Asgard Revisited

[Brita] leans back against Yggdrasil for a minute then returns to the camp that Lif and Lifthrasir have set up. At some point during the evening she will attempt to make sketches of both Dworkin and Brennan. Eventually, when she has tried several sketches, she will attempt a Trump sketch of both.

By the end of the first watch, Brita knows that she is likely to take far longer than she wants to spend creating either sketch. She doesn't know Brennan or Dworkin very well, she doesn't have very good materials to work with here, and her subjects aren't present.

Brita estimates it would take a couple of weeks to do one sketch under these conditions. If she got very lucky, she might get a sketch in a day. If she were unlucky, it would drag out and take months.

After the first few attempts and the ones that don't even qualify and get thrown in the fire, Brita will satisfy herself with some character sketches to save for future study.

Eventually, she puts away her pencil and chalk and beds down.

The next morning, after the camp has been cleared, Brita will say to Lif and Lifthrasir, "I am going to call upon the Lightning Fast Power of the Thunder God to get us to where I saw the Silent God." She then turns and attempts to Part the Veil to the Hill of Ull.

[Draw: Winter reversed: inexperience. Which, fortunately for Brita, is not *her* fault.]

Brita struggles with the spell, and cannot make it work right the first time. Perhaps she's still magically exhausted from her previous efforts; perhaps she needs more practice.

It takes her the better part of the day to make it work. In the end, she has a rip in space through which she can take Lif and Lifthrasir. Once they arrive there, they find a camp, which was abandoned perhaps this morning. There is a trail, probably too subtle for Lif and Lifthrasir, but Brita could follow it.

...and she will. Brita resolves, as she follows the trail, to seek out someone to help her practice her sorcery. As she continues to seek her father, she shakes of the disgust and focuses more on her surroundings. She scents the wind and scans for any signs of passage in addition to the three she seeks now.

Brita follows the trail until the fading light makes it hard to follow and into the night. Lif and Lifthrasir are hard-pressed to keep up with her, but they've spent a lot of time resting the last couple of days. Finally, they catch sight of a small fire which Brita is sure in her own mind belongs to her father and kinsmen.

Sure in her own mind? Brita shakes her head to free the thought - that way lies trouble. She bids Lif and Lifthrasir remain in the shadows until she has determined it is safe. "Like Wicked Loki, Evil can manifest itself in any form," she reminds them. She will then stalk around the camp to be downwind searching for that important key element on a gust of air.

If it's Uncle Loki, he can fake scent glands too.

...but he'd be a different blood scent....

If she determines that it is indeed her Father, she will approach the camp, calling to those at the fire before she emerges from the dark, "Hail, Father and Silent God Vidar! Hail, Cousin Magni and Modi! _Goddess_ Brita approaches the camp of her kinsfolk."

The three figures lying around the fire rise at once to their feet when Brita starts to speak. Magni and Modi both grab for the hammer. But Vidar rises at once, looking around for the owner of the voice.

"Brita? Where are you?" he asks, as his eyes adjust from the brightness of the fire to the darkness outside it, where his daughter's voice is coming from.

Once they have risen, Brita steps forward into the edge of the light and stands there so they can see and recognize her.

"Brita!" Vidar says, and comes and scoops her up in a big hug. A few moments later, Modi and Magni are hugging her as well.

Brita returns her father's hug and is reluctant to let go. She accepts the hugs from her cousins, but ends the hug to Modi quickly.

Lif and Lifthrasir creep out of the darkness to present themselves to the gods, although they don't speak or interrupt the family reunion.

Brita smiles encouragingly at them, "Lord Vidar, may I present the Couragous Survivors Lif and Lifthrasir. They have been of great assistance to me in exploring the New World of Asgard."

"You have done well," Vidar tells them. Lif and Lifthrasir seem a bit overwhelmed by all the divine attention.

When the group hug winds down, Vidar motions her to come sit by the fire, and to Lif and Lifthrasir, too. "Daughter," Vidar says, "It's been a long time here. The Fimbulwinter led into Ragnarok, and many were the heroic deeds done in those days. But they're done now, and winter has passed into spring. How have you fared? Where is your tutor Reid? Did he perish in the wars? He wasn't much of a warrior."

If Brita had been drinking something, it would be coming out her nose at this point - she almost chokes on a laugh. "Master Reid has decieved you better than Uncle Loki, Da! He guided me safely through Ragnarok and on to my Mother's homeland. I have reunited with the Princess Fiona and have discovered a new Brother - Lord Conner. Mother wished me to tell you that... well, that you are often in her thoughts." Brita almost whispers the last as she is a little embarrassed to relay this message before her cousins.

Vidar raises his eyebrows at the news of Conner, but he smiles at hearing Fiona thinks of him.

She continues quickly, "Have others survived, Da? Will Asgard be rebuilt?"

"We'll build something," Vidar tells her, "but I don't know if it will be Asgard or not. I ran into Modi and Magni here a few days ago. We're looking for other survivors. It'll take us a while to find them at this rate; you can't find people easily with things so changed."

Brita smiles and nods slightly, "Like it was hard to find you. I tried a couple of different ways. I'm...I'm sorry if I hurt you, Da, on the first attempt."

"Was that you?" Vidar exclaims.

Modi laughs. "Vidar fell down like he was drunk without even having had the pleasure of the mead first." Magni elbows Modi in the ribs to get him to shut up, and adds, "He slept it off, too. He's been fine since, haven't you, Vidar?"

Brita's brows furrow.

Vidar nods. "How did that happen, daughter? What were you doing?"

"It was an image contact, Da. I drew your image with the Power of Our Lineage and used it to contact you. It should not have hurt, though. I will have to ask Mother or Master Reid if it is an artifact of the haste of the Image I created. I will take more care with the next image."

Brita's expression smooths out. "You will be busy searching for others, then, for the next while. I must return to Mother's Land to take care of my new Duties there. After Ragnarok, I was given some Tasks by the Prince Gods of Order and I must return to complete them. I have also gained many new Cousins, Aunts, and Uncles from my Mother's Kin that I should Learn more of. Perhaps in the near future, I will be able to bring my Brother Lord Conner to visit the New Asgard." The last is almost a question.

"I will leave Survivor Lif and Lifthrasir to assist you, Da. They will be invaluable in rebuilding."

"What, you won't stay?" Vidar frowns, but Brita feels he is more sad than angry. "When will you leave? I hate to see you go when we've just found each other again. Can't you stay a while?"

Modi and Magni remain silent, as do the humans.

"I do not think I can stay more than a day or two, Da. Things were in...," Brita cocks her head to the side as she thinks about this,"... in little bit of Chaos when I Left. I would want to return to determine if the God King of Amber needs my assistance."

"If your duty to your mother's people requires it, I suppose you must go," Vidar says.

[Monica cannot remember which Trumps Brita has at the moment. She wants to offer one to her father - if she doesn't still have one of herself, it would end up being one of Master Reid. She will take her Dad away from her cousins to do this and will see if he can use the Trump without pain.]

[According to Olof's spreadsheet:

"Brita has Trumps of Reid and Fiona, and a sketch of Conner. She also has two place Trumps: Jotunheim, and the Bamboo forest, and a couple of place sketches: Heather Vale and the Courtyard of Castle Amber."

Brita found out the hard way that sketches don't survive a Patternwalk. So she has Reid, Fiona, Jotunheim, and the Bamboo Forest.]

Brita and her father are able to speak privately. When she shuffles out her Trumps, she has the four mentioned. Just to be clear, which one does she give her father to test?

Brita selects the mountains of Jutenheim first. "This is of the shore along the Lake of Memories beyond the Palace of Idayoll. A working Trump is cool to the touch." She will show her father how to make the contact to the point where the water on the Lake begins to ripple. Then she offers the Trump to him. She will remain in contact with him while he attempts the Trump contact.

Vidar is able to use the Trump without pain or difficulty once he understands what is required of him.

Assuming he gets it and there is no pain, she will then give him Reid's Trump. We'll attempt a brief contact with Reid as well, again with Brita holding her Da's arm.

Vidar concentrates on the Trump.

Reid answers, "Who is there?" It is dark where he is, and little if any detail can be made out.

Vidar seems a little surprised at the sound of Reid's voice. He glances at Brita and says, "Reid? Where are you?"

Brita pipes in from beside her Dad, "Master Reid, it is Lord Vidar and myself - Brita. I wanted to ask if you would give Lord Vidar my Trump so he can contact me if he needs to while I am with my Mother or I can leave your Trump with him."

"M'Lord, it is good to find you well after so much time, and I am grateful that you have reunited with your daughter without significant hinderance." Reid replies, a formality in his voice returning from recent disuse. "I am traveling underground in a city called Paris, with a local guide. We've recently encountered some minor obstacles, but are endeavoring presently to move forward.

"Brita, you are free to pass my card along to your father. I would be honored by his acceptance of it. Should unforeseen circumstances arise, I have no doubt that your mother would be as well suited to bringing you about.

"Likewise, M'Lord, if you desired my presence at your side at this, or any future time, you need but ask. While I have delivered your daughter safely from the end of the world, it is not my place to presume that my service to you or your family has ended. With my card, I am again at your beck and call."

Reid considers the state of his affairs in Paris--debts owed, contracts outstanding--as well as the ramifications of removing Papillon from her home. In the end, he decides, one exit from the sewers and their current predicament is just as good as any other, so he'll accept the first one that becomes available. Their condition is not so desperate that he'd ask for an exit, but he'd certainly grant Vidar's request if it came.

Vidar has assumed a formality equal to Reid's. He is, after all, a god of Asgard, even if Asgard has fallen. "I thank you for your gift, Master Reid. I will keep it close by in case I need your wise counsel. Do you and your companion need my aid?"

Brita is a silent listener in this exchange, deferring to her Father's lead.

"One moment, M'Lord."

Reid turns to Papillon. "How badly would you like to get out of this place?" He smiles enigmatically.

Papillon looks at Reid and cocks her head to the side. "Is that a trick question? We're lost and soaking wet in a sewer system that flooded on us a few moments ago and nearly killed us. I'd really be happy to leave, find some dry clothes, and wash off whatever was in the sewers with us."

"Done." Reid refocuses on the cards. "M'Lord, my guide and I woud be most pleased to accept your invitation of assistance. Brita, shall we show your father what else the cards are good for?"

Brita nods and reaches forward to grasp Reid's extended hand.

...and leading Papillon by the arm, Reid steps through...

As the pair come through, Brita calls out to Lifthrasir to find some blankets and spare clothing for the newcomers.

Vidar looks surprised as Reid and Papillon come through, then his face settles into a thoughtful frown. "Welcome again to Asgard, Reid, or what's left of it. And welcome also to you, lady." He hesitates, not knowing Papillon's name.

Reid bows to Vidar.

Papillon pipes up, "I'm Papillon."

Reid gives her a sideways glance.

Papillon looks around and says, "We're a ways from Paris, aren't we?" She looks at Reid and Brita and Vidar.

"Yes, we have travelled a fair distance in no time at all... it is an old family trick that's both gotten me into and out of trouble over the years. Papillon, this is the Lord God Vidar, son of Odin. And this is his daughter Brita, my cousin and my pupil."

Brita bows saying, "Mistress Papillon." in greeting. [Reid will probably note that, to Brita, this means that Brita thinks Papillon is Reid's - her title tie is Master/Mistress]

Papillon bobs a curtsey to Vidar and Brita.

Returning to Vidar, Reid continues. "And what of your father? How did he weather the great storm? I suspect his strength and resolve served him well, but I know that others of my blood were greatly hurt simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"My father perished in the jaws of the great wolf, as was written. I avenged him by rending the wolf's jaws and tearing him in twain. It was ordained." Vidar looks at Brita. "I should have told you sooner, Brita. I'm sorry."

Reid nods solemnly.

Brita smiles softly at her father. "I Understand, Da. It is as you say: it was Ordained as it was Ordained that you would Live." Brita makes no reference to the doubts that had crept in to her beliefs in Asgard Futures after Master Reid had introduced her to the Shadows beyond.

Vidar nods.

It is at about this point that Lif and Lifthrasir come back with fresh clothes for Papillon and Reid. To Reid they appear to be normal people of Midgard. He doesn't recognize them.

Two other roistering fellows also come down and join the foursome: Magni and Modi. They have Thor's great hammer. "Reid!" they say by way of greeting. "We hadn't thought to see you again. How are you?" They accompany their greeting with friendly backslaps, heedless of Reid's damp state.

Reid returns their friendly affection -- Magni's with caution, trying to avoid any overenthusiastic slaps on the back that might knock him into next week, and Modi's with a bit more passion befitting the god of Berserks. "Well met, good friends. Well met indeed."

Vidar looks on approvingly.

"And hello to you as well," Modi says to Papillon.

Brita's glare at Modi's suggestive tone could slice through common flesh. She pushes past him to assist Papillon in juggling the clothes and blanket, making sure she is situated between Modi and Mistress Papillon.

Modi gives a somewhat leering grin to Brita and Papillon as Papillon begins to dry off. She gratefully accepts Brita's help, and that of Lifthrasir, as she changes behind the blanket, out of sight of the men.

Reid smiles knowingly as he begins to dry himself before attempting to gauge the mood of the camp. "We seem to be beyond remorse and regret. On to regroup and rebuild? Or what are the current plans?"

Vidar says, "Brita asked the same thing. We're seeking other survivors now and trying to decide what to make in this new spring land. I don't know what it will be, though. Where have you been, Reid, and what have you been up to? Brita says you found her mother's homeland."

"Indeed, it was my own homeland as well, many, many years ago. Though when I found it, I must admit much had changed, both eroded by the streams of time and shaken by the upheaval of Ragnarok. Since our return, I have attempted to aid both my newly-found extended family, as well as my land's citizens in righting various wrongs... ranging from theft, slander and arson to murder and slavery. I have also continued my artistic and musical pursuits, and traveled some, most recently to Corwin's kingdom, Paris, from which we have just been delivered." Reid replies.

Brita casually notes, "Master Reid has acquited himself well in the Office of Security for Amber." She lowers her side of the blanket when Papillon is finished changing and hands it over to Lifthrasir with a nod of thanks. "Now he seems to have returned to his talents of rescuing Maidens in Distress." Brita directs the group back to the camp and hopefully some food...

Once Reid and Papillon are changed and dry, the group heads back to camp, where they eat and [barring the desire of PCs to do otherwise] pass the remainder of the night without event.

As they eat, Brita relates to Master Reid that she took a detour before returning to Asgard and stopped off at the Center where she saw Great-Grandfather Dworkin. She will mention that she met a new Cousin - Doctor Hannah Le Corbeau - and that she met Friend Wixer, Great-Grandfather's Griffon.

"I called Mother to make sure she wouldn't worry since I had detoured and to ask for some dinner. She came through and spent some time with us before I left to come here."

She describes how when she arrived in Asgard, everything appeared to be gone - no trace of the buildings left. "I was on the Last Hill leading into the Valley of Asgard when Survivors Lif and Lifthrasir came along. They had hidden in the World Tree Yggdrasil through Ragnarok. The Survivors continued with me as we searched the Valley and we finally uncovered some stones of the Temples and a chess board. I attempted to make a Sketch of Father and made some contact, but it was quickly broken in pain. Since that hadn't worked well, I later used Sorcery to track down where he was and saw him on the Hill of Ull. The Survivors and I were at that time on the way to the World Tree Yggdrasil and the Sorcery had drained me enough that we continued on our original course. The World Tree still stands and reaches to the Nine Worlds - or some version there of. I spoke with Mother again - she was still with Great-Grandfather and Cousin Brennan had arrived - and then went to find Father. I was trying to give him a means of contacting me after I left when we Trumped you. I thought I would need to be back in Amber to offer my continued assistance to King Random, but there are many Cousins...."

Reid relates his most recent adventures... "After your patternwalk, I stayed in Paris, learning the local art and customs. After some time I began to notice robed figures whose descriptions match that of religious groups that have a history with Amber. It seems that an order of monks had found their way to Paris from Clervaux, the shadow where my mother and grandmother raised me after leaving Amber. It would be good to know what became of them. Since neither carried Dworkin's blood, I could not imagine that either would still be alive, yet Dworkin himself might be able to tell me how they died. He always seemed more sympathetic to grandmother's position in the courts."

"I think Mother has left by now, but we could try her first. If that doesn't work, we could try a trump sketch of Great- grandfather. I tried earlier, but was a little pressed for time. You may have more luck than I did."

"Dworkin?" Reid replies, "I've got a full trump of him. It's just been a few thousand years since I've used it successfully, but I admit I haven't tried in a while..."

"Well, we can try that then. Do you want to stay here for a bit and help my Da - maybe a week? The time here seems to go faster than at the Center...." [That is correct, right?]

[The GMs say: "yes, it does. How much faster requires concurrently measuring two things that can't be in the same universe at the same time, or going for a week and asking someone how long it's been back in Good Old X..."]

[Brita adds]
"I went three days and Mother had not yet left Great-grandfather and I got the impression that it had not been very long since I had left them."

"Certainly, we can see what progress a week can bring before trying to make contact, if you'd like." Reid replies.

"Very well, Master Reid. I will tell Da." Brita is more than happy to stay now that Reid is around to ward off Modi if he gets out of hand. She informs her father that she, Master Reid and his Companion will remain in Asgard for a week. Does he have any tasks he would like her to accomplish first?

Vidar has about concluded that looking for survivors is fruitless effort. If there are more, and he is sure there are, they are likely to come to a fixed location where people will gather. He is considering rebuilding on the site of Odin's hall, assuming it will be a fixed location that any survivors will seek out.

He would like Brita and Reid's counsel on this matter.

Brita agrees that the first place she went to look was the Valley of Asgard.

Reid concedes that when trying to be found, acting as a moving target is far from ideal, and thus thirds the Valley/Odin Hall suggestion.

Also, he would like to know about the magic cards, and, he tells Brita, whether it would be possible to contact her mother that way.

"Trumps, Da. They are called Trumps. I have one of Mother, yes, and we can contact her if she is accepting the contact. Do you wish to reach her now? I plan on trying to make one of you when I have better materials."

Reid offers to assist where possible, but in the meanwhile makes sure Papillon is settling in well to the environment change.

Brita tucks in under a blanket away from the camp. She spends the evening gazing up at the stars and remembering... Grandma Grid - she surely survived in the ice caverns of Jutenheim. The mountains were still there when I first came back to Idayoll. Friend Thrud is almost as wiley as Loki. If Survivors Lif and Lifthrasir could find a protected place to be, Valkyrie Thrud would surely have found a safe haven. Uncles Thor and Loki may not have survived the battles. Handmaiden Blid - gentle and kind; she always had something nice to say to help calm the Beserker after Modi had been teasing me. Friend Thrud was likely to have been with Handmaiden Blid more often in the last days after I had gone and would have protected her. Daylight God Brono would have found a way to flee the darkness of Ragnarok - the dawning of each new day in this After proves that. Hel Hound Garm - the big softy - would not have been phased by Ragnarok....

And on she dreams, floating on the Pattern in her mind as she remembers the Probabilities of Asgard's Clear Future ahead.

As Brita thinks these thoughts, she recalls a lesson of her mother's: that those of Amber blood cannot affect the past. If Blid and Thrud and Brono and Garm lived, Brita can change things in their present and their future, but she cannot change what WAS, only what IS and what WILL BE.

Whoever has survived, however they have survived, Brita is certain their first thoughts will be of The Great Halls of Valhalla. They will make their way here quickly, finding game and some early spring onions for sustenance along the way.

The next day, Vidar and his company, including Brita, Reid, and Papillon, pack up and head for the former site of Odin's Hall. When they arrive, everyone begins work on the foundations of a new hall. The new building will not be so grand as the old, but it will provide a place to stay and shelter against the elements and any enemies of the gods that may have survived Ragnarok.

Brita, Reid, and Papillon all find themselves working hard to help lay the groundwork for Vidar's new hall. For Reid and Brita, this is familiar work, but Papillon is city-bred and has never performed heavy manual labor. To both Reid and Brita, she seems uncomfortable around Modi after the first couple of days, although neither of them manages to catch him doing anything that would justify any complaint against him. Papillon gratefully accepts any assistance Brita offers her in staying away from Modi.

Brita definitely assists. She remains in sight of Mistress Papillon or at least Modi pretty much all the time. She tells Papillon that if Modi approaches her she should mention that Brita said something about his prowess on the Day of the Great Winter Hunt - that should shut him up.

[The Great Winter Hunt - the day Master Reid brought back five wild boars, detusked and meticulously skinned, and Modi brought back a measly brace of rabbits.]

It's obvious to Brita that Papillon is very fond of Reid, and is impressed by the idea that he could outdo Modi on any occasion.

Everything seems very calm other than the activity of Vidar's party.

Brita is able to take time away to meditate. If she will loan her father her Trump of Fiona, he would like to speak with her privately.

Brita does so with no hesitation.

He returns the Trump sometime later, seeming quite happy.

Brita smiles fondly after him but does not ask how things went.

Reid can take some time to paint or to make a Trump. His art supplies were soaked in the tunnel, but he can still use them if he is willing to take some time with them.

Brita asks Master Reid if he would loan her some equipment to do some sketches and at least two Sketches - an attempt of one of Conner and one of Vidar. Brita is trying to see if a real Trump sketch - versus the hastily made one on the rock - would have any adverse affect on her Da (and she mentions this to Master Reid).

[Assuming Reid loans her the materials]

Brita is able to create the sketch of Vidar in a watch. It is an extraordinarily easy sketch under the circumstances.

Brita wants to try it out. She will make sure she is near Vidar when she does it.

Vidar collapses as before, but because Brita is nearby, she hears him cry out and can come to him quickly. He recovers consciousness quickly, but complains of a headache. Lifthrasir prepares him a strong, medicinal brew to get rid of the headache.

The sketch is no longer good after the first attempted use.

Brita will tend to her father as well and apologize for the experiment. She will then ask Reid for his insight as to why the Trumps hurt Lord Vidar so.

Reid can speculate at best, without doing further testing himself... "It's possible that he's too far down the family tree to have full trump use. Your own blood ties were reinforced by your mother, but if my research is correct, he is as far removed as Dara, Aisling and Cleph. I don't know how much is known about what family traits they may possess and in what capacity."

One night in the Valley of the Gods, Reid excuses himself to a private clearing not far from the encampment. The moon itself is obscured by tree-cover, but the local equivalent of the Northern Lights [perhaps remnants of the Rainbow Bridge] is more than well suited for this type of work, and the rainbow shimmering gives an appropriately chaotic atmosphere to the task at hand.

His leather cloak rests loosely on his shoulders as he kneels in the smooth dirt, back straight but without any obvious tension. Or, more to the point, the tension leaves his body as he stills himself for the inevitable. He removes the leather pouch from his pocket and slides the folded oilskin bundle from its protective sheath. As he unfolds the skin, his fingers worry over the worn creases and tears before he puts aside that distraction, setting down the skin as a working surface on the ground.

He closes his eyes and gives the deck a quick shuffle. His fingers tell him which card is which. He knows every detail, every notched edge, every upraised paint splotch, every frayed edge intimately. One by one he goes through his deck, reflecting on their subject within his mind before setting them all aside save for one.

He opens his eyes looking at the one card still in his hands... his eyes unfocus as he looks through the picture of Dworkin and attempts to make contact.

//Master?//

//Hello, Reid! You look chilly. Are you staying warm in post-Asgard?// A large, floppy-haired man looks back at you with a buck-toothed grin.

Reid strains a bit to return the smile, sans buck-teeth. "I'm managing OK for now. But since you bring up Asgard, could you explain to me why I wasn't able to shadow shift or trump across some boundary to get to Amber from here for so many years?" (First things first, Reid thinks, not really happy to be reminded that the last time he was chilly in Asgard, he was cold for quite a while...)

"Yes, of course I can explain that, dear boy!. Do you recall when I told you the other day about bands of iso-linear probability and how I explained that it was much easier to travel perpendicularly the mountain passes rather than up and down the center of the mountain range? It's like that. The interference pattens of different order reflections makes it more difficult to go to or in this case to leave certain places.

"Didn't we cover this? I could swear we had this exact conversation not more than two thousand years ago."

"Yes, yes, of course I remember. But the topology you describe implies that by traveling 90 degrees off axis from the Amber/Chaos path the resistance should have been negligible. It felt more like a probibility well with an almost equal slope of reason on all sides. From what you've taught me, such things should not happen with only two nodes of origin."

[Dworkin] snorts and cuts [him] off. "Chaos isn't a node, it's not even an anti-node. It's nothing."

"To create a well, a third, or even fourth place of pattern would have existed. And this is prior to the development of Paris. I was not taught about such locations. If it were merely a matter of probability echoes and reflections, that too, implies that there would be some hard probability surface for it to bounce off of."

"Does it?" [Dworkin] sounds very interested.

"The next question becomes, since the pattern wars, has the topology changed significantly enough to allow us to leave now. I suspect the answer is yes, since we've done it once before. And now there are even more forces in play, so the nodal points have all shifted." Reid considers.

"Are you asking me or yourself?"

"Well, you're always free to correct me if I'm wrong. I expect to be leaving here shortly, and if I'm going to be stuck here for another thousand years or so, it might be nice if it wasn't a surprise this time."

"Some places are easier to get into than get out of. Some places like that are natural, some are helped into being. If you can't leave a place, it's best to try the hardest possible shifts.

"And the current configuration should be stable, barring any new reality your uncle may decide to allow. I have no idea why your grandmother chose him. He's quite unsuitable!" He frowns. "That reminds me, if you see him, ask him to have your cousins stop tearing apart reality," Dworkin adds petulantly, "it's not good for it."

"Did you have any further contact with my mother or grandmother after I left Clervaux? Lately I've been thinking about trying to find it again, but with all the changes, I'm not sure what condition it might exist in, if any."

"In infinite shadow, my lad, it is difficult to determine if one place is the temporal descendent of a previous place with out a real referent. How would you tell a Clervaux that had been overrun by Northern Barbarians and utterly laid waste from one where the Northerners turned to the east instead? What do you want Clervaux to be? And how will you be able to tell if you've found it or merely something like enough to fool youself with?"

"I know we all cast reflections, but isn't there a primacy in probabililty as well? I am one, and as such, only had one mother. Shadows of my mother may have had other Reids, but they are not of my blood. I am sure I could console myself by finding any multitude of mothers who might, individually, serve any number of maternal purposes, but they wouldn't be her." Reid opines.

"Not over time, not without a real being to anchor it to. You can't even count on an object like Greyswandir. Given worlds enough and time and some young ruffian will conjure it right out from under itself."

"I know that at some point after I left for my father's grave, the ties between Amber and Clervaux faded. The trade routes went into disuse as the Golden Circle rearranged itself. Like bubbles in a babbling brook, Clervaux broke away from the turbulance that is Amber and drifted downstream to lead a life less affected by Oberon's reign. If it still exists in any form, you among us are probably the best suited to finding it, or at least directing me towards it."

"Clervaux moved off the probability mains, or more accurately they moved off it when it was further from any of the nodal points. Probability changes propagate slowly."

He grins. "But not so slowly as we generally travel. Take Asgard, for instance. How did Brita know she'd returned? Because of her father. If he had passed, then there would be no telling one Asgard from A nearby one, correct? Clervaux should be findable, but what it is and how you'll know you're there is not something I can say. However, you can't find it if you don't look.

"I'd start in Paris."

"One step forward, two steps back." Reid sighs.

"One last thing. Vidar seems pained by Brita's attempts to reach him through trump sketches, but with her help, he had no problem opening a connection to me on a fully sealed trump of her device. I was considering that it might be a matter of genetics. Can you offer any other possible causes of his discomfort?"

His forehead crinkles petulantly. "Stop her from doing that. It's not nice. Vidar doesn't have enough Dekkahl for that." Reid hasn't heard the word before, and the language doesn't sound familiar to him, either.

"Dekkahl?," Reid asks, "I'm not sure I'm familiar with that term. Could you elaborate?"

"Hmm," hmms Dworkin. "How much Mabrahoring do you know? It has to do with affinity."

Reid says "I must have missed Mabrahor in my shadow travels. Perhaps there is an explanation that could use Amber as its cultural reference?"

"No," Dworkin shakes his head, "Mabrahoring pre-dates Amber."

Reid asks "Is it a realm of Chaos, then? Pre-Amber history is not one of the subjects you covered in your teachings with me, and I'm afraid there are few other instructors with your qualifications."

"It's not very important, really," demurs Dworkin.

"Perhaps not, but I am curious..." Reid says, pressing the issue.

Dworkin explains further. "It's not a place, it's just the name of the language. It may well have been the name of a person, come to think of it. It was quite a long time ago."

"So Dekkahl is a type of affinity? A way to measure one's natural abilities with Trump, for example?"

"No. Dekkahl is usually a term in higher maths, or lower maths, sometimes. It's not a constant," says Dworkin.

"What factors are most likely to influence its value?" asks Reid.

Dworkin replies "Charzan, Temporal Affinity, and Sallicity." He beams.

"Fascinating! Oh, wait, I thought you said salacity. That would give affinity a new meaning... But back to the matter at hand, I suppose I'm most interested in a number of theories I haven't had the opportunity to test on my own yet. You warn that Brita should not attempt to contact Vidar via a trump sketch. Would he be as harmed if she were using a full trump of her own making? Or of anyone else's design?"

"No, no," says Dworkin. "The sealing doesn't have anything to do with it. It's not extrinsic."

"Then is it Brita? Or is Vidar unable to receive?" Reid presses.

"Why are you convinced there is exclusivity?," replies Dworkin. "In this case, it's Vidar, and his Dekkahl, but this is about Order, not Chaos. Each member of an ordered class is the same as other members of the class, otherwise all would be chaos. And Chaos."

"Are there any other family members that I know who fall in the same class as Vidar?" Reid asks.

"I've never seen you with any," says his old master.

"How about family members who might or might not be of my acquaintance?"

"I'm sure there have to be some. Yes, almost certainly. Some of your nephew's children, for example," replies Dworkin.

Reid nods and says "That confirms some of my hypotheses. Thank you. Are members of that class limited in any other familial skills, perhaps in regard to the pattern? I would suspect that it would be more dangerous for them to attempt to walk a pattern. Is this also a matter of Dekkahl?"

"It's not, but it's related. Ask your grandfather about Huon's half-brother some time, if you want to know about it. Or perhaps not. He didn't take the whole thing very well..." Dworkin seems lost in thought, briefly.

"I was told that Oberon was dead. I suppose that's really just a matter of probability then?"

"No probably about it," Dworkin says, "he's dead. I put him in the funeral wagon and took him to the funeral. He'd've loved it, it was quite moving. Except the part with Clarissa."

"I'm sure he would have had a grand time," Reid agrees. "Or perhaps he did. While asking him questions is still an option, getting answers from him might be more difficult."

"True, "says Dworkin. "Being dead is very hard on the memory. Or so Corwin said."

"Well, then. I suppose that clears up my immediate questions. I will begin my search for Clervaux from Paris, as you suggested, and I will let Brita know that contacting her father by trump should be discouraged if at all possible. You and I should talk again soon. I've missed our lessons. Would you be willing to give me further instruction? Preferably before another thousand years pass? Maybe within the next year or so in fact, if you're interested and available?, " asks Reid.

"Well, it might be good to visit with a former student. I'm still waiting on an invitation I asked for. If you see Brennan, Brand's son, ask him if he's asked for me yet, would you? That would make things much easier for both of us."

"If I see him, I'll pass along your inquiry. Thank you for your time and patience, Master, " says Reid.

"Of course. I do so like seeing how my former students are getting on," replies Dworkin.

With that, Reid closes trump contact.