Arden and Elsewhere

Bleys and Brennan pass through a twisting nothingness that lasts no-time and find themselves standing on a hill overlooking a sunlit valley. Larger than the travelling vale, the army is clearly here, but could be lost with relative ease in this verge of the great forest of Arden. The rocky northern boundary of it is, in fact, covered with heather.

Caine is observing the valley, the fires that have been built, and what he can see of the troops.

Caine nods to Brennan and addresses them both. "Julian's gone off after that missing son of his. See that charred spot?" Caine points to an empty place in the otherwise orderly ranks of tents. "That's where he almost burned down a hospital tent."

Bleys nods.

Brennan nods, both to return Caine's initial nod as a greeting, and as a token of having processed the information. What he says is, "What about Marius? Is he conscious? Up and around?"

Caine says "I just got here, myself. Seems calm enough. We can go looking for him. Any word on the delicate question of payroll from His Majesty?"

Brennan keeps a carefully neutral face on the issue of the payroll, and lets Bleys field it.

Bleys says "We hope to get one later. It's a bad question either way, so try not to have to answer it yet. I'll need to speak to Admiral Worth, presumably he's in the better class of tents on this side of the valley. Brennan, do you need to see to the troops? The Admiral should know where Marius is, if you want to find him."

He nods. "Yeah, that's about my plan-- troop review, and find Marius to transfer his command back to him and tell him about the Order, if those haven't been done."

And then, as he turns from Caine and Bleys to survey the army again, presumeably sees Marius approaching. "Well, I guess that answers that."

For a minute, it looks like he's going to give voice to one of those stentorian shouts that carries across fields, valleys and battles, but he thinks better of it. Instead, he gives a conspicuous wave when he's sure he is in Marius' field of vision.

Well, given permission and time, Marius wanders in just as...

"Well met this morning!" Marius says aloud, meaning, "Just who I was looking for..." He is still wearing somewhat off- fitting plain garb, but he wears it fairly well.

He glances at Brennan, who was just speaking, and his expression portrays genuine pleasure to see him, up to and including (should it be permitted and/or appropriate) manly hand-grasping, back-patting, and solid nodding and grinning.

Hand grasping, definitely. Solid nodding, definitely. Marius probably knows Brennan well enough to know that he's not going to initiate any back-slapping, though, becuase that's just not his way. He won't flinch away from Marius if he goes for it, though, which is one of the obvious signs that he's pleased to see Marius as well.

[Marius]
Let's skip the back-slapping, then. I always found that somewhat, I don't know...hyper.

"I must admit a burning curiosity about this capital-letter Order, but more importantly, I've missed breakfast, haven't I?"

He looks at Caine, and his enthusiasm doesn't exactly dampen, but a hint of deep sadness bubbles up just long enough for him to look away, only to nod pleasantly with a underspoken, "Uncle," meaning also, "Prince," towards Bleys.

To someone with a careful, measured eye, he looks a little manic, like he's doing everything in the world to, "Move on, get things done," except (as sensitivities rise) take care of business "at home," home in this case perhaps being, "in his psyche." He looks fairly healthy, though, and that's a start.

While Marius has been looking over Brennan, Bleys and Caine, Brennan has been looking over Marius, too, with a critical eye. Marius will recall that Brennan had given medical attention to some of the wounded after the battle, including to Aisling. There is that in Brennan's appraisal.

"How are you, Marius?"

It's a much more serious question than those words normally indicate, going beyond his physical health, and the inflection carries that clearly.

Marius will look Brennan dead-set in the eye. "Coping." The word is almost...vicious. It comes out a little bit stronger than Marius means, and he tries to smooth it out with a grin (despite it showing a few too many teeth.)

"No, really," he says. He takes a breath. "I don't need any special foresight to know that there are," his look turns a little sour, "wounds that simply need time to heal. In the meantime, I'll go stir-crazy if I'm just spending my time worrying instead of working. Our Uncle," he refers to Caine in this, and this is a very natural capital letter, which more says _Admiral_ with enough relationship to suggest that Caine's authority is pretty well engrained (ingrained? Hmmm. Sorry -- fuzzy morning) into Marius' psyche, "knows I'm better off Getting Things Done."

Brennan takes that cue to shoot a sidelong glance at Caine. From where he's standing, he'll be able to see Bleys, too.

He shrugs. Maybe there was a time when revealing weakness simply brought out the sharks, and there is that knowledge in his manner, but there's also a time where a certain kind of honesty gets one farther than manipulation. He's not _broken_, and that's what he's telling them. It also suggests that he's made of "the same stuff" which somewhat belies his "worker bee, I'm just one of the people," verbal cues. On the other hand, he's here, not just in the camp, suggesting that maybe he does want more of a "leadership" role after all.

[Marius's] maniacal grin is back.

No maniacal grin for Brennan. In fact, if he recognizes Marius' grin, he doesn't acknowledge it.

"Well then," he says, and his manner slips just a little from concerned cousin to colleague, "There's certainly enough Stuff To Get Done to go around. Has anyone brought you up to speed on recent developments?"

"Colleague" seems good, and Marius is much better having seemingly passed the first, "No, really, are you OK?" test.

...The first one, anyway. But Brennan isn't pushing the issue.

"Let me see if I've got it straight. We've lost half an Uncle, a madman, my mother," he manages to just spit it out, "and five years. We've gained a new King and Queen, too many new cousins, royal badges on the Rangers, and numerous cultural and political time-scale problems. We've maintained a Navy, and a kingdom. Does that cover it, or am I a little behind on the good-news/bad-news tally?"

"You can tally a grandfather with the losses," he replies, "Even though it's implied in your list. As for cousins there are," he does a quick mental tally, "Seventeen more of us here or closely associated with Amber, even though one isn't a direct first cousin. Getting hard to tell the players without a score card."

"I'm not sure they're all players." says Caine.

The expression of interest Marius shows at this comment is somewhere between an amused smirk and the raised-ear of a cat, both held back from actually spreading on the surface of his face.

"I have a score card." says Bleys. "Would you like a copy?"

Since Brennan is looking directly at Marius, only Marius can see the momentary expression of kindred stoicism. He's amused, but he'll be damned if he admits it.

Marius takes note. The twist of his lips seems to suggest that perhaps Bleys plays with different rules to his game.

"Does it fill in any of the lineages?" [Brennan] shoots back as a side comment.

Marius' held-back comment is perhaps a little snider.

[Brennan] pauses, then adds with a wry expression, "Feeling lucky you didn't attend last night's Mandatory Dinner Party?"

Marius chuckles. "I am torn at the idea of requiring mortal injury to miss the next."

It might actually occur to Brennan perspective that Marius is actually somewhat glad to have received the invitation (even in absentia).

[Brennan]
"You're stuck for the next one-- no more homicidal sorceror uncles with magic talismans to go charging after."

Marius laughs, but there's an edge to it.

Then finally, "Some of us also gained some titles, and the Realm as a whole gained a new order of knights-- the Order of the Ruby. I cannot yet call you my Brother Knight, nor a Knight-Commander of the Order of the Ruby--officially-- but I believe King Random would like to speak with you as soon as is reasonably possible."

Marius' reaction is split. He loves the company, but he hates the idea of Yet Another Label.

Brennan's body language is relaxed, which is to say, he doesn't think Random expects Marius to drop everything and Trump back immediately, unless he really wants to. And even if Random expected it, it's up to Marius.

[Brennan]
"The others of us are trying to get at least a quorum of some sort together in the next few days to coordinate things."

[Marius]
"As long as it doesn't turn into a gathering of sides. Those who have tasted Chaos and those who have held the homestead." He's quite blunt about it, but he's more in brainstorming-mode than politicking.

There's a glint in Brennan's eye, both challenging and good-natured. Mostly, anyway. "Best way to make sure is to be there and help guide it. But you're right-- circumstances have dictated that the veterans are the members."

"I'd rather be a dinner guest than the cook, if you understand my meaning," Marius nods. "At the same time, even the dinner guest gets to add a little salt to their own portion." A bit of a smile.

Caine says "Marius, I could use your assistance with this repatriation scheme, if you're up to it. We're trying to get the sailors back on ships and out to sea where they can do less damage, but they haven't been paid and they haven't had leave in a while. We anticipate some difficulty if they all get unceremoniously dumped in Amber's dockside. Brennan is assisting Bleys with the same for the ground troops."

[Brennan] nods.

"It should be noted that, if you haven't seen them, your men are safe and waiting for a return to your command. They've been asking after you since before Aisling and Merlin returned us from the Courts."

"I spent last night amongst my men. They are..." he shrugs. "They are ours," and he seems to lump himself in with Caine for a moment. "The leaders have a good grasp of some of the troublesome logistics, the men in general have a grasp that we're overdue for a celebration."

Brennan gives a nod.

[Marius] pauses, thinking, and then he looks at Caine. "I was considering not returning. I didn't find a good place to say it, but there are opportunities now on the land that may suit my needs as well as those of opportunity itself...as well as loose ends to gather."

Brennan's eyebrows raise sharply. The question is obvious on his face-- not returning to the Navy, or not returning to Amber?

It should have been referenced to be the Navy, but there's something in Marius that's searching outside of Amber, as well. That makes it a reasonable question, if not one that Marius answers directly.

[Marius]
"I am, of course, at your service, my Lords," he refers to Bleys, and Caine, and to some extent, even Brennan. "I will do proudly by our home and King. Yet... there are so many questions I don't even know how to ask. Aisling and Merlin returned us? I know so little of who those people are, and now I owe them debt? My mother--" he shrugs, helplessly. "I do not know all that she may have left behind. Is there threat in it? I do not know. I do know that my path has changed since I was struck down. I do not know where I fit amongst cousins and royalty and politics. I know that I have a home if I can return to it, breathing in the sea air. Of other things, I must wait and see."

He takes a breath. "The answer is, 'Of Course,' Admiral. I will do as I am able. Past that, I don't know where my road goes, and how I am to follow."

It looks as though Brennan might just answer the question of who Aisling and Merlin are, then he thinks better of it. "We can talk for a bit while we walk to join our men, if you like, and leave Bleys and Caine to confer."

"I would like that," Marius says, simply. It seems a bit of a relief, after all that.

[Brennan] waits to see if Caine or Bleys have anything to add, and to see how Marius receives the suggestion.

[Marius] waits for dismissal.

[Caine]
"By all means, see to the men. Find out what they need and see what their temperament is."

Bleys says "Brennan, see if you can find out if the army wants to stay in the King's pay or retire. And you may tell the Furry Guys that we shall leave before sunset. I shall not attend a second dinner in a row."

Brennan nods, and he and Marius walk back toward their men. Brennan sets a fairly slow pace, to make sure there's enough time to go over everything that needs to be gone over.

Marius matches it with little trouble as it is his preference, too.

Once they're out of easy earshot of Caine and Bleys, Brennan says, "My condolences for your loss, Marius. If I had known I had cousins, I would have...." He shrugs. "But I didn't. The first I knew was when the Black Road found me."

Marius looks at Brennan with one of those sudden piercing gazes. "If you were wondering..." He shakes his head, and then laughs, and it's more of a choke than a laugh. "Certainly," he takes a moment to shrug, and looks away. "Now that they are both dead, maybe we will be able to make our own mistakes."

He doesn't make it sound too likely.

"I've been off making my own mistakes for a long time, actually," [Brennan] responds with a wry twist of his mouth.

"I... understand that perhaps condolences aren't what I should offer you, but in some ways, I think perhaps they are. Whatever your father was to you...and I will not ask as I do not expect to understand or be able to explain what my mother was to me... Whatever he was, and whatever could have been, is gone, and now--" he cuts off. Another shrug. "We mourn for the possibilities as much as the realities." He looks back to Brennan. "You may need to mourn more than I. If I may call you friend, my ear is yours to bend."

Through that, when Brennan realizes the thrust that Marius is going to take, he maintains an unusually rigid bearing for someone who ordinarily moves with such a lazy grace. His silent expression is a deeply etched, terrible and solitary pride, during which he obviously hears Marius but idn't looking at him.

Marius reads it, but makes no comment, either verbally or by expression.

When Marius winds down, Brennan makes a conscious effort to relax and let the tension back out of his shoulders and upper back. To a very large extent, he succeeds.

"We weren't close," he says, and follows up with, "Some other time, I think." After he says it, he seems almost surprised, but he doesn't take it back.

"Thank you, Marius."

Marius shrugs, but the smile on his face looks to be one of the few genuine ones he's had today. He gathers up his thoughts.

It should be pretty clear that this is a subject Brennan is willing to leave alone for the time being.

"So. Are you up to hearing the details you missed out on?"

"It would be difficult to take a blow much more solid than the news of Admiral Gerard, yet I have the family strength and mere details are rarely mortal, if sometimes poisonous, and some with more edge than others." He smiles. "Tell me a story, Cousin." He makes it sound very warm, although not in the slightest flirtatious.

"Well, I guess we'll start with the Knights, then. I remember you kneeling and pledging to Random when the Unicron came up, so whether you were introduced or not, I think you've at least laid eyes on each of us.

"I know youv'e met Lilly-- she was commanding Eric's men on the front lines with us. She's Benedict's daughter. She is in Amber even now. I don't know if you've met the others, though."

"Jovian is one of Julian's sons. He commanded the wing of Dragons above the battlefield. He hasn't made his way back home yet-- I keep hoping to see him arrive. Daeon is Julian's son, too." He pauses. "Evidently of different mothers. You may have seen a very tall figure with antlers leading Julian's hounds in battle? Daeon." He pauses again. "Shapeshifter, too. He was wounded very badly on the way home and is missing." He shakes his head.

"And finally, there is Aisling. She's not his daughter, but she is descended of Benedict. Through Chaos." He lets that sink in and watches for Marius' reaction. "You may have seen a purple talking bird, or a purple flying lion? Aisling. She lost half a hand in the battle-- I was patching it up just before the Unicorn appeared."

He muses for a bit. "I should also mention Merlin, while I'm at it. Merlin took no part in the battle, but he is Corwin's son. He is also, it turns out, descended of Benedict through the Courts of Chaos on his mother Dara's side." When he mentions Dara, it looks like Brennan managed to get a piece of lemon stuck in his mouth. He realizes it, though, and says, "Merlin played a large role in getting us all back alive. He's not a Knight, though."

Marius doesn't seem particularly concerned, but he is a little overwhelmed with the details. He's got that, "Memorizing and filing," look.

And after that infodump, he waits to see if Marius has anything to add or to ask.

(...Or if he looks like he's going to collapse again, and is silently struggling to keep his feet.)

"With so many blossoms on our Family Tree, does this Knighthood represent recognition of leadership by participation in battle, rather than simply Blood?" Marius asks. "I am a lord of somesuch by virtue of my mother." [By virtue of his mother losing hers? Erm. (grin)] "Like many sons of the realm, I have gained my Naval titles through hard work. I am not comfortable with the idea that I am a leader simply for having been passed through the right pair of legs." It seems like an old and comfortable argument, and it is not at all directed at Brennan, but merely being stated. "I am somewhat anxious at the prospect that there are too many cooks, and not enough... broth. Sometimes I wonder if there was just too little Kingdom for those who were here before. Do you think there is really a place for this conglomeration of Powers?" (Meaning the Family as a whole.)

Brennan takes a deep breath, and exhales it slowly through his nose, ordering his thoughts.

"You've raised more than one issue there, Marius."

A hint of a smile drags the corner of Marius' lips up. It looks like that sentence is one with which he's familiar.

[Brennan]
"Do the Knight-Commanders share the bond of Oberon's blood? Of course, nor do I think that could possibly be an accident or a coincidence. But then, Oberon's blood carries with it certain tangible benefits, and King Random rattled off a list of accomplishments for Aisling, Daeon, Lilly and Jovian that weren't faked up."

This in itself seems to relax Marius somewhat. There's some sort of perverse "outsider" feel that he seems to wrap around him, though, like a warm winter's coat.

[Brennan]
"As for there being room for us all... I don't know. I kept myself out of the game for centuries, and by choice. I've known half my family for less than two days, the other half for less than two weeks. I do know that we've got a barrel full of problems to be solved, and another barrel of potential crises just waiting in the wings. More than you know about, probably, and more than enough to keep us all busy for a while."

Marius frowns, looking more concerned, as if he's perhaps reading things into Brennan's speech.

"After that... who knows? I personally suspect that the Order is Random's attempt to give a bit of additional social glue, and something to occupy our time with. It's Aisling's, Lilly's and my conviction to make sure that it's something that matter. I leave out Jovian and Daeon because we haven't had a chance to talk to them.

"And I suppose we should probably pay a courtesy call to Brita before we really hit the troops. Brita, if you haven't already met her, is a daughter of Fiona. She's probably going to be a nexus point where we have the best chance of meeting any of the other Family members who are in the area, too."

Unless Marius has an objection, Brennan will change their trajectory accordingly.

Marius lets this sink in for a moment. He begins slowly, but picks up a little bit of speed. "I had childhood tales that equated knights with heroes. A hero being someone who has an exaggerated sense of responsibility for others," he says in an aside. "The family," not OUR family, "takes on the roles of," and he glances towards the Avernusi, "gods, not heroes. Yet your speech describes the virtue of taking care of business." This seems to be a positive thing in Marius' book, and he expresses it as such. "Perhaps I am concerned that these crises, unnamed and unnumbered, come about with purpose, whereas I have lost mine." He frowns. "I am no automaton, to be directed in a place and told to 'make things work,' or even 'make things better.' I am, for once, free and clear to learn about the things that interest me, and yet... if I am to be faithful to King and Kingdom, the role set for me is in taking up duties that I have never sought. Are we to hobnob? To rub elbows with nobility? Are we worker-bees, set out from the hive with a mission? It is easy to say, 'If I were King...' now that I have no reason to think I might live it." He takes a breath. "When are we to be sent on Crusade?"

Brennan's definition of a hero, right now, is someone who doesn't roll his eyes. How fortunate, then, for Brennan, that he exudes heroism from his every pore.

"I'm not quite sure how we went from Aisling, Lilly and I-- and by extension, Jovian, Daeon and yourself-- determining for ourselves what best to make out of the Order, to our being ordered to hob-nob with the worker-bees on Crusade. That's hardly the picture I was trying to paint."

He looks like he's going to say more on that subject, but evidently decides to stop before he builds up a head of steam, and closes it with, "Consider the invitation to meet with the rest of us as open," before moving on to other topics.

"But you have many, many more cousins than just the Knights. At a guess, you probably already knew Jerod and Cambina, and Conner? Or at least of them? Still, there are more."

There were times in that talk when Aisling was just barely not breaking into tears; there were also times when she was happy... She doesn't quite know what to think of now. She's out of there like a light-footed bat out of hell; returning directly to her rooms, heading past Ce'e in the sitting room with a nod and closing the door of her bedroom. Where she paces sometimes and stops sometimes and would wring her hands if she had hands... But this is silly. If she wanted to go off and howl, she wouldn't have come here. She sighs and returns to the sitting room, and asks Ce'e if he's had lunch, and checks on the status of any notes from Merlin, and orders lunch in, and eats quickly, talking to Ce'e about things on his mind, or patiently quizzing him on yesterday's teaching (and adding to it) if he isn't making conversation.

I'm assuming there wasn't a note from Merlin, and so she'll stop by his rooms at the suggested time...?

[If things go as planned, Merlin should be done by then; we'll assume no note, for whatever reason, and Aisling can stop by his room.]

Merlin's room has an odd flap in the door, but Merlin answers it in the normal way when Aisling arrives.

Aisling sniffs a couple times, and blinks, and wonders about the method behind room reassignment.

He ushers her into the sitting room, and sits her down, offering to call a page if she would like refreshment.

Aisling declines.

It occurs to Aisling, who has heard a number of Thari dialects, that Merlin learned Thari as a dead language, and not as a real spoken language. From somewhere, he has picked up more terminology, but he's not comfortable enough to use much idiom.

Once Aisling is settled comfortably, Merlin says, "I received your note, cousin. You say we have much to discuss. Where shall we start?"

Aisling, very much polite, asks, "May we start with family? For if I am not amiss in my judgement, it plays a large part in what brings us here today."

Merlin nods. "Very well. What do you wish to know?"

Fiona arrives in Arden early in the morning and seeks Brita out. Finding Brita, she offers her daughter a maternal embrace.

Which is warmly returned. "Mother." Brita says simply.

When Brita decided to retire last night, one of the senior rangers would have shown her to Julian's pavilion, which Julian had directed the Rangers to put to her use for the duration. It's rather spartan in terms of its amenities, but those it has are very comfortable. They include, should Brita wish it, a tub for a hot bath.

The Rangers will prepare breakfast for Fiona and Brita whenever Brita asks.

Actually, I have been assuming that Brita had her own tent, just off the back of the command tent. She did set up this post..... She would _not_ have used Julian's pavilion, but when Fiona arrives...

"Have you broken fast yet, Mother? We can use Uncle Julian's tent for our repast." She will turn to Needle or whichever Ranger is closest and request a light breakfast - cheeses, fruits, juices, and maybe some sausage - be brought to Prince Julian's pavilion. Brita will then turn back to Fiona and gesture towards the tent as she leads the way.

Fiona follows her daughter to the tent, where they find a well-appointed, if simple, table of fruits, cheeses, breads, and juice set for them. Needle explains that the sausage will arrive as soon as they are well-cooked, and leaves them discreetly to their business.

Brita thanks Needle as he leaves.

Fiona seats herself, selects a little of various things for her plate, and begins to butter a bit of her bread. It occurs to Brita that her mother is somewhat nervous about starting this conversation.

Brita pours a glass of juice and offers it to Fiona. She remains quiet and will let Fiona begin in her own time.

"I am surprised," Fiona finally offers, "that my brother does not join us."

"Uncle Julian has gone hunting for his lost son out in Arden, Mother. Given that Cousin Daeon [yes, I know!] was wounded when he left here and the paths in Arden have changed, Uncle Julian thought it best not to delay any longer in the search."

Fiona looks at her daughter for a moment before busying herself with her bread again. She seems sad.

Brita pauses to select a small piece of fruit. "Cousin Marius is still in camp and I have heard that others may be joining us this morning from the castle." She pops the piece of fruit in her mouth.

"Marius is up and about? Good," Fiona says. "I expect you'll see quite a few of your uncles and cousins today. There's a lot of work to be done."

It's at about this point that Needle brings in a plate of sizzling sausages, which he sets down on a trivet before retreating.