Amber - Prologues

[Puma]

Bellona[br][br]Bella fumbles for the cavalry sword on her saddle, gathering the reins with her other hand preparing to charge the vehicle's inhabitants once they realize that the hellhounds are about to rip their conveyance apart.

[Hrolf]

Grettir

Grettir steps forward. "I am no boy! Our men go a-viking at the age of fourteen summers. I have taken heads and killed corpse-walkers!"

"My father is my kinsman! He has given me rings for my service! He has given the fair Thorgunna a bride price of surpassing excellence!
If you would be my man, then you must follow me! I follow my father. That is an end to it."

He chants:
Cursed is he,
Who breaks the bonds of kinship.
Dark is his way,
Leading to Hel the land of cold.
Cleave to your kin.
You have nothing else in the world.

[The Prince of Cats]

Drake

Eric's words started to make the youth nervous. When his mother started to explain the difficulties, he realised why his family was so dangerous; they seemed to live their lives in a constant state of uncertainty.

"Surely you were either born legitimate or not, in which case you would know whether you were the rightful ruler. That is, unless the last king named a successor. The way you explain it, you seem to be the true heir and some of these other people are just splitting hairs."

Drake realised what he had just said and became nervous.

"Well, that is just how it looks based on what I have heard. I am probably mistaken or over-simplifying matters..."

[Voshkod]

Drake

Your mother coughs delicately, and Eric turns to you with a thin smile. "I am glad it all seems so simple to you, Prince Drake. You've clearly raised him well, Floramel. Such wisdom at such a young age."

He takes your mother's hand and kisses it lightly. "I'd best be off, back to Amber. Prepare the defenses and all that. Young Drake, when all this is over - and that might be some time - and it is safe for one such as you to roam the halls of home, I will ask your mother to send you before my throne. Til then, farewell." He pulls a playing card out of his pocket and vanishes in a rainbow blur.

Grettir

"To hell with your poems, Grettir, if you are a man you would not refuse the crown of us all. You are the man we can follow!" Ironfoot slaps his sword to his shield. "Grettir! Grettir!" More voices are gathering behind him. Your father's face is during dark red.

Bellona

Your leap put you behind the car as Morgenstern comes up adjacent to it. Suddenly, the black haired man has thrown himself out of the car, grappling with your father, and they both crash into the dust. You see Julian's helm fly, his dark hair suddenly free, and a bright dagger at his throat. Morgenstern roars in fury and comes about to trample the attacker, when Julian's voice cuts through the baying of the hounds. "Hold! All of you, hold!"

The blond man stops the car and gets out as well. He's pulled a rapier, and he's moving between you and your father. He grins at you, somewhat lopsidedly. "Sorry, kid. Wrong place, wrong time." You think he knows how to use that rapier.

Rachel

"You'd have to ask my dad that, kid," says Random. His eyes fall on the picture and he immediately grabs it. "Oh, man, she was so beautiful. So . . ." He reddens slightly. "So beautiful. Yeah, I can see her in you, kid. And me, I guess. So, where is she?"

[The_Logic_Ninja]

Rachel

"Sit down," Rachel recommends, and takes a breath. "She's dead," she says, intending it to be flat, but her voice quavers. "Boss Pogue shot her, six years ago, and the place has gone to hell, and there's protection money, and nobody can even teach me how to shoot so I can kill the bastard." Hot tears spring to her eyes as her fists clench.

[The Prince of Cats]

Drake

"I am sorry for that tasteless sycophancy but I get the feeling that it was best to tell him what he wanted to hear, if only because he looks the type to turn nasty if you disagree."

It was the truth; lie if you have to but survive first and everything else comes second.

"So... Who is the real king, who is Corwin and where did Grandfather go?"

Growing up insulated from the chaos of his family had probably been the safest course of action until now but Drake was starting to realise that he needed to understand the politics better if he was to survive the coming civil war.

[Puma]

Bellona[br][br]"Horse balls!" Bella curses under her breath. [br]Julian's order comes just in time to forestall a charge, Bellona has to use both hands to keep a tight-enough rein on the worked-up Sabre... the horse can't help but take a few steps sideways in nervousness. [br]Bella looks for an opening in the smaller man's attention. [br]Who are these people? she thinks. [br]More relatives? Who else would bring a machine like that here, and best Father in his own domain? Could they be the ones bringing the evil into Arden? The wyverns... and worse?

[Voshkod]

Bellona

You can hear snatches of the conversation. Julian, scornfully, "If you're going to kill me, be about it." The dark haired man replies with a smile, "In my own good time. . . ."

The blond man is still grinning. "So, hey, you must be Julian's daughter. I'd heard rumors about you. I'm Random, your uncle. The psycho with the knife is Corwin, and he wants to be the next king. So don't try anything, 'cause Corwin just got out of the nuthouse, ya know?"

"Random. We're leaving." Corwin is shoving your father in the back of the car.

"Gotta go, kid. Don't worry, I won't let him hurt Julian." Random gets back in the car, and they start off.

Drake

"Drake." Your mother sounds annoyed. "When dealing with family, keep a civil tongue and keep your questions to yourself. Only good grace, your age, and my presence kept you alive just a moment ago." She sighs, and starts picked up some pieces of glass.

"Oberon, my father, was king. He's been gone for some time. In fact, I think you and I were the last to see him. Eric is older than Corwin, but not officially legitimate. Corwin was conceived after father had married Eric's mother, so he is clearly legitimate. Benedict has the strongest claim, but he doesn't want it. All told, dark days ahead."

Rachel

Random has the good grace to look stunned. "Dead? Can't be. I safetied this shadow when I put her here. She can't be dead, kid." You see the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

[The_Logic_Ninja]

Rachel

"Tell that," Rachel says, wiping her eyes, "to Boss Pogue. I was there. I saw her die and I saw her buried, and what the hell are you talking about?"

[The Prince of Cats]

Drake

For a moment, Drake was not sure how to respond but finally decided to just agree with his mother.

"I am sorry," he told her, "but I just don't ever seem to have any idea what is going on any more."

Random turning up out of the blue, Eric running around like something out of a Shakespearean history, civil wars and alien creatures that can kill even the hounds. He was starting to think that Random might be the most normal member of his family, especially now that he had watched her snap the hound's neck.

[Puma]

Bellona[br]Bella at 16[br][br]Bella remains grimly silent, waiting to see what will happen. [br]No need to panic, Bella... Father will need you and the other Rangers to be calm, to wait for the proper opening.[br]She looks 'Random' over again, sizing him up as he speaks to her. [br]Liar... I can't believe anything this man has to say. What a fool fate must be, to make it so that he is related to Father, Uncle Gerard, or even Uncle Caine.[br] Her reverie is interrupted, by Julian's abduction. [br][br]"Kidnapping a girl's father is not the best first impreesion, Uncle." she says to Random's back as he reenters the vehicle.[br][br]She gives Sabre a little rein as the car begins to roll again, intending for the horse to keep pace at a reasonable distance. She had thought of trying to control Morgernstern... though in the end she decided that it would be impossible anyway. Besides, Julian may need his beast if he makes an escape.

[Hrolf]

Grettir

"Very well!" bellows Grettir, "If my staves do not affect you then my axe will!"
He reverses his Great Axe and lays it at his father's feet.
"I will follow my father! As I always have! I shall only be king if my father makes me so!"

Grettir steps back to see what will happen. As he passes Horgar he whispers "Now you have to lead them. Good luck."

[Voshkod]

Grettir

The sky is sundered with the cry of a raven, and a great black bird descends from the clouds. As it approaches, it takes on a size more normal for a raven, and it alights on your father's shoulder. A hush falls over the crowd.

"There! The gods themselves have shown their faith in me and Grettir! Who now would speak against me?" Your father's words echo across the camp and, as if in answer, the raven craps on his shoulder. It hops off and with a single swift flap comes to rest on your shoulder.

Bellona

You follow the car for some distance, Morgenstern keeping pace with Sabre. There's something truly mad in the eyes of that beast, and it snorts and foams as if it's in constant pain.

The car pulls over, perhaps a quarter mile ahead, and all three men get out. Your father is standing on a cliff, perhaps a fall of a mile to the rocks below. The blond one, Random, is standing behind the car, while the dark haired one, Corwin, points a gun at your father. There's some discussion going on, but you're too far back, and the wind's too strong, for you to hear.

Drake

"Oh, my poor darling," your mother says, and she gives you a hug. "I should have spent more time preparing you, and now I haven't the time. You need to know this much - don't talk to your uncles or aunts unless they talk to you first. Don't ask them questions or ask them for favors. Don't say anything even vaguely insulting. If they demand you kneel, do it."

She fans a deck of cards out on the table. You recognize the major and minor arcana of a tarot deck, but there are a set of cards that you've never seen before. You recognize Random in one, dressed in medieval garb, smiling. Your mother, in a beautiful gown, surrounded by candles. Eric, cloak and doublet, a glass of wine in his hand. And many others.

Rachel

It's as if someone's thrown a switch. The eyes, which were first laughing, then sad, turn cold. "Someone's been here. Someone's sending me a message." He grabs you by the hand, and his grip is strong, almost painful. "Those four thugs playing poker at the table near the fireplace. Those Pogue's men?"

You know the four, one weasel and three brutes. Pogue's men, all of them.

[The Prince of Cats]

Drake

The youth looked at the cards spread across the table, the people... his family.

"Uncle Eric was holding a card like this when he..." Drake looked for the most suitable word for what he saw, "disappeared to Amber. Is that what they are for, for going to other places?"

Drake laughed softly.

"So, not only are my aunts and uncles all dangerous and probably short tempered, they can also teleport around at will... No wonder you never introduced them before. It looks like uncle Random is almost tame compared to the others. I mean, all he does all day is play cards and run from ex-wives..."

[The_Logic_Ninja]

Rachel

"Yes. They are. But this isn't about you! You left her, no one even knows you here. Also, ow." Rachel jerks her hand away.

[Puma]

Bellona[br][br]Bella waits, but isn't especially patient about it. [br]"How can they do this? What has Father ever done to them?"[br]Alas, Bella doesn't know the stories Corwin tells of their younger years together.[br][br]She considers the distance... she might be able to charge the knot of people and at least distract them enough that they won't be able to throw Julian from the cliff... or so she hopes.

[Hrolf]

Grettir

Grettir restrains a laugh at what has just happened. This is fairly serious, after all.
"Are you from my mother as well then, bird?" he whispers to the raven.

As the men get angrier, Grettir realises that he will have to get his axe back quickly. He mentally measures what will have to be done to roll forward and pick his axe up.

[Voshkod]

Grettir

"Omens flutter from the sky in darkness, Grettir, and the Valkerie watch this day." The bird's words echo in your head, as laughter erupts from the ring of men around you and your father.

"The gods show what they think of Horgar!," Ironfoot shouts. Your father is clearly about to erupt in rage.

Bellona

The two men get back in their car, and the metal beast slowly continues to wend it's way toward Amber. Your father stands, like a statue, on the edge of the cliff, the sea raging below.

Rachel

"Kid . . . Rachel . . . you don't get it, yet, but it's always about me." He stands, adjusts his hat. "You stay here and I'll . . . ." He stops, and looks you in the face. "No. You come with me. You deserve that much, I guess." He opens the door and heads toward the main room.

Drake

"Yes, dear, the cards are both for communications and travel," your mother says as she shuffles them together. "But you're not ready to use them yet. There's a lot more you need to know, and I'll need to take you to Amber, walk the Pattern. . . ." She trails off, just looking at you with concern on her face.

[The_Logic_Ninja]

Rachel

"They have a name for that. It's called egomania. What makes you so important anyway?" Her voice is bitter as she follows.
So important you had to leave her...

[The Prince of Cats]

Drake

"Walk the Pattern?" he asked.

He could hear the capital letter, the reminder it was special. Unbidden, a memory came to him; he could not be entirely sure of where it came from but it seemed somehow fitting.

That, boy, that is the most important thing in the worlds. When you're older, when you're ready, tell your mother that you want to see it in person.

The look of concern on his mother's face reminded him of something he had worked out as Eric left.

"I think it is too late to protect me now. I know that you were keeping me secret from my aunts and uncles but it was okay when only Random knew. Now that Eric knows about me, I get the feeling that the secret is out..."

[Hrolf]

Grettir

Grettir nods at the black bird's words. He steps forward and lifts his axe.
"What would you have me do, father? I have not taken oaths to these as I have to you," He sweeps his axe around the assembled chieftains. Then he fixes Ironfoot with his eye. "But some of them have taken oaths to me!"

[Puma]

Bellona[br][br]Bella dismounts and leads her horse towards Julian at the edge of the cliff. [br]"Father?] she calls softly. "What did they want? We could head them off , if you want.

[Voshkod]

Bellona

Julian is staring thoughtfully at the vehicle as it disappears into the woods. "Follow them? Yes, I suppose we could, Bell. But . . . Eric's made a mistake. A big one. And I don't feel terribly disposed to helping him any longer." He strokes Morgenstern's snout for a moment, then swings up into the saddle. "Come on, Bell, we have a lot to do. There's likely to be a war, and I want to make sure Arden comes through it."

Grettir

"Stand forth, Ironfoot," your father roars. "You would mock me before those I have defeated, those that have joined me. Stand forth and face my axe if you have the courage."

Ironfoot stands, a sneer on his ugly features. He hefts his own axe, a bitter black notched blade. "I accept your challenge, God-father."

Drake

"Are you that eager to dive into the family cesspool, Drake?," your mother asks with exasperation in her voice. "Look around you; just a simple visit from Corwin and Random and the house is trashed, I have several corpses to dispose of, I need to get new dogs, and the drapes and carpet will need to be repaired. You'll finish your schooling and then we'll consider a trip to Amber."

Rachel

"I'm the man that made the world, kid," Random says heading down the stairs. "Now stay behind me." He moves over to the table where Boss Pogue's men are playing cards. Looks like poker, and there's a large stack of chips in the middle. With a smooth flick of the wrist, Random tosses a card onto the middle of the table. You catch a glimpse of it.



"My deal," Random says quietly, and suddenly he has a pistol in each hand. The one in the left hand roars, and a man's head explodes, the one in the right hand spits fire, and a second of Pogue's boys falls over onto the table, blood pouring from his chest. People are diving for cover, screaming.

[The Prince of Cats]

Drake

"I can see the mess. That is why I want to understand better. If those... things could kill the dogs, they could have killed me if I had been here. By the look of things, I need to at least start learning Court Protocol. I am not asking to meet the rest of the family, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it might be nice to learn the names and faces just so I know who to avoid. Know thine enemy and all that..."

In all honesty, Drake was scared. He had trained under a dozen masters in each of a dozen martial arts. He could brawl, fence and shoot better than some people who had devoted their lives to the pursuits. He could run a marathon and still have the energy left to jog home afterward. And yet... none of this would mean a thing if the least member of his mother's family wanted to hurt him.

[Hrolf]

Grettir

Being the ranking priest of Odin present, Grettir's duty is obvious. He sets four hazel staves (always kept ready) in a square twenty paces on a side.
"Here we have the hazel branches. Once two step inside, neither can leave until the other is dead. To deliberately flee from the hazel wands is to be less than a man. To be nothing! Any man may make of such a coward what he will!"

Grettir steps back and calls "Horgar Tormundsson who would be king! Ironfoot who disputes this! Come now to the Holmgangr and may Odin favour the right!"

Grettir stands at the side of the square as the men gather round to watch the duel.

[Puma]

Bellona[br][br]"You know I'll always fight for you and Arden. Would now bw a good time for you to tell me what is going on out there?"[br]She remounts Sabre once Julian collects Morgenstern.[br] "I can't be very useful if you keep me in the dark. I know you're trying to protect me... but I can't help you if you don't tell me anything."[br]Bella wheels her horse around, to follow after Julian. She wonders silently what his youth must have been like, to make him change so when his siblings are around. [br][br]He's like a different person. That can't be good.

[The_Logic_Ninja]

Rachel

He's crazy, she thinks--but at least he's doing something. For six years, no one has. Not even her.
Death, the card on the table says, and it is so; her father shoots, and Rachel stands tall on the stairs, watching grimly.

[Voshkod]

Rachel

One of Pogue's men reaches for a pistol before he takes two shots, one in the head, the other in the chest. The fourth one seems paralyized, but you can hear the sound of water pouring out of his pants. Random levels both pistols at the man's head. His voice is low and dangerous.

"Now listen up, and listen good. You're going to go back to Boss Pogue, and you're going to tell him that Random is back, and that I'm coming to kill him tonight. Right?" The man doesn't move. Random places the barrel of the pistol under his chin and forces him to nod. "Now go." In a flash, he's up and running out the door.

Bellona

"I can still protect you," he says vehemently. "And I can protect Arden. To the abyss with my brothers, damn all my sisters, and may whatever death Father found for himself be a painful one." He stops on a small rise, and you can see the great city on the hill. "And to hell with you, Amber!," he roars into the uncaring breeze. "Come now, tumble down, tumble down into the sea until seaweed grows in your ruins!"

Grettir

Your father has seen a decade of long battle, and the years wear on him heavily. Yet he's learned much in these years. Ironfoot is young, fast, and strong, but arrogant, overconfident, and you watch your father bait him, leave small openings. Ironfoot swings, the blade slamming into the dirt with a spark, and your father jumps back, taking a short cut, planting his axe in Ironfoot's shoulder.

The young northman grins and steps back, blood welling from the cut. "Is that the best you can do, old man?" He steps forward, inviting a hit, and your father takes it, the axe swinging in from the side, cutting through the chain, and Ironfoot grunts, but now he's inside your father's swing. Ironfoot's great axe rises, and you can see your father isn't going to be able to block in time.

Drake

"All in good time, Drake, all in good time. Now, I need a cleaning service, and I think we should head somewhere else. Be a dear and tell them to get the Gulfstream ready. I think St. Thomas would be nice this time of year! Oh, I'll need some summer dresses . . . ." She leaves the room, still talking to herself.

[The_Logic_Ninja]

Rachel

Crazy, but undeniably effective, good with those guns. Rachel steps down the stairs, and moves across the floor--avoiding a pool of blood--to stand by her father. "Won't telling him we're coming just make things harder?"

[Voshkod]

Rachel

"Yeah, it probably will," he says, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it on the candle in the middle of the table. "But that way I get them all in one place, I can kill them all at one time, and I can get out of here."

He sits down in front of the fire, motions you to sit on one of the unbloodied chair. "Look, Rachel, I'm gonna be straight with you, kid. I'm on the run. From guys who make Pogue's boys look like a bunch of toddlers. If they get into this shadow in force, they'll rip it apart. Someone knows about this place, changed some things, made me come back here. They're trying to throw me off my game. So I can't stay long." He blows out an impressive smoke ring which drifts over your head before vanishing.