I suspect that this has happened to some of the Zirconians. This raises the question of who else might
there have been but is no more? Worryingly I seem to have one less trump than I
thought I had. One of the trumps Benedict gave me seems to have gone missing,
but I have no recollection of any omission.
My best guess is
that Amberites (like Archie) are still remembered, so
it seems extremely unlikely that anyone of the Blood could have been forgotten.
I can only assume that someone in the trump-deck wasn’t of the Blood, most
likely it was a spouse of someone now dead. Probably a wife
of Oberon, although obviously we have all forgotten that they ever existed.
------------------------------
It was during
Scorpion of the first year that Aylwin prepared for a
ritual to lift the curse on his use of trump. Fiona had determined that he had to
ritually abjure Mira and all her works, and then walk the Absinthe Pattern. All
of the local nobility were invited to the abjuration, but the Pattern walk was
family only. Aylwin wished to invite Julian, Anya (who we learn is in Julian’s realm), Random, Bathsheba
and Morwaith. It fell to me to make the trump calls
to deliver the invitations. Julian and Anya both sent
their best wishes but neither could attend. Random felt it would be
inappropriate to attend the public ceremony, but agreed to attend the Pattern
walk, saying he would bring one other, but not saying who. Bathsheba agreed to
attend. Morwaith not only wished to come but wished
to visit immediately. It seems he was very concerned about the state of the
Church of the Unicorn in Absinthe.
Accordingly the
Prophet arrived a full week in advance and had plenty of time for discussions
with Bleys, Fiona and Raymond prior to ceremony. Raymond was particularly
gratified to be able to settle a number of points of doctrine that he was
uncertain of. Stripped of his uncertainties, Raymond is now all fired up to
ensure the local church is a model of the Prophet’s orthodoxy. Morwaith had been very worried that Raymond might be a
fundamentalist of the blood-thirsty school. In fact Raymond is in his own way
fundamentalist, but he considers Morwaith, as
Prophet, to be the infallible source of wisdom.
Raymond was
relieved that Morwaith agreed to conduct the service
of the abjuration. He has only actually been in holy orders for a few months,
and is still rather out of his depth especially when it comes to major state
occasions. On the way from the abbey to the Pattern, I trumped Random and he
sent through Peter, before arriving himself.
After the
ceremony, Morwaith was asking if there was a trump of
Bathsheba he could have? As I have both my own work and a copy of Anya’s, I lent the Prophet Anya’s
trump of Bathsheba.
People
with Asmark’s trump:
Bathsheba
Bill Roth
(perhaps now in Corwin’s possession)
Bleys
Jomes
Julian
Michael
Peter (copy
originally given to Alaric – Peter has told Asmark
where it came from)
Random (almost
certainly the copy given to Vialle)
?Clarissa? (by Clarence)