KinglyCommandsKingly Commands(Continued from Office Space) Once Ederyn, the Weir, Lorius and Aura are out of Random’s office, and Aura has headed off in her own direction, Lorius turns to his cousin. "Right. I am guessing we should give you a crash course in how to walk the Pattern at some point before you do that, and doing that now will ruin you for the whole rest of the day. So let's get ourselves to Arden and see what's going on with that rift and cousin Brie." Lorius pulls out a trump deck. "I don't think you want to fly, and would prefer trumping your sister, yes?" "Ah, yes," Ederyn says. "But wait ..." He brings out, again, the gemstone with a bit of the mines' fire in it. "You never looked at this." "Oh, yes." Lorius shakes his head in self reproach. He extends his hand to allow Ederyn to place the gemstone. "A basic overview to start." Lorius explains, leaning against the corridor wall "We can do a bunch of things without having to pull out the toys, and that's what we will do for now." He cups it between his thumb and forefinger and appears to look at Ederyn through the facets. "Pull up your Sight, gently, and watch." Lorius instructs. "The business with Priya and her toys makes this a good idea for an object lesson." Lorius waits for Ederyn and then continues. "The first, the simplest level of scan shows that you imprinted this with a sorcery of some kind." "Deeper" he continues. "See it coiled like a snake in the gemstone. Look carefully, look for the elements..." Talking Ederyn through doing a lot of the work, or doing the work in parallel with Lorius, Ederyn does discover that the sorcery in here is not that of himself, or of Lorius. There is an antipathy toward water which is unforced and seething, blind. It becomes clear to Ederyn that no one who uses water as an element or even knows of water based sorcery would use such means. They would natively have enough knowledge of water based sorcery to handle it better. In fact, the sorcery has a feel similar to the fire sorcery Ederyn saw in Arden. Watching Lorius work, he also has a surprising insight: his own approach to general sorcery has been strongly influenced by his experience of elemental affinity. Lorius holds the object at arm's length, metaphorically speaking, considering its nature independently as a first step. Ederyn, in contrast, would start by looking for congruences with his own knowledge and understanding, employing close comparison, and only then consider how these and other elements operate as a distinct system. So, he thinks, to people used to Lorius' way of doing things, his own practice of moving directly to a deep and personal comprehension of a sorcery might seem intrusive, rather than normal. Especially if the object of study is *able* to object to the process. "There, not Rebman." Lorius says in satisfaction. "Almost certainly Omphalos. But we know they haven't conquered Cabra and seem not to do well with water. So what this means, cousin." Lorius adds. "is that someone placed those mines you encountered there on their behalf." "Spies?" Kezia growls. "Spies, saboteurs or even suborned locals." Lorius says. "Might have to put a bug in Castor's ear and have him take someone to go visit the Lighthouse, talk to the Keeper." Lorius offers the gem back. "We could learn much more, if we took your gem apart and really undid that magic. Find out how to counter it, expect it, and face it. That research would take some tools in my lab." "Thank you, Cousin," Ederyn says, still thoughtful, tucking the gem away again. "When we have time, you can show me what a 'lab' is." Lorius laughs. "Oh, Ederyn, I've so much to teach you. All in good time, though." He pulls out the trump of Noys and concentrates on it. About a minute later, he offers his hand to Ederyn. "She's ready to take the five of us across." In short order, Ederyn finds himself standing in the clearing in Arden once more. The skeleton of Julian's house standing nearby is no longer smoldering, sitting as a semi ruined shell. The rift in the sky also appears to be gone. "Hello brother" Noys says, warmly. She gives nods to the Weir. "Ederyn" Hadrian says. He makes a motion of his head to Lorius, and Lorius breaks away from Ederyn for the moment, leaving him with his sister. > Hello, sister," he says, smiling at her even as he glances around. "Brienne is well?" She glances not at Brieanne, who is not in sight, but rather at a Oak tree some meters away, that Carl is standing, arms akimbo, in front of. "Well, best you explain your story first, Ederyn." Noys says. "Interesting things have happened," he replies seriously. "Our uncle Benedict wrote to King Random to ask for some of us to help against the Omphalos. Including 'the son of Eric, and the daughter of Deirdre.'" He pauses, his look at Noys sharing his continued surprise over this. Noys looks buzzed by this, but she doesn't immediately interrupt him. "I already promised to bring some of the Weir to help Amber, but the King hasn't decided how to answer Benedict. And," he finishes, brightening again, "the King said Lorius is to help me walk the Pattern." In a swift motion that shows Ederyn that she is indeed Eric's daughter, too, Noys embraces Ederyn. He returns the hug, pleased by the gesture. "That's wonderful!" she says, quickly regaining her decorum after releasing Ederyn from her hug. She studies Ederyn. "For him not to have you wait until after swearing fealty, especially in public at Court, is a big deal. It shows he trusts you." "Or perhaps that he needs the support of the Jarl." Kezia says. "Or both," Ederyn adds in a firm tone. "But back to Benedict." Noys says. "He's referring to Aura, too, in that." She nibbles her lip. "You see, Ederyn, pure blind luck can change the outcome of a swordfight. Benedict is the best but he has been beaten. In terms of strategy and tactics, though, he has no peer." "I wonder..." she looks at her brother. "Can you tell me the story again of just how you came to leave Norwend, and hence head toward Amber." "She's where?!" Lorius shouts aloud at Hadrian. "Yes. That." Noys says. "Brieanne is, um, how do I explain something I don't quite understand." She throws back her left hand. "Somehow, Hadrian trumped her into a tree. The tree that Carl is guarding as if it were Castle Amber." She points at the Oak Carl is standing in front of that she looked at before. Ederyn stares and blinks. "... That must like 'well,' then." "I don't understand it, and Carl gave Hadrian a black eye before he explained what he did and why" Noys says. "But Brieanne's hounds are lurking in the forest near the tree. Somehow
"Sometimes I think I am the most ordinary member OF our family." Noys says. "But you were going to tell me the story of you leaving Norwend? I've got a hunch." In the background, Lorius walks toward Carl and the tree. The displeasure in his body language is obvious. "Norwend," [Ederyn] repeats, not sure why Noys wants this story again. "A Montenegran ship captain found a route to Norwend. I was told they met some of our fishing boats and followed them to Drengrheim. In the talk about trade and Montenegro, the captain spoke of Amber and its kings. After hearing that, our King Aren sent for me, and then decided to send me to visit Amber." "Aunt Fiona says that coincidence is just an incomplete understanding of unknown forces set in motion." Noys says. "I wouldn't be surprised if more than one person came to the conclusion that *I* manipulated things so that we would meet." Noys continues. "If Uncle Benedict knew who and what you were, and saw the need for your help, he might manipulate shadows so that events made it likely you would find your way here." "Our grandfather, King Oberon, did it to Uncle Corwin once" Noys explains. "Made him wind up in a shadow where he was in disguise, got him to buck up and fight Chaos." "I think Uncle Benedict manipulated shadow so you would come to Amber, now. I bet he didn't quite expect you to wind up in Weirmonken and meet the Weir and become their Jarl though. No one could have arranged all that too. That's your own fate and destiny." Boaz crosses his arms in satisfaction. "Hmm," Ederyn says, his 'perplexed' expression making yet another appearance. "When I know more about the Pattern, I'm sure all of that will make sense." "The Pattern basics are easy" Noys says. There is evidence that even before you walk the Pattern, if you have the Blood of Amber, you can awaken some of its potential in you. We even had a cousin walk to Amber from somewhere. Clarissa nearly got herself killed though, explosively undoing one of the first Omphalos Doors. Not because of the explosion, but because her recklessness made a few people angry." Noys looks over her shoulder at the tree Carl guards. "She said we were insane, and walked right out again." "Mastery of the Pattern is the work of a lifetime, though. Lorius' mother is one of the best. Uncle Benedict doesn't let his hand show, but clearly, Ederyn, he has skills. But then, he's one of the very oldest surviving family members. He's had time to practice. Just like you will need practice, once your walk is complete." "I do want to be there when you walk the Pattern." Noys says. "As your closest relative, I claim that right." "We wish to be present as well. If those not of the Royal Family are permitted in its presence. There are tales the Pattern drives those not of Amber mad, or even kills them." Kezia says. "It IS dangerous for non Family members to treat upon it." Noys says. "I remember when Merlin brought Coral to the Pattern. She went and walked it. Lucky for everyone, it turns out she is really one of our Aunts. Otherwise..." Noys winces. Ederyn nods understandingly. "You, Lorius, three Weir - and Asteria asked to watch also - how big is the room it is in?" "It's a large cavern, down underneath the Castle, Ederyn." Noys says. "The Pattern itself is the size of a canadian football..." she pauses. "You wouldn't know football." She purses her lips. "150 yards long, maybe a 100 yards in diameter. It's an oval." "75 fağmr in length, maybe, she says. Is that a unit in Norwend, brother? 450 feet long?" "We have feet in Weirmonken" Kezia says. "The Pattern is long." she says. "Large enough, then," he notes. "And it fits comfortably in the cavern" Noys says to Ederyn. "I didn't know Asteria wanted to watch your Patternwalk." "She was the second cousin I spoke with ... I cannot guess what she expects to see." Soon thereafter, Lorius arrives, clucking his tongue. "Well, Brieanne is alive and well in a tree, sleeping it off. I was hoping to talk to her about the rift, but Hadrian and his black eye are enough family on family violence for one afternoon. Random will want to know, and then we can see about getting you sorted out with forge rights, or plunge right into one of our other projects. Maybe show you the lab." "Coming, cousin?" Lorius asks Noys. "Y...yes." Noys says, glancing back at the tree, Hadrian and Carl and then back at Ederyn. "Use of a forge would be very good," Ederyn says. "But I want to talk to Lord Hendon again after that. And we forgot to ask the king about Aunt Florimel's tea." "Oh boy" Lorius says. "You're right, Ederyn. We managed to blow off Aunt Florimel. Not good. We're going to be in high dudgeon, mark my words, cousin." "What is the high dudgeon?" Boaz says. "Is that a tower prison? Is Princess Florimel its jailer?" he growls. Cyrus and Kezia look equally perplexed. Lorius shakes his head and pulls out his trump deck. "It might not sound like it." Noys glances at Lorius and then to Ederyn "But Lorius is being serious. This declaration of war might be a good excuse for you two to use." "Right. Ready?" Lorius has a trump of the Castle out. "Yes. Perhaps we should first go to my room," Ederyn says. "Is it now past the time for tea, or am I only late?" "I don't have a watch." Lorius says. "But I think you will only be late." Lorius stares at the card, and then holds his hand out. Noys grasps the hand that Ederyn has extended, and grasps Cyrus'. The Weir follow suit, and Noys directs Ederyn to grasp Lorius'. This results in an nearly instantaneous passage through the card, somehow Ederyn is conducted through the image, and suddenly finds himself standing in front of Castle Amber. Letting go of her hands, the Weir look around, shock and surprise on their face. "That was your first trip through a trump?" Noys asks the Weir. "Ja" Kezia says. She takes steps, carefully walking and looking at the Castle. "And Ederyn's too, I think." Lorius adds with a grin. "Right, time to find Aunt Florimel" Lorius adds. "Not sure the Weir are going to be happy to drink tea and eat social tea biscuits with the Princess, though, Ederyn." "He may be right." Noys says. "What are social tea biscuits?" Boaz asks. "Yeah." Lorius says. He turns to Ederyn. "Shall we drop off your furry friends with say, the guards?" Lorius suggests. "Give the Guards and the Valkyries some real practice competition rather than have them sit in your rooms?" Ederyn looks at the Weir. "That is a good idea, I think," he offers. Kezia looks at the Weir. A brief exchange in Weir between the trio occurs. "We would prefer to exercise with the guards." "And I should practice, also," the smith concludes. "Perhaps tomorrow." "There are a few Royals who practice regularly with the guards in the morning." Noys says. "They would be happy to have you join them." In short order, the Weir are introduced to the guards. There is a large area with wooden dummies and other setups that clearly looks to Ederyn to be a practice field. Blackthorne, the officer of the day on the scene, promises to see that Ederyn's friends get the exercise they are looking for. Ederyn, Noys and Lorius just manage to get from there to a sally port entrance to the Castle when Asteria, wearing a blue and white dress, approaches with a frown on her face. "You're late, cousins. And you might require some washing up." Asteria says. "But then, with Uncle Random's news, tea has not gone to schedule anyway. Mother is not amused. I'll come by for you all in twenty minutes at Ederyn's rooms." Without further preamble, as if her word were law, Asteria cheerfully smiles, turns around and walks briskly away, leaving Noys, Ederyn and Lorius in the guard's sally port. "I was wondering if I was going to be disinvited." Lorius comments. "How did she know we were using this entrance. Magic?" Noys asks. "No" Lorius says. "She probably saw us trump in and predicted we'd turn the Weir loose on the guards before going in." "Right. Twenty minutes, your rooms?" Lorius says to Ederyn. "And then we can have tea with Aunt Florimel." Ederyn can think of at least one other way Asteria might have gotten the information, but doesn't comment. Pleased that he's not going to have to endure the tea ritual (which he suffered through a couple of times in Montenegro) alone, he smiles and nods to Lorius' suggestion. Of course, he still has to find his way back to the Ruby Suite. But he's been through this huge pile of stone in several different directions now, and has a general idea of its shape. Given only a fragment of attention toward it, he *knows* where the iron door is, relative to his current location. It's only a matter of tracing a path through the larger corridors (the smaller ones seem to be less predictable) in the right direction. Once there, he unlocks the door without bothering with the key, then closes it and just stops, leaning against the iron and savoring the feeling of being alone. He may be used to having the Weir around, but he still misses the solitude he used to enjoy. It doesn't take any talent at divination to see that it's going to keep on being rare for some time to come. After only a few moments he peels himself off the door, rummages briefly in his pack, and heads for the bathing room. He's not clear on how long twenty minutes is, but he probably needs to hurry. The water, he found earlier, runs hot enough to create steam, and some of the assorted bottles of soap or whatever it is are scented. He turns the hot water for the bathing tub on, pours in some lavender-scented stuff, and leaves it filling while he strips off his sadly abused clothing and hangs it on the hooks on the wall. The smaller basin provides more hot water for washing; he uses a small, soft brush and soap to get dried blood out of the creases of his hands and from under his nails. The room fills with lavender-scented steam while he does this, and then gives his face, beard, and neck a good scrubbing. Next, he returns to his clothing. The red tunic is the worst problem; although it doesn't show bloodstains very much, it still smells. He snaps dust and any loose stuff off it, making the steam billow wildly, and then gently applies the brush to some of the worst spots. Some of the embroidery is irretrievably stained; he'll have to get someone to pick it out and replace it, later on. A pair of round holes near the lower hem gives him pause, as it shows how close one of the 'bullets' in Capital came to his thigh. No time for mending right now. His plain linen shirt, dark trousers, and boots get the same brisk treatment, and then he puts everything on again and turns the water off. When a knock comes on the door, his hair is combed out, though curling more wildly than usual because of the steam, and he is sitting on a chair using a damp cloth and the brush to thoroughly clean his sword's hilt and scabbard (the brush's original purpose). The knock at the door, presumably 20 minutes as promised, turns out to be both Noys and Lorius. Both of them are changed and cleaned up. Noys is wearing a dress in silver, trimmed in black. She is also wearing a black choker with a bright green emerald in it. Lorius is dressed in a long robe, in green, with a brownish-gold sash. Neither, though, has any of the residual dampness Ederyn is suffering thanks to the steam. "I should have confirmed that you could find your way back here." Noys says in a mild tone of self-reproach. "Sorry about that, Ederyn. And we'll have to get you some clothes for Amber at some point. Get to work on your palette." she says. "Its important, and it seems that over time, everyone here does it naturally, as if we were bred to it. Any road, are you ready?" Ederyn briefly considers asking for further explanation of 'palette' and why it's important, but decides to let it wait. "Of course he is ready." Lorius says. "He's been to a couple of foreign courts at this point and acquitted himself. Haven't you, Ederyn?" Lorius barely gives Ederyn a chance to answer and keeps going. "Granted Florimel and her daughter are in a new league of social combat..." He stops in mid-sentence. Ederyn regards him with an arrested expression, having never imagined social interaction as combat before, but finding the phrase surprisingly apt. "Anyway, here she comes." Lorius adds, using the fact that he is levitating at a foot above the floor to peer over Noys' shoulder down the hall. Asteria sweeps down the hall and stops with a dazzling smile for Ederyn. She gives a brief glance to Noys and then a furrowed eyebrow at Lorius. "You have the apprehensive look, dear cousin, it is said, that the King had when Queen Moire announced he was to marry Vialle." Asteria says to Lorius. "Do you know something I don't?" Lorius says. Asteria ignores this and turns to Ederyn. "Mother is just pleased at the chance to talk to you at length" Asteria says to Ederyn. "Shall we all go?" He manages - just - to not wince at the reminder that another long conversation is in the offing. "Yes," he says, turns to Noys, and offers her his arm once more. Noys takes his arm, and so armed, with Lorius behind them, the trip to Aunt Flora's tea proceeds without further preamble. Tea turns out to be in one of the sitting rooms on the second floor, in one of the external rooms, with a surprising amount of windows. The sun, now out from behind clouds, provides strong shafts of light against shadows in the green and gold decorated room. A table, circular, has been set up with high back chairs. No long sitting at one of these, having risen once Asteria opens the door is Princess Florimel of Amber. (Casting call: Grace Kelly) "Thank you Asteria" Flora says, moving smoothly forward toward the entrance. "Noys. Pleasant of you to come. And greetings to you, nephew." she says to Lorius. "It has been some time since you have accepted one of my invitations." "Yes, Aunt Florimel" Lorius says. Flora nods to Lorius and then fastens her attention on Ederyn. "And you must be Ederyn, of whom I have heard much in an exceeding short time." She offers Ederyn her hands. He takes the offered hands - very much following her lead - and says, "I'm glad to meet you, Aunt." She offers Ederyn a smile and releases the hand after a gentle squeeze. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I was a great friend to your father, as your sister may have told you. While I knew of her, and even introduced her mother to Eric, you are something of a surprise. And perhaps not just to me." Florimel soon sits down at one of the chairs and indicates everyone to do the same. An unobtrusive servant appears from somewhere and works at a sideboard pouring cups of tea which are set before everyone. "Thank you, Clarise" Florimel says. "See to the other preparations, will you?" Clarise finished her preparations by setting the silver tea service on the center of the table. Florimel takes a slice of a yellow peeled fruit, a lemon perhaps, and gently puts it in her tea. Asteria does not copy her mother, instead gently adding cream and sugar to her own. Noys and Lorius follow suit. Ederyn adds as much cream as the cup will hold, but no sugar. The delicate porcelain looks surprisingly safe in his work-hardened hand as he takes a sip. "Doubtless my dear nephew has told you this will be excruciatingly dull, long, and tedious." Floimel says to Ederyn. "Oh, mother" Asteria says. Since this is true, Ederyn gives her a confirming nod. Florimel shakes her head. "We must be honest, dear daughter. High Tea is not a common practice in Norwend." "Well, I would not dream of boring a maker of objects mundane and arcane both." Florimel replies. She takes a sip of lemon tea. "And I think the reputation of these affairs has been inflated out of proportion." "If we were to proceed in that spirit and that vein, we might spend the next thirty minutes with such minutae as the state of the weather, the health of the King, the state of disrepair in the Castle, before getting to subjects you might find interesting, if that ever occurs. This is something you have agreed to and thus must be endured, rather than learned from." "Is that what you've imagined, Ederyn?" Florimel adds, sipping her tea again. Without turning his head, Ederyn can make out the puzzlement on Lorius' face, Noys' countenance. Even Asteria appears slightly confused. He blinks at Florimel, then says, "After my second 'tea' in Montenegro, I always had some other place to be." "You speak plainly" Florimel says. "Perhaps with too much of a lack of adornment. Inherited from your father, no doubt. Your sister has learned some small arts to counterbalance the natural tendency of Faiella's descendants to be bloody minded and not engage in discourse. But there is always room to learn." She glances at Noys. "Yes, Aunt Florimel" Noys says politely. "So tell me, on the subject of the Faiellans, Edearyn," Florimel continues. "What do you think of your father?" (Continued in Kingly Commands II) |
