Charting a Course


Some time after the coronation ceremony and oath giving-- another thing Brennan never expected to happen that he's now seen twice-- Brennan makes some time and catches up with Conner.

"I still feel like I'm waiting for the rest of Grandmother's shoe closet to fall on us," he says, suppressing a grimace. "Have you got some time to talk, Cousin?" Brennan doesn't say it, but the unspoken addition is, "Somewhere private and mirrorless."

"Let's talk in my what-may-or-may-not-be temporary quarters." Conner offers. He leads Brennan to a bedroom that is in the area of the palace reserved for distinguished guests but located as far from the Royal Quarters as possible. "This was the suite that Random stayed in when circumstances dictated that he should spend a night in the Palace. He insisted on bringing and playing his drums of course purely to irritate his hostess of course." Conner smiles. "So he is as far away as protocol allows and the walls were made extra thick to muffle the sound. I've taken it for my own for just that quality. Plus I am not yet bold enough to take one of the Royal rooms for my own. Not until I've swept them for mines anyway."

Conner doesn't bother to offer Brennan a seat as he knows his cousin will have already selected the comfiest one if he wishes to sit. Conner pours himself a measure of purple liqueur from a decanter and offers Brennan the same. "So, what particular metaphysical shoe do you wish to try on first?" He asks.

"Drums? Underwater? Now that's dedication." Brennan doesn't specify dedication to what, exactly-- anything from the arts to being a pain in the arse seems to fit.

"Well percussion instruments in general but they were collectively his drums." Conner explains.

[Brennan] takes the beverage, and does indeed seat himself. "And actually, I'm looking for advice before the next shoe drops, whatever shoe that may be."

Conner floats down onto a neighboring chair. "The shoe dropper does seem to be legged like a centipede." Conner agrees. "Best to take advantage of the calm when it comes. I never did get a chance to ask. How went your analysis of the Pattern Chamber?"

"Inconclusive," Brennan says. "The thing fairly screams with metaphysical power, both to the Third Eye and to more Orderly approaches. It's a good sign, but one I expected, since," he waves a hand in the water, "you can feel the resistance to Sorcery even without trying to work it. And Celina made it through, which is another good sign. As is the continued connection to Paris through the Faiella-Bionin.

"I'm not finished with the analysis, yet-- some things are best done from a distance than up close-- but if there is danger, I think it is not imminent. On the other hand, all of those things are true of Tir-na Nog'th as well, and I don't think anyone knowledgeable would really consider that a healthy Pattern-- too many strange violations of Time, Space, and other fundamental principles of Dworkin's conception of Order. And we're seeing those sorts of manifestations associated with Rebma, too."

Conner nods. "I plan to take a look down there myself to see if my new connection to the Pattern brings any insight." Conner pats the scabbard at his side. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way or at least that way for me. I've never been one for intuitive learning. I once spent a year trying to learn to become more intuitive before I really succumbed to the irony of the notion and moved on to other things" Conner chuckles.

"I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter," Brennan says. "Although I am very puzzled about how Khela managed to bind you to the blade-- how she bound mastered it in the first place-- without the ability to master the Pattern itself." Brennan makes a worthy attempt of not re-seeing the disaster that played out in the basement.

"But as welcome as those thoughts will be, that's not the advice I'm seeking foremost. This is: Repairing a Pattern is a big job. The only precedent we have is Oberon's repair of the Primal, which killed him and temporarily destroyed the universe. If you were drawing up a list of people to talk to-- to recruit and work with, more properly-- who'd be on it? I have some thoughts of my own, but I'd be grateful to hear yours without prejudice," Brennan says.

Conner does not speak for a long moment. He opens his mouth to speak several times but each time he closes it again with ever increasing gestures of frustration. Conner blows out a long stream of water and sighs.

"The problem, dear Cousin, is finding the correct intersection between 'knowledgeable enough to aid with the endeavor' and 'unlikely to stop you for fear you will destroy everything'." Conner sighs.

Brennan nods, with resignation-- Conner sees the same problem he does.

[Conner]
"Dworkin is the obvious place to start. Whether he will aid you directly, I do not know but I do not think he will hinder you either. That's not his way."

Conner pauses for a moment. "Brand and by that I mean Ambrose and whatever lays hidden in Brand's notes behind the code wheel encryption. He planned to destroy and rebuild and must have had some thoughts on the rebuilding side of things. While were on the outside of the normal sphere, I would suggest Weyland. He clearly has a line on the Pattern that no one has been able to duplicate and he is a creator of things."

Conner shrugs. "Beyond that it is the usual suspects. Mother, Uncle Bleys, the Majesties. As I presume you will need the Jewel, Random will have to convinced and that is a conversation that will be interesting to say the least. As for our generation, Celina will be more an asset the more we make her Queen. Knowledge of how that connection works may prove vital. If any others of our generation have delved deeply into Pattern studies, they are not advertising it. Jerod was the one to try and lay shadowpaths though. He might have a thought or two on the subject." Conner sighs. "So few of our generation really knew Amber, Brennan. I honestly don't know who would struggle to revive a place they never knew. Paradoxically, Robin might be an ally there. Amber could collapse into the sea for all she cares but a Pattern to protect her Arden she might fight for."

"Add in, 'Unlikely to step in and do it themselves if they think it's possible,' for our Aunts and Uncles," Brennan says. "But let's leave that generation aside just for the moment, and think about cousins, for motive, knowledge, and reliability.

"It might surprise you-- and her-- but I agree with you about Robin. She was already tentatively on my list. She has her own task before her, but the intersection is obvious. Maybe I'm wrong, but as I understand it, there are no choices that Robin and Julian can make that don't end in devastation, so long as Amber's Pattern is defunct. They kill the Dragon, they let it escape, either way, the other metaphysical anchor goes away. With a functioning Pattern... there might be a workable play." Brennan scowls, though. "She's the one who let Huon go, though. And even though she's Julian-trained in the Pattern, I don't know that she's really understood, gut-level, what the end-games in Arcadia are.

"Add Paige in on that vein, too-- calming Arcadia would seem to make her life easier in Broceliande. In the long term, anyway.

"Jerod brings an enviable level of competence to everything he does. As you say, he's at least as knowledgeable about the Pattern as we are, if not more. Both of which put him on my list of people I want to include." He thinks back to what seems a very long time ago, and smiles faintly, "But while there is a certain... irony... in approaching him with an invitation to a conspiracy with the very highest of motives, he's a pragmatist. I don't think an appeal to Eric's memory is enough. He'll either decide it's a good idea and worth participating, or not."

"Or he'll decide its a bad idea." Conner adds. "And that would take away the nigh from this nigh impossible task."

"Granted," Brennan says. "I'd hate to have to work around him-- I consider him a friend.

"Ambrose, as you say. But there's... not bad blood, between us, as much as no blood." Brennan looks like he wants to say more, but moves to the next on the list: "Celina, as you say. Especially since no one really understands the connection between Amber and Rebma. Or if they do, they're doing a damn good job of hiding it.

"What about Fletcher?" Brennan asks.

"I don't really have a handle on him yet." Conner replies. "He is logical in his thought patterns and clearly has thought on the metaphysics surrounding the Pattern as he put forth suggestions in the healing of Marius. But his suggestions seemed based on an understanding of Pattern different from our own and more to the point at odds with the understanding Corwin and I had. I suspect a paradigm shift sometime between his leaving and the Clarissan tradition becoming the norm. Such a contrasting view could prove useful."

"More to the point," Brennan says, "He grew up and spent quite a long time in Amber before his departure. He also is a knight-commander by Oberon's hand, and Oberon didn't give those out like party favors. My guess is he has some attachment to the place-- it was probably a ruder shock to Fletcher than to anyone else, coming back and finding the place in decline. He is at least on my list of people to talk to.

"And then we get to really troubled waters: Martin and Folly." Brennan lets that statement thrash uncomfortably in the water.

"Let sleeping Tritons lie." Conner advises. "Until we're all planning a baby shower, I think they should be left out of things for the nonce. Of the two though, I think Folly is the one to approach. She recently trained with Dworkin in the art of trumps and she is the one people talk to. I think she may have gleaned much."

Brennan nods in agreement, and adds, "There are these complicating factors, too: Martin isn't just a cousin, but a Prince of Xanadu. Telling him possibly puts him in an awkward position with the King. Not telling him is either almost as bad, or slightly worse, I'm not sure which." He scowls, then adds, "And he's pissed off at me for something I haven't figured out yet. Eventually, I need to do something about that, whatever else happens." He holds the frown, but-- while he'd welcome it-- doesn't really expect further input on Martin.

"I think you're right about Folly, though, although with the risk of putting her in her own awkward position. I think she's interested in how the Patterns work, too, but she thinks about it much differently than I do. Uncorrupted by Redheaded preconceptions," Brennan says.

"All right, so much for cousins. Fletcher, almost certainly. Robin and Paige, probably. Jerod, probably. Martin and Folly, maybe. Aunts and uncles.... What about Gerard and Benedict?"

"Approaching Uncle Benedict has all the merits and flaws of approaching Jerod increased by several orders of magnitude." Conner replies. "I have never found him to very forthcoming with information and would not expect him to be so in this instance. As for Uncle Gerard," Conner pauses for a moment and sips from his drink, "I have always credited him with a strong practical working knowledge of Pattern. That may give him insights that could be useful. I would be hesitant to approach him though. He has always been a by the book kind of Admiral and this is a path far off the known sea lanes."

"Agreed that both have practical knowledge," Brennan says. "Benedict in particular, by longevity if nothing else. But more than that, I think he comes by his sense of duty through very hard-won knowledge. And I don't think Oberon would have made Gerard or Caine Admirals without some very serious knowledge of how the Pattern works-- maybe not Redheaded analytical knowledge, but enough to make and preserve Shadow lanes, enough to use it creatively on the high seas in demanding circumstances.

"But that wasn't the reason I brought either of them up. People listen to Benedict, even the Kings. If I can convince him that this is a good idea, that means something. The blade cuts both ways, though-- if he thinks it's a bad idea, he's going to have a good reason for it, even if he doesn't share it. Besides," Brennan says, "I'm looking to visit Avalon in the near future, anyway. My thought with Gerard is almost the opposite: Gerard gives good advice, when he can. If he thinks it's a bad idea, I think he'll tell me why." Probably in no uncertain terms. "If he thinks it's a good idea, I think he'll offer good advice on navigating the issues."

Brennan hesitates. "And what do you think, by the way?"

"I was wondering if you were ever going to ask." Conner grins. "Well since you did, I suppose I should answer." Conner sets his glass down. "I have no idea if repairing the Pattern of Amber is either possible or advisable though I'm betting on possible. Ever since we Parted the Veil into a Pattern Chamber, I am of the opinion that enough will can overcome just about anything." He sighs. "I also believe that if you come to find that this course of action is inadvisable then you will stop. When it comes down to it though, I suspect the question will not be a cut and dried answer of right and wrong, but a question of what price is too high? I want to be there for that conversation." Conner raises his glass to his lips and sips. "So I will help you as I can, cousin."

"There are prices I'm willing to pay," Brennan says, "and there are some that are entirely off the table." His expression is cold for that, but then warms up again as they depart the topic of prices. "But, thank you for your confidence. It means a good deal. So does your advice."

He shifts in his seat, then shifts the conversation only slightly. "My biggest non-metaphysical problem is social. I'm not happy with this as a secret project, but I'm not happy with a public proclamation, either-- our Aunts and Uncles are a conservative bunch in some ways, and given recent history, they'd be fools not to be. There are too many bad outcomes to be complacent, but I'm worried that that will translate to a command: 'Full stop.' Hence, bringing Benedict and Gerard into the conversation.

"By the way, should anyone ask, you can say honestly: At the moment, I am researching only. I've done nothing concrete toward this goal. Our Aunts and Uncles aren't fools, but neither am I," Brennan says.

"If anyone asks, I shall be taking greater precautions against scrying and spying in future." Conner says wryly. "You may trust to my diplomatic skills should I need to speak of this."

"More to the point," Brennan says, "Don't get into too much trouble on my account. The biggest reasons it's a secret at the moment are that I can't figure out how to broach the subject with any of our Elders, and because nothing's been done yet, so it's a vacuous secret."

"Shifting topics for a moment, what did you make of the Triton's oath and language?" Conner asks.

Brennan accepts the change of topic, and says, simply, "Mabrahoring. Or something very like it, or derived from it. It's been a very long time since I've heard it spoken. I saw your hand on your blade when the Hierophant spoke."

"It set my teeth on edge." Conner winces slightly at the memory. "I had heard the Trtions use the language during the battles. It carries a great way underwater. But after my bonding to Halosydne, the very sound of it triggered a visceral revulsion. My first impulse was to stop the sound by whatever means necessary. I can see now why Cneve would need little urging to lead a war against the sons of the Dragon."

"Not to mention, the small matter of a geas to protect Queen and Realm. War against the Tritons would seem to fit both criteria," Brennan says. "You know what that language is, yes? It's a contract language used in Chaos."

"Both Uncle Bleys and Khela spoke of it as a language of Chaos." Conner replies. "Since that conversation with Khela, I have been curious who in Rebma knew the language well enough to craft the contract with the Dragon and where Khela learned enough of it to be able to tell me the terms of the original Triton binding." Conner sighs. "I need to convince Carina the Archivist to speak with me and to convince Jerod to let me convince her. There are too many things only Moire and Carina would know."

"The answer to the first is obvious," Brennan says. "Moins. Moins may or may not have passed that knowledge down to Moire or Llewella, and depending on how early Khela was at odds with Moire, either may have passed it down to Khela. If not that path, then maybe the simplest explanation is the best: Khela learned it from a Triton. There are things I would like to know from Carina as well-- if you think it would do any good, I can talk to Jerod as well."

"Moins is the most obvious assumption, I agree," Conner agrees, "but that is a point I would want confirmed. It does make me curious how many of our family speaks it. When did it seem an unnecessary relic not worth passing on?" Conner shrugs. "As for Khela that would make sense. I should ask Teukros if he instructed her in the language. On the Jerod front, I would appreciate that. I have not made a very strong attempt to see her though. A more direct approach than correspondence might yield better results."

"I don't think we can think our way to a direct answer on the Mabrohoring front," Brennan says. "Too many variables-- the paranoia of Moins, Oberon, and the Moon Queen, not to mention Dworkin; changing times and distance from the foundation events; the aptitudes of the learners; the availability of other sources. I know Brand spoke it-- I heard him on more than one occasion. I would guess rather strongly that Fi and Bleys speak it as well. But did they learn it from Oberon, or Dworkin, or Clarissa? And then there are the great unknowns: We know nothing about Moins' consorts, except Oberon. Did Corwin learn it to deal properly with Weyland?" He shrugs. Those are all imponderables for the moment.

"As for Jerod, I'll be glad to... but we're completely hampered by our paucity of Trumps. I haven't got one of him," Brennan says. "And it's a delicate situation. The other side of his family is on the other side of the conflict, here. Still, the best way to deal with that is to face it full on."

"Jerod knows we're not stupid enough to go after his family." Conner offers. "And much of what we want to know can be approached from the angle of keeping Rebma's Pattern stable which is a course of action Jerod will agree with. So should we ever find a way to contact him, we have that plan of attack at least. He never was comfortable with Trumps. I'm not even sure if the Trump booths have one of him." Conner shrugs. "A problem for another day."

"We need more Trumps," Brennan agrees. "Between your sister and my son, we ought to be able to call in a favor or two-- they both know they're allowed to make and hand out Trumps of me, as their judgement dictates. Unfortunately," he says, "they are both busy and understandably not inclined to drop everything for what we happen to need on any given day.

"As you say, a problem for another day-- whichever of us gets in contact with him first can talk to him, I guess. If things work out, though, I'm hoping my next stop will be Benedict's Avalon," Brennan says. "Everything seems to point me in that direction. I just have to find it. Preferably without breaking down and using his Trump." He sighs. "Someday, I'll learn to stop making things difficult for myself."

"It would be a prudent thing to learn." Conner agrees. "Seeing as how we have enough Family and enemies willing to make things difficult for you." Conner grins. "Let me know when you go on your journey. I like to keep an Eye on traveling family, just in case."


One of the problems with Rebma is the difficulty in sending discreet messages. Paper dissolves and chiseling and delivering a stone tablet is obvious enough to defeat the discreet. Ideally, one obtains a servant that specializes in forgetting messages immediately after they are delivered. As Conner has not cultivated such a servant yet Conner decides to deliver his own message and waits politely outside of Her Majesty's rooms while the message is relayed that Conner would like to see her.

A young lady glides back to see Sir Conner. "Her Majesty is ready now." And she guides him through three chambers, including one with a triton.

Celina shoos out everyone once she sees Conner. "Hullo and what will you have to drink?" She shows him a cart of selections. Conner can also see the salt tea tray off to one side. "How do you think we did with the Court?"

"As well as could be expected, I think." Conner looks over the drink cart and pours out a measure of green liquor. "Our supporters remain our supporters, our enemies remain our enemies, and the rest are content to bide their time and hedge their bets by staying friendly to both sides." Conner floats over. "How are you holding up?"

"I take as good omen that my dreams were not all nightmares," Celina says and sounds upbeat about it. "Thank you for doing the blood ritual again. I was impressed and the Court is studied in not being impressed. I think you made them work for it."

"Any crack in the court facade is a victory." Conner agrees. "So long as you can experience wonder behind the mask, you are not too far gone." Conner grins. "By that standard, I think we may need to declare certain members of court legally dead."

Celina laughs. "Pearls! It is truth." She replenishes her own glass. "Conner, I hoped to give you latitude with the Warden position. It has military substance and will make smooth transition to investigating the Kelp Beds as things will come to that. You've started well with the Tritons. Do you want one assigned to you or shall we talk about that much later?"

"Considering the terms of the new oath, I am not sure that assigning Tritons is quite the way to go about things." Conner replies. "This may or may not be semantic as they have taken an oath of fealty but my diplomatic training will not let me forget the power of words." He grins. "Having said that, I would work further with Teukros if he is willing."

"Good, I'll see if he is interested in adventure," she smiles. "I agree that we are first steps in a new age. Now I'm wondering if Rebma regularly sees Brothers of the Dragon in our borders and does not recognize they are not seeing a Triton. What did you make of the fact that there are Brothers that are not Tritons?"

"That matches what I have learned from history and/or myth." Conner replies. "Do you remember the story I told in the tavern when we first met Khela?" Conner sags a moment at the memory and then continues on. Celina recognizes the look of Conner concentrating on recalling exact memories. "The war was epic, and eventually the city found allies and turned the tide. The battle was taken to the great forest and the interloper and her foreign cousins won. The sons of the dragon sued for peace. The arrangement was tricky, with some of the sons given in bondage in perpetuity to the city, with the understanding that the city would not expand further towards the forest." Conner comes back to himself and looks to Celina. "That is the concern that niggles at the back of my mind. Having altered the terms under which the Tritons serve, have we altered the provisions that keep the Dragon's Mother at bay? Yet again I wish I had been more diligent to languages when I trained. I made the attempt to record the sounds of the Hierophant's oath but the language set my teeth on edge. I wasn't able to concentrate."

Celina's eyes widen. "I was so busy listening I did not notice if something in the back of my mind was disturbed."

She thinks some more. "Yes, I was thinking about your 'story' when I heard the Hierophant speaking about his Brothers. I am supposing the City expansion that would Concern the Dragonmother would be Pattern." She ponders that a moment.

"I have always assumed a Pattern to remain stable in strength and influence." Conner replies. "Though having seen the changes to Rebma's Pattern I suppose that is an assumption worth revisiting." Conner admits. "I had taken the story to be a more literal expansion of the city into Nedra just as in Amber there was always pressure to expand into Arden."

Celina's eyes gleam with insight. "Ah, a pressure from those who did not understand the stability inherent. I see." She thinks some more. "Good. I was worried that freeing the Tritons might automatically create political pressure to claim additional borders in the direction of Nedra for security. The metaphysics might support keeping Rebma's borders as stable as possible. That's something I had not thought of. Of course, I won't be able to explain it to my political opponents that way." She feels like sighing but grins instead.

"At least I'll have a friend in Court who understands my willful lack of expansion policy." She smiles at Conner.

"If you wish it, I could play the stalwart defender of Nedra to allow you the freedom to seem sympathetic to the expansionists while using advice from the Warden as your reason for caution." Conner smiles. "I do so love a well crafted political theater."

Celina laughs and seems to relax even more. "Well, no." She shakes her head. "I don't want you to theater that narrowly. In the scheme of things, my role is going to get narrower and yours will be larger in order to balance. You will be everywhere, interested in surprising things. You will get to paint your Court role in as wonderful a manner as you like. You are the Knight in action. I am the Throne. I can't wander far from it. I can change policy and make it stick by force of being me. No reason for me to throw those burdens off in your direction." She looks at him carefully through her lashes. "That's if you follow my reasons."

"I do." Conner nods. "In truth, I am not too worried about the politicking of the court at the moment. We must move to consolidate our hold of course but I think doing that metaphysically may be more of a key to that than playing off the Shells against the middle. I've plans to set the resources of Rebma on tracking down Moire or her entourage though I have little hope of them succeeding. Then there is Nedra to consider and a prophecy by a Son of the Dragon that apparently doesn't exist. As the Hierophant denies his existence, I think I must speak to theone that joined Khela's army from the kelp fields."

"I would certainly ask many questions while Khela's good memory is fresh with her admirers. We should gather as much resonance as we can there. Show that we pursue those ideas and don't want things to be lost in the pain." She reaches and puts a hand on Conner's arm. "And watch for Dara. She may have her sights on Rebma and just be looking for a chance."

"It is hard to watch for one that can wear another's form, but I shall try." Conner agrees. He folds his hand over the one on his arm. "You watch for the barracuda and I'll watch for the sharks." He grins.

Celina nods at his blade. "That's why you have the shark killer. Dara has an interest in eating Patterns."


Taking his Mother's advice, Conner convenes a meetings of the Rebman magical elite. Any that were attached to the palace under Moire are invited as are the leaders of the magicians from the Shell's that rallied around Khela. If any magicians of note are in private practice they too get an invitation. A small ballroom of the palace is set up as a impromptu lecture hall. The room is kept mirror free. The topic of today's class is how to track down Moire.

The magicians are nervous, and explain the difficulty of the task, the likelihood of utter failure, the inability of Magick to cross borders, the risk of a mirror shard in their back, or just a visit from Countess Bend's assassins, the worthlessness of all other Magicians present, and so on. In the end, most are willing to try it, but are looking for royal patronage to buy the supplies needed to undertake this uncertain commission.

There seem to be two dissenters, Taw'Hiri and Lamell.

When Lamell clears his throat, the room becomes slient. "My Lord, as former Magician to the court, I can tell you this endeavor is unlikely to succeed, for all the reason my ... colleagues mention." It's clear he doesn't have high regard for the rest of the assembled magicians. "I would suggest less ambitious goals, such as finding her servants or children. Those may lead you to the same ends, and have higher odds of success."

"As difficult as it is, I shall take up the quest, on the Queen's behalf," Taw'Hiri adds, "let others work the smaller problems, if you will."

If magicians have fist-fights, the young one seems to have just instigated one.

Conner waits until just before the first spell would be launched before stepping between the arrogant Taw'Hiri and the angered mob. Conner then gives a speech with the main point that Conner values audacity and lateral thinking as much as the steady work of orthodox magicks. Taw'Hiri gains a royal commission to stretch the boundaries of magicks for a direct location of Moire. Lamell too gains a royal commission and a listing of the last known whereabouts of Moire's servants and children. The remaining gaggle gain a stipend large enough to begin experiments with the understanding that further funding will come with signs of progress or well thought out plans of attack.

The free flow of patronage works as Conner expects and greed overcomes pride. For the moment. The majority leave quickly.

Lamell comments that he expects that more magics will be expended making sure none of their rivals make progress than on the project, but that he doens't feel that that is a bad end, as long as it doesn't erupt into magical war in the streets.

Conner feels the same way. Any magician that cannot adequately guard his work is a magician that Conner will not be giving important assignments to in future.

Taw'Hiri suggests that Conner also engage the spies and assassins, as they are adept at finding people.

Conner already has that on his to do list and in fact will set loose the sharks to follow Moire's blood trail but he has a commission for them before sending them far afield. He wants a report on Morie's movements and meetings in the days before she abandoned the city. Any scrap that speaks of preparations being made for her flight he wants to know about.

They will begin work on the task. It will take some time to gather the data. This is hampered by the fact that the spymasters have fled.

The other main thing Conner wishes to do is question Moire's servants about the Queen's mirrors. Among the questions he would like answered are: Are any missing? Did the Queen tend to favor certain mirrors over any others? What stories about the Queen's use of mirrors are there both factually witnessed and spoken of in legend?

The queen had mirrors in a private room. They were covered if not in use. They can take Conner there, with the Queen's permission.

The rumor is (and it takes some pressure to get it from the servants) that they were all smashed.

[Celina is willing to have Conner in the Queen's chambers, ie the special mirror chambers. She'll be there also. We can do this while parallel with ambassadors arriving.]


Once Celina's coronation is safely past, Brennan busies himself with a new task.

At first, it's a task that needs no assistance, because it's simple: An quick survey of the castle, and an even quicker survey of the city. It is informal, to the degree that it can be done by one man over the span of a few days while Brennan waits for the aftershocks of Celina's surprise coronation to die down: He's looking for the general layout of the castle and the city, looking for a general sense of the damage done to both, by Huon's forces and by the earthquake. He is also keeping a keen eye for similarities and differences between Amber and Rebma.

The damage is not as bad. There was no collapse of the castle, even partially. Perhaps the lack of fire is responsible. It's hard to imagine Amber without the risk of fire, and the clearing that comes with it.

But once the social situation does stabilize, he begins looking into the records and previous surveys of the City. Brennan is aware that maps in the sense of diagrams inked on folding paper probably don't exist in an underwater city, but something that serves the same purpose is almost certain to exist. If Moins didn't have them made, then Moire surely must have at some point. Brennan is aware that Rebmans might not use the word 'map,' for these things, but that's the word Brennan starts with, and adapts from there. He's also looking for a sense of when these hypothetical maps were last updated, by who and at whose command, and by what methods.

If Rebman lifespan is similar to Amber lifespan, Brennan's guess is that they were done in living memory, but maybe not by much.

The military will show Brennan what they have. There are clay relief maps, which show building heights but not much of the contents or purpose. They are of use to the military.

There are a few magicians who can, when the military calls on them to do so, produce magical miniature reproductions. These are not permanent, but the better ones are accurate. Beyond that, people don't tend to use maps of the city.

The military maps are the ones that Brennan is interested. As he's initially surveying them, he's looking for two things:

1) How old are they, and/or how often are they updated?
2) Do they show features like the old stair to Amber or the new tunnel to Paris?

Brennan can see where a putty knife has been applied to remove the old stair and small markers to indicate where the new tunnel is. The new tunnel is also where some flags are, which likely indicate sentries assigned to watch the entrance.

Brennan can also see where flags indicated Khela and Huon's armies, respectively. Either would have had a difficult time against the defenses shown. If the troops held.

From this, Brennan infers that an old model has been updated based on new facts as they become available, but that new, start-from-scratch models haven't been made recently. Brennan will take some time to establish if that's correct or not, but if it is, will gently inquire as to when the new surveys will begin and how they will be done. Brennan fully intends to help.

Brennan also whole-heartedly approves of the sentries-- if that's what they are-- and inquires as to their history and composition.

[My assumption here is that this is summary mode over at least a few days; Brennan is pushy, but not so pushy that this all has to happen in an hour. People also need to get used to a surfacer being in a trusted position with the Queen.]

[OOC: good assumption, that fits with ours. In summary, Brennan has no trouble finding men who will take him seriously and no luck finding women who will do so without pushiness. He does receive several counterproposals, but none fit to print...]

The soldiers don't generally update their maps until the old ones start to harden or disintegrate. If His Lordship is commissioning new maps, why they can certainly begin to organize them. They would begin, of course, with a thorough survey by the scouts (OOC: GM's note to GM: this is not Traveller. They cannot scout the Spinward Marches). They wish to know if this is a Royal Commission.

When asked, Brennan responds that, yes, this is a Royal Commission. Brennan isn't particularly trying to hide his activities-- actually, he's not trying to hide them at all, he's just trying to get it done without causing undue turbulence in the Rebman hierarchy. Presenting the results to Celina in court can be part of the end of the process, and perhaps an enticement for any who might want face time with the Queen. But the keyword is "undue," and once things begin to roll, he is as pushy as he needs to be in order to get reasonable results.

And, flattered though he might be by the attentions of Rebma's ruling class, he is still in mourning. Once that fact is known, he will feel no qualms at all about curtly turning down anyone gauche enough to persist.

Being Rebman women, they are aggressive, but no so aggressive that Brennan has to take steps beyond what he mentioned here.

Once the scouting begins, the Rebman establishment will quickly come to know that Brennan is a very hands-on commissioner: He has a tendency to show up and observe. More, once he's seen a thing done once or twice, he has a tendency to get his hands dirty, so to speak, and help with the work. Whatever reputation Brennan acquires for this-- eccentric, lunatic, man of the people-- Brennan is a quick study and starts with centuries of general competence, which he does not hide.

But unless there is a reason to, Brennan does not micro-manage. He simply puts himself in a position where, if he had reason to, he could do so very well.

This is a project which will take weeks or months, and quite a bit of it is tedious checking things that have not changed. Brennan notes three things about the project.

First, that the cartographers are perfectly willing to end their work at what would be, in Amber, the Vale of Garnath.

Second, that as the work goes to more remote places, there is less interest in fine detail.

Third, Brennan notices that no one seems interested in doing a detailed survey of what they call "Down Town", where the Tritons live.

The work will take as long as it takes. Brennan will not allow slacking off, but he has no reason to be a slave driver, either. For the time being, Brennan lets work proceed largely as it will: he does not yet press for detailed surveys into "Down Town," although he does want to know what the Amber equivalent geography is. He is curious why the Garnath-analog is the cut-off, but doesn't press to have anything done about it.

Not yet, anyway.

Of course not. The cartographers are sensitive to his concerns, but have plenty to do to finish the re-mapping before extending the maps. The vale is outside the scope because the army leaves it to the foresters, who seem to be similar to rangers. It's hard to map a kelp forest and on-demand magic views are probably more efficient, when needed.

Down Town is similar to the temple quarter in Amber. It's near the docks and literally down from everything. It's undesirable real estate and the Tritons live there.

Brennan finds the geographic overlap between the Tritons' dwelling place in Rebma and the Temple Quarter in Amber to be fascinating. And something which Conner might find interesting. Brennan resolves to relay that information to him, if he doesn't already know.

However, while the work is progressing, and while people are used to seeing Brennan out with the crews according to some schedule known only to himself, he begins the other half of the map-making exercise: The metaphysical survey. Brennan's approach is an extension of the survey he began in the Pattern Chamber itself, writ geographically large. Since he is ranging all about the physical landscape of Rebma, he uses the same techniques-- listening, feeling, sensing the differentials of order as he moves farther away from Rebma and farther away from the Pattern. It is not a Sorcerous approach, but a Pattern-based one, feeling for what he expects to be pressure toward the Pattern.

Of course, being a scion of Oberon, what Brennan does, he does for multiple reasons. He is interested in the physical results of the survey, as well as the metaphysical. It's just that there are less than half a dozen people in Rebma capable of performing the metaphysical one.

Brennan learns first that near Rebma, he finds it difficult to feel the differentials he's looking for. This area is similar to the space in which he cannot manipulate probability or shift shadow, which might be another good way to identify what Bleys would describe as bands of isoverity.

The thing that Brennan most clearly notes is that the kelp forest seems to have both strong chaotic and ordered influences in it. Those could be tracked down.

Brennan is not ordinarily given to dithering, but when he realizes what the situation is, he drops back and considers his options for most of a day. He does this while still helping with the dirty work of the survey: Meditation takes many forms, and work is good for the spirit.

Option one is to keep doing what he's doing, and hope for the best. Option two is to make a detailed survey of the known location of the Veil to Paris, from both sides, and hope for enlightenment there which will help him map the Faiella-Bionin locally. Option three is to take a closer look at the Kelp Forest, as much for the sake of practicing the technique he's trying to develop as anything else.

Ultimately, it's the third option that wins out-- the magnitude of ordered gradient that Brennan is looking for are apparently very small, whereas in the Kelp they might be larger or more obvious because there are more than one source in close proximity. Just knowing he's found something of the sort that he's looking for could be valuable for the longer effort. Once he's found one, he can try different variations on the technique-- and other techniques as they occur to him-- and observe the effect. Besides, he might find something interesting in its own right.

But while Brennan has been known to make wild leaps into the unknown when circumstances dictate, they do not so dictate at this time. As such, he makes it known to Celina and Conner where he's going, and spends a small bit of time learning what he can of the place, the people, and so forth. And he takes a small survey team, formed of the intersection of the trustworthy and the willing, probably women from good but undistinguished families looking to make a mark, and men who want to prove they're as good as any woman. The team would preferably include one official Old Codger (male or female) who remembers the Old Days directly, and one magician.

The forest is vast, and only poorly known by Rebmans. The few paths through it are near the edges and the army avoided it. Kelp grows quickly and waves in the tides, so it tends to be hard to survey. Paths don't last long here.

Initial forays are difficult, but tantalizing. Brennan finds kelp that looks like it has been damaged by very large creatures, Kelp-carved into ladders, Kelp grown into ladders, and (perhaps most improbably) remains of campfires. The last implies that some part of Huon's forces escaped to the kelpwood.

Brennan realizes, after some time, that hunting down the traces he noticed at the edge of the forest may require a much larger and better supplied expedition. Or a smaller one.

More to the point, the more Brennan gets involved in this, the more he realizes he's barking up the wrong... kelp... or whatever it is that whatever equivalents of dogs Rebma has do when they're on the wrong trail. If this place is the analogy of Arden, verging into Arcadia, then it would be interesting in its own right to explore it, but it's also unlikely to contain what Brennan is really after. Which is a better understanding of the environments of Pattern realms themselves, and how those realms interact with each other. Arden was near to its Pattern, but as Brennan understood it, not quite of it in the same way that Amber was.

And, while someone needs to know that Huon's remnants have passed through here, that is not a responsibility that Brennan is eager to pick up and add to the rest. Nor does he want some punk former soldier taking a shot at him and mandating a response that Brennan hasn't got time for.

Therefore, Brennan spends no longer in the region than it takes to practice the technique a little bit before shelving the project. He most certainly, however, reports what he's seen back to Conner and Celina. Abandoned campfires. In the Kelp.

His next target for investigation is the veil to Paris.

His technique fares much better here. The Faiella Bionin is clearly a thing. He does have to be close to detect it, even with his formidable skills at using the Pattern. When he is on it, he knows where it runs and would know, while he is concentrating, that he had stepped off.

Brennan doesn't think he could detect it if it wasn't in sight.

In the direction of Rebma, it runs quickly into a space that seems to overwhelm the little differences he was observing. It's just lost in the signal, this near to the City.

Brennan smiles to himself, like a wolf scenting long-sought prey. Perseverance is paying off at least-- the technique is validated, at least in principle, and he's found a palpable trace of what he's been looking for. With this information, he does the following things: First, he circles the realm, trying to stay just outside the distance where he can't sense what he's trying to sense. This doesn't need to be a razor-thin margin, just a good approximation, so that he can see where the Faiella-Bionin comes out on the other side.

And second, if it doesn't... then it must be going up or down. Which might be a problem. So, he also takes a look at where the Road would run if one connected it loosely from the Parisian Veil to the Castle, or the Pattern below it. Not a chalk-line ray, of course, but a reasonable approximation of what a Rebman would say if Brennan asked, "What would I see if I went from here to there?" If there is nothing obvious to Brennan's eye, he will consult one the appropriate people in his mapping crew.

The path, as shown on the maps and based on what he can see, leads through the equivalent of the Vale of Garnath into Rebma proper, leading to a main gate. Since he is partway up a mountain and so is the castle, he can clearly see both. However, the path follows along the side of a ridge in a giant, sweeping curve for most of the distance Brennan observes. Further along, it goes down into the valley and up to the lower parts of the city.

Brennan's circumnavigation detects nothing that he has not already found. Parts of the wall look neglected, though, and could use some shoring up.

Brennan's eyes narrow. There is some due diligence to be done, but he knows-- or suspects very strongly-- where along that path he's going to find what he's looking for. But, given that Brennan has survey agent schooling all over the environment, and given that he's been haunting all the regions of interest himself, it's impossible for Brennan to miss the arrival of the Paris contingent. There will be time enough for this, later, and in the mean time, the survey teams can live without him for a day or two.

They might even prefer it that way.


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Last modified: 29 October 2011