Khitan’s Diary part 14: The Battle of Vine Street

In The Doom that Came to Amber

2^nd Snake 3658

Aylwin decided that he could not go back to Lion Abbey without medical attention to his foot, which was causing him increasing amounts of pain. He also expressed his dissatisfaction that I had given the Tarot deck to Alaric, but I replied that Alaric was in my opinion the most able person to examine the pack and that I trusted him.

Aylwin was wincing from the pain in his foot, which was getting worse. Inside a medic’s tent in Arden I examined Aylwin’s foot using my magical sight. I could see that it was still deteriorating and would require an operation and a long period of rest to achieve its former function. The only way to heal it more rapidly would be by my trying to use my shapechanging skills on his foot. As I had had no real practice I decided that this would be too dangerous. It did make me feel that I should work harder at this healing idea.

After a meal and a rest, I trumped Asmark and brought him through to leafy Arden. He told us that rioting had broken out in Amber. I decided to return to Amber immediately with him. Aylwin would follow overland with a company of rangers.

I offered my services to Bathsheba to help with the quelling of the riots. It seemed that the worshippers of the Unicorn were running amok in Amber City and that a large number of them were marching directly towards Amber Castle down Vine Street. The rioters were so fanatical that it seemed impossible to quell them through threat of arms. I offered to cast my ‘wall of steel’ brambles spell which would have made an impenetrable barrier, but Bathsheba preferred to defeat the rioters in battle. I therefore offered my sleep spell to help decide the matter. Bathsheba indicated that she would make a sign when she wanted the spell cast.

As I waited to cast the spell I contemplated the dreadful situation before me: mass bloodshed between the establishment of Amber Castle and the loyal worshipers of the Unicorn. Was I really helping Amber by contributing to this bloodshed? Had I been a free agent I do not believe that I would have helped in this massacre, but as Ambassador for Cordoba to the Court of Amber I believed it was my duty to assist.

As I observed the fight I noticed that the Guards were having a harder time of it than you would have expected, a few were caught in a minor landslide and some slipped on the blood-wetted cobblestones. It became apparent that the Unicorn was exerting her influence to undermine the forces of Bathsheba. Peter Thrice was there also and made a sterling effort in repelling the rioters.

Eventually Bathsheba (who seemed quite tired) signalled for me to cast my spell. I did so at the next charge of rioters and all of those charging, except a hapless few at the front, fell into a deep slumber. Those at the front, suddenly short in numbers, flew into a panic as Bathseba led a counter-charge back at the rioters. The mood of the crowd seemed to shake, and it almost seemed that the spirit of the crowd gave a momentary sigh as their spirit broke and was transformed from aggressive fanaticism to desperate panic. The riot was defeated.

I headed back to Amber castle. The mood seemed sombre. I decided to climb one of Castle Amber’s highest towers and meditate whilst watching over the City from on high. There seemed to be fewer guards than normal and I was able to find a place to myself.

I cast my vision across the City smouldering still from the riots. In a few areas there still seemed to be distant rioting, but it had broken in spirit.

Night fell and after an hour or so I noticed a powerful force was moving within the City that was not of the Unicorn. The force was moving towards the Cathedral. I decided to investigate further, and checking that no guards could see me I changed into my hawk form and took to the sky. What great joy I felt at being in one of my favourite forms again as I launched myself into the beautiful night.

I glided high above the city and saw a large crowd gathering around the Cathedral, apparently the worshippers of the Unicorn had fled. A figure in bright shining armour arrived amidst the throng outside the Cathedral. He seemed to be their leader, but strangely unsure and determined at the same time. Suddenly I recognised the armour and the way the figure moved. It was Alaric! The throng broke the gates of the cathedral and Alaric passed within.

I landed on the Cathedral roof and considered what to do. I decided that the situation was quite chaotic and that some order should be returned to events. I wanted to intervene in the Cathedral and prevent this sacrilegious desecration of the main temple of my religion. Perhaps this was my last act of loyalty to the Unicorn; a symbolic grasping at straws. I decided to create a barrier around the Cathedral which might make the situation easier to control. Returning to human form I summoned magical power from Cordoba and started to cast my wall of brambles spell around the cathedral. However, just as I had finished the spell, another more powerful spell blew my wall of brambles, which I suddenly saw as ugly, away.

Some kind of holy consecration had taken place inside the Cathedral and I suddenly saw that the Unicorn was a ‘Mythos’ creature and worshipping it was part of my problem. The religion below me was clearly of a superior nature. If it was not for my training from Hafiz I would have gone down into the Cathedral immediately and thrown in my lot with Alaric.

However I remembered the words of Hafiz, “Beware the sudden change of feeling, for it is often a sign of bewitchment and the onset of the ‘folly’. Seek instead tranquillity to examine the ‘change’ and as the waves of your mind calm so will the true cause of the feeling be revealed.” Thus I decided to retreat back to Amber Castle, once again in hawk form, and to contemplate my disillusion with the Unicorn.

I considered offering the forces of Cordoba to assist Bathsheba in reclaiming control of the City, but after my revelation at the Cathedral I chose to keep my silence until I knew more surely where I stood.

I spent that night restlessly in the tower trying to calm my mind and examine my beliefs which seemed to have been thrown in the air to land in a different pattern.

It came to me that I no longer believed that the Unicorn was a force for good. I also decided that I did not trust the new religion, presumably that of Myra, either. My feelings were probably overpowered by the consecration magic at the cathedral and I felt that art could not be a focus for a religion of any worth. Art could only be of value if it could act as a channel to higher things.

I considered that the Unicorn had been different in the past and that it must have been forced to be different. The Unicorn was a ‘Mythos’ creature and the ‘Pattern’ was a glorified Elder Sign (designed to control or trap ‘Mythos’ creatures). Therefore the Pattern must have controlled the Unicorn. The Unicorn was controlled for thousands of years and has started to revert since the Pattern was damaged. The Unicorn is fighting against those who guard the Pattern. The Unicorn wants to be free, and to probably destroy the Pattern. The Unicorn is a goddess of the Pattern and has some power from the Pattern. Myra is a goddess of Trump and has power from Trump. Trump and Pattern are two separate powers and therefore Myra cannot become Goddess of Amber (without losing her Trump powers).

The following possibilities arise.

t The Unicorn escapes from the power of the Pattern, the Pattern unravels as a result and the shadows near Amber are destroyed.

t The Unicorn escapes and is slain in battle with Myra. The Pattern is repaired with an alternative symbol chosen as a religious figurehead.

There is only one person who knows which of these two are possible and how they might come about, and that person is Oberon.

I must return to the dungeons of Amber and converse with the figure of Oberon that I met there. Either it really is Oberon, or it is a creation of the Pattern, or it is a creation of the Jewel of Judgement. Anyway I believe that the figure knows the answers to my questions.

I then meditated on what alternative symbolic system I would prefer to the Unicorn, and I decided on a tree. Something similar to the ‘Tree of Life’ with each fruit representing a different religion. One tree in Amber City for each religion, the power reducing with distance from the tree according to an inverse square law and based on the number of worshippers, and one tree in Amber Castle. One tree to rule them all.

The tree is essentially a benign structure within which several religions could exist. People could possibly even choose to follow multiple religions under the protection of the tree.

3^rd Snake 3658

As these thoughts came to me, I thought I could smell bacon. The magnificent smell of breakfast!

Feeling a little light-headed I started to head down to breakfast. I bumped into Asmark, who seemed concerned. Apparently he had received some correspondence from one of his friends who was in trouble.

We trumped to a place called Chalcedony and had a look around there. We picked up one of Asmark’s friends, who had been ‘hunting’ some ‘Mythos’ creature. The traces seemed similar to some kind of robotic walker, but there were also some signs that it was a ‘living’ Mythos creature. A farmer kicked us off his property. I saw that his farm was protected with a poorly drawn Elder Sign (in fact it was no protection at all). I did not have time to repair the sign. I told Asmark that he would need reinforcements to deal with the problem, and we returned to Amber and the second sitting of breakfast!

I met Bathsheba at breakfast and it was agreed that I should ask the Caliph to send some troops to help with the reinforcement of Amber castle and maintaining order.

Apparently Julian has fallen into a coma and may be out for some time.

Asmark sent me by Trump to the spice market in Cordoba.

Things to do:

t Meet the Caliph and ask him to arrange some forces to help Amber. Warn him of the metaphysical crisis upon us.

t Visit Amber dungeon and talk with ‘Oberon’.

t Tell Random about blue crystals and tarot deck

t Find blue crystals that imprison Corwin

t Help with transport of troops to Amber

t Investigate crystal balls’ locations

t Check up on Alaric

t Practice shapeshift healing

t Find out more about the Jewel of Judgement

t Enquire as to the time of the memorial service for Nathan (whom Khitan believes is dead).