Adonis will change course rapidly after vanishing into the woods. He's also heading for Arden, but he'll move a lot quicker than Robin's hospital caravan (GMs please note: if changes of form gets him to Julian quicker, he'll wear hooves).
He's off to fetch the Ranger in White to put a leash on this unruly blond savage. :-)
Adonis can, indeed move faster in four legs. The problem with Julian is finding him. Tell us more about how you go about doing this and we'll tell you how it goes.
Well it used to be easy. [Adonis was fibbing a little to Robin about not knowing Arden as well as she. He's no idea how well she knows Arden, (probably well save for those parts toward Arcadia) but he's been knocking around for centuries and knows a broad stretch between Arcadia and Garnath very well indeed - or at least he did before things got so mutable.]
Now however, it might not be so easy. Before he met Robin, he was planning on initially following the old routes unless some instinct told him to deviate. However his options are a little more open than they were before and he can probably combine all strategies to maximise the chances of success:
a) he can connect with Robin's trail to the clearing and follow it back. He suspects she may have used something equivalent to his father's magics to get there, but his father has told him such magics can stay open after the opener's passage so he may be able to follow her trail all the way back to Arden even now. Even if he can't do that, it should put him on the right track at least initially.
b) he is as much his father's son as he is his mother's, if she can draw him to Arcadia, perhaps his father's essence can call him to Arden. He understands his father was once a god and Adonis definitely has faith in him. As a worshipful son, he will pray along the way.
c) from Robin's comments, it's quite possible that Julian is already searching for his daughter, if not his son. If so, knowing Julian, he will probably already be on her trail, using his hawks and hounds to search widely. Adonis will keep an eye out for signs of his father's presence and make sure any hawks and hounds see him.
d) he is a creature of omen and portent, this and his instincts may tell him when to turn, when to climb, etc.
e) finally, he has always been an optimist [though why I don't know since he's yet to have a halfway decent card draw while I've been running him] so ultimately luck may be on his side. He has to get to Arden and Amber to fulfil the mission his mother set him so her blessing will also be upon him.
And that's it!
Adonis [what's the name of this form?] turns his head to the south and finds another crossing of the gorge. The trail of the Rangers is somewhat difficult to follow, but he manages to find it and to keep on it with some effort. There are few incidents along the trail. Early on he crosses a clearing that smells slightly of old blood and steel, and later he hears the siren call of Maeneds in the distance, but neither distracts him from his mission.
[Have we assumed he's changed to a horse? Then he's called Deiohippus.]
He moves a good distance into the great wood, following the trail. It is in the gloaming when the trail seems to end. As Adonis searchs for it he discovers a low-branched tree hung with some sort of lights, and a line of lights leading away from the tree. It is on the far side of a clearing.
[I assume it's dark - please let me know if this is an assumption too far.]
Deiohippus stands, snorting in the evening air and reviews his situation. The trail he's following has vanished. These lights could be anything: a trap, a lead, a distraction, anything; but he won't know without investigating and there's no other options than to go back the way he came for the moment.
He takes a brief while to examine the ground, the trees and sniff the breeze. If nothing triggers suspicion, he'll shift back to Adonis and take a closer look at the tree.
Adonis approaches the tree in a roundabout fashion, from upwind and edging around the clearing. As he nears the low-branched tree with the small points of light he begins to suspect and when he arrives he is sure. This is the tree he awoke in after he left the Ranger camp. It is not just the shape of the tree or the old tracks, but the many small flowers with burning centers that he sees both in the tree and on the ground that make him sure.
In the clearing Adonis sees something else that gives him pause. A single large claw-print (days old but undeniably reptilian) is visible in the reddish brown clay near the edge of a stream.
This is the first time he's seen the firelillies properly. He takes the time to admire them close up, cupping a couple and bringing them close as if he would sniff their scents, though of course stopping short of scorching himself. He talks lovingly to them, calling them 'my children', asking them how they fare. He doesn't expect any answers, but he's prepared to listen if one arrives.
Well versed in botany, he notes their manner of growth [seems epiphytic to me] and other aspects of their general nature. Finally, after indulging himself probably rather longer than might be justified in the circumstances, he turns his attention to the dragon-spoor. He looks for other signs of passage, tries to get a feel for what (she) might have been trying to do. He's a feeling she was probably following his trail [hardly difficult lit up this way]. He suspects she may have been drawn to the firelillies as he was. Knowing how she feels about his 'tainted' blood, he's interested in the fact that she appears not to have interfered with them.
If he can, he'd like to estimate her size and any other characteristics deductible from her trail.
The dragon is probably well over 100' long. If the clawprint is any indication, the dragon could hold two full-grown oxen in her claws and take off with them. It may be a shapechanger, because Adonis also finds delicate human footprints near the tree, as well as bootprints. The latter might be from the rangers, but something tells Adonis it is not. Based on what Adonis knows about animals, the dragon arrived and left by air.
And presumably left a fair amount of damaged plantlife - or are 100' dragons less destructive than 12' elephants? :-)
The plant destruction is what you expect for a 100+ foot dragon.
Mmm! Bootprints and bare feet? That sounds like two people, not one, and boots hardly sounds like his side of the family. Now, is there anyone Adonis knows who might wear boots and who associates with dragons?
Ah! Interesting!
Daeon notices that there are firelilies growing in the stream, as if they were water plants.
Remarkable! Adonis examines them closely. Do they seem to heat the water?
The water is a bit warmer than he might have expected. It's not hot by any means, though.
Then he's got to think.
Adonis is settling to do so when he hears the sound of steel on stone. He turns and sees his father's magnificent grey stallion looking him in the eyes. Mounted on the tall creature, wearing the white armor he wears in times of war or danger is his father. He is alone in the woods. He looks at the flowers and then at Adonis. "Adonis."
"Pater!" Adonis rises from the water's edge and reaches to clasp his father's hand, not troubling to hide the warmth in his voice. "Somehow your appearance always gives me pleasure, even when I am not seeking you, though I confess my need in this instance increases my gladness. Well met!"
He drops Julian's hand and a note of contrition comes into his voice. "I must apologise for not remaining in Arden as you requested. Mater called, and I was in no position to refuse her, not that I would have been inclined to do so if I was, circumstances being what they were. She has expressed her gratitude that you returned me to Arcadia and, as you can see, I am healed.
"How fare things with you?" At this last a note of concern comes into his voice. He clearly isn't expecting 'good' news.
"Things are difficult," the Warden of Arden replies as he dismounts. "Seeing you well relieves one of my concerns. I had not expected to find you here. I was riding for the source of a disturbance somewhere to the west."
"Ah!" Comments Adonis, biting his lip, "Then I must suppose you are not disposed to hear further bad news?" He shrugs; his father will have to know anyway if he does not already. "There is a ravening beast maurauding the borders of Arcadia. Female, she claims kinship with me but seeks to enter Arcadia to spread destruction and ruin. She knows no reason, restraint or mercy; I count myself fortunate that I was able to escape her clutches for she despises all who are less powerful then her. I was hoping you might aid me in this matter as I have been given to believe you have had previous experience of her, but clearly you are already engaged in other matters. It is a pity, for I believe she threatens Arcadia mortally and Arcadia is already vulnerable...as is Arden?"
Adonis looks about wistfully. "I was hoping we might be of help to each other, Pater. Arden and Arcadia are closely linked, are they not?"
"Now more so than usually," Julian says, and the thought displeases him. "Of which of your female relations do you speak?"
Adonis nods almost imperceptibly at Julian's affirmation but does not react to his displeasure, accepting the situation for what it is.
"Yes," replies his son coolly, "the description could fit more than one, could it not? But I have in mind she who calls herself 'Robin'. She has displayed to me all the evils you detest in your brothers: arrogance, violence, insensitivity and more, but without the saving grace of manners, as exemplified in yourself. Indeed, though she claims to be my sister, I can detect none of your virtues or any other quality that might mark her as your daughter." Though unspoken, Adonis obvious implies that Robin has many similarities with his side of the family and few with his father's.
"She wields great powers with no thought to consequences for herself or others. Her behaviour is quite extreme and she made it clear she would respect only a power superior to hers. I considered accepting her provocations to physical contest but I have no assurance that I might win and, win or lose, such conflict would merely reinforce her belief that respect is born only out of power, strength and the threat of force.
"You know the mayhem she might cause in Arcadia, and this would be reflected in Arden. She has shown no inclination to regard my warnings so I am respectfully requesting that you formally bar her from entering or approaching Arcadia." He shrugs. "Obviously we are living in a time of crises and Arcadia cannot be the highest of your priorities, but I pray, when you can spare the time, please spare a thought on this matter.
"Of course, I am not unmindful that this would place me in your debt, should you choose to consider it as such, and, as I have said before, I would wish to be of help to you. Obviously, Arcadia must remain a priority for me for Mater has no one else to stand by her, but if things go as I would wish, I am willing to accept any reasonable task in return as I am your son as much as Mater's."
Julian waits for Adonis' tirade to run its course. He seems less angry than amused.
"My daughter is investigating the disappearance of one of the Rangers. If her path takes her to Arcadia, it is because that is where she believes the missing Ranger has been taken. Perhaps you should consider negotiating with her on the matter instead of with me. It might be a fruitful exercise for you both."
"Yes, it might!" Adonis sighs deeply, speaking in tones that, while measured and even, convey great sadness. "Do you think I have not tried? Or do you believe I would distract both of us from our respective duties at this time without good cause? She has no respect for me or any willingness to understand my position. She refuses to move from hers. In her own idiom, which I confess is at times difficult to comprehend, to her I am 'just a Shadow God of a Shadow world'." Adonis somehow manages to convey not only the quotes but the placement of capitals as well.
One of the corners of Julian's mouth quirks.
Then he buries all emotion beneath a serene exterior. "But I understand your position, Pater. Doubtless neither I nor Arcadia are of any 'Real' consequence to a Lady, or a Lord, of Amber and I must accept that. So let us speak of other things.
"Arden and Arcadia are linked intimately. You and I and others of our blood are vital elements in that link. If we work together, as Oberon admonished from the clouds, we may make things better than they yet appear to be. Tell me; how do you see the current conflict unfolding? How may we best help each other?"
"You forget that this is primarily an internal Arcadian war, and that Arden is involved in the matter through me," Julian says. "I, like Robin, have been investigating the disappearances of Rangers. The missing Rangers are all of your line of descent. I presume I need not explain how ill that bodes for the peace of Arcadia."
He looks at Adonis for a moment to be sure he understands the import.
Adonis remains impassive at the veiled threat. Someone might read the way he reaches out and fondles Morgernstern's muzzle as a displacement activity. Someone else might see it as a simple gesture of affection towards an entity that serves his father faithfully to the point of being almost symbolic of him. But he remains attentive to his father.
"The dragon has already struck at me, more than once, and I yet live. It is only a matter of time until she strikes at others who endanger her. You are one. Your mother is another. If your kinswoman Paige has conceived by you, she and the children she bears will also be threats."
Julian's eyes settle on Adonis in that unsettling way that means Adonis is about to be tested and possibly, probably, found wanting.
"What brings you forth from Arcadia?"
Since Adonis, in all his aspects, has spent almost all his adult life being 'tested' by his father and usually found wanting, he keeps his body language minimal and his expression non-commital as he utters his one word reply without thinking.
"Duty!"
Then there's a pause as he considers his father's words carefully, he deserves a clearer reply. Adonis kisses Morgernstern thoughtfully. "Robin and I encountered a manifestation of Grandmother without Arcadia. If I understand her nature correctly, and your words lead me to suspect that I do, I am surprised we yet live. I can only assume she is either constrained by circumstances unknown to me or else she chose not to unleash her full might. If the latter, doubtless her reasons will be revealed in the fullness of time.
"Mater believes the current crisis will reach culmination in but a few short weeks. I have nothing on which to make my own judgements in this as you have both seen fit to keep much from me over the centuries. I do not criticise either of you for this; doubtless you had your reasons, but it means I am in no position to weigh matters for myself and must accept your respective utterances at face value as you [*] choose to reveal them. [* = Adonis inserts the Arcadian 2nd person plural 'you' to make it clear he means both his parents.]
"I have certain contingencies to attempt before this culmination. I expect them all to come to nothing. If grandmother's inexplicable malice remains unchecked and all else stays as it is, Mater, one or more of her sisters, and I, will shortly cease to be either threat or concern to anyone.
"Speaking as one who loves life more than anyone, I hope you believe me when I say this situation grieves me deeply. It grieves me further that Arden will suffer at the same time, as will all the people I love." Adonis gazes off in the direction of Amber, as if he can see it through the trees. "The forest paths are changing; Mater is able to affect her presence in places that I suspect were, until recently, barred to her." He fixes his father with his intense gaze. "Everything is more mutable - 'something' has changed! Hasn't it, Pater? Would you like to be more forthcoming?"
"The war has changed a great deal, as has my father's passing. I suspect it will be a long time before Random can restore Amber's power to what our father held," Julian says. "And Arcadia's old balances, like Amber's, have fallen or been destroyed. With what contingencies did your mother charge you before this battle?"
Adonis makes to reply, halts, thinks and finally replies, "Why do you ask, Pater?"
"You are my son. I have a son and a daughter caught on the other side of this conflict. And my Rangers, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, are being recruited into it. All matters related to it interest me," Julian says. He is not impatient, but perhaps a touch surprised that Adonis has asked the question.
Adonis gives every appearance of someone trying to solve a difficult mathematical problem in his head. Perhaps he asked just to gain time to think? Perhaps he did it as might many of the family, answering one question with another out of reflex? OTOH, the way he nods might show he needed to hear this answer from his father's own lips. He leans his head against Morgernstern's as he speaks, enunciating slowly and deliberately, reluctant to say what he has to say.
"Pater. You know I would never reveal any secret you confided in me to anyone else, not even to Mater. Similarly, I do not feel it would be fair to reveal Mater's confidences." He shrugs. "Both of you tend to keep your own counsels and I am now far from confident that I have any meaningful understanding of the current situation, so I feel you [Arcadian plural again] would be best served by liaising with each other directly."
A note of apology creeps into his voice. "You understand I do recognise that you have a deep and abiding interest, indeed a duty, to enquire as to the policy and intentions of Artemis, in all her aspects, and vice-versa, but I cannot and will not break confidence with either of you, neither will I let myself become a pawn caught between my parents' political need. I can see no other way in which I can honour both of my parents."
Adonis' manner then eases, as if the difficult part of what he has to say has been said. "That being said, I have no secrets from you and, aside from the specific matters given by Mater into my aegis, I am perfectly willing to reveal my current intentions.
"I intend to invite my paternal relatives to join Mater and I in defending Arcadia, starting with my brother. I do not expect any to accept for a variety of reasons. Most will refuse through lack of interest. Some will, justly, fear the dangers involved, over which I do not intend to gloss. Others would not wish to trespass in a manner that would displease you. In fact, I suspect if any do accept, they would do so at least partly for the opportunity to cause you embarrassment. However, I do not think even Corwin will accept so this element of my mission will probably fail.
"Then I would seek support among my maternal relations. They are harder to contact but have been known to respond to prayer. Although puissant, they lack the power of your brothers and are equally as capricious, however they may be willing to join us. I do not think Apollo would refuse a direct request from his sister but he may not be willing to loose an arrow at his mother or his siblings and I have a feeling that the other Olympians will demur. So this too will fail.
"But then it is my hope, though not my expectation, that it will not come to open war." Adonis' hand falls on the woven device hanging at his side. "One of my new found aunts has expressed a desire that conflict may be avoided and, whatever my success in my previously mentioned endeavours, I will attempt to negotiate in good faith with Calliste and her sisters. I believe I am probably safe from her as long as the children you gave her are still in her belly and it may be that she is as concerned over the intervention of her mother as are her sisters and yourself. However, from my limited knowledge of her, I do not think she will listen to reason any more than Robin so this too may fail.
"Ultimately, I will have to talk to grandmother. I am aware you and she warred long before I was born and she appears to bear considerable animosity toward Mater, myself and anyone connected with us. I can see no reason for this but, as I have said, there is much that has been kept from me.
"I can see no way of overcoming her in formal conflict, even if my several attempts to recruit allies prove successful. Therefore the conflict may only end either in our defeat or a negotiated settlement. I have no idea how this might happen and indeed, from what I have seen and heard of Grandmother, she is unlikely to entertain any commerce that is not violent. If things remain as they are, I expect her to eat me. However, as your father said from the clouds, 'Grandchildren are easier to deal with than children' so there may be reason to hope for a happier outcome.
"You understand these are my intentions and I have yet to mention them to Mater. I suspect she would refuse all aid from your side of our family and she may also refuse the Olympians, from whom she has been estranged for centuries. No doubt she would have many reasons for such refusal; I doubt she would want you or her brother embroiled needlessly, but I suspect pride would also be a consideration.
"She may also refuse to negotiate with either her sisters or her mother. I shall remind her of her own teachings to her children that any child should honour his or her father and mother but well I understand that it is easier to preach than to practise.
"That, in summation, together with a funeral for Dione, was the entire extent of my personal intentions. However, your words concerning Paige disturb me. It may be that, at least consciously, she thought our lying together a mere dalliance. If, as I suspect from something Robin has told me, Paige is now with child and that this may make her a target for Grandmother's inexplicable enmity, then she must be warned and it would appear that this should be my responsibility. Robin intimated that she resides within the castle, but I have little knowledge of that place and I presume the guards and your kinsmen would not appreciate my intrusion without prior arrangement. What would be your recommendations in this?"
Julian listens carefully to Adonis' long explanation, nodding at various places. If there are any places where he is in substantial disagreement with Adonis' ideas, he doesn't say anything just yet.
"I have already spoken to Paige and offered her my protection. She is aware that she may be with child. I believe that her father has removed her from Amber. Her cousin Brita, whom you may recall, was kidnapped by Amber's enemies during the coronation celebrations, and she is part of the prospective rescue."
Adonis' shoulders sag infinitesimally.
"Many of the residents of the castle have scattered, although your brother remains. He has pledged himself to aid in the war in Robin's beloved's homeland, and I doubt he can fulfill that pledge and assist you, were it not inadvisable for him to do so in any case." Julian frowns slightly, but his expression returns to normal almost immediately.
"As for Corwin, even if he were inclined to take matters Ardenic into his own hands, he is busy with his own kingdom now. He departed Amber some weeks ago.
"Of your relations on your mother's side I can say little, although I suggest a consultation with your brother. He has met with one of your mother's sisters, whom I will not name in this place, and she told him she wishes to end the war. So perhaps there is hope for a negotiated settlement."
Adonis eyebrow rises in the classic Julianic manner as he glances down at the naked footprint close to that of the boot. It doesn't take a genius to realise that he's wondering if they spoke to the same aunt. Julian may be perceptive enough to see a faint glimmer of hope spark to life in his eyes.
Julian takes off one of his white gauntlets and removes a ring from one of his fingers. "Take this and present it to the guards at Castle Amber to gain admittance. Show it to any of my rangers and they will aid you and provision you as needed."
[I assume the ring is gold or some other metal - if it's ivory or something then he'll behave differently]
[Alas, Julian doesn't have an ivory signet.]
Adonis waits a beat before reaching for it. After five centuries, he knows his father can't have forgotten his aversion to metals. He wrinkles his nose, making no effort to hide his distaste.
After a moment [Julian] adds, "Although I doubt your brother will be able to aid you, he has been very concerned for you. He will be glad to see you well."
"Yes! He is a good man. I will convey your love to him when we meet, though that may yet be a while."
While talking, Adonis partially unravels the lanyard carrying Arianrhod's woven thingy [forgive the jargon] and threads the ring before closing it again. As he ties it up and puts it back over his shoulder, he continues talking conversationally.
"It occurs to me, Pater, that events may conspire to prevent us meeting again. I hope this will prove needlessly pessimistic but there are things I would have you know in case it is not.
"Your most recent intervention was but one of many events for which I owe you a debt of gratitude that I can never repay in any coin of value to you. Likewise you know I love you and honour you equally with Mater so while these things are crucially vital and colour our relationship most forcefully, we need not waste our time in dwelling upon them.
"But there is one thought that has recently occurred to me, or rather the realisation has come upon me, that I wish to convey as I would understand my meaning. That thought is this...
"Sometimes, when I gaze upon you, I feel I am looking into a mirror. At other times, and sometimes only a matter of seconds, I have found myself wondring how we can possibly be father and son." Adonis stops fiddling with the lanyard and looks his father right in the eye, as if searching for something. "I was wondering if you have ever felt the same when looking at me?"
"Yes," Julian says. The slightest touch of a bitter smile crosses his face. "But I also know your mother."
Adonis lays aside his lanyard and slides into the stream, sluicing the last few spots of dried equine gore from his body. "Yes!" he smiles back but without any trace of bitterness, "I know what you mean. Though, speaking as one who knows the two of you best, you [he's using that weird Arcadian plural 'you' again] are not as dissimilar as might appear at first sight: you are both puissant, both proud; you both show each other respect; you both...'care' for your respective realms and you share some nuances of manner and thought.
"Yet there are differences, and we are all amalgams of both our parents, are we not?" He pauses to scrape at one particularly tenacious spot on his arm. After a few seconds, it starts to bleed. He tuts irritably and holds the spot to one of his firelillies, looking up at his father as he does so. "Tell me, Pater, what do you see in yourself, good or bad, that might have come from your mother?"
Julian arches an eyebrow.
"Why do you ask?"
Adonis smiles at the echo of his own question of a minute earlier. He examines the results of his impromptu cauterisation, thinking the while, before looking back to his father. "Oh, there are many reasons, Pater. You have spoken so little of Grandmother Rilga, scarce more than any history treatise might tell. But I would guess she meant much to you.
"Our mothers have such influences upon we sons. You seem aware of the influences Mater has upon me; it would seem likely that a similar understanding on my part toward you could only enrich both of us.
"I have just come to know of my maternal Grandmother. Perhaps it is a sense of balance that makes me ask."
Satisfied with his toilette, Adonis emerges from the stream, sweeping the water from his arms and eyeing his father darkly. His voice is low and intimate. "I could go on, Pater, but is it not natural to ask?"
The slightest touch of a smile crosses Julian's face. "Natural, yes. But we deal here not just in nature, but with the course of things that are beyond nature. With changing what has been natural, perhaps. Had you asked me this at a time when my duties to others might mean life and death, I should have been glad to speak of my mother at length, but I cannot give her her due with the brief span I can remain here."
Julian's son doesn't trouble to hide his disappointment. Perhaps he feels the time may never be available, but he doesn't challenge his father's reticence, he knows that time islimited for both of them.
He adds, "I would offer you a bandage for your arm, but you seem to have stanched the blood yourself. What do you make of the flowers?"
"Aren't they lovely?" Adonis smiles warmly as he takes in the vista of flickering lights in the gathering darkness. "They take after their mother."
"How do you mean?" Julian asks. He reaches out to Adonis, as if to take the flower Adonis is holding--if Adonis will offer it to him.
Adonis relinquishes the one he's holding as he searches with his eyes for one attached to a more mobile substrate. A second later, he hands his father a piece of broken branch, about six inches long and perhaps one and a quarter wide, with a single firelily growing from it. There is no hesitation in this; he clearly sees his father as no threat to the flowers.
"It is a long story, Pater. In fact it is several stories, none of which we have time for now, more is the pity; but they were born of the union of cousin Lily and I." An odd tone comes into the boy's voice. "They are your grandchildren." Someone who knew him very well indeed might just detect a note of 'let's see you foster these, then ;-)' in this last.
"I have not in the past acknowledged any descendants of a vegetable nature," Julian replies, taking the branch and examining the flower. "I have seen them in various parts of the forest. There is some question about their nature and function, and whether they present any hazard to other denizens of Arden. What has your mother said of them?"
"I cannot recall her referring to them at all - but then I cannot recall mentioning them to her."
Julian arches an eyebrow.
Adonis smiles, a mixture of love and mischievousness. "Pater, I am teasing you."
Julian says, altogether too drily to be entirely serious, "I cannot imagine such a thing. Has the war changed you utterly, then?"
Adonis' smile is bittersweet as he quietly chants his reply...
"But now old friends are acting strange,
They shake their heads, they say I've changed.
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living ev'ry day.
"Do you think a sense of humour is inherited through the male or female line, Pater? Or is it something we all share?" Adonis' smile turns impish, betraying the question as rhetorical. He doesn't expect an answer.
[Julian's] expression turns more serious. "These flowers disturb me. What I have heard of their creation, the paths where I have seen them, their nature, both physical and metaphysical: all concern me. How closely are they tied to you? Do you know whether damage to them harms you?"
His son's expression turns serious but not grave. He does not fear these flowers but he needs to address his father's fears over them. "How can I answer your questions, Pater? Even if there were such answers and I were privy to them, how might I make you understand when our thoughts on such matters run in such different paradigms?
"I did not intend my comments as to their being your grandchildren to be taken too seriously, but it might help to view the thought as a parable. I...imagine they are as closely linked to me as I am to you; they are of my blood as I am of yours. How would damage to me harm you?
"But I am also concerned with the reverse: how would harm to you damage me?" Adonis drops his gaze to the flowers, surveying them gravely. "If something should happen to me, Pater, they may need caring for; a father and a mother, perhaps? But children, grown, may prove a boon to their parents in time.
"This is the first I have seen of them in a waking state. What have you heard of them, Pater, and from whom?"
"I saw them in what was left of Heather Vale after your mother brought her power to bear there. I have heard of them from those who were there, but they have little enough to say that was of use. And I have examined them as best I can in their habitat in Arden."
Julian frowns. "They came from the far end of the universe with you and they follow you where you have gone. They carry a power I do not entirely understand on first examination--and I mislike that."
"Yes. A mistrust of unfamiliar powers is a quality I inherited from both you and Mater. Yet these do not feel unfamiliar to me. Perhaps it is a matter of perspective."
Adonis, moved by a sudden impulse, reaches for two convenient stones, a fist-sized silicate of some sort (let's call it flint) and a slightly smaller rock, also quite hard. He studies the flint briefly, rolling it in the palm of his hand as a carpenter might feel for the grain in the wood, speaking conversationally, "I assume that had she had given you my knife, Pater, you would by now have passed it on to me, but I trust Lilly returned your cards to you?" Then with a single sharp strike, he hits the flint with the hammerstone and a single flake, two inches by one, flies away.
"The cards have been returned to me, but I have not seen the knife," Julian says, watching his son's activities.
Dropping the two stones, Adonis retrieves the flake and examines the fine curved edge along one of the long sides, sharper than a razor. He nods in satisfaction before gently nicking the edge of his left hand below his little finger. As he does so, Julian gets a clear view of the healing scars left on his palm by the fight with the horse.
From that tiniest nick oozes a single drop of blood. Adonis, still holding the razor in his other hand, reaches to the lone flower in his father's hand and lets that one drop fall on it.
The drop of blood falls into the heart of the flower, and the flame is extinguished.
Julian blinks. After a moment, he adds the single word, "Interesting."
Adonis says nothing; his face is absolutely impassive. He examines the flower closely, cupping it close enough to smell the scent, assuming there is one.
The scent now is of partially burnt blood and extinguished flame, rather like a candle prematurely snuffed. It's issuing a nasty-smelling smoke.
However [Adonis] still converses about apparent inconsequentials. "And I trust you found Epona where I left her, tethered alongside Morgernstern? I would have returned all things to you in person but circumstances intervened, you understand?"
"Of course," Julian says. He, too is quite interested in the flower's changes of state.
Once he's satisfied himself that he's noted any other changes aside from the obvious, he nicks himself again and once more a single drop of his blood falls into the flower.
The second drop dampens the smoke, which smells even viler afterwards. The flower seems damaged. It may be dying.
Julian says, "I mislike this."
Adonis looks like a farmer who has just found his daughter was hiding in a wheatfield he'd taken a scythe to. It's clear he neither expected nor wanted this to happen.
"You mislike many things, Pater. Perhaps you will advise me of the thoughts behind your feelings on this occasion?" The words sound critical, angry and harsh but a perceptive man might realise Adonis' anger is directed at himself, not at his father.
"It is what happened to Martin, you know. He was--"
Julian breaks off and holds up a white-gauntleted hand. "Bide a moment, Adonis." Then, to someone else whom Adonis can neither see or sense, he says, "Who is it?"
If Adonis is at all put out by the interruption, it doesn't show. He is serene once again. After a brief pause to confirm his father's experiencing a magical contact, Adonis turns his attention to Morgernstern. He kisses the horse's muzzle brusquely and ruffles the mane before rubbing down his flank with a bare hand. Adonis likes to do this on occasion, it gives him the chance to admire a truly superior beast at first hand and Adonis loves him almost as much as he loves his father.
He listens with one ear, waiting for his father to finish and return to the subject; evidently he thought it important.
"News?" says Julian. "Very well, then, pray hand it through."
A sealed note appears, as if from nowhere. Julian takes the note and thrusts it into his sword belt. "You are in the castle, are you not? Bide a moment," he tells the person on the other end of the trump connection.
Then he says to Daeon, "I am speaking with our kinswoman Folly, who is at the castle. Will you go to her now?"
"Folly?" An eyebrow rises, apparently in surprise, and for a moment Adonis seems tempted, but then he shakes his head and returns to his ministrations. "No Pater. Regrettably I must keep an appointment with your daughter and Mater must be advised of developments. But please convey my love to our kinswoman and advise her that I look forward to our next meeting with anticipation."
"Very well," Julian says, and turns his attention back to the trump contact. "Folly, my son Adonis is with me. He sends his love and looks forward to meeting you again with anticipation."
It might have taken Julianic aplomb to get through that with a completely straight face, but there is a reason why his self-control is considered legendary.
"If you would convey the news that I have spoken with Adonis and that he is well to my brother and to my son Jovian, I would be grateful."
[Folly's response]
"Is there any other news that you need to convey to me?"
Throughout this exchange, Adonis continues to groom Morgernstern, patiently waiting for his father to finish.
[pause]
"I have already spoken to His Majesty this morning," Julian assures Folly. "I am aware of the nature of his new endeavor. Further discussion should, as you suggest, wait until we can speak in person."
[pause]
The corner of Julian's mouth quirks with amusement. "I have not spoken with Robin, although Adonis has and his words lead me to believe she is well, and her usual fiery self. I will contact my brother myself when I have better word."
Without pausing in his ministrations to Morgernstern, Adonis quirks a smile at his father's mention of Robin. Only the horse sees it.
[pause]
Julian focuses on [the trump] with evident curiosity for the barest moment before his self-discipline dissipates it, or covers it up, as the case may be.
"There is one other thing. Please send word to Jovian that his brother is with me, and ask him to contact me as soon as possible regarding his other meeting. He will know whereof I speak. I will contact him myself as soon as I can, but in this case, two avenues of approach are best."
[pause]
"Deep in Arden. Your brother Adonis is with me, and he has spoken with Robin," Julian replies. To Adonis he says, "Jovian has joined the contact as well. Take my hand, and we will both speak to him."
As he speaks to his two sons, Julian is doffing his gauntlet to extend a bare hand to Adonis.
Last modified: 1 August 2004