RandomIndex | Time Under Chaos | Non-Player Characters | Random  Random The one bore a wily-looking little man, with a sharp nose and a laughing mouth and a shock of straw-colored hair. He was dressed in something like a Renaissance costume of orange, red, and brown. He wore long hose and a tight-fitting embroidered doublet. And I knew him. His name was Random. --Nine Princes in Amber Texorami was a wide open port city, with sultry days and long nights, lots of good music, gambling around the clock, duels every morning and in-between mayhem for those who couldn't wait. And the air currents were fabulous. I had a little red sail plane I used to go sky surfing in, every couple of days. It was the good life. I played drums till all hours in a basement spot up the river where the walls sweated almost as much as the customers and the smoke used to wash around the lights like streams of milk. When I was done playing I'd go find some action, women, or cards, usually. And that was it for the rest of the night... Sign of the Unicorn I know damn well that Gerard would have chosen that moment to attack. The big bastard would have strode forward with that monster blade of his and cut the thing in half. Then it probably would have fallen on him and writhed all over him, and he'd have come away with a few bruises. Maybe a bloody nose. Benedict would not have missed the eye. He would have had one in each pocket by then and be playing football with the head while composing a footnote to Clausewitz. But they are genuine hero types. Me, I just stood there holding the blade point upward, both hands on the hilt, my elbows on my hips, my head as far back out of the way as possible. I would much rather have run and called it a day... -- Sign of the Unicorn No-one, least of all Random, knows why the Unicorn chose to pass the Jewel of Judgment to him. His life up until that point had been that of a youngest brother with many siblings; recklessness and rebellion with no respect for others or himself. His association with Corwin gave him the father figure he clearly lacked, and when the time came, his transformation was sudden and miraculous. That he united the warring factions of his family was in itself a triumph, but it was a pyrrhic victory. No sooner had he turned back the tide of Chaos than news arrived of the defeat of Amber's army in the city itself and Gerard's death. This hit Random hard, and without Corwin, who had disappeared, he reverted back to his old habits. Flora took him to Shadow Earth to escape the disasters that were overwhelming Amber's forces across the Cosmos, and there he remained. By the time Bleys arrived at the head of a regiment of Hendrake shock troops, the fight had long gone out of Amber's exiled king. He gave himself up, but to Bleys's annoyance the Jewel of Judgment was not with him. Random was imprisoned and Flora with him for a time, though when it was clear neither knew where the Jewel was, Flora was released and pardoned. Random, still Amber's titular king, was condemned to eternal imprisonment. It is said by the rebels that Random's solitary confinement has made him stronger. He has been smuggled notes of support from Vialle in Rebma, and recalls the tale of Corwin's escape to give him heart. There are whispers that Martin has managed to free Random from Chaos and they are hiding out in Texorami, but these rumours are rubbished by most observers. If he were free would he not join with Julian or Caine? If he had done so, he would have been seen by now. His distinctive frame and appearance would have been noticed, surely. Yet Random has never been entirely at ease with his Rilgate brothers. They were hardly quick to leap to his defense when he was stranded in Shadow. No, say the bards, Random is the once and future king, biding his time until Amber can rise again phoenix-like from the ashes, and he can restore the Pattern to its former magnificence. The sensitivity of Mandor's agents to these stories might lend credence to their veracity, for to speak them aloud is to cost you your tongue. |
