BleysIndex | Time Under Chaos | Non-Player Characters | Bleys  Bleys Then came a fiery bearded, flame-crowned man, dressed all in red and orange, mainly of silk stuff, and he held a sword in his right hand and a glass of wine in his left, and the devil himself danced behind his eyes, as blue as Flora's or Eric's. His chin was slight, but the beard covered it. His sword was inlaid with an elaborate filigree of a golden color. He wore two huge rings on his right hand and one on his left: an emerald, a ruby, and a sapphire, respectively. This, I knew, was Bleys. --Nine Princes in Amber Bleys, you are still a figure clad in light to me- valiant, exuberant and rash. For the first, my respect, for the second, my smile. And the last seems to have at least been tempered in recent times. Good. Stay away from conspiracies in the future. They do not suit you well. -- The Courts of Chaos While younger than Benedict and the Faiellans, Bleys still has managed to become one of Amber’s finest swordsmen. While almost all of his family has apparently eschewed studying at Dworkin’s knee, the Clarissans listened long enough to learn there was more to him than madness and magical playing cards. One might wonder how Bleys was able to excel in what were clearly two parallel and non-overlapping fields of study. The answer is simple: Drive. Although this is only obvious to those who truly know the man, Bleys is possessed of almost infinite (temporal) ambition. While Brand sought to redraft the metaphysics of the universe, Bleys’s ambition in the thronewar was to rule the Eternal Realm. He understood that Brand had major goals of his own, but he assumed they were more abstract, like Fiona’s own arcane investigations. When he later learned Brand’s true aims, it was he who convinced Fiona that they could not let his plans go any farther forwards. The delay to secure Brand near Chaos cost Bleys valuable time, and it is likely that if he had ignored Brand’s mad plans he might have been able to wrest the throne from Eric. The three Clarissans were always especially close, as far as Oberon’s children were concerned. They were a natural cabal when they decided to take Dworkin’s “abstract” lessons in metaphysics and sorcery and put them into practice in their grab for power. They understood that Eric was also planning his move, so they went with the flow of events and helped to arrange the diversion which kept Oberon from Amber. Their intent was to see him imprisoned in Chaos indefinitely, or at least until they had gathered enough personal power to prevent him from retaking his throne. As Bleys’s true ambition was the throne, he was leery of trusting the Chaosians, but Fiona made the case that they could be dealt with so long as they dealt with the more moderate and liberal Chaosian factions. Bleys was always one to throw the dice with a gleam of hellfire in his eyes and a gleaming grin on his face, and accepted the compromise to insure Oberon would remain out of the picture. Had he known of Brand’s own, separate, dealings with Chaos he might well have had more second thoughts. Few can deny that Bleys is amongst the most charming of men, and he pairs this with a degree of bravado which, from any other man, would come across as sheer ego. In Avernus they have a saying: “Bleys is the devil, and we love him.” When Corwin visited, he understood the Averni to be worshipers of Bleys, but he did not understand that he had made it clear his apocalyptic battle would be a terrible kind of glory. He was the fire, and in the forge of his war they would be beaten into the nearly indestructible steel he had brought to them. Only the most worthy would live long enough to tell their children of the deeds they would do, but all who died in the endeavor would be born again into the more perfect generation to follow. Bleys’s oath to fight alongside Corwin until the kingdom was won, and then to settle the matter with a duel in the throne room, reveals another of his distinguishing characteristics. Bleys can be the most patient of Amberites, when it suits him, just as he can laugh in the face of danger and charge ahead when that is the thing to do. Corwin and Bleys made their separate advances on Amber, and each met with a great deal of difficulty. Bleys could shield more of his own forces from Eric’s onslaught, but Eric made sure to send additional forces to make up for his additional arcane proficiency. As two armies had a perfect view, there are thousands of witnesses to his epic charge up the stairs of Kolvir, who credit Corwin’s tale of Bleys upon the stairs. Bleys was somewhat surprised that Corwin had changed enough on Shadow Earth to toss away his trumps so that Bleys might live, but not so stunned that he neglected to escape to the first person he came across. Gerard was willing to accept the connection, but quickly rendered Bleys unconscious. Bleys persuaded his brother that to reveal him would spell his death, and the two men reached a compromise. Gerard placed Bleys somewhere that was difficult, if not impossible, to leave without Trump… and no Trumps. The rate of time’s passage was also especially slow, though Gerard promised to return for him in time. Bleys spent a pleasant week on the beach before being retrieved to assist in what was to be the final battle against Chaos. Benedict’s final charge allowed time for Caine and Julian to escape, but by that time his own forces were already overrun, and a trio of Hellmaids had their blades to his neck. Flora had already surrendered, and he saw no alternative except to lay down arms. There was no brother following behind him this time. Since the defeat of Amber, Bleys has adjusted to the shifting winds with remarkable élan. He would much rather see Amber changed than destroyed, and so long as he and the Eternal Realm still remain… there is a chance to be King. |
