ConversationResumptionConversation ResumptionFiona looks at Dagny with an innocent smile. "Yes" Dulcinea says brightly. "I would like to get to know you better, Dagny, if you are of a mind." Kieran nods to Dagny and Dulcinea. "Then I will see you both later." "See you later, Kieran," Dagny responds. By the time Kieran turns his attertion from the departing Dagny and Dulcinea, Fiona has poured two fresh cups of tea, "I found that most educational, don't you think?" Fiona comments. Kieran nods his head as he sits back down. "Now" she says "just where we were, grandson?" she adds with a slight smile. "About to have tea?;" Kieran replies with a slight smile. He drinks some of his tea. "Yes" Fiona says with a smile. "So, about me walking the Primal Pattern... when can that be arranged?" "Likely, Kieran, as soon as your other grandmother is free and you have had time to study and prepare." Fiona replies. "Ideally, I'd like at least one of my children there as well. However, both are out of Amber at the moment." Kieran nods his head. "I'm sure Mom and Dad would like to watch via Trump if that's possible." "You do know you will probably have to walk the Pattern in the Castle soon thereafter." Fiona says. "When Random gives you leave to walk the Pattern himself." "Appearances;" Kieran says; "must be maintained." He smiles slightly. "That said, Mom and Dad, Mom especially, have been preparing me for this for most of my adult life. When would you like to begin my course of study and preparation?" "As soon as your schedule here permits, of course. The sooner, the better." Fiona rises and heads toward one of the bookshelves. She takes a plain black volume, small and thin out of the bookshelf and brings it back, offering it to Kieran. "Here" she says. Although the book is not titled and has no title page, the text begins with: "In the Beginning, there was Nothing." The typography is blackletter, and a brief inspection suggests that the book is theory and practice on the walking of and the uses of the Pattern. "Your Aunt and Uncle both used this." Fiona explains. "And now you will." As he reads, he sets the HTD to scan the book and store it as a sort of PDF file. "But not mother?" he asks as he reads and works on committing the book's contents to memory. "No, not your mother." Fiona says. She takes a long sip of tea as she watches Kieran set up the scan of the book into his HTD. The text does have a few, simple diagrams and maps. There is mention of the design of the Pattern, and a brief mention of the four Patterns and their comparisons and contrasts. The real meat of the text comes next, when it begins to explain the nature of shadow travel, and traveling in and out of Amber ("or other places with a strong Primal Power"). "No, I set Lorius to teach your mother" Fiona says. "in a traditional teacher and apprentice system. It was Lorius' idea, given that Keltic systems of education made it familiar to Brandeigh. And I wanted him to use the text as a teacher to suggest revisions to the text from the point of view of someone who had already mastered it. The edition you hold is a new addition after the experience." Kieran snorts and glances up at his grandmother. "I'm sure that went well;" he says with a trace of sarcasm. "Although the experiment was...eventually a success, and improved the work, having your Uncle teach your mother certainly affected their relationship." Fiona agrees. "In the end, not quite for the worse, although both of them have a more dynamic relationship than either of them do with Shannon." "It's a thin line between love and hate, grandmother;" Kieran says. "From stories she's told me, Mom hasn't always liked her brother." He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. "But that's between them. I haven't met my uncle or aunt, aunts I should say for I have an aunt on Dad's side as well. I would like to though at somepoint." "When they are back in Amber, I intend to make an point of it" Fiona says between sips. While reading through the book, does it basically agree with the things his parents, especially Brandeigh, have told him? It does indeed. Its a distinctly different style from the way Mother taught him, and it goes into detail and depth, at first glance, that mother did skip some of the more pedantic details that appear to be in this book. As well as Mother taught Kieran, and she (with help from his father) did teach him very well indeed, there is plenty to learn from this book--especially if Fiona expects him to be educated to this level. Kieran skims through the sections as he scans them into the HTD. Once that's completed, he goes back to the areas/sections/details that are new to him; the things his Mother left out. Before starting in on those, he looks up at his Grandmother. "Would you like for me to read through this now or later? Now that I have it scanned, I can read it at a more appropriate time and place, if you prefer." "It is needful" Fiona says "only for you to have read and understand the book prior to your initiation on the Pattern. I do not expect you to read the entire volume here and now, in either form. I suspect that my daughter's education was comprehensive; however even she does not have perfect photographic memories of the contents." "Benefits of bardic training;" Kieran comments as he sets the book down. "Memorization and recall are important skills for Bards." "I must say" she adds, nodding at Kieran's comment "I am proud that, in addition to that training, she saw fit to tutor you thoroughly before you left your home shadow. Speaking of which, I have a few questions about that." "How large was the region of shadow that you, my daughter and your father were trapped in?" "Mom, and Dad, trained me as much as they could. We all kind of agreed that it was necessary." He pauses, searching his memories. "That is a good question, Grandmother. To be honest, I'm not sure. Several Shadows wide at least, maybe a dozen. A Shadow path had been established between Mom's realm and the Shadow I'd been spending most of my time in. I know that path traversed more than a few Shadows." Another pause, then. "Why do you ask?" "It is most unusual to find in shadow a sphere of non communication and extreme time dilation such as what you, my daughter, and son in law experienced." Fiona says. "And its extremely rare for it to be of that size." Fiona looks thoughtful. "I trust my daughter to have made regular attempts to reach me. I received, unfortunately, none of them." "What do you think it was that broke the barrier?" Fiona enquires. "I am sure she tried several people at regular intervals, once the problem was discovered;" Kieran replies. Fiona nods. Kieran's gaze grows distant as he considers his Grandmother's question. "Perhaps there was an outside influence that broke the stasis;" he ventures. "As for those outside influences, I can think of two possible candidates; the Omphalos attempt at entering the Shadow, and the other is perhaps more complicated." He shrugs his shoulders. "In the Shadow where I had been living, I had an enemy, one Baroness Narek Meanth. Turns out she is quite likely a Shadow clone of Cyllene, a fact I did not know until recently." Fiona looks a little more alert at this point, listening with even more obvious interest. "Also, Narek had received training in powers not known in that Shadow from someone outside that Shadow. Someone who knew of my family history. She had some sort of storm or storm related power." "Shadows of Amberites are well known" Fiona says "In point of fact, a figure from the history of the shadow you were raised in was, I determined, a close reflection of my brother. The fact that another has appeared in that region is...interesting." Kieran nods at this. "There are many minor powers, besides the Pattern and the Logrus" Fiona continues. "And many of them are open to those who do not have the blood of Amber or Chaos. I have studied, Kieran, a power of storms, disruptions and shadow storms." "I have dubbed it Tempest" "An apt name, I think;" Kieran replies while leaning forward in interest. "Would this Tempest power be able to create ion storms in space, massive ones? And could this Tempest cross Shadows?" "I have not heard of Tempest being used in a shadow with outer space." Fiona says "It is far more commonly found in terrestrial based shadows. However, given that it can create hurricanes, ice storms, typhoons, noreasters and even tornadoes...an ion storm would not be out of line." "And yes" Fiona says "with sufficient power, a tempest induced storm can burst shadow boundaries and cause major disruptions. Some years ago, just before your cousin's Merlin ascension to Emperor, there was a spate of these storms, which led to my research into this power." "Then I believe that's what she was using to follow me through space;" Kieran says. "She had to break off her pursuit after I damaged her ship;" he grins in satisfaction for a moment. Fiona nods. "Good work, grandson." "How can this Tempest power be best countered? Pattern?;" he asks. "Greater Powers, correctly applied. will counter relatively middling powers like Tempest" Fiona says. "Pattern can stabilize shadow, stop the shadow storms, and defuse the storm making abilities. Logrus can be used to alter elements of the shadow to make it less malleable to Tempest. Trump Defense can make you proof to the effects, or allow you to escape from the Tempest quickly." Kieran nods at this. "I'll want to work on using the Pattern in that way as well;" he says. "Trump, I've got a handle on." A pause. "Anything else you can tell me about Tempest?" "I am hoping" Fiona replies sweetly. "that once you deal with Cyllene's Shadow, you will be able to tell *me* some things about Tempest. "In fact, I almost insist on it, Kieran." Fiona adds. "And it will be a useful livefire exercise of your forthcoming Pattern imprint." Kieran regards his Grandmother silently for a few moments. "Assuming I survive the confrontation with her, I might be able to at that." Another pause. "And Mother said you two were nothing alike." Fiona smiles slightly. He shrugs his shoulders; "All right. I'll deal with Narek when next she and I meet. When can I walk the Primal Pattern?" he asks. "Soon" Fiona says. "Preferably, as soon as I can get Shannon or Lorius here and you have understood the material I've given you. You should" she says "at the very least, sleep on it and let your subconscious work out some of the information for yourself." "In addition" Fiona adds wryly "you probably should meet the King first, too." "Formally or informally?" he asks. "I thought we were going with the 'It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission' thing where my initial Patternwalk and venue were concerned? And only that if we were found out." "As far as the Pattern is concerned, we are" Fiona says. "I think, however, that to introduce you for the first time *after* you have already walked the Pattern might be pushing his good graces to a little bit of excess. We wouldn't want him to immediately assign you to some sort of banal, long-lasting task, now would we?" "Point;" Kieran concedes. "Unless, of course, during the conversation regarding the assignment of said mission, he was maneuvered into sending me to assist his brother and fellow monarch, Corwin." Fiona's expression starts to turn serious. "Or is he more likely to send someone, meaning me, on a mission of the utmost priority to count the number of leaves on Ygg?" Fiona shakes her head. "You, and your mother, haven't heard what has happened with Corwin's realm, and a number of your mother and father's cousins, have you?" Fiona says. "No. What?" Kieran says. "Unicorn, there is much to catch you up on." Fiona says. She looks at her cup of tea and sips it. "You no doubt learned about Jayson and Apollo from your mother and father, since their emergence on the scene predates their trip into her shadow." Fiona says. "What you don't know is what has happened since." Kieran nods his head. "Apollo was excised from this universe in a rather destructive manner--by Jayson's trip into the Logrus. This led to a series of powerful shadowstorms whose aftereffects are only now being assessed." Kieran again nods his head. "The Shockwave;" he says. "Mother helped you here when it passed through, I believe." "Yes" Fiona says, and then continues. "Jayson learned, however, that since he had once upon a time walked Corwin's Pattern while still bound to the rogue deity, Apollo still existed, as an active and hostile force, within the universe of Corwin's Pattern. Jayson headed a group to enter into Corwin's realm and cleanse it in like fashion. My brother remained here, for fear of being too tempting an anchor or target for Apollo." "We believe the attempt was successful, but not all of those cousins who followed Jayson into that realm made it back out alive. Attempts to contact any of those within Corwin's universe have proved fruitless." "Apollo...:" Kieran says. "An entire version of him... it, or a splinter, fragment, or Shadow of him exists or existed in Corwin's universe?" "An excellent question I am still researching" Fiona says. "And how long ago was this?;" he asks. "If all of this is accurate, then where did Dagny get her information from? Or rather from who?" "I believe Dagny received her information from Corwin himself, actually." Fiona says. "In Amber terms, this was only within the last few days. This gives me hope that, in Amber time, that contact may yet be someday re-established with Bhangbadea, Jayson, Leigh, Alais, and Oliver." "Oh" Fiona says casually "And the original, real Cyllene". Kieran smiles faintly. "Great. THAT meeting should prove to be interesting;" he says in a deadpan tone. Fiona smiles slightly. [Kieran] frowns in thought for a moment or two. "So, getting in contact with Corwin would be a really good thing right about now?" he asks. "Or any of your missing nephews and nieces?" "If it could be managed, for the latter" Fiona says. "As far as Corwin, I spoke with him last evening. I know that he is all right." "I have not yet gone to the point of trying to employ Valerian to try and find and infiltrate their dreams." Fiona says. "Yet. I understand he is doing work at Random's behest on another matter entirely." Kieran nods his head. "I may know of someone who may be able to take up the task of locating the missing ones. If he's still alive, that is." Fiona's eyes sparkle with interest. Its a brief, but potent flash. "Oh?' she says, and takes a sip from her cup. "Whom did you have in mind, Kieran?" "Though I'm not sure the term 'alive' means the same thing to him as it does to us;" he continues with a smile. Kieran has the HTD, with the Trump functions still disabled, cycle through its images to one his mother originally made. The figure shown looks remarkably like Jayson. "His name is James;" Kieran says. "He's a Pattern Ghost of Jayson. James is linked to Corwin's Pattern now. I've never met him, but he does owe Mom a big favor, one worth his life." Kieran stops to look at his grandmother. "I was not entirely aware that he had diverged enough to take a different name" Fiona says. Green eyes piercingly study the image of Jayson''s pattern ghost. "The link to Corwin's Pattern once again ties in my grandniece, and another reason for you to try and bind her to the task I suggested for the three of you." "After all" Fiona says, returning Kieran's gaze. "The original son of Sand was easily swayed to courses of action by a pretty face. I can imagine his ghost may have similar weaknesses. For that matter, adding Random's daughter to that equation, although risky, is also a play to try." "Perhaps;" Kieran says. "Though I like not the thought of binding anyone to a task they do not wish." He pauses and regards his grandmother. "What is it you expect us to discover in the realm of the Omphalos? You are insistent that we go." "Insistent? Demanding?" Fiona says. "I only provide strongly worded suggestions, nothing more. If you and Dagny and Dulcinea decline, I will find other means of gathering the information I seek." "To partially answer your question, for it is only a partial answer that I can give at this time, Kieran, is this. Certain old powers are starting to stir again. Powers thought dormant for a very long time. Powers spread over a significant area, suggesting a more widespread campaign to awaken them than a single incident. I want to know what has caused this to occur. With their exotic universe-spanning magics and technology, the Omphalos are an obvious candidate. I am investigating both sides of the possible relationship, however. It is entirely possible the Omphalos are innocent of any blame for this; I wish to establish what role, if any, they have. And, of course, to continue to oppose their efforts. Finding a permanent solution to the problem of their existence is still not seen." "You do recall what Dagny said about not wanting to play the Family Game?" Kieran asks after a moment. "I'm thinking your desire to get us all three of us to go to the realm of the Omphalos is part of the Game, to her." "Perhaps she does.. She will understand, in time." Fiona replies. "Or she will disappoint if she does not." [Kieran] shrugs his shoulders. "I am going, whether the other two go or not. I'm not sure exactly when yet. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I feel there is much to learn there, about them. And now, possibly about these other powers. I will need to know something more about these 'old' powers and how to detect them if they are present there." "Then, I will have to initiate you in a mystery I did not have the opportunity to induct your mother into before she went into Shadow." Fiona replies. "Lore that your aunt and uncle know something of, although I suspect both of having done independent research." "Come with me, Kieran. We are going down into the dungeons." Kieran sets his tea cup and saucer down on the tray and stands up. "The dungeons?" he asks. "Please lead on." Fiona leads Kieran out of the room and into the hallway. Its a matter of about twenty steps down the hall, and his grandmother grasps his wrist without warning. The world changes, in a soft dissolve and interlacing from the hallway to a corridor presumably beneath the earth. Kieran's gut feels a little off from the sudden translation, although its minor discomfort at best. As far as where he and Fiona now are, exactly, its difficult to tell for the first few moments, until an arcane light illuminates the corridor dimly, and more importantly, a non-descript door that Kieran and Fiona are standing in front of. "I was impatient with the prospect of the long walk" Fiona says by way of explanation, letting go of his hand and moving forward toward the door. "Your stomach should manage to settle in a moment or two." Kieran slowly nods his head as he glances around. "No worries; I've had worse dimensional passages before. Where are we?" "Down one of the deserted tunnels in the dungeons." Fiona says. "There are many secrets down here beneath the Castle. Some of them." she adds with a smile "aren't even mine." Kieran nods his head. "But do you know all of them?" he asks. Indeed, the tunnel is non-descript and looks as plain and ordinary as one might hope for. Within this bastion of anonymity, the door stands waiting for Kieran and Fiona. Fiona places a hand on the door, and it swings open, revealing a small rough hewn cavern. It is dark at first but the darkness is soon abolished by a word, letting a small yellow sun illuminate the cavern. Fiona and Kieran are standing on a raised platform. Below them, on the smoothed cavern floor, are a set of glowing yellowish white objects, about six inches on each side. They have been placed in a spiral pattern, starting from the far wall and spiraling into the center of the room, where the raised platform meets the natural high point in the room. "These are the tiles of the hold, one of the oldest magics in the universe" Fiona says. "As it so happens, the Tiles are intimately connected with the old powers I spoke about. There is at least one other form of this magic, but this is it at its most primal and raw. It is divination as much as it is energy." "If you wish to be initiated, you will want to stare at that first card, and see with your etheric senses, to see what the card reveals." Fiona says. "To do so, however, will mark you as connected to the power, for good or for ill." "Are these tiles trump-like then?" Kieran asks after a moment. He gazes about the chamber, cautiously extending his senses, but avoiding the tiles for the moment. Kieran can feel a power that feels very much like sorcery--if sorcery was backed by something beyond the usual ambient mana. "What do the tiles represent? More powerful divinations than one can obtain with a Trump deck?" "And no other preparatory work before possibly becoming an initiate?" he asks. "I have theorized that trump is a power that was created with the Tiles of the Holds, and the Deck of Dragons, in mind" Fiona says "They do not draw remotely from the same power source, though, Kieran. However, there are analogies to how they operate." "Given that you are already an initiate of powers, the process is simple and straightforward for you" Fiona says. "Opening yourself to the energies of the Holds, allowing it to be a power source you can be connected to, and vice versa. Once you are, you will see the cards for what they are. In a way similar to tarot cards, they have layers of meaning and representation beyond the literal powers they represent." "By being an initiate in this way, though,Kieran, is to mark yourself as someone who can be divined by these cards." Fiona adds "It is also a prerequisite if you want to actually start to manipulate the sorcerous power of the Holds yourself one day." "I have suspected that Tempest, that we discussed earlier, may be a fragmentary version of a sorcerous connection to one of the Holds." That certainly catches Kieran's interest. "Okay, several more questions then. Deck of Dragons? Are they an adjunct, add-on, or successor to these Tiles? Holds? What are those?" "The Tiles that you are looking at now" Fiona says. "They are the divination system that connects to the Holds. Think of the Holds as shadows, or pieces of shadows, that also act as sources of energy to cast spells. The Deck of Dragons is, as you guessed" Fiona smiles slightly "the successor to the Tiles, but it does not invalidate the Tiles. Similarly, the Deck is connected to Warrens, which are successors to the Holds." "There are connections and overlaps between the older and the newer systems, but in general, they are autonomous." Kieran has several more questions but realizes that he's much more likely to get his answers and more, by simply becoming an initiate of the Tiles. Muttering something about 'most likely similar skill sets' he centers himself and brings his gaze to bear on the first Tile. "Let's do this;" he says and begins the initiation. It's absurdly easy, at first. The energy from the first tile comes to Kieran's senses and soon starts to flow through him. It's raw spellpower, raw energy that feels a bit like the way his mother and father described the Fount of the Keep of four worlds. Instead of a fountain of energy, though, this tile, this Hold is a connection to a shadow reservoir of some sort. Kieran sees a mound, in the middle of the night, somewhere. The feel of death, coldness and loneliness comes out of the card. A name floats into his mind from somewhere. Barrow. The next two cards reveal themselves even before Kieran fully turns his attention to them. The second is of shards of ice on a field , one upthrust from the ground, shining in the glory of reflected light of its fellows. The third is a gate, standing tall, but made of bones. Somehow Kieran knows that the bones are from something ancient, cthonic. A dragon. "You are starting to see" Fiona says softly into Kieran's ear. "Dragon's Gate indicates that things are opening, revealing themselves. Perhaps your initiation here today." "Barrow, Seed, Dragon's Gate. A death or transformation. Rebirth, and transport through a Gate to something greater. Yes, Kieran." Fiona says "this may be your story." Kieran allows the energies of the Tiles to flow through him but not control him if that is what the energies seek to do. He'll allow himself to be moved along with the flow, but constantly analyzing and trying to interpret what he is experiencing. As he examines the Tiles, he tries to commit them to memory. The cards appear to have esoteric and symbolic meanings even beyond the names Fiona has given them. Reflection, perhaps, might unlock more insight. Upon hearing his Grandmother's voice, he nods his head. "Perhaps. These could represent my life up till now, before taking the Pattern. Interesting." More tiles, still blank, continue down the spiral shaped line. If the current three tiles offer no further insights, Kieran turns his focus on to the next tile in line. Next in line is a woman, but there is a draconic cast to her, a scaly look to her otherwise human appearance. The zweihander pointed down is within easy reach of the card's image. "Lady of the Dragon Hold." Fiona says. "This might be Cyllene's shadow." "Or it could be a Hendrake lass;" Kieran quips. "Dad said never mess with them. Mom wanted to know how he knew that." Fiona chuckles slightly. But then he ponders the card for a few more moments. Two more cards resolve to Kieran's vision. An upright stone, similar to one of the stones that make up the portals on Caerdroia, Gwynedd and other planets back home. "The Dolmen" Fiona says. "Usually I interpret this to mean the state of Amber itself. It still stands, safe, although note the dark clouds. The last time I saw dark clouds like this on the dolmen card, was back during the War. At least there isn't a storm like back then." "The Rock;" Kieran says nodding his head. "Upon which all things depend." He studies this card for a moment or two as well. "So the images can change then? The key elements of the Tile always there but secondary elements may vary depending on what the Tiles are attempting to convey?" "Yes" Fiona says. "It ranges from the expression on one's face to changes in the tile itself. In a way this makes it easier than the Deck, which depends on a lot more subjective interpretation." The last of these three is a road. It has the same stormy sky as the Dolmen but this card depicts a road through a wilderness, a blasted heath. Only the road seems to have color, definition and reality against the grey waste and the leaden sky. Kieran's first thought is that the tile represents Chaos, but then changes his mind to think it represents Tempest, the Storm, but then changes his mind once more as he settles his gaze on the road. It seems to be the key element here. Road, path, journey. I get it, he thinks to himself. Take the road, the initiation, or not he thinks. It is here, looking at this path, this road, that Kieran is finding a strain. He knows he can possibly see more, but this has already been a strain. Only giving into the energies completely, as he has successfully resisted to this point, would likely allow him to see more of the parade of tiles. Time to sink or swim he thinks. He's fairly sure he's not going anywhere physically, and in the event he does, he's pretty sure that between himself and his Grandmother Fiona, getting back won't be that big an issue. "Now the fun begins;" he says. "Time to take the road less traveled;" he adds. And then lets the Tiles take him on a trip. "I wish I could say I am not surprised. Your mother could..." Fiona begins. But then her voice means nothing, and a minute or so later, Kieran does not hear it. What he gains, instead of Fiona's wisdom, is the wisdom of the images of the cards. Beyond the Path of the Azath Hold (which is what he learns is the name of the last card) a sheaf of images follow in a succession that ramps up in speed... Blood drips from the blade of a long handled war axe lying against a stump. This is the Axe , one of the Unaligned. A sign of war. A white haired woman, the Huntress, tracks someone or something as she kneels to examine two-footed tracks...tracks larger than any stride of any man Kieran has met. A man stands at the threshold of a farmhouse, boldly making ready to knock. He is the Guest. A group of beasts, dogs or wolves maybe,larger than any Kieran knows. The Pack. Their eyes are yellow, and their fangs are bared. They are loping along a forest road, as if making a long journey--a long hunt. A root of an immense tree. The viewpoint only really allows Kieran to see one of the exposed, large roots, but given the size of this root, the tree must be enormous, a Yggdrasil. There are fresh marks on the root, as if someone has been trying to cut it. There are more, but they merge into a blur that Kieran cannot disentangle. Especially when his legs start going out from under him, and things go black... Finally, he comes to, lying on the stone floor of the hallway to which Fiona had originally transported the two of them. There is a pillow underneath his head. "The first trip is always the deepest." Fiona says. "You may not remember all of it, and what you do remember may fade a bit, Kieran. But the spiral design of the Tiles has changed. You are now a part of the Hold system. I wouldn't be surprised if you start appearing in the Deck as well." "Heh;" Kieran says sitting up. "What, no merit badge? Do I get a set of Tiles to call my own now? And if I'm in the Deck, I think I'll need a set of those as well." "I generally keep my Tiles in place, here." Fiona says. "Given the rarity of this magic, I prefer not to carry them with me. You can cast them anywhere, like a trump tarot reading, Kieran, but such a reading is extremely easy to disrupt." "I will see about aiding you in constructing a set of tiles of your own." Fiona continues. "It will be educational for you to aid in their manufacture and enchantment. As far as a Deck..." Fiona smiles. "Decks take far longer to manufacture than the Tiles of the Holds. In fact, only the Master of the Deck, whomever he or she may be, can casually do so." Kieran nods then glances down at the HTD on his left forearm. "And then we'll see if I can bring them into the digital age as it were." He looks up at his Grandmother. "But there are Decks to be had, I take it, correct? Well then, I will find a way to acquire one sooner or later." "Come" Fiona says. "Let us return to my quarters and see if we can make sense of what you have seen." Kieran stands up, picking up the pillow as well. "Quick way back or the long walk?" He pauses to collect his thoughts and recall the images he saw. He relays what he can of what he saw to his Grandmother. "The short and quick way" Fiona replies Some minutes later, after the use of a place trump, and ensconcing themselves back in Fiona's quarters, Fiona regards Kieran after a thoughtful moment of reflection. "The axe bloodied suggests a War has started. The Omphalos are the obvious candidate--if this referred to a war that was yet to me, the Axe would not have blood. "The Huntress, the Guest and the Pack suggest someone or something is being hunted. Someone who has sought sanctuary, or is in a sanctuary of a sort." Fiona theorizes. "The tracks are troublesome. I can think of some candidates for larger than human tracks, and none of them of positive import. The Yggdrasil could be a reference to the Ygg at the border between Chaos and Amber, or all four of those cards suggest that Julian's branch of the family is facing a threat or a situation of some magnitude. You might wish to establish an acquaintanceship with them." "Your mother knew Brieanne, well, for instance." Fiona says. "Mom and Dad spoke of her often;" Kieran replies. He considers his Grandmother's interpretation of the Tiles and her suggestion. "You most likely are correct. Dad said trouble seemed to follow her like one of her hounds. Mom said she has the knack of being in the wrong place at the right time. I'd hoped to meet her myself. Has she been seen hereabouts lately?" "Her penchant for getting into trouble is well deserved. As well, I must admit, her ability to extricate from that trouble." Fiona says. "She managed to involve herself in the recent visit from a Chaosian Delegation, as well as other matters. Aside from a distant shadow she has connection to, she remains near to Arden on most occasions. "I have it on second-hand authority she is now investigating something at the edges of Arden." Fiona continues "I would like to know more. I have found, however, I as myself am a poor choice for directly observing Brieanne's actions. Much like shadows where quantum mechanics hold sway, to make too close a measurement of Brieanne's speed or position is to invite change to the other." Fiona suddenly glances in the direction of the door. "It appears that the Rebman envoy wishes to have a conversation. If you wouldn't mind getting the door for me, Kieran?" Fiona asks. "Unless she strenuously objects, you may remain." Backlinks |
