Signy leaves the King's office, thinking back on her abortive attempt at checking out the Tree. Perhaps a trip out to Madoc's place, to check into her father's whereabouts would also provide a chance to spend a bit more time in study. It might also be good to steer clear of her Uncle as best she can until she's had more of a chance to investigate.
She grabs a page as she moves through the corridors of Xanadu, and sends him to see if her brother is in residence (and if he is, to see if he could join her for lunch), before making her way to Tomat's quarters.
Pausing outside his door, she thinks for a moment on what she wants to say, before knocking briskly on the door.
Tomat opens it at once. "Lady Signy," he says, clearly uncertain of whether to invite her in or offer to join her. Courtesy suggests the latter, but his instincts as a Brother have never exactly died.
Signy solemnly refrains from smiling at his indecision.
"I was hoping you had a moment to join me for a quick walk through the gardens. I'm not sure where I'm headed next, and it would be good to talk it over a little."
"I'm at your service," Tomat says, and comes out, closing the door behind him. There is no lock, of course, but he seems to be looking for one anyway for a moment, as if by reflex, before turning to her and shrugging.
[There's not much actual garden in Xanadu but there's a balcony with a fantastic view that can serve a similar purpose.]
[The balcony works….]
Signy moves steadily through the castle, until ending up at a door opening out to a balcony. She blinks, before turning and giving an apologetic half-shrug to Tomat. "I guess this will have to do," she notes dryly.
She makes her way over to the railing and leans against it, looking out at the waterfall.
"I'm sorry about the bar on our way back from Shadow. That... didn't work out quite as I'd expected."
Tomat could be looking at the the breathtaking scene but he's at least listening to her. "I understand. I am an object of suspicion to your family. It's hardly unreasonable, under the circumstances." Signy can tell from his tone that it doesn't rankle very much.
Signy pauses for a moment, drinking in the scenery and thinking about what angle she wants to take next.
"Well, that should change over time, I would hope." She glances at him, before a fond note creeps into her voice. "I don't see sending you or Red Fox Claws away any time soon. I'll have you both around for as long as you're willing."
Tomat does smile at that.
She turns back to the waterfall before continuing. "So, now that we've finished with the chain for the time being, I need to figure out what we should do next."
Signy clearly has some thoughts about what items may be on the list, but seems to be holding them back to let Tomat speak without undue influence.
"I would think that's yours to say," Tomat prompts. "Or perhaps your uncle, the King's."
Signy nods.
"It seems I do have a fair bit of leeway."
She looks at the waterfall for a moment longer before looking at Tomat. "From what Vere and Merlin said, it sounds like my father was at Madoc's. He seems to have a bit of a history with the Family -- care to hazard a guess as to what he was up to?"
"He was trying to fix an alliance with Madoc through you before," Tomat reminds her. "Madoc has something your father wants, but I don't know what it is. I wasn't privy to the marriage settlement plans."
Signy frowns at this.
"Did you know anything about my mother?"
"I knew what she was: a Princess of Amber. I'd been taught some things about the Princes and Princesses, but that's not like knowing her in a personal way. The Order was happy to send someone to teach her child, because they wanted the influence on someone of Amber blood," he explains. "But if you mean, did I know things about her from your father, he didn't speak of her."
Signy gives an unhappy sigh. "So many questions. Was she a price that someone paid, or was she with him willingly...."
She studiously avoids looking at him as she comes back to the present. "I have half a mind to see if I can find him."
Tomat had finally looked out at the harbor and the city below. Now his head whips around so he can look at Signy. "What for?" Remembering himself, he asks, "If I may ask."
A brief moment of whimsy hits, and Signy fights back the urge to tell him that she just wanted to see if he was paying attention.
"It seems like there's a lot of old history coming back and becoming current events. I don't know fully what his connection with our family is, but there may be some information that would be of use. The chain that we brought back with us might interest him enough that he'd be willing to answer a couple of questions in exchange for looking at it to figure out how it works."
She turns back away from Tomat, and towards the city below. "And maybe I can figure out something about what he had in mind for me."
"Other than trading you off to Madoc for some lore or magic?" Tomat sounds skeptical. "There's no way he'll tell you what it was. If it hadn't been secret, I would have found it out one way or another."
Signy frowns. "It seems that a child of Amber, that could walk the Pattern, would be worth more than just 'some lore or magic' though, yes?"
"That would depend on the magic," Tomat says soberly.
Signy thinks about this for a moment. "What do you think that Madoc would have to offer that he would want? My knowledge of Madoc and Chaos in general is still pretty lacking."
Tomat frowns, considering his options. "Chaosians are very powerful, and very skilled. They manipulate raw power in ways we cannot. They have beings--objects, spirits, if you will--that can be bound into objects sometimes. Objects and beings in Chaos are unique. There are reasons why he might want something like that--for his work. Or an alliance that would allow a regular flow of such goods." His tone suggests he's speculating more than giving a definitive answer.
Not for the first time, Signy wonders about the relationship between Weyland, the Family, and what her mother's role in all of that was.
"Did your superiors at the Order ever speculate about Weyland that you heard of?
"It was assumed that he was somehow related to Oberon. Perhaps a by-blow, perhaps a brother, if such a thing could be. But of Order, not a Chaosian like Madoc." Tomat is very firm on this point.
Signy looks interested in the last part. "What makes you say that he couldn't be of Chaos?"
"That was the firm belief of the Order. And, if you will pardon my saying so," and here Tomat blushes hotly, "I did spy on him enough to know he bore all the marks of humanity."
Signy looks interested. "What are these marks?"
It takes Tomat a moment to decide how to phrase this. "He appeared fully human in all ways, even in a relaxed state, over time. For instance, Madoc is a Lord of Chaos, and has horns." Tomat touches the sides of his head with his hands to indicate where the horns would be. "Sometimes he can hide them, but it's a matter of shapeshifting to do it, and over time the shifting would fail. I saw enough of your father, even in a state of undress, to know that he was not hiding such a mark."
Signy thinks hard for a moment about tweaking Tomat on this issue, before deciding to just gracefully let it slide to pursue another line of thought.
"What would have made being a brother to Oberon so unusual?"
"None of the Order know of any brothers of Oberon. Or sisters either. Only his sons and daughters," Tomat explains.
Signy gives a thoughtful frown. "I wonder how many of the sons and daughters were the product of familial relationships."
She gives a moment's thought to her father again, wondering if maybe part of Madoc's interest is in a child of the Family that has more than half of Oberon's heritage.
Tomat supplies helpfully: "The redheads, but beyond that, the known crosses are in the next generation."
Signy pulls back from the railing.
"Questions, and no answers. As usual."
She turns towards the door. "I'm not sure where next, but I think I need to start moving soon. Things were much simpler when it was me and the Band, and my Father."
"Are Red Fox Claws and I to ride with you?" Tomat sounds a bit worried about that.
Vere is up before dawn on the morning after his arrival in Xanadu. He exercises by running around as much of the outside of the palace as is practical, given its placement on the cliffs, then takes a horse from the stables and rides along the cliffs, getting a sense of the land and sea. He is back to the palace in time for an early, and very large, breakfast, and waits with interest to see who else shows up.
Vere can't miss Edan during his run; Edan is out to greet the dawn as he's rumored to do every morning, though he looks to be following more of some meditative exercise than prayer. He arrives with an appetite and a small white dragonet on his shoulder. "Good morning, cousin," he says. "I saw you earlier. Do you always run in the mornings?"
Vere smiles and shakes his head. "Nothing so predictable," he answers. "I do try to get in exercise of some kind each morning, but it varies with my mood and location." He examines the dragonet with interest. "May I inquire about your companion?" he asks.
"This is Kyauta, my affine," Edan says. "I'll have to leave here soon, and it would be best if I took him...it... to hunt before we go on the run, as it were. I thought it would be especially appropriate to bring him to a discussion of Sorcery, since Chaos creatures do this kind of thing naturally." He pauses. "I would not impose, however. If you would rather the conversation be private, I can send him on ahead to hunt in the forest."
Vere shakes his head. "I have no objects to his remaining, if you think it proper." He gives a small, but polite, nod of his head to the creature on Edan's shoulder. "Kyauta," he says. "Well met."
Vere pauses a moment, tilting his head to one side, and then says, "It is interesting that you mention the connection between Chaosians and Sorcery. I have come to a similar, and yet completely opposite, theory. That is, that what we do in Sorcery mimics what Chaosians do, but it mimics it by focusing on Order to an extent that would be impossible for them, and then deliberately violates the rules of Order. True Sorcery depends upon a fundamental understanding of Order possible only to Ordered beings." He blinks, then asks, "Does that make sense to you, Cousin?"
Signy enters the room at this, a faint acrid odor stubbornly clinging to her clothes before finally fading into nothing.
A smudge of soot marks one cheek, still there despite the faint dampness on the collar of her shirt from where she had washed up.
"Cousins," she offers in greeting, eyeing the food available with a considering look. "I would have to agree with Vere, I think. It was only as I started to Truly understand metals that I could begin also following what my father was doing when he would craft things."
"Understanding Order... in a way, that's how I thought of it," Edan says. "But not as Order, but Principles. Each Shadow had its own rules, the Principles encompassed those rules, and one bent and cheated these rules in order to make things happen. I was taught that way since I was a little child, and I hadn't really thought of it in the larger sense. I do know that Chaosi don't think of it that way."
"Before I travelled to Chaos," Vere says, "I believed that understanding the Chaosian outlook would give me a better understanding of Chaos. But after having travelled beyond the Tree, even though I went no further than Madoc, and have been assured that Madoc and Merlin are both exceedingly Ordered by Chaosian standards, I have come to believe that it is impossible for me to ever truly understand how Chaosians think. They are totally alien to those of us who were born of Order."
Signy offers a helpless shrug at Vere's words. "I met Madoc once at my father's place, but we...didn't interact much."
The slight pause hints that this may not be quite the truthful way of describing it.
"Maybe," she replies to Edan, "the principles are Eternal, but different Shadows bend those principles in different ways, and Sorcery is just being able to shift through Shadows and bring the right 'bending' to you."
Edan pauses. "I agree completely that each Shadow has a different twist on its Principles," he says. "I've juggled Pattern and Sorcery, though, and I can attest that they are completely inimical to one another. Rather than say that I shift Shadow to find the 'bending' that I want, I usually have to observe the Shadow and see how its Principles run, and then bend the rules as I see them. I don't know how my Father does it so well- I assume he's been most everywhere I've been, and he just has an exceedingly good memory." He looks to Vere. "Er- was Madoc, er, difficult? After he bounced Lilly out of his demesne, I warned Merlin that he likely bore us some antipathy."
"He was a bit reserved," Vere replies, "But I did not find him any more difficult to deal with than any of our elders with whom I am not on friendly terms. Merlin advised caution in dealing with him, but I did not have the feeling that was anything more than the normal caution one should have in dealing with a Lord of Chaos."
Signy nods soberly. "In all my years with him, I never saw anyone get the better of him in a deal. In most cases, the price that someone actually paid was not what they thought they were paying."
She looks at Vere somberly. "The rumors of what it costs to bear the Pattern blades are most likely true, and just another sign of his handiwork in crafting them."
Vere blinks once, and an expression of confusion passes over his face briefly, but is gone almost instantly. He nods. "Thank you for that, Cousin. I had briefly considered the possibility of asking Weyland to make artificial legs for my father, but your warnings match other cautions I have heard."
Edan looks unhappy. "All power comes with a price," he says, "and it is rare indeed that we know the full cost up front."
Vere laughs softly. "Fortunate then that we are not a family of merchants, and that we are not shy about refusing to pay when we feel we have been cheated."
"What would you do, then, for your father?" Edan asks, and then glances down. "If it is not too personal a question."
"Ah," Vere says. "The problem is not that I worry that the price would be more than I would be willing to pay, but that the price would fall upon my father." He nods, "But that does bring us to a serious topic. I undertook the study of Sorcery with the aim of eventually finding a way to heal Father's injuries. Does that seem possible? Understand that the injuries he has taken would be more than enough to kill a lesser being. The bones in his hips are shattered into countless pieces, and are showing no signs of healing, after years."
Signy nods at Vere's words. "Those are good concerns, and would be the sort of thing that I would expect of him." She thinks about the rest of the problem for a moment.
"Do we even know if Sorcery would work on us? The few times I've seen Sorcery and the Pattern together, it's pretty clear they don't mix."
She suppresses a brief shudder thinking about the fight with Eater in front of her father's Tower.
"What about the Pattern? Is there something there that can convince the bones to reOrder themselves somehow into a whole thing? Though bones don't necessarily seem to be much different from stone, and there's things…." Her voice trails off as she thinks back to her times working on materials for her father, searching for any ideas that might provide a starting point for Vere.
"Sorcery could work on us, if we let it," Edan says. "Paradox would fix the nightmare puzzle of shattered bone. But like a similar question I asked once about regressing memories, it can be unreliable on us. And who knows if such a thing would hold up under walking the Pattern, which would be the true test of it? Could Gerard not throw up Pattern to defend himself during such a procedure, even if it felt horribly wrong and unnatural, or he was in immense pain? How long would you let it heal before you strained the bones to their utmost? Would it hold together? Why hasn't one of his brothers or sisters already made the offer? That's what I would ask first."
"The impression I received from Uncle Random," Vere says, "Is that our elders expect that they are hardy enough that they will either eventually heal from anything, or else if they do not then it is something that cannot be healed. That attitude, combined with their paranoia towards each other, and their dislike of asking each other for assistance, combine to leave my father alone in his suffering." He frowns. "Now that I know a little more about Sorcery, I am hoping to be able to ask some of the more knowledgeable of our elders, specifically Aunt Fiona, for advice."
"She'd be an excellent resource," Edan says. "She was very approachable and forgiving to me after I shouted at her across Shadow."
Vere cocks his head and asks with interest, "Shouted at her? Via Trump, or some form of cross-Shadow Sorcerous communication?"
"The latter," Edan says, and makes a face. "I didn't realize just how potent that was, nor that Chaosi like Clarissa would so easily undo the encryption I had placed on my message. She heard it...and thus, discovered that I exist."
"How do you do something such as that?" Vere asks. "I know how to Pierce the Veil, and I believe I can work out how to send my voice and listen to another place that I know, but I have no idea at all of how to contact someone through Shadow if I do not already know exactly where they are."
"Ah, but I had a general idea of where she was, you see. I had been escorting ships back and forth from Amber to Xanadu," Edan says. "The Principle was Space..." he outlines the spell he used, not sure if Vere picks up all the details, but he throws them in anyway. "A lot of it was how much power I threw into the spell, which of course made it easier to intercept. As Clarissa said later, fire is generally not subtle."
Vere smiles. "Again, I am tripped up by my Orderly nature, and my firm belief in rational investigation to arrive at Truth. Performing Sorcery is similar to using the Pattern; the important question is not "Is it True,' it is "Can I make myself, and the Universe, believe it to be so?" You are able to convince yourself that all fires are connected, and, therefore, they are, and can be a conduit for your Sorcery." He tilts his head slightly. "Would you say that is a correct analysis?"
Edan smiles back. "There's a lot there to answer to. The simple answer would be, 'I've always found it to be exactly the opposite'. With Pattern, we impose our Will upon Shadow by convincing ourselves this is how things should be. With Sorcery, I convince the universe to look the other way while I perform a trick upon it. It wasn't Will that made my spell work; it was knowing what the rules were, both at the origin and the likely endpoint of my Sending," and he taps his forehead to indicate it was his Third Eye that did the work there, "and then leveraging a paradox of Space to make it work. My Will lent force to it, yes, but what really made the difference was the time I invested in the casting and the intricate quality of the focus items I used for the casting."
Vere frowns thoughtfully. "Odd," he says. "I was somehow under the impression that focus items and rituals were little more than crutches, more applicable to Shadow magic than true Sorcery. The way I have been practicing manipulating Space is more of a direct imposition of Will upon the Universe. Perhaps due to my training up to this point having been all from Chaosians, and thus subject to their own particular views?"
"They don't need fetishes," Edan says, nodding at Kyauta. "Chaosi do it naturally, like breathing. Us breathing, not them, I mean. So there is a difference between the Sorcery we practice and what they do. But the end result is the same. Paradox." He tilts his head slightly. "I think that if you incorporated a focus item into your manipulations of Space, you would find benefit."
Vere frowns. "I wonder," he says. "I would know that I was doing so merely as a crutch to aid me, and perhaps that knowledge would act against the effectiveness of the focus."
"I'm not going to try and gainsay you," Edan says. "Sorcery is so individualistic, it may well be a detriment to you. It's not called Art for nothing. All I can say is what I was taught, that there is a relationship between time and effort of casting, the distance involved, what you're trying to affect, how long you want your spell to last, and the items you employ to affect the Principle you're using. You'll have to discover the balance between all those factors yourself, through experimentation."
Vere nods and smiles slightly. "Merlin says that no one can really teach you Sorcery, that to use the Art demands a mind that makes its own rules. There is an inherent paradox in it, it seems to me. It is an Art that violates the rules of Order, and yet there are definitely firm rules that must be followed. Such as this relationship and balance you mention. If Sorcery truly violated all the laws of Order, then those rules would not matter. Once could snuff out a sun as easily as lighting a match. But such is not the case."
Signy steps back into the room, and offers a rueful look by way of apology.
"I'm sorry I had to step out."
She looks at Vere, having caught some of his statement. "Maybe its a function of the Shadow I was in, but for me the difference feels more like Sorcery is knowing the rules, and being able to convince the reality that you're in to bend them the way you want. Pattern seems more like the ability to walk in and not have to know the rules, because you can lay down whatever ones you want."
She looks at Eden. "I'm not sure if that's really the truth of the matter, but that's how it seems to me, at any rate...."
Vere nods thoughtfully. "That makes sense to me," he says. "It is one of the reasons I chose to begin my study of Sorcery by working on Space. I have always had an excellent sense of space and position, and I felt that affinity would be useful in learning to break the rules of Space."
"I'm partial to Time, myself," Edan says. "That, and Similarity. And Multiplicity. Heh. I suppose I like several Principles."
Vere nods once again. "There are so many paths I wish to pursue. I find myself very grateful that time does not press upon me as heavily as it does upon shadows. I must endeavour to further develop my patience."
Signy looks thoughtful. "Has anyone actually tried to do a survey of what fields of Sorcery are out there? Time, Similarity, Multiplicity, living and inanimate matter, Space. Surely there must be more....?"
Vere laughs. "Surely there can be as many Principals as there are ways of thinking about Sorcery? I have been impressed more by the personalized nature of the Art than by anything else about it."
"Hmm," Edan says. "I've never kept track, myself. Some are more obvious than others, anyway. I mean, most sorcerers use Time and Space and Gravity, they're obvious. Things like Multiplicity and Similarity, not so much."
Signy looks at Vere. "So, perhaps finding a Sorcerous power that does what you want is merely a case of finding the right way of looking at things?"
Vere considers that. "It fits with my understanding of Sorcery. One breaks the rules of the universe by convincing oneself that something paradoxical must happen, and it does. Finding the proper mental framework, and applying Will, is a fundamental aspect of Sorcery."
"I never looked at it that way," Edan says. "More that I knew the Principle well that I was going to affect, and that I knew where the rules were weak, and tweaked them."
"I see," Vere says thoughtfully. "So for you, Sorcery involves an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Principles involved, and the application of Will at points where they can be bent or broken?"
Signy pauses, thinking, before answering deliberately. "For me, it was more a case of once I learned a particular aspect of the Principle, I knew ways to bend or break it. It never felt like finding weak points to exploit, it was more being in tune with a particular aspect of reality, and as you learned more about it, you were able to do more with it."
Edan nods in agreement. "You see how individualistic things are already," he says to Vere. "The Principles are what they are. They go on, with or without us. I've always seen Sorcery as a way of cheating, in every Principle I've ever used. But each of us in the Art see it differently."
"And this individualist nature of Sorcery," Vere muses, "Is no doubt one of the reasons Merlin insisted that a true Master of the Art does not accept anyone else's definitions."
"And," Signy observes, "why it can be so hard to teach someone. If Edan and I were to try learning from one another, we would probably spend most of our time trying to translate from our frame of reference."
Signy hooks a chair over with her foot and drops into it.
Edan nods in agreement. "But not impossible," he says to Vere. "Otherwise, no one would learn, neh? There are references that most artists can understand, even if the degree of understanding differs. Most everyone understand fire. Space. Time."
"And talking with others, seeing how they do things and how they perceive the Art, can be a help in expanding one's own understanding," Vere agrees. "I know that I have already begun thinking differently about how I might better practice, from the conversation we have had today."
Raven's choice in ship, when she makes it, is light and lean. If asked, her only real comment on the choice is that it looks enough like a merchantman. It probably actually had a career as a smuggler. But it looks close enough. The crew is one part the ship's usual crew and one part Vale crewmen, not a few of which look like they're more than ready to leave town again for a few days.
In fact, there are more than the usual number of rumpled sailors and blacked eyes under the captain's watchful eye on the morning of the departure. She speaks briefly to a few of them, with a wry smile or a snort for their answers. But when she spots Jerod, though, she leaves off and saunters in his direction. "Mornin'."
"Cousin." Jerod replies from beneath the hood of the nondescript cloak he is wearing, a small pack in one hand and a leather wrapped pole of some type resting on his shoulder as he approaches. His look towards the ship and crew appears cursory to the average user, but Raven sees he looks at all the important points needed to evaluate a ship's seaworthiness, silently making his own review.
"Everything ready?"
Raven nods. "Ready enough. What ain't perfect now ought to be shook down before we get there. Let me show you where the cabins are - unless you got more to bring aboard?"
Jerod shakes his head. "This is all I'll need for the moment. Anything else we might we'll find while we're travelling." he says.
"All right." Raven turns on her heel until she spots her first mate and waves the order to get underway. It's not exactly Navy-standard - but it's evidently not new, either, by the orders that start rolling out.
"This way." She heads towards the cabins, adding, "Hope you ain't expecting me to be much use finding where we was. Pretty sure there ain't going be another wave of dead bodies just for us."
Jerod offers another shake of his head. "Amber is our destination. I need to pick up some data from an informant that Prince Martin has provided. Also, I need to collect some of my father's Weyr. Shapeshifters will prove useful on this trip.
"And not to mention you. Need to see what you can do."
"Sail ships. Start riots. The usual Navy skills," Raven answers drily. "That raises a question. You mean to be a passenger, or to work, or what?"
"Both, and a bit more." Jerod says. "If the paths from Amber to Xanadu have not been established, you'll need a guide to shift the Shadows. If you are concerned about my ability to function on your ship, my father had both Caine and Gerard act as my mentors for naval training. They are very thorough.
"As for you, you need to learn your heritage and quickly. Our Family's many enemies do not give us the luxury of time."
"Ain't in the habit of judging skills before I've had a chance to see 'em on deck." The captain pauses, and then adds mildly, "In case that ain't clear enough, that were just a question so's I knew. A reasonable question, seeing as how all I've really seen you do is talk. Not a bloody accusation. There's some as don't want to be bothered to dirty their hands, whether they got any idea what they're doing or not."
"You'll find that I prefer to talk my way out of a fight if possible." Jerod says. "I have no desire to leave people dead on the ground if I can avoid it, so if by words I can figure out a plan that will help to avoid that fate for some, and still achieve my goals, I will do that. I have little use for those who do not see the wisdom of that philosophy." and he smiles slightly as he adds, "And...that no be a judgement on me part." in an excellent dockside accent, for the moment.
"As for whether or not I get my hands dirty, that depends solely on whether me getting dirty, as you call it, will be of benefit to the situation. If there are others who can perform the task and let me work on something else, then no...I won't be getting dirty."
"Ah." That's a little flat, as though Raven is trying not to be annoyed. "Mind the step down here; they must've redone the cabins a few times. I suppose you have a plan on how you mean to teach me whatever it is you think I need to learn?"
"Sure. While I'm doing what I'm doing, I'm going to watch you and see how observant you are...whether you sense it...and how many questions you ask along the way." Jerod says simply.
"Of course, everyone's different in their approach to learning. You will be no different. So, as my childhood mentor once recently told me, I'll be opportunistic in my planning."
Raven nods. "I see. Well, if you mean to try and stuff things into my brain, there's something I'm thinking we ought to discuss first. Left cabin," she gestures towards the door. "It's small."
Jerod opens the door and looks over the interior. "It's a cabin." he says simply, tossing the bag onto the bunk as he enters and unwrapping the pole, revealing his spear which he puts to one side.
"As for what goes into your brain, that's entirely up to you. I'm a firm believer in letting people decide for themselves what they want to learn. Of course, if I think it might get you killed I might give you a nudge or two."
He looks at Raven. "What's your first question?"
"Ain't a question," the captain answers, leaning against the frame of the door. She crosses her arms. "Let's call it a story.
"First ship I was on, it were me and some of the boys from the docks - Tern and Shackle and Spar. And Fish." She shakes her head. "Bless him, Fish was dumb as a brick and as anxious as a little girl. Lad shouldn't've been anywhere near the Navy, but he got talked into signing up, and his ma made us promise to keep an eye on him, make sure he got home all right. The thing of it was, our bosun was the hardest-nosed son of a bitch in the Navy. Ain't just my memory of him, either, not if the stories I was told are true. He took issue with Fish. We kept 'im out of as much trouble as we could, but by the time we was headed back - well, the bosun had it out for Fish, and weren't nothing we could do would get him out of it. Bosun kept hassling him and hassling him, sticking him with the jobs that as like as not were going to make him blow, and by the time the watch ended, Fish'd flee the deck. Came a day where I'd had enough. More than enough. There was words said. And being as how I was young and stupid, there was punches thrown. Captain and half the deck had to break it up." She snorts, briefly amused. "Reckon the Captain gave me a day of punishment for every time I bounced that arse's head off the planks after he told me to stop. Bosun spent the rest of the trip whipping us into shape, but Fish was safely off with the cook. Last I heard of him, he was out and learning the family trade.
"Now, I ain't that dumb any more. But that don't mean I care much for folks as can't have a little kind feeling for someone I feel I ought to be watching out for. Tends to piss me off."
"And who might this individual you believe needs a bit of kind feeling? And why would you believe that this is required?" Jerod asks after listening patiently, nodding at certain points but remaining attentive throughout.
"Was there more than one choice that I'd have cause to be talking to you about?" Raven counters.
"There always could be." Jerod says. "It is why I will always ask when it is not clear and an assumption must be made. I prefer to be clear and I prefer to not make mistakes by assuming. Assumptions are bad for us. They can get us killed.
"Some think it a weakness to admit that you might not know everything. I see it as a strength. If I can resolve a situation by asking a simple question to gain clarification, it enables me to ensure a proper resolution to any potential conflict. It means fewer people die, fewer feuds start. Those are situations I like to avoid. And if my enemies see it as a weakness, that gives me an advantage because they will tend to avoid asking questions to obtain clarification so as to not emulate my weakness...and that can be used against them."
"Uh-huh. And what other choices do you fancy there are?" Raven asks patiently.
"That depends on the situation." Jerod says. "I refer you back to my childhood mentor's comments concerning opportunism. It is a trait unique to our Family."
"Don't know if you've noticed," Raven answers drily, "but I ain't all that complicated. I weren't in any particular mood to argue with you when we came down the hill. Seems like I been doing it since, aye? Generally means I'm pissed about something. And seeing as how you and I ain't spent all that much time together in between - you wanna take a guess?"
"No." Jerod replies. "I don't like guessing. It interferes with dealing with problems. I will refer you back to the idea of assumptions and how they tend to get people killed...something I try to avoid. If you're pissed off, then I suggest you step up and say why. We can then determine if it's legitimate."
Raven snorts and shakes her head. "All right, then. Let's hear your - I'm sure very reasonable - explanation for why I ended up chasin' my very upset little brother halfway across town after you delivered that little bit of info about his Da being dead with about as much kindness as two street girls fightin' over an empty corner. And how come I shouldn't be upset about that, seeing as how everyone you know is a back-stabbing, conniving arse."
"My explanation?" Jerod asks, an eyebrow rising. "My explanation is that Max's hearing is very good and he was closer to me than I had previously anticipated, which means he heard my comments before I had expected him too.
"Were you expecting some nefarious plot on my part? If so, I must disappoint you."
"Plot? Nah. Not takin' into account that he ain't old enough to deal well with it? Maybe." Raven sighs. "Oddly enough? Didn't think of you just not realizing how easy it is to listen in when you're that age and a tavern brat."
"I was raised in the Court of Rebma, where listening in was a survival skill." Jerod says. "However, there it is more how people say it as opposed to what they say, and more frequently their silences that speak. And it is harder to blend in when you're a son in the Royal Family...you stick out like a sore thumb.
"For Max, I was not paying full attention to his arrival. Your mother and uncle, and their information, demanded greater attention. Had I been more attentive, I would have been more circumspect in my comments. There is, however, never an easy way to offer such news and I suspect the reaction would have been similar. Lucas could be very charming when he wished to be so I am not surprised at Max's reaction. I would have been surprised in fact to see something different."
"No easy way, but better," and there's less anger in Raven's voice. "And that boy's got some odd ideas in his head. I'm guessing they came from his Da, but there's no telling."
"What kind of odd ideas?" Jerod asks.
"Ain't used to someone his age informin' me that they're going to take their revenge on folks." Raven shakes her head. "Or about needing to be trained so's he can... what was it? Somethin' about leading his sibs into battle against his Da's enemies?"
Jerod's gaze narrows considerably when he hears this. "He said those words? Did he provide any other information, especially on the topic of his father's enemies, his training, or his siblings?"
Raven takes a minute to think. "Said he was the oldest, and that there was three other boys and two girls. He weren't real specific on the rest. Just that he needed to be trained so's he could lead 'em and could kill his Da's enemies."
Jerod listens to Raven as he opens his satchel bag, pulling out a packet of wrapped papers and retrieves one along with ink and a pen. He composes a note as he speaks.
"That is helpful, even if Max was vague. That he has the position of leader means he would have to know who to lead and what his role was. And he's too young to do it now so any enemies of Lucas' would be long term...playing the long game would be normal for us. I'm also not surprised at Max's statements. Most people would tend to want to go after those who harm their families and the Family is only different in how long we can wait to exact our revenge.
"It is a path I would have followed for my own father, had things been different."
Raven shakes her head. "I ain't saying it's odd that he wants to go after folks what harmed his Da. It's the way he said it. 'I know I'm too young to take my revenge.' If he grew up down dockside, he didn't learn that way of sayin' it there - that age, I would have just been talking about getting the bastards. So where'd he get it?"
"Parents." Jerod says simply.
"Max would have gotten much of his focus from his father, just like I got my focus from my father. His influence, how he views himself against the universe at large. Parents that are Princes and Princesses are not normal parents. Our nature is to be greater than anything around us, and the translates to our offspring as well.
"He may have also received some of it inadvertantly from your mother. You are aware she is from Rebma?"
Raven blinks, and then eyes him with what appears to be the captain's default expression for sanity doubting. "Are you aware that the last time I got a straight answer out of that bloody woman, I had to give up money for it and got accused of thinkin' like a noble for my trouble? All for an answer I'd been hassling her for my whole damn life?" She pauses a beat, scowls, and adds, "That's a no. In case it ain't obvious."
"It is a topic that may prove useful for you to know about in the future." Jerod says, continuing to add a few words to the note. "If you feel that your current relationship with your doesn't lend itself to such a discussion, I could offer to find out for you. I will, of course, leave the offer open to you for the future. It does not need to pursued at the moment."
"Also got an uncle that I mean to have a few words with when there's time," Raven points out. "Seeing as how I didn't know a damn thing about him, either, until he showed up - well, won't know until I try if he's got a better taste for telling the truth than she does."
"If your mother's upbringing in Rebma was comparable to my sisters, at least in format, then I might offer a few words of advise." Jerod says. "Information is power, there even more so than in Amber of old, or Xanadu now.
"Your uncle may prove quite useful for learning things, though be careful with your expectations. The men of Rebma, especially the strong ones, were frequently shut out of decision making and must their influence felt subtly. The women of Court are the power there. So one couches words carefully, revealing nothing that could be used against you while learning how to deal with your rivals."
He finishes a line, putting the pen down. "From what I have learned of your uncle, he is a man of little concern for social niceties, yet understands completely the need for when they are to be used. He is direct when he wishes to be, subtle when the situation calls for it and does not get caught up in the social game for its own sake. I suspect he cares little for the opinions of royals and suffers fools poorly."
Jerod smiles then. "I find him eminently likable. I shall enjoy seeing him in the future should he choose to remain here."
"Ranger Robin seemed to like him too." Raven shrugs. "Seemed like he was nice enough. Don't think he'd been filled in on the part where I ain't gotten along with my mother since I was old enough to shave, so I suppose we'll have plenty to talk about either way."
"I suspect so." Jerod nods. "If you have other questions, I'll be happy to answer them. Otherwise I'd like to go over the planning for the Gateway trip. Specifically how to handle the approach in and the cover."
Raven shakes her head. "Go ahead."
Last modified: 26 September 2012