Day 2163 RSTE, 725 BPTE

	All right, the first question is permanence.  We crossed several
shadows before Ariana joined us, and the effect of the water had not
lessened to any degree.  It is extremely unlikely that the magic laws
would be sufficiently similar over the course of our travel to sustain a
spell to that extent.  A particularly strong casting could, however, take
time to fade, but I still feel that this is implausible, as there has been
no decline or fluctuation in potency.  If the source then was magical, it
was of a nature which I had not yet suspected.  It would have to mutate,
to adapt to changes in the magical environment.  My gut feeling is that
this would be too complicated to prove worth the effort.  Besides, it
would either require obvious means of support or the caster would be
capable of so much that it would be silly to waste time on such frivolous
spell traps.  More likely would be a death curse, a phenomenon on which
there is too little data.  It is pointless to consider the specifics of
the water's operation until I can acquire more facts, and there simply is
not time for that now.  As I see it, it all boils down to one test anyhow. 
Either the alteration will survive the Pattern, or it will not.  Since it
does not behave as a normal spell, that is my only hope for affecting it. 
The Pattern being inoperative, I must assume for now that the effects are
permanent.  So we come to the second issue, control.  There is a rough
sort of method for controlling my form.  Cooler water initiates the
change, while hotter negates it.  With experimentation, this approach can
be refined and an actual cut off temperature can be discovered.  The
larger issue is that this shows that the effect of the water can be
manipulated.  I do not as yet know the most efficacious way to exploit
this, but I'm certain that my Helgram friends can be of assistance. 
Florian is master of form.  He could help me procure physiological data as
well.  Which raises the third question.  How real is this female form?  Is
she different from me?  Or is she merely a facade?  The questions are not
as vacuous as they might seem.  My memories are my own, and I retained
them after the water hit, but when I was she did we think differently?  I
know that shapeshifters retain their memories in most forms, but Constance
tells me that the shape can influence the persona.  Ariel did not notice
any difference, but this is inconclusive.  For one thing, I was agitated
and not myself anyway.  In addition, the female body may need time to
develop a noticeable change.  Again, Florian could assist me greatly in
this matter.  Do I retain my pre-existing personality, or is it altered as
is my body?  I cannot take this question lightly, for if a new person has
been created, how can I work to destroy her?  Enough, I have too little
information as yet.  The fourth matter concerns the effectiveness of this
"posse."  Actually, it involves the Sequence affair, but only
symptomatically.  Chaos is at war with itself.  One faction is headed for
an unempowered Amber.  All of us are working for the realm in our own
ways, and it is vital that we do so.  The elders are working on holding
off the invasion, essentially a stalling maneuver.  We must recover the
remaining shards of the Jewel of Judgment if we have any hope of surviving
in the long term.  I am afraid that the pettiness of some of our group may
destroy our efforts and bring to an end the reign of Order.  Ahab was
given instructions as to the retrieval of the shards.  He did not follow
them, deliberately leaving me to catch up on my own when I discovered the
omission.  Upon my arrival, he immediately doused me in the cursed water
which had changed him, for the crime of not recognizing him.  He commented
that this gesture was for Sequence.  As if the sword would notice any more
than did Ariel.  As if nothing were at stake on our mission.  The matter
with Sequence is strictly between Laughter and me, and it can not, and
should not, affect our mission.  I suppose that he could still be upset
over my efforts to prevent the unnecessary slaughter of a fellow Amberite,
but again that has no bearing in the current situation.  A child should
not be entrusted with a mission of this much importance, and for all his
bluster that is precisely what he is if he cannot place our long range
survival above his petty grudges.  It may become necessary to take as many
as agree with the importance of our efforts and search with them elsewhere
so that we are not weakened by such dissension.  That said, there remains
a fifth concern.  I understand that surface women wear clothing called
bras.  I want one.  Badly.