Session
2
Heather's shadow, year one, day two
Today has been the strangest day. It started off simply enough.
Mirelle and Mebd (Heather's servant) and I had a quiet breakfast. Heather
was not there, although I did pass her on my way down. I briefly
considered following her, but decided against it. Perhaps if I had,
things would be different now.
After breakfast, Mirelle left to take Mebd back to Heather's
shadow, although why anyone would want to go back to such a cold and
gloomy place I will never know. I decided to spent the afternoon doing
some more research about Amber, so I retired to the library. I had just
settled down with a book when the most disturbing shaking of the earth
occurred. I immediately raced outside to see what had caused it, and I
beheld a sight that shall remain with me until I die. Huge black clouds
filled every horizon, and they all seemed to be racing towards the very
spot on which I stood. As the ground shook once more, even more fiercely
than before, I ran back into the villa and ordered Kira and the guards to
evacuate at once. But, although every sense was screaming for me to
follow them, I went instead to Mirelle's quarters to find the deck of
trump that she had shown me earlier. I managed to find them and escape
the building with my life, but only just barely.
I stared intently at Driscoll's card, but (as I half expected)
nothing happened. I suspect that those sunglasses which shield his mind
from the likes of Heather may interfere with these trumps as well. I
quickly found Mirelle's picture and stared at it instead, and, somewhat to
my surprise, it became real and I was talking to Mirelle. I was startled
for a moment, since I had only heard Mirelle's description of how trumps
worked, and I do not think I completely believed her. But, with those
terrible clouds bearing down on us, I quickly overcame my astonishment and
told Mirelle what was happening. She became quite pale upon hearing my
tale, and urged me to run for the two trees behind the villa and then to
shift shadow as fast as I could. Needless to say, I quickly followed her
instructions, and we all ran for our lives.
Just as I began to shift away, I turned and looked behind me. The
whole world seemed to be tearing in two, and beyond the tear was the
deepest, darkest blackness that I have ever seen. We ran even harder
after that. It turned out that it was fortunate indeed that I saved
Mirelle's trump deck. For one thing, if I had not contacted her, I doubt
I would be writing this now, since her shadow could only be left through
those two trees, and I did not know this at the time. And, had I not been
in possession of that deck, I suspect that Driscoll would be very dead
right now.
As I ran, I tried to shift to a shadow that did not have that
awful storm, but it stuck to our heels like Kerberos. After a while,
Mirelle joined us, though how she found us I did not know at the time. It
occurred to me that we could make better speed if we were mounted, and
suddenly we came across a heard of horses. This shifting of shadow has
more possibilities than I had originally thought. So we rode, and after a
while we began to put some distance between us and the storm. But it
still persisted after us.
Then, much to my surprise, Driscoll rode up and joined us. I told
him what I had seen, and I learned from him that it was called a shadow
storm. He said that if we put enough distance between us and it, it would
eventually fade away, like ripples from a pebble thrown in the water.
Naturally I found this rather reassuring, but not as much as Kira, Jan,
Arn, Randal and Lorin did. I am afraid they have encountered rather more
than they were expecting when we first set off on our journey.
After we rode a while longer, the storm faded out behind us, just
as Driscoll had said it would. We stopped with relief, to catch our
breath and let the horses rest. Driscoll took off his sunglasses to wipe
his brow, but just as I was relishing the opportunity to look at those
beautiful eyes of his again, he staggered and then got this odd look on
his face. I asked him if he needed help, but he said no. I finally
placed the look on his face as being similar to the one that I saw on
Felix's face when he received a trump contact yesterday at the villa, so I
stood there and waited for him to be done. Imagine my surprise when he
simply vanished away from us. Concerned, I found his picture in Mirelle's
deck and stared at it as I had before. This time, his picture changed for
me, but it was blurry and hard to see. I focused all of my will on
clearing that picture, for I feared for his life, and justifiably so.
When the image cleared I saw Heather holding onto him as blood flowed from
his abdomen. They appeared to be in the center of the Pattern, although
the Pattern I walked was in a cave beneath a castle, and this one was
outside. I did not have much of a chance to look around, since Driscoll
looked to be badly injured. Fortunately, he was still conscious (Can you
trump unconscious people? I must remember to ask.) and I was able to pull
him back to us. Unfortunately, Heather came with him.
The wound that Driscoll had looked like it was caused by a sharp
object, but it was unlike any stab wound that I have seen before. And it
was completely burned around the edges. I gave him something for the pain
(and to make him sleep) and prepared a poultice for the wound. When I had
done all I could for him, I had my guards put together a litter for him,
and turned my attentions to Heather. After a great deal of questioning,
she admitted that she had been placed on that Pattern by Brand, although
she would not tell us why he put her there. I accused her of being the
one who had injured Driscoll, since it only seconds passed between when he
disappeared and when I contacted him, and she was the only person to be
found near him. Driscoll later told me that Brand had placed her there as
bait for him, but that Brand is the one who hurt him, using some kind of
spell. That may be true, but I do not believe that she was unaware of
what would happen when she lured Driscoll to her.
Heather was offended by my accusations and left us. I would have
gone after her, but I did not want to leave Driscoll alone with Mirelle,
since she had not demonstrated any ability to handle situations like those
that had been occurring. Mirelle said she would trump another one of my
relatives, Sand, and ask for her help in rounding up Heather. In the end,
though, I was the one sent chasing Heather, while Sand took the others to
a place of safety. I felt much better about leaving Driscoll with Sand,
as she seemed much more competent than Mirelle. I asked how I was
supposed to find Heather, since she had long since vanished from view.
Sand told me that I could find Amberites in shadow simply by shifting
shadow with them in mind. This must be how Mirelle and Driscoll found me
while I was fleeing the shadow storm. I decided to leave Kira and the
others behind, and instructed the men to guard Driscoll in my absence. It
occurred to me that I might find other Amberites with Heather, so I asked
Sand what to do if that happened. She did not seem to think that this was
likely, but told me to stay hidden if I could and to report back to her,
using a trump that she gave me. Of course, matters did not turn out to be
that straightforward.
I left them and rode for a while, trying not to pay too much
attention to the changing landscape around me. At one point, I thought I
saw a huge metallic bird flying overhead, but in vanished before I could
look too closely. Perhaps I only imagined it. After a time, I came
across a large structure that rose further into the sky than any that I
had witnessed before. It was surrounded by a fence made entirely of
metal, and I wondered at the wealth that Heather must posses to have such
a thing built. The climate was rather gloomy, with no sign of the sun
through the clouds. If it is like that all the time, perhaps that
explains Heather's sour attitude. Although why she chooses to remain
there, I do not know. There was a bell by the gate, so I rang it and
waited. After a time, an elderly gentlemen came to the gate, dressed in
much the same fashion as Heather had been when she first arrived at
Mirelle's villa. My own clothing seemed to disturb him, for when I told
him that I wished to speak with Heather, he kept glancing back at me as he
hurried towards the house.
As I watched him go, I was quite surprised to observe Felix, that
odd fellow that Ariadne had brought with her to the villa, walking towards
the stables. I remembered that he was an Amberite, and used the trump to
tell Sand of his presence. He seemed to have spotted me at the same
instant that I saw him, so it was too late to conceal my presence there.
Sand seemed somewhat surprised to learn that Felix was there, and urged me
to be careful. Soon after we finished our conversation, Felix came to the
gate and let me in. He also seemed somewhat disturbed by my appearance.
I tried to learn why he was there, and if he was alone, but I had only
managed to discover that he too was looking for Heather when the servant
returned and escorted us inside. To be honest, the more I talked to
Felix, the more uncomfortable he became. I do not think he likes thinking
on his own. Especially given his later actions.
We were shown to a large room filled with chairs and odd looking
lounges. All of the furniture was covered with stuffed cushions, making
them somewhat uncomfortable to sit in. At this point I learned that
another Amberite named Ahab had accompanied Felix, and I attempted to find
a private spot so I could inform Sand of this new development.
Unfortunately, as I was leaving I ran into Heather and a tall man who I
soon learned was Ahab. He introduced himself with a number of titles
attached to his name, none of which meant anything to me, although he
seemed to think they were important. I tried to follow suit by giving my
full name, although I am sure it was equally meaningless to him. I
learned from him that he is Deirdre's son, and that Felix is the child of
Gérard and some woman named Isabeux. He seemed very interested in
learning my parentage. When I told him that I did not know who bore me,
he looked at me closely and told me that I resembled Eric the most. I had
noted this myself, although I had not thought that I looked much more like
Eric than I did Corwin or Deirdre. Still, if this is true, than I suppose
that Ahab is probably the closest relative that I have met thus far. I am
not sure if this is a thought that gives me much joy. He is rather an
arrogant bastard, after all.
I am afraid that I let my temper get the better of me, and I began
accusing Heather again. It did not help that I learned that she shared
the same name as Brand. At first I thought she must be his daughter,
since the picture I had seen of him was not very aged. However, Ahab told
me that Amberites can live for hundreds of years (giving me my first clue
into exactly how long my own life span might be). Still, if she is not
his daughter, she certainly must be descended from him. After all, she is
an Amberite, and why else would they share the name Rathkavren? Heather,
in turn, told of Mirelle, and her shadow, at which point I mentioned the
storm that had destroyed it. Ahab seemed disturbed by this, especially
when he heard that I had found Heather and Driscoll at the center of a
Pattern in the open. However, that was no excuse for him to so rudely
bring Fiona into the conversation, without so much as a by-your-leave.
Naturally, I was upset by this (since Fiona is the one that Mirelle was so
afraid of), but when I tried to leave, Ahab had Felix block the door.
Now, I do not take kindly to being held a prisoner, no matter what
the circumstances may be, and neither apparently does Heather. I lost my
temper again and drew my sword on Felix, but quickly realized that I was
outnumbered and sheathed it. I did not, however, move away from the door,
nor did I speak to the others again. Other than Felix, of course, who I
tried to persuade to move. But he refused to listen, obeying Ahab's every
command like a common servant. In some ways, he reminds me of Mirelle.
At one point, he made a grab for me, but fortunately I evaded him. I
would not like for him to ever get his hands on me, for he looks strong
enough to break me easily in two. Fiona seemed to find all of this
amusing.
Ahab asked her about the Pattern I had described, but she turned
the question back at him instead of answering. He told her everything he
had learned, including his suspicions about my parentage. While she was
thinking about what he told her, he left the room for a few moments. I
tried to follow him out, but could not slip past that ox, Felix.
Eventually he returned and, after I complained some more about being held
prisoner, Fiona told Ahab to let me leave.
I went some distance down one of the halls and tried to contact
Sand again, but this time the picture did not change for me. I
concentrated on it as hard as I could, and it felt as though I was pushing
against a barrier of some sort, one which I could not penetrate.
Giving up, I returned to the door of the room where the others
were and listened for a while. Heather continued to complain about how
she was being treated inside of her very own home, so the others agreed to
leave. Heather ordered Ahab to return her portrait (Which Felix had been
hiding in a saddlebag when I arrived. Apparently thievery is quite common
among some of my relatives), and asked to speak privately with Fiona.
While I would have given much to hear that conversation, I did not wish to
be discovered lurking outside the door, so I left and rode for a while.
When I was some distance away, I tried to reach Sand again, and
this time everything seemed to work. I mentioned my earlier difficulties
in using her trump, which Sand told me she was responsible for. She said
she was worried about my close proximity to a big gun. When she saw my
look of confusion, she explained that she was referring to Fiona, but I
still do not understand what a gun is supposed to be. Nor did Fiona seem
to be very tall. I must remember to ask Driscoll about it. She told me
that I could refuse a trump contact the same way that she had. I told her
what had transpired at Heather's home, and asked her what to do next. It
was then that I learned that what had happened to Driscoll had somehow
helped Brand, which meant that we had failed in our task. I was rather
disheartened by this, but it occurred to me that this meant my existence
no longer had to remain a secret. Which frees me to further investigate
my parentage.
I asked Sand how to find Amber, since that seemed the most likely
place to start. She smiled and told me that all roads eventually lead to
Amber. I assume this means that if I search for it the way I searched for
Heather, I will eventually find it. She did warn me that things might not
be very peaceful in Amber currently, and that the damage done by Brand
might have changed things. But, since I could see no point in waiting
around, I was determined to go.
I asked after Driscoll and my people, and was told that Driscoll
had already healed and left. I could not understand this, since I had
left them less than a day ago. I also asked Sand about Driscoll's
parentage, since I find myself quite taken with him and I wanted to know
more about him. Sand, however, would only say that he was a grandchild of
Oberon, and that Driscoll would be upset with her if she revealed who his
parents were. I am discovering that Amberites seem to be a highly
suspicious group as a whole. They do not seem to like for people to know
very much about them. Except for Ahab, who wants the world to know who he
is and where he is from.
Sand took me to Kira and the others, and I learned from them that
it had been several weeks since they had last seen me. It would appear
that time flows differently in shadow, depending on where you are. I
decided to look for Driscoll first, since I enjoy his company, and I find
myself nervous about going to Amber alone, at least without more
information. Imagine my surprise when I found myself traveling towards
Heather's shadow again. I was concerned, so I pushed ahead as fast I
could manage. I am afraid Kira was rather unnerved by the strange passing
of images as we rode. I suspect the others were too, but they hid it
better.
I soon found myself back at Heather's home, and saw that she and
Driscoll were mounting up and preparing to leave. Driscoll looked glad
enough to see me and said that he owed me a debt. I will admit that I
enjoyed hearing that, especially since Heather looked so displeased about
it (and about my presence, I am sure). I asked him where they were going,
and when I learned that they were looking for information about what had
been happening lately, I asked to join them. He asked if Heather and I
could put aside our differences. I asked him for his version of what had
happened on the Pattern under the sky, and he claimed that Brand was
responsible, with Heather just a dupe. Since this matched what Sand had
told me, I agreed to make peace with Heather about the matter. But I
still do not trust her, and would rather she was not with us.
Of course, part of the reason I do not want her along is that I
would rather be alone with Driscoll. I am really not sure why I find him
so attractive. Perhaps because he was the first Amberite who bothered to
contact me and let me know of my heritage. Perhaps it is because he is so
mysterious. Or, it could be simply his appearance. I have never seen a
young man with hair that white before, and his eyes, when they are not
hidden from the word, are the most beautiful shade of blue. I do not
really know, and to be honest, I do not much care. Love (or lust) should
never be analyzed too much, or it is ruined. It is unfortunate that there
really has not been an opportunity for me to learn Driscoll's feelings on
the matter. I hope he is not like Heather in such matters. I do not
think I have ever met anyone as repressed as she is, given the way she
tries to cover every square inch of her body. I doubt she has ever seen a
naked body, other than her own, in all her life. In a way, I almost feel
sorry for her, growing up in that awful shadow. Almost.
"Outrageous Fortune"
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All text on this page is © 1993-1994 by Kris Fazzari.
Last modified on August 5, 1994 by Kris Fazzari.