TheGeometryOfShadows2Geometry of Shadows IIParil swears quietly. And then, speaks, louder. "It worked!" Above the ship, the sky is a deepening blue as a yellow-white sun sets to starboard. Kieran gives Paril a dirty look. "Of course it worked. Doubt not my mother's capabilities." He smiles then and looks about the boat and then scans the horizon. "Okay, let's take a quick look below to make sure we didn't break anything major or spring any leaks and point out where everyone's sleeping cabins and stuff are." With that, Kieran heads for the hatch leading belowdecks. "Okay," Dagny says, and follows Kieran down below. Belowdecks, the interior of the trimaran form of the Long Distance Voyager is much simpler, more compact, and smaller than its spacecraft counterpart. There are only three cabins, each smaller than their starship counterparts, and a small cargo hold. Storage space has compacted as well. The single cargo hold proves to hold what must be a transmorgified version of Kieran's speeder--in its place is a bicycle. Similarly, his beloved fighter now appears to have been changed into a longboat. There is still a small cupboard marked droid storage. Inside, there is a changed Gate--as a carving in wood. In Kieran's cabin, Kieran finds a metal replica of the Long Distance Voyager--the spaceship version, a vision in burnished metal, sitting on the desk. As far as damage, the damage appears to be minor at best. A slight crack in one of the doorways. No leaks that Kieran, Paril or Dagny can find. All in all, while its a bit cozy, the ship is suited for a journey of weeks, if not months. "Very nice," Dagny says, looking around. "It is, isn't it?" Kieran replies while taking a look around himself. Kieran walks through the belowdecks area pointing out where things like the galley (kitchen), heads (bathrooms), storage areas, staterooms, etc. are. "There's plenty of food and stuff to eat and drink;" he says while grabbing a bottle of water. "You two can decide who gets the port and starboard staterooms, the master's stateroom in the stern is mine." Dagny looks over the two staterooms and picks the one she likes better. "I'll take this one." "Well" Paril says wryly. "I suppose I know which one I am going to get then." Kieran heads back up on the main deck and quickly goes about setting the sails and getting them back underway. Once the sails are up, Kieran spends a little bit of time maneuvering the sailboat about, getting a feel for how she sails. Although Kieran doesn't have the benefit of Harmony, or any high technology, really, the trimaran form of the LDV feels familiar and easy for him to navigate. Its as if this form, the position and size of the controls, were designed specifically with Kieran in mind as sailor and pilot. Kieran starts out a bit cautiously, but as he gets a feel for the boat's handling, adds more sail and increasing their speed. At one point, he reaches into a storage compartment by the ship's wheel and pulls out a pair of sunglasses and binoculars. He unbuckles and places the holster belt for his pistols into the compartment. After donning the shades, he uses the binoc's to scan the horizons. "C'mon up, you two;" he says, casting his voice belowdecks. "This is a blast!" In the cabins below, Paril regards Dagny as the ship moves about. "I suppose he likes it. I, though, feel somewhat useless at the moment. I've never really been on the water much. I suppose I can still be cook, though." "How familiar are you with all this?" he asks her. "Not very," Dagny says as she starts to head upstairs. "I was never a boat person. This is a nice one though. So you like to cook?" "Among my other talents, yes." Paril says. "In addition, I'm a decent pilot, an okay astrogator, a good gunner, and if I might be immodest, an excellent musician and merchant. Kieran doesn't do a lot of the cooking, and sometimes the stuff that Harmony puts out isn't really food, you know? I really got started when I got stuck with a cargo of tarshish bulbs from Sarkovy. Just to get rid of them, I learned how to cook with them, and stuck them in every dish Harmony put out for weeks until I depleted our seemingly endless supply." "Remember, Kieran?" Paril says as they emerge out of the hold. Meanwhile, through the binocs, the now sunglasses wearing Kieran can see that all is quiet for most of the horizon. To the northeast, though, there is a hint of what looks to be land, as well as, in the foreground, some sort of three masted ship, moving at speed in these undeniably tropical seas. Kieran studies the horizon and ship for a few moments. How close is the other ship? "I can see land from here;" he says pointing in the correct direction. "And it appears as though we're not alone;" he points in the direction of the ship. "There's a couple more sets of binoculars in the compartment if you want to take a look." He looks at Dagny. "How close to Amber are we?" Dagny grabs a pair of binoculars. Peering through them at the other ship, she quips, "'I wonder if he is using the same wind we are using?'" What does Dagny see? There's the odd thing. The vessel seems to be using a completely different wind. Its difficult to see any of the people on the vessel. However, its clear that the ship is going at almost right angles to the wind that is blowing the Long Distance Voyager. Conjuring up her own sunglasses, she surveys the sea and sky. "We're close enough that modern technology fails, obviously, but there's still a ways to go. I've achieved something close to Amber's sky. Now that we're stable I'm going to start pushing us forward again." With no further preamble, she does so. "Well then;" Kieran says while steering the boat to stay well away from the other ship. "Let's be about it. Paril, keep an eye on that ship. Let us know what its doing. Voyager, in this form, should be faster than just about any other sailing vessel afloat." "Right." Paril, now armed with a pair of binoculars of his own, watches the horizon. Kieran further adjusts their course to take the best advantage of the wind and then adjusts the sails accordingly. "There was a dot even further away that the ship seemed to be pursuing." Paril says, once the sight of the ships is gone entirely. "As if it were distant pursuit. With Dagny's shadowshifting, though, and your sailing, Kieran, they're long gone." "Maybe we weren't their intended prey then after all;" Kieran says. He then puts Voyager through a series of random course changes before settling back down on a single course. Indeed, the combination of Kieran's maneuvering and Dagny's shifting is a formidable one. The Long Distance Voyager in this form is slower, though, and that does slow down the overall speed of the transit from the blistering pace set by the spacecraft. The weather cools down from the tropical seas, as Dagny feels her way through. Tropical turns toward temperate, and temperate starts to cool toward what both Dagny and Kieran might consider a cold spring or a late winter. Although Dagny can shift so that its always daylight, hours pass. And there does in the end become a fatigue factor involved in the shadowshifting and sailing. How hard and how long are you two willing to push? "I think we're good for now;" Kieran says as time goes by and there's no sign of pursuit. Kieran begins the process of hauling in some of the sails, reducing their speed. "Dagny, if you want to take a break from Shifting go ahead. But shift us toward an evening before you stop, if you would. It'll be easier to go unnoticed in the dark. Paril, you want to see what you can come up with for dinner?" "I was going to ask if you wanted me to do that, actually," she replies. "Not a problem." So Dagny'll shift to a glorious ocean sunset. "I'd say fish." Paril replies. "However, with all of your shifting of worlds, I have no idea what lurks in that water, or if we can eat it. Or want to." Kieran nods his head. "Good point." Paril ducks into the interior of the trimaran. Dagny finds that only a few subtle shifts are needed to transform a gorgeous eternal noon into the slanting sunshine of a long-period high latitude sunset. As the sun sinks, there is the smell of beef, and noodles, and more. In about a half hour, a half hour that Dagny and Kieran have to relax and talk, Paril reemerges with three ceramic bowls with forks. Inside is some sort of ragout or casserole of noodles and beef in a tomato based sauce. Sails reduced to the point to where there's just enough to provide steerageway, Kieran sets the ship's autopilot (lashing a rope to the ship's wheel) and relaxes. "I figured I would aim for something between slow food and food packets." Paril says with a smile. "Good call my friend;" Kieran says while accepting a bowl and fork. "Thanks, Paril," Dagny says, doing the same. In the meantime, the sun has just about set and darkness has fallen on the ocean. Kieran finds that relatively dim lamps are available at the controls, providing enough illumination to eat and converse without advertising the ship's presence any more than necessary. Kieran listens to the wind and waves while eating and watches the skies. "So, you think we can reach Amber tomorrow, Dagny?" he asks as the sun sets. "Ummm." she swallows a forkful of ragout. "Very good, Paril." Turning to Kieran she continues, "Hard to say, really. Like I said, I've never done this before. I hope so." "Well" Paril says. "If you don't mind someone who can't do anything like this asking." He has a bowl of his own food propped on a knee. "What would or could keep us from reaching Amber tomorrow? I mean, what's to stop us. Or is it a matter of just going the distance?" Paril furrows his eyebrows. "Can someone doing this be stopped, Dagny?" He looks at Kieran for a moment thoughtfully and then back. "Or maybe followed? You know who I'm thinking of, Kieran." Kieran nods his head while chewing a bit of food. Dagny chews thoughtfully. "Those are all good questions. What could stop us? Not much, quite honestly. It's just a matter of time till we get there, as far as I am concerned. Theoretically, the way I understand it, we could be followed, or unknowingly funneled to a Shadow not of my choosing. And if I remember my history correctly, Eric was able to block the way to Amber, and later caused natural disasters, famine, plague, etc., etc., in the Shadows Corwin and Bleys were leading their army through. Of course he was Regent or whatever at the time, so I don't know if that had anything to do with it." Kieran glances over the stern, tracking back their wake. "Yes, I know who you're thinking of Paril. And Dad seemed to think the possibility of her tracking us on the way to Keltia was great enough that we took a number of extreme maneuvers and random course changes to throw her off our trail. Assuming her ship was in any condition to follow us at the time, which I don't think it was yet." He pauses thinking. "And she'll have to face the same conditions getting to Amber that we will. I don't know if her ship will transform into a sailing vessel of some sort or not." Another pause. "But just to be safe, I can throw in some random course changes tomorrow." He looks at Dagny; "And if you can do some random shifting with stretches of no shifting at all - just straightline sailing for us, that should be enough to confuse our trail." "Sure I can do that," she replies, "but I don't know how useful it would be. If we're being tracked through Shadow, it'll be easier for our pursuers to follow us without having to ShadowShift as well as track where we're going. But, you're the cap'n." "I figure we'll a make few course changes while you're not shifting;" Kieran says. "They can't get pulled along our Shadow Shifting wake if we're not shifting. By the time they realize they're just sailing across a shadow and not through them, we'll be long gone on another course. And it's not exactly easy to track a ship on the open seas, especially as we're not using a motor and expelling exhaust fumes or leaking fuel or oil." He frowns in thought. "That reminds me, don't throw anything overboard. We can pack all our trash for a few days with no problems." "So someone could block our progress if they wanted to?" Paril asks Dagny. "One of your relatives? The Regent?" "Well, Eric is long dead, as far as I know, and I can't imagine why anybody would try to keep us out of Amber as we're going the long way around, especially when we could just Trump there. It's not like we're leading an invading army or anything. We haven't encountered any resistance, road blocks, etc., so I think the way is clear." Kieran perks up at this. "You've got a Trump of Amber? May I see it?" "Uh, yeah, sure," Dagny says, and pulls out her Trump deck. She shuffles through the cards, and hands Kieran the Amber Trump. "Thank you;" Kieran says, taking the card. The trump depicts a medieval Castle against a brilliant blue sky background. The lines of the Castle even from this perspective suggest a pentagonal (or more ) sided edifice, several stories tall. Aside from the odd shape, it doesn't look too much different than the ancient Castles that dot Scota and the other worlds of Keltia. The card grows cool under Kieran's attention on the card. Kieran's not going for full activation of the card, only enough of a contact to run it through the HTD and begin scanning (copying) the Trump. Once he's done, he'll pass the card back to Dagny. The process, to Dagny, looks remarkably similar to something from science fiction cinema. Kieran manages to keep the contact at a low level, but strong enough that Dagny can feel the tingle of the trump energy as Kieran copies the Trump. The process takes about fifteen minutes from start to finish. And thus, simply and easily, Kieran's deck has been updated. "If there was a pond in the picture, we could sail right into it, couldn't we?" Paril opines. "Or would we need something already there to do that anyway?" "And who else in your family makes these. Besides Kieran's Mom?" he adds. Kieran glances sharply at Paril and then at Dagny; "Possibly we could sail into a theoretical pond;" he ventures. "But if the pond wasn't deep enough for us to float, or large enough for us to come to a controlled stop; crossing through at speed could be... problematic. Ooh, and let's not forget about the differences in the wind either." "Oh." Paril says, his countenance already chastised after Kieran's sharp look. He returns to looking at his food. He shrugs his shoulders; "I'm not saying it couldn't be done, but going through a trump of the harbor would be better for us." He looks enquiringly at Dagny; "Do you have any others of Amber you'd be willing to share?" Kieran turns back to Paril. "Who else makes trumps?;" he repeats Paril's question. "Mom and Dad weren't sure of who all could. Mom's side of the family does tend to have the knack for it though." "Um." She starts shuffling through her deck again. "I don't think I have any of the harbor. If your mom's a Trump artist, I'm surprised she didn't draw one for you. As far as anyone else, all I know is I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, so I'm out." Dagny does not have one of the harbor, per se, but she does find one that is set in the center of Amber city, itself. No sign of water anywhere in the scene, however, except for a fountain. Kieran chuckles softly. "Remember, trying to Trump outside Mom's realm hasn't worked for over forty years for us; until just recently when Mom reached you. What's the use in having something that won't work? Besides, both Mom and Dad raised me to be independent and resourceful; to find my own way whenever possible." "And thus our adventures in the Republic." Paril puts in between bites. "How were you able to test your 3-D Trump system to make sure it worked?" Dagny asks. "For that matter, how were you even able to put it together?" "Well Trump calls to people and places inside Keltic space, Mom's realm, still worked. So I could Trump her, Dad, Paril, my quarters in Kinloch Arnoch; the royal castle on Caledon; with no problem. Trying to 'dial out' of Keltic space if you will just didn't work. It was almost like the signal hit a wall or barrier and then faded away." "Oh, so it wasn't a total Trump blackout." She pauses. "But that's still weird." Kieran nods his head in agreement. Kieran pauses and considers an answer to her second question. "You said you're not a Trump artist, correct? It'd be difficult to explain what I did to someone who's not. Like explaining Pattern uses to someone who hasn't walked it or something like it. Not that explaining it to an artist would be easy for that matter." He shrugs his shoulders; "The gist of it is that 3D holographic communications devices are a basic technology in Republic space." He lifts his left arm and taps the HTD bracer. "This started out as something a field general would be issued as his basic equipment. I adapted the hardware, software, power supply, receivers and transmitters, incorporating aspects of Trump into all of it. And there you go;" he says simply. "Must've been some job," she replies. Kieran nods his head. "Yep. Not sure I could repeat it easily." "Hey, that looks a bit like that Castle you showed me a picture of, Kieran." Paril puts in. "The one you said the Archdruid owned before it was destroyed." Paril says. "Ratherne." Kieran takes the card and repeats the earlier process of scanning and copying it. He nods at Paril. "It does, doesn't it." "I'm not surprised," she says to Paril. "Aspects of Amber are reflected all over Shadow." Paril looks thoughtful for a moment, and then looks at Kieran and Dagny. "That would mean that there are Aspects of Shadow in the Republic, too. And if there are Castles..." "Castles?" Kieran asks. "What do you mean?" "Well, what I mean is, if you get Castles that are similar to Castle Amber out here." Paril says. "Surely Ratherne isn't the only Castle that looks like this Castle Amber." "Oh;" Kieran replies. "Yes, I suppose so. There should also be places that reflect other aspects of Castle Amber, not just it's appearance from what I was given to understand." Paril pauses a moment, taking one last bite of his ragout and then speaks. "What about people?" "From what Mom and Dad have told me over the years;" Kieran says; "You could find Shadow analogs or 'clones' if you will, of people from Amber in Shadows. Usually members of the royal family due to their having the Pattern. Doesn't mean they're clones in the sense that we're familiar with. They look like the original, but personalities and talents or skills could be wildly different. Why do you ask?" Dagny's eyes unfocus, as if she is thinking or remembering something, but a moment later she comes back to, and slowly nods. "Shadowdwellers too, from my experience. If you go to a Shadow close enough to the original...the Shadow clone will be pretty similar. It can be...disconcerting." "Maybe we should look at this entire deck Dagny has for clues in that regard." Paril says. He lowers his voice as if he could be overheard, here on the open seas. "The Baroness." Kieran blinks and then slowly nods. "Good thought Paril;" he says. He looks at Dagny; "May we see the rest of your deck?" "Um, yeah, sure," Dagny agrees. She pulls her Trump deck back out, and flips the cards face up on the table, naming each person she recognizes. Paril watches with interest as Dagny starts laying out the people of the Deck. From Oberon, through the Elders, and to the few children in the deck (and that Dagny has acquired). Paril keeps quiet, letting Kieran ask the questions for the moment. In the deck, Dagny has a full set of the major Elders, as well as some of the (mostly older) children as well: Castor, Pollux, Hadrian, Carl, Lorius, Brandeigh (and, Kieran, Mom doesn't look much younger on the card than in real life), Percy and William. And of course, Rinaldo. And Bhangbadea too. Don't forget Bhangbadea :) Kieran nods his head at the ones he's seen before, frowning the while in thought. "Your Dad?;" he asks at some point. "May I examine them for a moment or two?;" he asks holding out his hand. Dagny shrugs. "I didn't ask who drew them. Sure, go ahead. What are you looking for?" Kieran grows confused for a moment. "What? No, I didn't mean who drew them, I..." then he spots the card depicting Rinaldo. "I wondered where your father's card was, is all. Now I see it." "Oh. Yeah. There it is." The back of the trumps are a mixture. Most are a white unicorn on a green field. Others, however, are of a phoenix on a green field. Brandeigh and Percy's have a familiar-to-Kieran Celtic sun cross on green. Mom's handiwork. What's on the back of Lorius's card? And, I'm assuming no card depicting a Baroness look alike as well. There does not appear to be a Baroness analogue. Lorius' card, as it so happens, is done with the phoenix on a green field. "I've seen many of these, or ones very much like them, before;" he says while handing them back to Dagny. "Mom's and Dad's decks...;" his voice trails off and he stares at the HTD on his left arm for a long moment. Then he smacks himself on the head with his right hand. "Duh. Mom's deck. I must be really tired. Then again, I haven't needed them in really long time either." He shakes his head. "Retrieve all archived Trump images and load into current memory;" he says aloud. "Display all in slideshow mode." "Cool beans," says Dagny, and settles back to watch the show. Paril shifts and watches with interest. Kieran's deck, as provided by his mother, starts appearing with technological ease. Indeed, most of the images are similar to Dagny's. All of the cards' artistry is distinctly different, it appears that at some point or another, Brandeigh decided to re-do all of the trumps in the deck. For elders like Oberon and Brand, the changes are minor. For people who Brandeigh had a more close relationship, its clear that Brandeigh enjoyed re-doing the cards and has put much thought into the new images. Random is shown at a poker table; Fiona is shown holding a wand and standing at a lectern; Gerard is standing near a ship on a wharf; Corwin and Bleys are each shown climbing the staircase up Kolvir; Deirdre is shown regarding her axe as if it were a mirror; Flora is depicted in a re-creation of a still image from a Hitchcock movie which Dagny has seen. Julian's son, Carl, tall, brooding, standing on the far side of a rivulet that suggests to the viewer a far more formidable barrier. There are a couple of youngers Dagny has met but does not have trumps of herself. The young daughter of Julian, Brieanne, peeking out from a tree on a branch she hangs upside down on, for instance. Kieran's deck also has a number of places in Amber as well; including a building that clearly seems to be a memorial or tomb of some sort. "Very nice," Dagny says when it is done. Kieran's deck also has a number of places in Amber as well; including a building that clearly seems to be a memorial or tomb of some sort. "Grandma Deirdre's shrine;" Kieran says after looking at the card for a moment. "Mom built it for Dad, well for Grandma and everyone else also, at least that's what they say. Back before they found out Grandma was still alive." He smiles softly and chuckles; "They also say it serves a damn fine whiskey for those who've come to pay their respects. "Oh." [Dagny] "Go back to that one image." Paril suggests."The one you said was Prince Caine's daughter." A second look of the trump image of Caine's daughter Cyllene shows to Kieran what Paril caught in the slideshow. The skin color is wrong. But the piercing gaze, the noble bearing, the facial features, are all the same. The Baroness Narek Meanth "Grap. Maulk;" Kieran says darkly. "Disable Trump functionality;" he says in a flat tone. "Display trump images of Cyllene and Narek side by side, same scale." He sits very still and intently watches and then studies the images as they appear. He starts manipulating the images, zooming in on the respective faces and then moving one image to overlay the other to further compare them. "Dagny, you ever met Cyllene? Know anything about her?" Kieran asks in a neutral tone. Dagny studies the pictures. "Nope. Never." With the trump functionality disabled, the images are easily manipulated without much fear of contact. Once the images are side by side and compared, the software in Kieran's HTH does much of the work, finding points of commonality and difference between the two images. This, combined with Kieran, Dagny and Paril's study of the images clinches it. The image of Baroness Narek Meanth looks several years older than the image of Cyllene, and there is still the matter of skin color, and other things (hair style, choice of clothing). However, from a purely physiological point of view, there is no doubt for Dagny, Kieran and Paril. Narek is, at the very least, a close reflection of Princess Cyllene. "What have you heard about this Princess?" Paril asks. Dagny shrugs. "Absolutely nothing. Up until about 30 seconds ago, I didn't know she existed." "Other than her name, her Amber lineage, and her image;" Kieran says still studying the images. "Nothing much that I can recall. Which, given my mother's talents for knowing at least a little bit about all the known family members, says something. Her father is supposed to be dead, assassinated from what Mom and Dad told me." "Assassinated." Paril says doubtfully. He looks at Kieran. "You told me that the Amber family plays rough sometimes. Was it one of her own family, or someone else?" He pauses a beat. "I don't think your Mom, or Dad are the type, but if she knew who you really were and thought them responsible..." he breaks off the thought. Kieran shakes his head. "No, that's not their style. Not saying they wouldn't do something like that if that was the only option, but it's not how they do things." He shrugs his shoulders. "What, you think Cyllene is locating, then training her own Shadows to take out members of the royal family?" "She may not have to," Dagny replies. "If she dislikes you--or maybe one of your parents--sufficiently, it would probably be reflected in her Shadows. This Shadow may be acting completely independently of Cyllene." So these Shadows are like alternate versions of the real thing?" Paril asks Dagny. "Whether or not she is this Shadow thing, Baroness Meanth is an adversary to be taken lightly. As Kieran can tell you as well as I can." he adds. Kieran nods his head. "She is very capable;" he says. "And she's had training from outside that Shadow. She had a mentor or master; I think it was a male, though she could have just been agreeing with me in order to mislead me." He looks directly at Dagny; "I'm certain she dislikes me at the moment, seeing as I left her ship severely damaged and venting atmosphere during our last encounter. She had it in for me long before that though, so maybe it was Cyllene's influence or her master's, or both that set her against me." He shrugs his shoulders. He stops short of saying something else, then looks at Paril. "Paril, please take the dishes below and clean up will you? There are some things I need to talk to Dagny about. And while I trust your discretion and loyalty to me, you can be forced to talk if captured by the Baroness. You can't reveal what you don't know. Sorry, old friend." Dagny's eyebrow crooks at this, but she settles back to listen. Paril furrows an eyebrow. "Of course, Kieran. I understand." he finally says. He takes the dishes, and disappears out of sight and is gone. "Thanks, Paril;" Kieran says watching him go. Then he turns to look at Dagny. "What I did not want him to know is something Cyllene may very well know anyway, but on the off chance she doesn't..." He shrugs his shoulders. "The reason she may have it in for the family in general and perhaps the redheads, and their descendants, in specific is because of who killed her father. "It all goes back to the Patternfall War where Caine shot Brand, in the throat I believe, with an arrow. Brand then fell into the Abyss, taking Deirdre with him. Everyone thought they'd died there. Turns out they were wrong, but that's a different story. Anyroad, the son of Brand, your father, shot Caine, with a rifle I believe. Now, if its true, the daughter of Caine is looking for revenge for her father's death." "That is ridiculous," Dagny replies. "Revenge for what? Luke killed Caine because Caine killed his father. One for one. That's it, it's over. Boom boom." Dagny dusts her hands for emphasis. "Cyllene needs to get over it and get a life." Kieran shrugs his shoulders. "I didn't make up the rules by which the family seems to operate. I'm just letting you know." "If she knows who did it, Rinaldo's her primary target. Her secondary target would be you if she learns of your parentage. She takes you and your dad out, she breaks the cycle." Dagny smiles and laughs unpleasantly. "She's certainly free to try. Don't think she'll get very far though. And how does she know I don't have offspring of my own that will hunt her down if she does?" Kieran chuckles; "What was that about Cyllene needing to get a life?" Dagny looks angry. "I was speaking from what seems to be her perspective, in which case by killing me she'd effectively be one-up on the so-called 'redhead' faction, so she ought to expect retaliation. I don't subscribe to that nonsense, and I resent the implication that I am being inconsistent." Kieran appears to be ready disagree, then shakes his head and looks out over the water. After a time, he says; "I was thinking that I'd take the first watch tonight, followed by Paril, then you. Gives you time to rest and all that before the final push to Amber. That okay with you?" Dagny still looks a little angry, but allows the subject to be changed. "Fine by me." She stands. "I'll get to bed then. Good night." With that, she heads to her cabin. "Night" Kieran replies. He then goes about securing things on deck for the night and settles in for a few hours at the wheel and keeping watch. --- And so we move on... The night passes peacefully for Kieran, and Dagny. Nothing of import occurs during Kieran's shift, and nothing occurs during Dagny's either. Dagny did have a nagging post-dreamlike feeling upon waking, but nothing she could quite define or remember. What's more, when Dagny relieves Paril. all he has to report are the appearance of six shooting stars, in sudden quick succession. Other than that...Paril saw exactly nothing. As the sun rises on Dagny's shift, and both Kieran and Paril awaken, the sea is calm, and clear. "Breakfast and then more of that shadow shifting, right?" Paril asks. "Sounds like a plan to me;" Kieran says. "Caf is good." He goes about performing a quick check of the boat and then raising the sails while Paril makes breakfast. "Mrmqxprl," Dagny mumbles incoherently, apparently agreeing with Kieran's call for whatever they call coffee here. "Caf and breakfast." Paril agrees and sets to it. Soon both are obtained for all three on board the ship, but not before Kieran, and Dagny if she wishes, have had a chance to look over the ship and see to it that the sails are raised and the ship made ready for travel. Sure, Dagny will go along. The ocean is peaceful and calm, and the golden hour of sunrise starts to transform into the more traditional light of morning as backdrop for breaking fast and preparing to continue the journey. "Lovely," Dagny says, admiring the view. She then appears to concentrate for a moment, and if all goes well, a cup of cappuccino appears on the table before her. "I needed a chaser. Anyone else?" she offers. And indeed, Dagny's conjuration goes off without a hitch. "Sure;" Kieran says if the first cup appears. "Yes" Paril agrees. Dagny's subsequent conjurations go off just as easily. As she sips, she appears thoughtful. "How quickly did you want to push forward today?" "Well, I'd definitely like us to get there today;" Kieran says after a moment. "So, I'd like to get started as soon as possible. That being said, I'd suggest not pushing with everything you've got to get us there. Keep a reserve in case we run into trouble and all that. If Paril or I can be of any assistance, just let us know." Paril nods. "The sooner we get to our final port, the better. After seeing those comets last night, I just get a funny feeling about this whole trip." He shrugs. "Chalk it up to an old spacer's supersititions." "Comets?;" Kieran asks. "I'm really not liking comets of late. Especially the last one that we kept from hitting Caledon." "Comets?" Dagny frowns. "I thought you said they were shooting stars? Where I'm from those are two very different things." "I did, Dagny." Paril admits, reluctantly. "I was tired, wanted some sleep," he says, apologetically. "And I didn't want you to immediately awaken Kieran with the news, Dagny. I thought you would accept a partial truth rather than a full out lie." Dagny notes that Kieran does not seem surprised or alarmed by Paril's behavior. "You had no right to make that determination by yourself when the safety of all of us might be at risk." She then turns away from him and focuses on Kieran. Paril gives a nod quietly as she looks away from him. "In any event, they moved relatively quickly across the sky, rather than hanging like fruit." Paril adds. "They were relatively close to this planet." He sips the cup of cappuccino quietly. "Which direction did they travel in?;" Kieran asks while studying the skies. "If they hit water, we'd have encountered the tsunami by now I should think. If they hit land, there should be a debris plume of some sort." "Do comets here often strike planets instead of staying in orbit?" Dagny asks Kieran. "I get the feeling I'm missing something." "Excuse me." Paril heads down below. Kieran sighs once as Paril heads below. He looks puzzled at Dagny's question. "Depends on where 'here' is. If you mean my home Shadow, then no, they don't. However, the ancient enemies of my mother's kingdom had diverted a comet and were intent on having it strike my homeworld. Paril, Dad and I had to deal with that on our way home. Here, I have no clue. I was just curious about them is all. I know enough about the potential damage comet strikes can do to a world to be concerned about them." "I don't trust him," Dagny says flatly once she is sure Paril is out of earshot. "We're concerned enough about danger that we set a watch, and it may not be a big deal, but why lie about what he saw? There might be something more going on here. He's a Shadowperson and easily manipulated--or replaced, for that matter. If you have enemies chasing after you..." she lets the sentence hang. "With regards to the comets, okay, that makes sense now. Thankfully nothing like that happened last night." Almost as punctuation, as soon as Dagny says this, the ship rises slightly in the water, from a swell of some kind. There is no sign, however, of a storm overhead, or a change in the wind that might have caused it. Kieran's expression grows hard. "Cut him some slack. He saw his entire family, a very large family, wiped out in a single night by agents of the Baroness. I was only able to save him, and barely at that. He's been deep in the bottom of a bottle for a long time now, but he's coming around finally. He's competent when he needs to be, and more and more lately, even when he doesn't. I know my friend and I'd know if he'd been manipulated or replaced. So don't worry about Paril." Dagny shrugs noncommittally, but says nothing. Kieran watches the swell for a moment or two. "Deep enough water and no landmasses between here and the impact sites could account for that swell if the comets hit ocean;" he says matter of factly. "Paril's not used to a low tech environment;" Kieran says more civilly. "I prefer high tech myself. He's used to Harmony and Gate making a log of everything that happens around us so we can go over it later. He may have forgotten that Harmony's not in this boat. I'll talk to him about it." "I hope that's all it is...but we should get moving anyway," she replies. "Shall we?" If Kieran agrees, Dagny will start shifting again towards Amber. "Yes, let's;" Kieran replies and then goes about getting the boat moving. And so, the shifting continues. In the end its a long day's journey of sailing and shifting. Its not exactly a hellride, as far as Dagny is concerned, but the desire to get to Amber is almost like a drug, pushing the crew on for a day that seems to go on forever. When Paril does come out of the galley to help manage the boat, he is taciturn, quiet and not very communicative. There is no sign, as far as Kieran or Dagny can tell, of any imbibing of alcohol on his part. Or at least, no sign of *excessive* imbibing. The day runs toward afternoon, and then Dagny is forced, in order to finish the shadow shifting, to play with time, and shift back into early morning light in order to finish the shifting needed. Dagny can guess that they are very close, very close indeed... And then it is there. In the early morning light, the city at the center of reality seems to gleam with the Amber color of its name as Long Distance Voyager bobs on the waves just outside its harbor. Amber. Kieran uses the HTD to take a couple of images of the view while still a ways out from the harbor entrance. He then selects the best of them and has the HTD begin constructing a trump image. The mountain is impressive, too. No, its not as tall as some mountains Kieran has seen, but it has to be a mile high, or so. Two thirds the way up the mountain from the city that sits at its base is a large pentagonal shaped Castle. "I've never seen it from this vantage point before," Dagny remarks. "It's nice." Kieran mentally compares this real life view with the trump images he's previously seen of Amber. He studies the harbor and city's general layout and the Castle as well for a few minutes. "I like this view of the city and castle;" Kieran says. Closer and more importantly, though, is the fellow traveler on the waters this early morning. A large ship, a galleon, is in the waters ahead of them, headed toward the same destination. Even from here, though, Dagny, Kieran and Paril can see that the ship has seen some action of some kind. A large hole in the forward hull of the boat sits right on the waterline. Dagny takes a look at the damage. Can she tell if it was caused by a weapon (as opposed to, say, an accident)? If so, what kind? To Dagny's eye, as improbable as it looks, from what she has read and seen of history suggests that the ship has hit, and managed to survive, a mine. There is a flag, three large golden coins, in an equilateral triangle, edges touching each other, on a purple field. "That damage looks like it was done by mines," Dagny remarks. "Surprising, given where we are. I hope there aren't any more sunk in the harbor. I don't recognize the flag though." "Me neither, but that's not saying much;" Kieran grins. "Mines? Hmm, thought gunpowder and explosives didn't work in Amber. Though maybe they struck the mine elsewhere in Shadow." Can Kieran sense Shadowpaths in the area? Kieran is used to Shadowpaths, of course. Here in Amber, though, without a Pattern Imprint of his own, he cannot. What Kieran *can* tell, from a logistical point of view, is that, from the position of the ship near the entrance of the harbor and how it is sailing, the ship did not follow the same course here as the LDV. This ship clearly took a route that took it up the coast for an unknown distance. "Mom and Dad said the person that looks like is dead;" Kieran says looking at the Eric lookalike. He gives Dagny a look. "If that is Eric, alive and kicking, I'm beginning to wonder if Caine is alive as well." "Interesting." "Very;" he replies. "If it is this person." Paril says. "That might explain why they are unconcerned about the damage. They do seem interested in our ship, though." "Or he's a Shadow of or a descendant of Eric;" Kieran shrugs his shoulders. "Guess we'll find out in time." The LDV continues to slide past the galleon with ease. As the LDV passes the galleon, Kieran salutes the galleon's captain, or whomever aboard her who appears to be in command. Dagny looks on, watching the behavior of the person or persons on the other boat. The behavior of the persons on the boat, watching the Long Distance Voyager, is mainly curiosity, but nothing more. There are no hails, no calls, no signals for help. The galleon continues to limp toward the harbor. The ship has, clearly, conceded the And so Dagny, Kieran and Paril can find themselves engaged with more important matters--finding a place to dock. The docks of Amber are extensive and full of ships. Most of them are in the style of the ship they passed near the entrance, although there are many other medieval and renaissance era ships. It also becomes clear that a section of the harbor is clearly devoted to the military, with soldiers and marines visibly patrolling those vessels. Two of these vessels in particular seem prepared for departure. There is, as it so happens, one ship out of all of these Kieran and Dagny and Paril can see which vaguely resembles Kieran's vessel. Made of wood and looking a little more primitive, there is a ship with a double hull and sails docked, alone, on one of the southern docks. To Dagny, it looks a lot like something she has seen in a documentary on Polynesian outrigger canoes. Kieran has the sails taken in as they enter the harbor, reducing them to the point where they have enough sail to maintain steering and a little bit of speed. He studies the busy harbor for a few moments. And then looks at Dagny. "Are you known here?;" he asks. "I mean known as a member of the royal family? How do you want to work this?" "I've met a few people," Dagny says. "If I see anybody I recognize, I'll let you know. We have that formal letter of introduction for you, right? So we'll just head up to the castle, you'll be presented, yadda yadda yadda," she waves her hands around expressively. "True, but that might not help us in getting a docking slip;" Kieran begins as Paril spots something or someone. "Someone is trying to catch our attention." Paril announces, and points. On one of the relatively empty docks, not far away from the one with the outrigger, a man stands on the end of the dock, waving at the Long Distance Voyager. A little bit of approach, and Kieran can see that the man has blond hair, and is dressed in a green shirt and white pants. A little closer ,and Dagny can recognize just who is waving at them. A man responsible for, amongst other things, her sword Mjolnir. The Blond haired man. Valerian. "Ok;" Kieran says after a moment or two spent staring at the man. "Maybe it is that easy. I was going to say we'd need to find a harbor pilot or a customs boat in order to declare ourselves and all that. But if they're going to wave us in, works for me." Kieran steers Voyager towards the empty dock and Valerian. Dagny shades her eyes in order to get a better look at the figure. "That's no harbor pilot. It's Valerian. I wonder what he, of all people, could possibly be doing here?" "Moonlighting?" Paril suggests irreverently Kieran chuckles. "Yeah;" Kieran says; "I know who he is." He holds his left wrist, drawing attention to the HTD. "I think I need to talk to him about some mutual 'acquaintances' causing trouble in Mom's Shadow." "Those things from the other dimension?" Paril says. "He knows about them?" "That's what Mom says;" Kieran replies. He retrieves his gunbelt from the deck storage unit and straps it back around his waist. From what he's been told, both the blasters and slugthrowers should be nonfunctional here. A quick glance at the blaster pistols power gauges reveal that indeed they are inert here. Still, they are part of his normal kit. The Voyager slides into the dock with relative ease, especially given its the first time that Kieran, Dagny and Paril have sailed a ship into a berth. Behind Valerian a few harbor hands are at the ready to help tie the Long Distance Voyager in place. Kieran directs their docking efforts, casting lines to the hands, etc. and to make getting off and on the boat easier for all concerned, has the Voyager backed into the assigned berth so her stern is closest to the docks. The outriggers make tieing up alongside the dock/berth a bit problematic. "All right, grab your gear;" he says to Paril and Dagny; "I'll make sure everything's secured and join you in a second." Dagny heads below, grabs her stuff, and comes back up. Mjolnir is of course slung across her back as usual. Kieran makes sure everything is battened down, locked, etc. before emerging on deck with a duffel bag in hand and a guitar slung over a shoulder. He locks the main hatch behind him. Kieran checks the status of his Faithful Mind as well. Kieran might want to work on his mental sorcery in a dedicated way in a few days, but for the moment, it seems to work just fine here in Amber. Is he getting some sort of interference, feedback, odd vibe or the like? Kieran makes a mental note to 'reset' or 'aclimate' his powers to this place when he gets a chance. Once this is done, Valerian offers a hand to help the trio onto the dock. He speaks in a low voice to one of the harbor hands, who goes running off the dock at speed. "Welcome back to Amber, Dagny." Valerian says with a grin as he turns his attention back to Kieran, Paril, and Dagny. "Won't you formally introduce me to your friends?" Kieran smiles and waits. "Thanks," Dagny replies. "Valerian, this is Kieran, son of cousins Brandeigh and Percy. And this is his friend Paril of Clan Destin. Kieran, Paril, this is cousin Valerian." Kieran nods his head. "My parents said to say 'Hello' Valerian. Nice to meet you." "This IS a surprise." Valerian says. "It's a pleasure to meet you and your friend, cousin." he says to Kieran. "One thing I can't get used to." Valerian says "is the range of time shifted shadows in this universe. Crimson never had anything like this." Kieran shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad hadn't planned on the time dilation being as great as it was when I was growing up. Might have been part of why we couldn't get Trump contacts to go outside Mom's area of Shadow until recently." Paril shoots Valerian a bewildered look, as Valerian gives a nod at this and continues. "Anyway, I'm not exactly the welcome wagon, although I am working for the King now. But we can discuss why I came down here on the ride up to the castle, perhaps?" "Awww, you mean you didn't come down here just to see me? I'm shocked and hurt," Dagny deadpans, and turns to walk towards the castle. Kieran chuckles. "Sure, why not." He follows Dagny. "Well, Dagny, I might have come down here to see you, if I had known it was *you*." he says with a grin. The Blond Haired man leads Dagny, Kieran and Paril to a carriage led by four horses, two black, and two white. The driver opens the door even before the group reaches the parked vehicle. Valerian waits for the others to enter before he does at last, tapping the roof as a signal to start the journey. "Perhaps we might begin, Dagny, if you explained to Kieran just who I am and where we first met." "Jeez, Valerian, you're going to make me try to remember back that far?" Dagny rolls her eyes, teasing. "It was a dream, wasn't it?" she asks Valerian, and turns to Kieran. "He made some noise about destiny and fate and all that, and gave me my sword." Valerian gives a confirming nod as Dagny continues "When I woke up, it was there IRL. Uh, in real life. As to who he is," she continues, "Valerian is the nephew of Cassandra, 'daughter of Queen Eustacia of Crimson, granddaughter of the Creatrix, Titania, and great-granddaughter of Dworkin Barimen' --did I get that right? and is in the process of raising an army for nefarious purposes I know not what. In fact, he'll probably try to talk you around to his point of view. He might even give you a lovely present." Dagny flashes Valerian a brilliant, genuine smile, and settles back in her seat. Kieran blinks. "And I thought my lineage was complicated;" he deadpans. A moment later, he smiles and looks at Valerian. "Presents?" "Gifts?" Paril picks up Kieran's line of thought, hopefully. Valerian smiles. The city starts to pass by. While it might have some resemblances to cities in Keltia, the marriage of medieval and high tech is not here. All there is here, to Kieran's eye, is medieval architecture. Mostly, anyway, there are signs of architecture types unfamiliar to him. "Dagny has the essentials correct." Valerian confirms with a smile. "Oh, and while I might be in the present business, I'm not quite in the army raising business." Valerian says. "My role is somewhat more subtler than that, and I also have marching orders from King Random, too, to boot." "The reason why I had you jog your memory, Dagny." he continues "is the fact that we did indeed first meet in a dream. Or dream realm, as you might have it. Lorius, in particular, helped discover that exposure to such realms and creatures leaves a particular and unmistakable signature." He turns his gaze to Kieran. "Which comes to you, Kieran. The reason why I was waiting on the dock when your ship came in, and that's a lovely ship you have. Multi hulled designs are uncommon in a lot of shadows...." Anyway.." he waves a hand "Kieran, you sailed toward Amber with such a high signal of Dream Taint as to suggest that you were physically exposed to Dream or Dream like realms. This sparked my senses, and my interest. The fact that you are family and were coming with Dagny is a bonus." "Just what have you been up to?" Valerian asks. "If you like Voyager in her trimaran configuration, you'll love her in her original converted star yacht one;" Kieran says with a smile. Then the smile fades abruptly into a deadly serious expression. "To make a long story short; I've been busy fighting off an interstellar invasion of mother's kingdom by their ancient enemies, the Coranians. Normally, those enemies shouldn't have been able to find, let alone, conduct combat operations in Keltic space. But they had help from outside mother's Shadow it seems. From the Yithonghu." Kieran pauses to observe Valerian's reaction, if any. Valerian's look of surprise at Kieran's earlier descriptions turns to a look of shock and alarm at Kieran's statement. "I took out a capital class ship of theirs. And fought a psychic battle with their 'Champion' or whatever they call it after we discovered survivors aboard the wreck of their ship. Being by the name of Ulchalothe. Found out during the course of the fight with him that the Yithonghu were more than a little upset about some sort of incursion into their space, or at least what they claim is their space, by group of people that included my mother. They seem rather bent on getting even." Dagny listens to Kieran's story with interest, but says nothing. "The Omphalos, as Dagny can attest, are bad enough." Valerian says. "The Yithonghu getting out of Dreamspace and into more ordinary reality is another helping of bad that the universe just doesn't need." Valerian puts a hand over his face for a moment as if warding off a headache. When he removes it, he nods. "Your mother, and I, amongst other relatives, stopped the Yithonghu from running rampant through the Dreamlands sometime ago." Valerian explains. "We put a major crimp in their ability to conduct operations there. And thus, as you discovered, they apparently have decided to get even by coming into this level of reality and messing with your Mother's local space." "Greffet" Valerian says, cursing, putting a hand over his face again. "Grap;" Kieran agrees. He then shakes his head. "No, not just my mother and her Shadow realm;" he says. "Ulchalothe said they meant to go after everyone who'd participated in the campaign against them. Attacking Mom's realm and anyone related to her was just a means to get to her. I'd suggest you contact everyone else who stood with you against the Yithonghu and warn them to expect company." Dagny just keeps listening. "That's a fair chunk of the family." Valerian says. He closes his eyes for a moment and begins to recite. "Leigh. Alais. Oliver. Your mother. Carl. Cyllene. Dulcinea. Hadrian. Malachi. Pollux. Oh, and Tina, but she faded away soon after. Not a strong link to the dreamlands that night. I could have used your father, too, Kieran, and his mace arm, but I couldn't find him." "He's involved now;" Kieran says. "I can get a hold of most of them." Valerian says. "In a few cases,though, that may not be that easy." Valerian says. The carriage takes a corner, and continues its winding, upward climb through the city. He looks at Dagny. "You've been away, so you probably haven't heard the news of the ultimate fate of Jayson, and a few of our cousins, have you?" he says. Kieran looks on with interest. "I guess not," Dagny replies. "Please, do tell." "Right" Valerian says. He pauses a moment as the carriage starts to climb in earnest. Kieran can see that most of the city is left behind, and the carriage is now wending its way up a switchback road that leads up the mountain from the castle and toward the Castle. Paril has elected to investigate and study the scenery as Valerian continues the discussion. "Dagny will remember Jayson and your parents might have told you about him, Kieran. Son of Sand, sorcerer, conjurer. Hero. He rescued your grandmother from Brand's clutches, but at the cost of getting the help, and opening a door, to an old, nearly discorporated God from the upper levels of reality." Valerian pauses a moment. "Apollo." "Apollo got ambitious and Jayson tried to excise himself free of Apollo's influence and control. This eventually led to the realization that Corwin's universe was under Apollo's thumb, and Apollo was looking at using this as a bridgehead to remaking the Amber universe too. So, a group of cousins got together with Jayson to dissociate Apollo's influence once and for all." "It ended catastrophically, resulting in another round of shadowstorms and upsets." Valerian says. "More tragically, not all of the cousins who went into Corwin's universe escaped again before the cataclysm." "Whether they are alive, there, or if they are dead, I don't know. All I know is that a number of the cousins who also faced the Yithonghu with me--Oliver, Bhangbadea, Alais and Cyllene, did not return from Corwin's universe. There doesn't seem to be any physical way to get to Corwin's Universe, either. The connection to it has been broken. I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of Broken Patterns of Corwin's Pattern, here, got created in the process." He looks at Dagny. "You've been away, so you probably haven't heard the news of the ultimate fate of Jayson, and a few of our cousins, have you?" he says. Kieran looks on with interest. "I guess not," Dagny replies. "Please, do tell." "Right" Valerian says. He pauses a moment as the carriage starts to climb in earnest. Kieran can see that most of the city is left behind, and the carriage is now wending its way up a switchback road that leads up the mountain from the castle and toward the Castle. Paril has elected to investigate and study the scenery as Valerian continues the discussion. "Dagny will remember Jayson and your parents might have told you about him, Kieran. Son of Sand, sorcerer, conjurer. Hero. He rescued your grandmother from Brand's clutches, but at the cost of getting the help, and opening a door, to an old, nearly discorporated God from the upper levels of reality." Valerian pauses a moment. "Apollo." Kieran nods his head. "Apollo got ambitious and Jayson tried to excise himself free of Apollo's influence and control. This eventually led to the realization that Corwin's universe was under Apollo's thumb, and Apollo was looking at using this as a bridgehead to remaking the Amber universe too. So, a group of cousins got together with Jayson to dissociate Apollo's influence once and for all." "It ended catastrophically, resulting in another round of shadowstorms and upsets." Valerian says. "More tragically, not all of the cousins who went into Corwin's universe escaped again before the cataclysm." The... Shockwave, I believe Mother called it;" Kieran says. Valerian nods. "A descriptive term." Kieran snorts. "You've no idea how descriptive my mother can be about some things;" he says recalling some of his mother's stories about the events in question. "Whether they are alive, there, or if they are dead, I don't know. All I know is that a number of the cousins who also faced the Yithonghu with me--Oliver, Bhangbadea, Alais and Cyllene, did not return from Corwin's universe. There doesn't seem to be any physical way to get to Corwin's Universe, either. The connection to it has been broken. I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of Broken Patterns of Corwin's Pattern, here, got created in the process." "They did," Dagny replies. "I found one. Reader's Digest version, I was bumming around Shadow--regular Pattern Shadow, mind you--and ended up in a Shadow Paris when the Omphalos attacked. I headed for Versailles and found a broken Pattern there. I did a little digging and found it was a version of Corwin's, and the Omphalos were headed that way, to take control of it. Later, and after a bit of pyrotechnics on my part," she snickers, "there wasn't much left of them after that. I am still completely flummoxed how I managed to cross over into Corwin universe Shadow without knowing it, and without having walked his Pattern--which I can't, of course. I met the man himself--this is when I ran into your parents, Kieran--and he did some sort of repair work on his Primal pattern. So there has to be some sort of connection, because I ShadowShifted out of there and eventually ended up here. Nobody's been able to explain how I did that, either." Valerian steeples his fingers thoughtfully at Dagny's explanation. Valerian continues "As far as those in Corwin's Universe, even if you visited there Dagny, I cannot seem to find their dreams,although I have tried. It is possible I need help from another dreamer or two to do a proper search." Kieran looks puzzled about something but waits for Dagny to speak first. Dagny looks thoughtful. "I've tried to contact Bhangbadea via Trump several times, but I can't seem to get anywhere there either. I really hope she's okay." "A universe without Bhangbadea scarcely bears thinking about." Valerian agrees. "As well as the others. What story I have been able to get from the survivors seems to suggest that getting out of Corwin's universe was a matter of fortune." Valerian looks at Kieran as the carriage takes yet another turn and the Castle grows closer and closer. "You had a question, it looks like." Kieran looks at Dagny; "So... we're going to go to Corwin's universe or the Amber universe's Shadow of it? I'm a bit confused." "Can we have a Shadow of a reality that is not part of the reality we're in? I have no idea if that's even possible. That's like a mental Escher painting, and just considering the possibility makes my head hurt." "Apparently, we can;" Kieran says; "and do from what I've heard about this place." He shrugs his shoulders. "I'm thinking the fact that he created a Pattern in Amber's universe has a lot to do with it. Even if his Pattern then split off it's own universe thereafter." He stops then and looks outside the carriage and up into the sky. "When is the next full moon here?" "What's so special about a full moon?" Paril prompts. "Is that rare on this planet?" Valerian blinks a little at Paril's interjection, and shakes his head. "Every 30 days here. Actually, I think its slightly less than 30 days, but I would have to ask Pollux about that. He'd know." Valerian says. He then looks at Kieran. "The full moon is past, but if you are looking to go to Tir, and not wait several weeks, it would likely still be stable enough to do so tonight, although its more dangerous." "A full moon in the skies above Amber;" Kieran says to Paril; "causes the city in the sky, Tir Na Nog'th, to manifest itself. Under the light of the moon, one can enter the city. Mom and Dad say Tir is a reflection of Amber. Me, with all this talk of multiple universes, dimensions and whatnot, wonder. Does anyone know where Tir goes when there's no moonlight in Amber? Does it go anywhere? Can it manifest if the moon is up during the day?" "As far as I understand it, no, you can't," Dagny replies. "You need to see the actual moonlight for it to work. If a cloud passes over the moon and it dims enough while you're up there, you'll fall to your death--unless you're really quick on your Trumps." Valerian nods. "Having an anchor on the mountain is usually wise, Kieran. Triply so if you go on a day other than the complete full moon." "Weak interdimensional interface;" Kieran says. Several questions and thoughts spring to his mind which he shelves for future pursuit. "Like I said, I wasn't planning on going to visit the place anytime soon." He (Valerian) nods to Kieran. He then looks at Dagny. "You've been up there, haven't you?" "Yup. Awhile ago now, though." At this point, the switchbacks are over and the carriage is headed toward the outer wall surrounding a several story tall pentagonal shaped edifice. Castle Amber. Paril's eyes are as wide as saucers. To Kieran, it has a different style than the castles in Keltic space, but there are no signs whatsoever of the high technology that often accompanies the old castles on Gwynedd, Scota, and the other planets. Kieran studies the layout of the castle and its outer works as they approach it. Dagny finds her own eyes drawn towards the Castle as well, and has to pull herself away. "I meant to ask you about that." Valerian says to Dagny. "From Amber's point of view, you've not been gone that long, but it feels like to me its been years for you. Decades, even." Dagny shrugs, and seems to concentrate on inspecting her fingernails. "You know how Shadows can be. You start wandering, find yourself in fast-moving Shadows, things happen, years pass. I can't even remember how old I am. But it hardly matters when you're immortal, right?" She looks up and cocks an eyebrow at Valerian. "Wait. How'd you come to that conclusion? You're not going to sit there and tell me I've aged, are you? Because if so I may have to call you out." Kieran listens with one ear as he continues to study the castle and its surroundings. The most unusual thing about the Castle and its surroundings, the only real divergence from a real castle are the spheres. At corners on the roof of the main keep, although Kieran can't see them all, there are large spheres of some sort. Kieran nods to himself at seeing the spheres. Mom's told him some things about the castle after all. Kieran will also note the guards at the entrance, looking smartly as the carriage rumbles past them and into the courtyard in front of the keep. Kieran looks around, and spotting the extra guards and their strategic locations, nods to himself. He then nods to any guards looking in his direction. "I sent one of the grooms ahead to tell of your arrival." Valerian says. "I assume you'll want to rest and relax before getting to the social. "Well at least a place to stow our gear at any rate;" Kieran replies. "Well, a lot of the formal Court doings have been finished for a few days." Valerian says easily. He waves to a few of the guards as he begins walking toward the Castle entrance at a slow and easy pace. As far as Paril is concerned, Kieran suspects that he wishes he had a camera, given how long and hard he is stopping to look at *everything*. Every so often, Paril seems ready to flood Valerian with questions, but then something new in view keeps him from interrupting Valerian, Dagny and Kieran's conversation. Kieran smiles at Paril and claps him on the shoulder. "I know;" he says. "I've heard stories about this place when I was growing up. But to finally be here. Relax, I think we'll be here a day or so. And we'll be able to come back anytime we want." "All right." Paril says, relaxing his frenetic observations. "I can always write a song about this, too." Kieran eyes Paril critically for a moment, then squeezes Paril's shoulder. "That, would be a very good thing to do my friend." "I was thinking that we take the social functions in stages." Valerian continues. "Eventually over the next day or two, his Majesty will want to talk to you two, and her Majesty. Nothing formal, since its not a day for Court. Random likes the informality anyway." He regards Kieran. "You might like to meet your grandmother, too." "That's fine with me," Dagny agrees. She is thinking though that she'll probably have to change into something more Amberish in the near future, i.e., a dress. Blergh. "Which one?;" Kieran says with a grin. "Are not both my grandmothers here?" "Well, yes." Valerian says. "You have to understand that not everyone has a burning urge to want to meet Fiona straightaway. And she is more than capable of making arrangements to see you without *my* meddling. I was thinking of your paternal grandmother in particular." Kieran laughs gently. "Yes, I understand. Dad speaks... cautiously and with respect about my maternal grandmother. Oddly enough, Mom sometimes speaks the same way about my paternal grandmother." Kieran...shrugs his shoulders. "I wonder if it would be possible to meet them both at the same time. Wouldn't do to give either the impression of favoring one over the other, you know." "Hey, good thinking," Dagny agrees. Kieran nods his head. "I'll work toward making arrangements." Valerian says "Thanks;" Kieran replies. "Anyway, a lot of the cousins have scattered to the winds or soon will, but I am sure we can meet some of them too. I would be surprised." Valerian looks over at Dagny as the Castle entrance rears up in front of them "if Dagny, if not your mother and father, have already told you everything they know about every member of the family." Dagny snorts. "That's assuming I actually know anything about any member of our family. Kind of a big supposition." "Point taken." Valerian concedes. "I had thought you had some contact with Family during your Wanderjahr." "Mom's pretty thorough about some things. Dad, too, for that matter. Family is one of those things;" Kieran says. "And yet I find it is usually best to form my own opinion about people only after I've had a chance to meet and get to know them." Valerian says something low to one of the guards at the entrance, who gives a nod, and then a bow to him, and Dagny. One of the other guards clearly recognizes Dagny and is not even as slow as that. All of them after a moment bow to Kieran as well. Dagny looks mildly surprised at this, and nods in acknowledgment. Kieran acknowledges the guards bows and returns them with the proper salute of a soldier of Amber. And then the group is past the guards and inside the main hall. As Kieran might expect, its a full-on medieval castle. No high tech lamps to change the ambience, but the lights don't quite look like torches either. something arcane in nature in glass. Kieran studies the main hall with interest, pointing out things that catch his eye to Paril as they move through the hall. The groom that Valerian sent ahead skids into view and stammers as he reaches Valerian. "Lord Henden would be happy to speak with our visitors regarding accommodation. He also says that he is pleased to report, Princess Dagny, that your permanent quarters await your pleasure." Dagny's faint expression of surprise returns. "I didn't realize I had any. Well and good then. Could somebody please show me the way?" She turns to Kieran. "I have no idea where I'm going, or where they will put you. If nothing else, you have my Trump, and I have yours." "I can get a servant to show you, Princess, if you wish to depart now." The groomsman says. Kieran nods his head. "True." He turns to Valerian. "Which reminds me;" he reaches into a belt pouch and removes a small deck of cards. He shuffles out two and shows them to Valerian. "These are for you. Try this one first if you wish to contact me;" He hands Valerian the first card. "If I don't answer, try this one." He smiles faintly as he hands the second one over. "Why two?" Valerian asks as he scrutinizes the two cards that Kieran has given him. "And what would be the difference between using one or another? Something you and your mother cooked up?" "No, this is all my own handiwork;" Kieran replies. "Let's just say the second one is something like an answering service. You'll have to try it sometime to fully comprehend it." "Trump voice mail? Heh. Go figure," Dagny smiles. She turns to the groomsman. "Yes, I would like that. Thank you." "Upon your pleasure." the groomsman says to Dagny, giving her a bow. "Trump voice mail." Valerian says. "I had a technological equivalent back in Omphalos, but it wasn't trump based. This...this is new to me." he says with appreciation. "I will have to try it. And I suspect others will be interested in the R and D involved." "I still need to get myself some Trumps of my own." Valerian says. "Not for lack of inclination, merely time and someone to create them. Still, until that happy day, there are servants, pages, and other means of finding me." "I trust, if you are going to see your quarters now." he says to Dagny "that you will find it not onerous to find Kieran or myself again?" "Onerous? No, but then the day is still young," Dagny grins. "I'll see you both later." With that, she'll follow the servant. Backlinks |
