Through Caverns Measureless to Man


Signy follows the guard off to the quarters that Caine offered, more and more relying on their guidance and suppport as the toll of the last couple of days comes crashing down on her. Arriving in her quarters, she barely has the presence of mind to mumble thanks and tug off her boots before collapsing on top of the bed and falling into a deep sleep. She sleeps for close to 24 hours, before waking due to a ravenous hunger.

She rises, and asks one of the servants in the hallway for food to be brought from the kitchens, and after the tray is delivered procedes to pick it clean in short order before heading back to bed. She sleeps until early the following morning, rising as dawn breaks over the castle. She rises, and asks for another tray of food and the possibility of some clean clothing, and if it would be possible to meet with Caine this morning at his pleasure.

The food and clothing arrive, and while she waits for an answer she quickly dresses and finishes off her breakfast, making sure that her Trump of Random is secure and close to hand.

By the time breakfast is done, there's a reply note.

Niece,

I am always pleased to meet with my kinswomen to discuss what they can do for Amber. There are many tasks to hand and I would be delighted to have your assistance with them, especially now that you've been initiated in the family gifts. Please feel free to come by my office later this morning.

Caine,
Regent of Amber

Signy reads through the note, and then spends an hour or so making herself acquainted with the castle before making her way to Caine's office, arriving just past midmorning [9 AM or thereabouts, yes?] to announce herself to the guards outside.

[That's fine. Amber operates on a liturgical hours system, so Terce.]

There's a naval midshipman there in addition to the Royal Guards. "Lady Signy?" the young officer asks. "The Regent is expecting you." He opens the door to Caine's office and announces "the Lady Signy."

Caine is sitting at his desk, working on a tall stack of parchment. He looks up when Signy is announced, but does not rise.

Signy enters and lets the door close behind her. "I'm sorry for the way I showed up a couple of days ago -- I hadn't quite realized that by thinking of your office I'd actually be brought there." She doesn't look around to see if there's any evidence of the knife that hit the wall, however.

"I have been 'initiated', but it seems I have a lot to learn. And what sorts of tasks need doing?"

[There a chair, or does Caine prefer to keep people standing?]

[There are several chairs, same as when she was here the first time (and the second, although she didn't notice them so much then.]

Caine gestures her to a seat. "The chief thing Random wants is to move people--the people who want to go--to Xanadu. Has anyone explained to you about Shadow-walking?"

Signy sits in one of the chairs in front of Caine.

"No, nobody's told me about that, or any other powers. How do others learn these skills?"

"A little education and a lot of practice, in most cases. Unless you're a redhead, in which case it seems as if the standard is a lot of education with very little practical application." Caine smirks. "You're one of my mother's grandchildren, so you'll learn mostly by doing. I'm adequate to prepare you in theory.

"Amber," he explains, his voice taking on a slightly lecturing tone, "is the center of reality. Or at least it was. Now Xanadu appears to be. Or maybe Paris. That's because the Pattern makes the place--places--real. Other worlds, like the one my sister bore you in, are called Shadows. By will and a bit of mental trickery, we're able to walk among the Shadows. The more powerful and experienced among us can also lay a permanent path between Shadows. There are natural paths, but we can lay paths directly where we want to go. In her day, Amber thrived on trade; many of us laid natural Shadow paths from trading shadows to Amber. Now Random wants us to move people to Xanadu along the natural paths, to the extent that they exist, and to forge our own, with an eye to making them permanent, when they don't."

Signy nods, taking in Caine's words. "Does the Pattern make all places real, or just Paris and Xanadu? And who are these 'redheads' you mentioned?"

"Places with Patterns are real, for the most part. Tir and Rebma are reflections, and so they're only somewhat real. We think. And the redheads are another branch of the family: Dad's children and grandchildren through my mother's successor, Clarissa. Bleys, Fiona, and Brand, although we don't talk much about Brand." Caine smiles thinly at the last name.

Signy frowns at the mention of Brand's name. "So I've gathered. I managed to run afoul of this once already -- what should I know of him so that I don't repeat that mistake?"

"Try to avoid blood sacrifices of family members," Caine says drily. "There are other reasons not to, though. Has anyone mentioned the death curse?"

Signy frowns. "No, nobody has." She pauses for a moment, before adding "Are blood sacrifices an occupational hazard of being in this family?"

"So far we've only seen one attempt, but that was enough. Our blood is a powerful thing; Brand tried to unmake the universe as we know it with it. I wonder whether Martin's curse was enough to bring about his downfall."

Caine's smile is nasty.

"If you're about to die, or are dying, you can use the power of your blood in a final curse, a death curse. Corwin did it and he didn't even end up dying. I don't know whether you have to say it aloud, but I didn't take any chances with Brand. I shot him in the throat."

Signy looks at Caine, a faint expression of wariness crossing her features at this new side of him.

"What game could Brother Tomat and the Monks be playing at? Would they be looking to 'unmake the universe'?"

Caine shrugs. "I doubt they know how to do that. I hope not. But they're after what they perceive as our unjustly-held power. There's no justice in power, Signy. We are what we are. Even if the Illuminati could become what we are, they couldn't unmake our power. They can only supplant us and destroy us."

One of Signy's eyebrows twitches slightly at this. "What can you tell me about my father? Between having me tutored by a member of an order that bears our family no great love and entertaining others that like us even less, his whole relationship with my mother seems...odd."

"The rumor is that she had him forge her axe. Legend also has it that he forged Grayswandir and Werewindle; supposedly he'll forge anything for a price. We didn't know what his price was for her axe."

Caine leaves room for Signy to draw her own conclusions from that.

Signy's lips compress in a slight frown, though she displays no other outward reaction to Caine's statement. "I have been told to talk with Corwin about my mother. Is there anyone that I could talk to about Weyland?"

Caine thinks about it for a few moments. "Bleys and Corwin have swords of his forging. Bleys will tell you he knows more than he does; he wasn't the first brother Dad gave that sword.

"Benedict is the oldest of us all, and likeliest to remember the way things were, but I don't know how willing he'll be to talk to you. You might befriend his daughter, Lilly. She's a warrior and carries two blades. I haven't asked her who made either of them."

Signy gives a wry smile. "I did meet Lilly, when she came to visit my father. I do not think we'll be close friends quickly."

She pauses for a moment, then starts to rise. "Thank you for taking some time to speak with me, Uncle. You've given me much to think about. If you don't mind, I would like to talk with Brother Tomat later this afternoon."

Caine's eyes narrow a bit.

"Whether I mind depends on what you need to talk to him about. He's in crown custody. The last spy I took in had some help escaping, and while I'm sure you wouldn't help him get out, I'd hate a repeat of the last escape attempt. Random was annoyed."

Signy returns Caine's gaze coolly, but halts her turn towards the door. "Given what I know of my father, and what you've told me about other things, including the Order he belongs to, I'd like to see what else he may have known of my father's plans."

"He hasn't been willing to talk to me about that," Caine replies, "so maybe he'll cough it up to you." He pulls a sheet of parchment out of his desk and scribbles a note on it. "Tell me what he has to say when you're done."

Signy refrains from giving a curt nod, and accepts the paper from Caine. She gives her uncle a respectable half-bow, and strides out the door.


Signy leaves Caine's office with paper in hand, and finds a quiet spot to sit and think in a little-used library that overlooks the city below. She spends over an hour replaying the conversation and sifting through what she heard, before getting up and making her way to the kitchens for a quick lunch. After eating, she stops off at her quarters and picks up her sword and dagger that she'd decided to leave behind before visiting Caine, and then makes her way down to where Tomat is being detained [Dungeon? Gaol? "Confined to quarters?"].

Tomat is detained in guest quarters.

If challenged, she presents Caine's piece of paper to the guard, and (presuming they let her through) reaches up to knock on the door, using the old pattern of three-quick-and-two-slow she always used when arriving for lessons without thinking.

She is challenged, but they accept Caine's note of passage.

After Tomat's acknowledgement [or after a few seconds wait, if he doesn't], she swings the door open and steps inside.

Tomat comes to the door to let her in, and ushers her into the room where he's staying. The room is not barren, nor is it disgraceful by Tower standards, but it's much less luxurious than Signy's chamber.

"Signy," Tomat says. He moves to take her hands, but doesn't complete the movement. "I didn't think they would let me see you again."

Signy grasps his hands briefly in a warm clasp before doing a quick glance around the room. "I apparently had some family business to take care of with the King, but this was the first place I came after I was done." She gives a rueful shake of her head. "Though I was a couple of days in recovering."

She brings herself back to the room quickly, and looks at Tomat levelly. "What is going on, Tomat? Apparently there was much my father kept from me."

Tomat gestures Signy to a chair.

"I don't know, exactly. My resources for finding things out are limited, and your kinsmen don't trust me because I used to serve the Order. I've been locked up in here since you went away."

He waits until she has settled to sit down himself. [or doesn't if she doesn't]

Signy perches on the edge of a chair, forearms resting on her knees. She pauses while Tomat seats himself before continuing. "What's your best guess? And what was my father playing at?"

"Your father was trying to play all sides off against each other, or at least stay in all of their good graces," Tomat explains. "Through the war was in contact with Amber, with parts of the Courts, and with neutrals and third parties like the Order."

Signy's face remains coldly expressionless, but a note of bitterness creeps into her voice. "And what about trying to marry me to Madoc? Was that to balance out the creation of the blades for Amber?"

Tomat shakes his head. "Madoc wasn't part of the coalition proper against Amber, as I understand it. That faction may have been looking to broker a separate peace."

Signy sighs, and lets the matter drop.

"So tell me -- after being gone for so long, how did you manage to cross paths with my brother? And what did you do after my father locked me away...after I escaped, I couldn't figure out how to get a message to you without it first reaching him....."

"I returned to the service of the Order, as the Abbot had demanded. He thought--" Tomat's jaw tightened for a moment. "Never mind what he thought. I served the Order faithfully until your brother came looking for you. He came to the Order seeking information about you, bearing a ring your father made for your mother."

He closes his eyes and quotes: "'Made in token of a price Deirdre of the Sorrows paid to the Smith.' And when I spoke the words, a second inscription appeared on the ring: 'Seek her on the Plain of Towers'. And so we did."

As Tomat speaks of the Abbot and the Order, Signy's eyes narrow slightly as she files the comments away for later, though she doesn't interrupt or try to pursue them while he talks of the ring. "The ring referred to me? And why did Marius need to come to you to read it?"

"His Mabrahoring is poor," Tomat explains. "He knew that the ring was connected to you somehow when he came to the Order. He talked about his dreams, and a note that referred to you, and suggested you were in danger. He mentioned a name, of a man who'd held Deirdre's things in trust for him."

He closes his eyes again--it is a memory ritual of the Order, Signy suspects--and says the name: "Lord Boreal."

Signy shrugs. "Do you know who this Lord Boreal is? And what does he have of my mother's?"

She shakes her head slightly. "I think things may have been simpler when it was just Weyland and I....." she mutters. "This family is...convoluted."

"I don't know anything about Lord Boreal, but I could find out if your uncle the Regent didn't keep me locked up. Assuming that whatever agents the Order has here haven't already been warned that I'm apostate," Tomat adds as something of an afterthought.

A note of concern enters Signy's voice. "Are you in some sort of problem with the Order, Tomat?"

Tomat drops his head and looks at the floor. "I am forsworn, because I left with Marius," he confesses.

Signy looks at Tomat, a note of dismay creeping into her voice. "Oh, Tomat." She pauses momentarily before continuing. "Is there anything that can be done? Why did you leave with him?"

"I thought you were in danger. Now it seems all I've done is draw the danger to you." Tomat scowls at the floor.

One of Signy's eyebrows raises at this "What danger is that?"

Signy's lips twitch, barely suppressing a familiar, cocky grin. "You worry too much, Brother Tomat. I survived my father, and that damnable Black Road that appeared, and I've learned a few new tricks since then."

"The Order is not a friend to Amber." Tomat hesitates, as if he doesn't know what to say next.

All traces of whimsy drop from Signy's face. "Tomat, what aren't you telling me? Do I have something to fear from the Order?"

Tomat frowns. "If you've come into your heritage, less than before. The Order sent me to watch over you and to spy on Weyland because of your mother's contacts with Amber, Signy. I thought that when you came of age, your mother would bring you here and protect you. As long as you were on the Plain, you were in danger--not of losing your life, but your freedom. A child of known Amber heritage--" he trails off, and doesn't finish the sentence.

Signy shifts uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, my father saw to that as it is. What does the Order have against me...my family?"

"There is a power in Amber, one that the Order believes should be shared freely by your family. And it is--not." Tomat shrugs, as if he doesn't know what more to say about that.

A note of concern creeps into Signy's voice. "But if my power comes from my relationship to the rest of this family, how would the Order have it shared more freely?"

"It's a secret of your family. So was Sorcery, once, but I've learned it, and I'm no heir of Amber."

Signy shifts uncomfortably.

"What do you think I should do from here, Tomat? Apparently, there's someone that has my mother's things, and another relative named Corwin that knows more about my mother." She meets Tomat's eyes with hers, and holds his gaze. "How much do I have to worry about the Order?" she asks bluntly.

"Less than I do. They won't kill you on sight for apostasy." Tomat isn't looking at Signy. "Now, you're only in as much danger as any member of your family. And you're still a better sorceress than most of them." A touch of pride leaks into his voice. "You were the best student I ever taught."

A brief flash of pride at the compliment runs across Signy's features, though Tomat's averted gaze prevents him from seeing it.

"Do you think my father will be a problem? He seemed to inconvenience one of them when we all left the Tower, and who knows what he's managed in the few days that I've been gone." She rises from her chair abruptly. "I think that I can get the King to give you your freedom back, and I'd like to find out what this Lord has of my mother's."

Tomat looks up, startled. "Once I'm free, I'll be glad to help you find about your mother. For you, not for the Order."

He takes a moment to consider her question. "I don't know what your father will do. But time runs differently between Amber and other places. A few days here may have been weeks or months on the Plain."

Signy nods at this.

"Why did the Order send you to my Father initially?"

"The Order offered him a tutor for his child in exchange for some work he did for it. I was instructed to report certain things, but I was sent to teach you first and foremost." Tomat is not afraid to meet Signy's gaze as he speaks.

Signy nods her head. "I think I can answer any questions that the King may ask. I'm sorry I can't do more right now...."

She reaches out to grab one of his hands in passing, giving it a reassuring squeeze.


Signy departs Tomats quarters, and makes her way back to the kitchens, where she grabs a quick lunch and then makes her way back to her quarters.

She eats quickly, mulling over her conversation with Tomat, while she finishes her meal.

She pours herself one last glass of wine, and then reaches into her belt pouch and pulls out the piece of pasteboard that she got from Marius...some time ago. She briefly considers how long it's been -- days? Weeks? If Tomat was right, and time does flow differently between the Plain of Towers and here, who knows how long ago this started. There's a certainly an amusing irony to the thought that on the Plain the time may have somehow kept pace with the changes that have taken just a few days with her.

She holds the Trump in front of her, and gazes at it, trying to clear her mind like Marius told her when he first gave it to her, and tries to reach out to the King.

Signy stares at the pasteboard image for some time, willing it to become the King. The image it shows her is a younger Random. He's less sophisticated, perhaps, or less kind. More carefree and less caring. Or perhaps whoever painted it really didn't like him.

After a long moment, it's clear to Signy that it isn't working. She felt ... something, but not the contact she'd been told to expect.

Signy looks up from the Trump, giving a low growl of frustration. She looks out the window, not seeing the Amber afternoon, as she thinks back to when she first got it from Marius before entering the Tower, and tries to recall if she missed anything in making it work. She looks back down at it, lips pursed slightly, as she considers if the device even works at all.

Sighing, she decides to try it one last time before giving up and trying to figure out an alternate course of action. She squares her shoulders, and starts to reach out her mind again, focusing on the card. She pushes harder this time in trying to make contact, in case it takes more effort to make the connection.

Random's trump resists for a second, and then rapidly fades into an image of the King. He looks as Signy remembers, without the fecklessness of the man on the card.

"Who calls?" he asks. Signy senses some other presence as well.


Random doesn't release Paige's hand. "Who calls?" he asks? The contact by proxy is different. It's not as strong as if whoever was calling her directly.

Paige seems curious and tries to center herself as she does when casting the cards. She attempts to lighten her own presence, without lessening her touch on Random.

A slender, dark-haired woman stands in a room, well-lit by the afternoon light. Her green eyes focus on Random, though she has a somewhat nonplussed air about her. "Ahm. King Random -- sorry. This is my first time using these." She gazes around at Random in not quite wide-eyed curiosity. "I was wondering if I could talk with Marius, and if I could take you up on your offer with Bro...ah...Tomat, and have him released." This last is said with exaggerated confidence, though her eyes glance around somewhat uncertainly.

The room becomes clearer as if a lantern has been lit and Signy sees a redheaded woman with Random.

[OOC: If Paige and Signy have met, they recognize each other, otherwise not.]

"It's my day for trumps, apparently. You know Paige? She's your cousin. Paige, this is Signy. She's Marius' sister."

A slender woman of medium height gazes at Paige, dark green eyes framed by shoulder-length black hair. She shrugs her shoulders uncomfortably, as if unsure of how to procede. "We....ah....have not met. Signy, sister of Marius and Dierdre's daughter."

Paige's eye's widen a little bit at Signy's brother's name."Paige, daughter of Bleys," says the redhead offering a slight nod that makes the short bob of hair shake.

Once introductions are concluded Random nods. "You can have Tomat as long as you're responsible for him, feed him and clean up after him and walk him every day and don't let him assassinate anyone who doesn't need it. Marius I can't help you with. He went off after one of his fathers. Paige, do we have a trump of Marius?"

"I'm unsure, but I can check the booth or probably work up a sketch if we don't have someone close to where ever he might be now," she offers.

Signy nods curtly at this. "I've talked to Tomat -- he is not so much welcome with his order any more, since he helped Marius find me." She focuses her gaze on Random again. "Do you know anything of a Lord Boreal? He seems to have some of my mother's things."

Random shakes his head. "Lords bore me, unless they're musicians. Or good card players. Or rich bad ones."

Paige has heard of the man. He's a life-peer in Amber, engaged in the merchant trade.

"I believe he's still in Amber City, likely one of the men I may have to see on the in the next few days about transporting my recruits and the like back here," Paige mentions to the King.

To her cousin she offers, "If you wish, I might take him word, or you could accompany me, if you had intentions of meeting him yourself. Although I don't plan to leave for Amber until the morrow I expect, at the earliest."

Signy nods slowly. "If you don't mind, I would like to come along with you. I have already managed to misstep once on arrival here, so having someone that knows the lay of the land would be appreciated...."

She gives Random a disappointed look. "Where did Marius head off to? I had hoped at some point to be able to have time to talk with him, as I hadn't know I had a brother...."

"Either he's off looking for your father, or he's off looking for the guy Deirdre told him was his father. Go with Paige, she can work on a trump of you and maybe Marius will show up in the meantime." Random seems slightly distracted, although it's unclear what the cause of it may be.

Paige smiles, nods and with an uncertain look in her eye, extends a hand to her cousin, "If you're ready, I can see you through here and accommodated while I finish the Trump I've begun for the day and then we can see about travel plans to Amber, be it by card, carriage, or coracle."

Signy nods curtly, and extends her hand to take Paige's, and steps forward.

Random reaches out to Signy. "Take my hand, and I'll bring you through."

Paige waits for her cousin to arrive on the King's hand.

Signy reaches out and grasps the King's hand firmly, and steps forward into the room.

Random pulls Signy into the room. "Oh cripes, I gotta go. 'Scuse me, Ladies. Please show yourselves out." Random bolts for the door. "Don't, don't, don't...", he says, then slips out, letting the door slam behind him.

"But the Trump..." Paige calls after him, shaking her head. A wry chuckle escapes her lips as she turns back to her cousin.

"Welcome to Xanadu," she says as she decides to start collecting her supplies. Signy can make out oil pastels, a few blank pasteboard cards and a sketchbook with several likenesses of the King before they make it into a well loved leather shoulder bag.

"I suppose we should find you a room, or Marius's Trump, should there be one around," she offers.

Signy blinks, disoriented by the double-whammy of Trump travel and Random's hasty exit.

"Thanks, but I think it's 'Welcome back' -- I walked the Pattern a few days ago." Signy pauses in thought. "Unless time moves differently between Amber and Xanadu." She gives Paige a slightly stricken look. "How is time flows tracked? I was told that time can move differently in different Shadows....."

"It can, but last I knew Random had kept them well in hand, at relative to each other as time flows. Amber and Xanadu that is."

She glances at Paige's materials as she packs them up, and then at the Trump of King Random still in her hand. "So, you created all these?" she asks curiously, as she tucks the Trump back into a pouch on her belt.

Paige chuckles. "I am far from being the most productive Artist in the family. Most of the cards were drawn by Dworkin, your great-grandfather. He passed the Art to my Uncle Brand, who taught me as I taught our cousin Merlin."

"But I'm a dabbler. A bit of Trump, some probability tricks and shadow-shifting, making sacrifices to forest guardians in the spirit-realm," she adds. "Anything to keep my hand in, but Father keeps reminding me that I don't excel at much of anything save making Trouble."

Signy blinks. "How many people do 'a bit of Trump'?" She pauses for a moment, and then looks at Paige curiously. "Is there anyone else that teaches any of these things, like these 'probability tricks', like Dworkin taught you Trumps?"

"As I said, Brand taught me," Paige corrects, accutely aware that the name might not be a comfortable one for Deirdre's daughter. "As to the number of Artists about..." She ticks off numbers on her fingers, "Dworkin, myself, Ossian, Merlin, Reid, Brita, Folly apparently... Seven, as far as I know, but that doesn't mean their aren't others.

"As to the probability stuff, I can show you in Amber and on our way back if you're traveling with us," she offers. "If you're interested. I don't suggest asking Dworkin for most anything unless you're ready to play riddle games. Not that they're games to him."

Signy nods slowly at Paige's offer. "That would be appreciated. I get the feeling that there is a lot of learning by experimentation, and less on the types of lessons I had with Brother Tomat when I was younger....."

She carefully avoids looking at Paige as she continues. "What sort of person was Brand?"

"We need someplace more comfortable and a few drinks if I'm going to have this discussion with you, I fear," Paige hedges.

"Hungry?" she suggests as much as she asks.

Signy's lips briefly curve up in a half-smile at the hedge, before dropping back down.

"I'll find something to pick at," she notes. Signy glances around, to see if there's any extra bags that she can grab to carry, as she gestures towards the door Random fled out of previously. "I'm afraid, though, I don't know this place all that well, so I'll have to ask you to lead the way." Signy opens the door, and steps aside to let Paige through.

Paige seems to have settled most everything into her satchel or under the opposite arm. "If there's one thing that two growing children has taught me, it's how to find the kitchens." She winks and leads the way out the door.

"So, Marius never mentioned you before," she begins. "History or ignorance?"

Signy quickly catches up to Paige, and falls into step beside her.

"I think ignorance, but I don't really know for certain. He went to an Order and found my old tutor there, and Brother Tomat led him to where I was, but I don't know if my mother mentioned me at all to him." At this, her voice falters slightly. "I never really knew her -- my earliest memories were of her leaving, and I never knew that I had a brother until he showed up. If he hadn't had Tomat with him, I would have suspected him of being a ploy by my father....."

"I didn't know my own brother Edan until a very short time ago," Paige admits. "Hell, until Grandfather set about 'fixing' things, I barely knew more than two of our generation."

Signy seems somewhat taken aback. "It seems to be a common occurence, then, not knowing about the rest of the family...?"

"I think our parents like to believe that they're protecting us. This immortality thing lends itself to the idea that they're always wise and we're always immature," Paige chuckles. "Experience has proven the rule with numerous exceptions."

Paige cocks her head. "Ploy by your father?"

At the mention of her father, she frowns. "He and I had a disagreement. After escaping from his Tower, I was returning with a band of Heroes to discuss the matter further with him," she states in a flat voice.

They turn onto a small stair and head down another level, deeper into the mountain. "Discuss it? This would be the aggressive sort of discussions that our Elders prefer, isn't it? Despite my arguements with Father, it's never been more than screaming."

A hint of a genuine smile crosses Signy's face. "You should show up with an armed band some time. It's...cathartic."

As they continue down the stairs, she contines in a slightly better humor. "My father arranged a marriage for me. When it became apparent that I was having no part in it, that was the final break between us." She suddenly stumbles over a step and a note of worry enters her voice. "I went into his Tower with Marius, Brennan and Lilly, and then left completely very shortly after going in. I wonder what became of the Band....."

"I've a sketch of Brennan, I believe. We could always call to check, or enough sketches of Marius and Lilly that I could whip up one of them if I needed to," she offers.

Turning right at the bottom of the stairs and then the first left brings them into the kitchens. Paige looks for the children, this being as good a place to find them as any, but doesn't truly expect them. She sends a few cooks scurrying to load up a platter or two and then picks up one herself and leads her cousin back down a servant's hall to a sitting room that looks out on the falls, the water's rumble gentled by the windows and thick walls.

"So, are you truly curious about Brand or was it idle conversation?" Paige asks after pouring them both drinks from modest bar.

Signy sighs, and shakes her head. "No, I need to go back. I have no idea even how time moves there any more. They could all be old and grey, or long dead by now." Her voice sounds pained at this last thought.

She follows Paige's lead and grabs the other platter and easily snags a pitcher of wine and two glasses that are sitting on the table, and falls in beside Paige as she heads out. Placing her armload down on the table, she looks out at the waterfall for a moment, drinking the sight in, before turning to answer Paige's question. "I have to admit I'm curious. From what Marius and Brennan told me, it was he that killed my mother, and his name seems to bring up rather strong reactions."

She picks up the pitcher, and pours wine for both herself and Paige. "And from what Brennan said, it sounds like he did not have the best relationship with him either." The last is delivered in a dry tone of voice, as she remembers Brennan's reaction to her questions.

"That's true. I think Ambrose has a different view, but my view is probably warped even further to the extreme than Brennan's might've been, just the other way. He and I have talked around it in the past and decided that we each saw the different masks that my Maestro offered. Sequence and order, time and stress, very important those first impressions.

"Anyway, as I heard the story, Random was still offering Brand clemency, even at the end when Caine shot him. He only grabbed at your mother to keep himself from going over the edge," Paige explains. "A tragedy that might never had happened if Caine weren't trigger-happy."

Signy sips absently at her wine before putting the glass down as she digests what Paige has said. "Caine does seem that," she murmurs, rubbing her shoulder briefly.

"Marius seemed pretty set that it was Brand who was at fault for it, though. Do you know if he was there? Were you there?"

She glances over the food, and grabs a piece of cheese to munch on.

"Nope, I was part of the home guard during the war. Marius spent a relaxing two weeks or so touring Chaos," Paige chuckles with heavy sarcasm, "While we tried to keep a Shadow of Sentiment from bleeding out until Random could get back and begin anew. Interesting when you consider that was Brand's stated intention all the while.

"I'm not arguing that Brand was holding her hostage moments before, but Aunt Dee was a fierce woman. Apparently she had bitten Maestro's hand and was already free of his knife. If Caine hadn't been so quick to kill his brother, maybe your mother would've made it out of Brand's grasp."

Signy nods slowly.

"So," she says, changing the subject. "You have children? Dare I ask just how big my new family is?"

"Well, it gets twisty at bits, but Grandfather had at least seventeen or maybe eighteen children, which have produced near," she hesitaes for a moment's calculation, "thirty acknowleged grandchildren and four known great-grandchildren and one cousin that is more of a remnant of one of the grandchildren than a true great-grandchild."

"That's what's in the open, at least. I'm sure we can get Nestor to flesh it out if you need," Paige offers before remembering. "He's the Castle Librarian in Amber, keeper of keys and antiquities and all that good stuff." She starts carving some of the cold beef and laying it on the pumpernickle bread that Signy carried down.

Signy blinks, nonplussed. "Do you know if my mother had any other children?"

She watches Paige cut for a second. "Does everyone grow up ignorant of their heritage, too?"

Paige shakes her head. "Not that I know of, but I never knew her from more than a distance, and I'm not sure she ever knew me."

"No, not all of us. Some are forgotten byblows of Shadow women, others fostered with trusted friends and some grew up thinking their parents gods. You might've gotten off easy comparitively," the redhead answers thoughtfully.

"Does your father have other interactions with our Family, or just your mother?"

Signy shrugs. "I think he did -- Lilly seemed to know if him, as did some of the others, but I don't know exactly. He was never a very open man, and tended to keep his affairs to himself." She picks at a piece of bread disinterestedly. "He seems to have had something of a history with your...our family, though."

She looks at Paige curiously. "Who....how are you related to me?"

Paige takes a bite of her sandwich and swallows it before beginning. "Your grandmother died giving birth to your mother. Oberon's next wife was my grandmother, Clarissa. Her eldest son was Prince Bleys, my father."

Reflecting the curiousity, "Does your father have a name?"

"Weyland. Weyland the Smith." Signy watches Paige to see if the name rings any bells.

Paige's eyes widen and she bites her bottom lip, as if considering a question.

She sips from her glass of wine, thinking. "Did you ever meet my mother? I am curious about her, as she left when I was young. I was told to talk to 'Corwin' about her -- is he here in Xanadu?"

"I was apprenice to Corwin's court bard years ago, before the war truely began. She attended a wedding that Rein played at, ever the princess but somehow more approachable than the rest of my aunts. She gave me a kind word after a rendition of Corwin's 'Water Crossers' that I didn't really deserve, not from someone who had heard Corwin sing it," Paige remembers.

Shaking herself back to the present, she answers, "Corwin and Rein are in Paris now. I haven't had the occasion to visit."

Signy sighs. "Is there anyone she was close to? Other then this Corwin?"

Paige shakes her head. "Other than their brother Eric, now deceased, perhaps Llewella," she muses.

She pauses, and sips some more. "You seemed to recognize my father's name," she says in a carefully neutral voice. "Do you know him? It seemed that Lilly did. I think that when we parted, we had somewhat agreed to disagree on how we each viewed him."

"By nothing more than reputation," Paige admits. "I know he's created several of the blades that are carried by my uncles and of late I had been considering a commission of him, but I fear I've not the standing nor capital for such a thing."

Signy gives Paige a grim smile. "If you find yourself bartering with him, be warned. Most times, the deal made has far more strings attached then you'd first think." She looks curiously at Paige. "My father seems to be the focus of a great deal of attention lately. I can see Brennan and Lilly going to him for blades -- would you be looking for one too?"

"I may have a Dragon to slay and no appropriate tool at hand, all the more so since she apparently is family as well, and I know that blades fashioned by your father have held her in check before, but apparently the nature of Order is defense as Chaos is offense and thus they are ill suited for her final resolution." Paige waves it off. "So, at the moment, I've decided not to meddle where the Warden of Arden chooses to exert himself."

Signy blinks rapidly a couple of times, taking in Paige's response. "Dragon? 'Warden of Arden'?" She mulls this over for a second, before uttering a brief gasp of surprise. "But...if the Dragon's of Chaos, and Chaos is opposed to us, how can it also be family as well?"

"She's not of Chaos, no more than you or I... Sorry, that corollary is all me, and I'm sure father would find something wrong with my logic. She's a cousin as best I can understand, a non-Ordered grandchild of Oberon, a being of Power caught within the weft and weave of the great Pattern. She's also the great-grandmother of my twins and her intentions are anything but nurturing.

"As to Chaos and opposition and family, well... All of our heritage stretches back to Chaos by at least through Oberon if not more, so in the end, it always comes back to family. My grandmother's a Lord of Chaos herself."

Signy's lips purse distastefully. "It sounds like while I may have left my father behind, I haven't exactly made it to somewhere exactly 'safe'." She looks over the food, and grabs a piece of meat to distractedly munch on. "How old are your twins? You've mentioned them a couple of times now." A wistful look enters her eyes briefly. "It must be nice to be able to guide them while they're growing, instead of having to learn all this" she says with a vague wave of her hand "by getting thrown in the deep end."

"Well, let's see, I'd guess they're just prepubescent, so maybe thirteen or fourteen at the oldest, but I've only been a mother for perhaps six months now. These are the problems with Lords of Chaos and Dragons interfereing with the development of your pregnancy and children that would drive an otherwise rational woman like myself to consider selling part of herself for a weapon to end such concerns," Paige answers.

Signy's mouth starts to open and then closes as she accepts that with her new family there probably is no such thing as a safe conversation topic.

"So, when were you planning to head out to Amber?"

"Within the next few days. I need to finish at least the Trump of Random I began, and I'd like it if he sat for more of it and made a few immigration decisions for me too," Paige answers. "Before I'm forced to make calls above my paygrade.

"I'm also looking forward to seeing your brother again, as we left some things twisting in the wind last we spoke."


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Last modified: 1 July 2008