From adric@engin.umich.edu
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 18:50:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: Joseph Velez <adric@engin.umich.edu>
To: shadows@umich.edu
Subject: Amber Diary 21

	This, being the diary of the Twenty-First session of Amber, laid 
down by my hand, Damion of Amber.
     To once again, begin at the beginning: It was discovered that Brand 
was making his own pattern with the stolen Jewel of Judgement. Theorizing 
that he may yet again to destroy the pattern of Amber--this time, with a 
solid base of reality to flee to--Benedict and I attepmted to draw up 
guarding strategies. I am not sure that any amount of guards can stop a 
man who can make his own pattern; but he is then only a man, right...?
     As it turned out, we needn't have bothered. Brand called Alexander 
and then myself over trump...but I get ahead of myself. First, I took my 
shift in the Pattern Room with the green-haired Archimedes. His features 
look vaguely familiar...but then, it is not wise to take anything for 
granted. Then Alexander and Ulysses came down--Alexander is that son of 
Brand. Ulysses fully demonstrated his descendance from Flora by giving me 
almost every bit of infomation that I asked for, including some that he 
should not have. Either he is a much better player than I, or...he is 
useful. As yet it would seem the former.
     While Ulysses is open and friendly, Alexander, well, isn't. If this 
was Lovecraft I would say that he was manic-depressive, but Amberites 
cannot suffer that sort of affliction...or can they? After all, Dworkin 
has been rather strange for as long as I have known him, but I had always 
thought that it was more a matter of excessive age and experience..."Too 
much knowledge shall drive one mad" as they used to say in Lovecraft.
     It was about then that the trump calls came in. Somewhere mixed up 
in that, Laughter returned by trump to the Pattern Room, but I was too 
busy keeping Alexander--and then myself--out of Brand's clutches. But 
that is how I knew that Brand had my son.
     Every well-taught Amberite knows about the Shadow Storms--great 
rolling storms that tear up and reconfigure whatever shadows it may pass 
through. The storms were severe in the latter half of the Patternfall War; 
and rumour has it that we are in for some more right now. Something to do 
with the drawing of Brand's pattern...but I will leave the matter only to 
say that these storms stood between myself and my son. I was desperate 
for a plan when Dworkin entered and broke my contact with Brand. He 
claimed that I was not Brand's son, and that my son would die if he was 
forced to walk that false pattern. Ulysses turned out to be a trump 
artist with a strange button that talked and could open up, revealing a 
trump. On the bizarre chance that this "button-trump" could get us inside 
the radius of the Shadow Storms, I entered the trump with Ulysses and 
Alexander.
     A fool's errand...the trump took us to Garden. I was able to find 
Tristan, but many years later than I expected. He said that I must return 
to my own time-line, and pick him up by the Tree of Ygg.
     Unfortunately, the Amber-children wandered off--or were taken--while 
my back was turned. I have yet to decide whether I should spend the time 
trying to track them down, or just let Tristan and his associates take 
care of the matter. I believe that I lean toward the latter, but shall 
discuss it with Tristan regardless, as I will need his or one of his 
compatriots' assistance in leaving this shadow.