Ebb Tide — Andrew's game log
Andrew - What Just Happened?
© 2005 Val Conder
I left the pattern room, still a bit hazy about what I was to do. The voice spoke to me saying, "If they are my friends spare them. If not kill them." Well, that was simple enough.
As I was taller than the corridor I trod, I plowed a gash in the ceiling as I went. The armor was not scratched. Impressive. I found two guards at the top of the stairs who came to attention as I approached.
"Are you friends of the Unicorn?"
"Er, yes, of course." They chorused.
"Good man." I clapped one on the shoulder. The other ran off.
I kept running into guards and asked them the same question. A servant asked if I was hungry, but I was not. It seemed the unicorn had many friends. I was surrounded by them. I pressed on. A unit of the AEF appeared, and distantly I recognized a--a friend. It seemed very distant now, as if I were divorced from my emotions and feelings.
"Colonel, Captain Scott, Gentlemen, I must ask, are you friends of the unicorn...
They chorused that since Bleys, their leader was then they were. They didn't know where to find Bleys. Then Scott asked how it was that I knew him. I explained we served together. My name didn't seem important.
A woman I recognized as Flora came up and asked who I was. "I was Andrew. I am the Avatar of the Unicorn. Are you her friend?" I replied, remembering my name...
She evaded answering me. I noted her face was injured, and asked if I could if she would like me to heal it. She said no. I did not press it. Then Duncan came up and again the voice spoke to me. "He is my enemy. Kill him." I swung at him, but he dodged my blow.
I went after him and the guards scattered. The corridor was narrow, delaying me, and he stayed just ahead. He climbed a stair that I navigated by knocking it out of the way. I tried to project my claws at him, not knowing the armor's capabilities, but without success. We dropped back down, and Gerard tackled me, and spilled me somehow on my face. We grappled, but he avoided my grip. He dragged me, and I plunged my arm into the floor, tearing up a main support. Guillaume hit me with a sword, but did no damage. Flora prepared a spell and he threw me into it. A spell protected the walls from my wrath. I crashed into one wall with all my weight and power, but it held. Again I hit it and yet again. The castle rocked, but the spell held.
I sat down and tried to think. I found the armor would part at my wish, letting me reach my trumps. I trumped Gerard, but he cut me off. A sword knocked the trump from my hand. The voice spoke to me saying, "Are you unworthy of my gift? You must escape from this room." Then it dawned on me that I had magic. I moved into the middle of the room, jumped up, came down, smashing my hands into the spell, using my power to cause a rift I could fall through. I dropped to the next level, jumped up, crashed through into the next one, then the one below it.
I was falling when Guillaume came through the hole I had made, armed with the sword. I threw a chunk of stone at him, but something deflected it. A rift opened beneath me. I passed through, and found myself on the edge of the Abyss.
For long moments I stood there, entranced. Concentrating, to see if I could, I made than sand beneath me more solid, and approached the edge. Below me was empty space. Land fell away to nothingness, and at a certain point the stars stopped. I looked around and saw the Courts, Amber, and other places. I concentrated again to see if I could and formed a foot of solid stone from the sand blowing over into nothing.
It dawned on me that being this close to the Courts I should feel the prickling of the Logrus. I felt nothing. I tried to use Pattern to see if the Logrus was still there. Maybe it had been damaged when the pattern was destroyed. I couldn't' do it. Then I thought of Mother. It was hard, but I remembered she knew about the pattern and how to use it. I took out her trump, and studied it, but it didn't grow cold. She was dead, and the pa9in of her loss covered me like a shroud. But in touching it I remembered many things about her, good times and sad, and for just a moment I knew that the unicorn's gift was inimical to her. This rocked me, but only lasted a second.
If she was part of it, how could it be a threat to her? I put her trump over my heart.
I became aware that the armor was gone. I drew my sword and tried to call it up, to see if it would cover the blade. I could serve her better with a weapon. And the voice came.
"Why do you desire my gift in this place?"
"I want to see if it will cover my sword as well. A weapon is good."
"This is a small matter."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Go where you would. I shall tell you when we have another opportunity."
Go where I would? I made a flag of truce and went to the courts to learn of the Logrus. I was within a hundred paces of the Gates of Fire before I finally felt the familiar prickling. Two rows of demons guarded the gates. One came forward to meet me.
"I am Andrew Prince of Amber." I told him. "I would speak with your king." He grumbled a reply and led me inside. The streets were almost deserted. I stopped and asked him if anything unusual had happened recently. He replied it was not his place to give information. Before we could go on a servant of Merlin's came up and said he wished to speak with me. I bade the demon fare well and went with him.
Merlin made me welcome and we spoke at length. I learned a great shock wave had hit the Courts not two days (their time) past, and there was much ill will toward us because of it. That translated into three weeks our time-- the time the pattern was destroyed. The wave had been delayed by crossing shadow. I told him I would bear his news back to Amber.
He asked what I knew, and I told him of Mother's death, of the attack by something on me while I was hunting, of returning to amber, that the pattern was damaged and we couldn't fix it. He knew this as his was diminished, as was mine. A balance between the Logrus and Pattern no longer existed. I did not tell him about Random or the Jewel.
Merlin agreed it would be difficult to do anything beyond the very basic with what pattern was left to us. He did tell me about shapeshift in detail. Amberites are capable of this but rarely use it. I listened with interest. With patience I could learn to do this. I told him to keep watch as I didn't know what had killed mother, but it might attack The Courts next. He seemed confident in their defenses.
We spoke of other things. He had hunted Bandersnatch, and gave me a few pointers, should I stalk them again. At length we bade each other fare well. He offered to send me back to Amber, but I said I'd walk. I had much to think on. When I reached the Abyss I trumped back to Amber's gate, and found myself hungry. I was tending to that in the kitchen when Guillaume came in and said Gerard wanted to see me. I introduced myself letting him think I did not remember him from the fight in the hall. In truth, some memories were a bit vague, as if viewed from a distance.
Guillaume conducted me to Gerard, now Regent of Amber, and whispered something to him. Gerard seemed relieved. I told him about visiting the courts, about the damage, and the wave of ill will toward us. As yet there was no call to war, but this might change. Corwin came in and confirmed my story. Well, he has his own sources. We agreed the balance between Pattern and Logrus no longer existed, and this was dangerous. Gerard said he would write a message at once to the Courts, and send an ambassador. Perhaps it will help. He also told me of Flora's injury taken while saving Corwin's life.
I mentioned Merlin's lecture on shapeshift, and that we did have other sources of power that we could try. There was the Fount of power, shapeshift, sorcery, trumps... Gerard agreed, and bade me tell this news to my generation. We need no longer spend resources training for Pattern.
As I left I met Aunt Flora, and complimented her on her courage. She said it was nice to see me back. I walked on, remembering Mother, wishing I could talk to her again, and my heart was full of pain.
Turning a corner, I found myself before a magnificent mirror. There were patterns on it of red and green. I stepped forward and put my hand on that surface and it felt like--like MOTHER. Then she was there before me and tears of joy spilled from my eyes. She leaned forward and kissed me.
"My son, how are you faring?"
"I miss you. I wish I had been there to help, I might have made a difference...Oh, and something strange happened." In brief words I told her of the unicorn's gift and that moment's feeling it was inimical to her.
She frowned. "Let me see this gift, my son." I closed my eyes and concentrated and it came. I could see her, but distant and distorted. Again it felt as if I was losing touch with my feelings, but I willed again and the armor went away. She stared at me, her face grim.
"My son, this is not of me or of the pattern. It is only of the unicorn. She always wished to be a player in our game."
"But--She and Dworkin mated."
"That is part of our myth. She only seeks through this to further her power, no more. She liked to work through puppets."
"You were there when she offered this to me. And something else was there. I took it because I thought it was what you wanted. That if I did I would have some part of you with me. I miss the talks we never had. I used to dream one day we would have the chance to just sit and talk. When I heard you were dead, I feared that was gone past recall."
She put her hand over my heart. "My sweet, gentle son, don't you know I am always with you?"
I took her in my arms and hugged her, and the love we shared healed the pain in my heart, filled the void her death left in my soul. How long I held her I do not know. At last I drew back slightly.
"Perhaps now that I know you're here, we can talk at last."
She smiled. "Perhaps, if you can find your way back here."
I stepped backward and studied the mirror, committing to memory the shades of colors, the pattern, and her in it. This was not something I would forget. I turned and found myself back in the castle, tears running down my face. Remembering Gerard's order, I began to look for my kin. And it seemed the sun shone again for the first time in days.
* * *
other writings: Background, Quiz, Andrew and Rio, Andrew and Bleys, "Everest Muses", Undertow log, "About that Avatar thing...", Unicorn's Avatar?, Ebb Tide log