Fiona sat Jessica, Connie, Locke, and myself down at a table in a study.
She gave a standard court deck of Trump Cards
to me and another deck to Locke. Evidently Jessica and Connie already
had decks of their own. I looked over the cards. They looked
realistic and stylistic at the same time - a remarkable effect! I knew
that the Royal family of Amber used they cards to contact each other
and travel through shadow. Were they connected to the pattern in some
way? No, that was doubtful. Had I not seen a Logrus mage use a Trump?
Before teaching us about their usage Fiona gave us a quick description
of who each card represented.
First there was Oberon. He was father to all the elder princes and
princess of Amber. Oberon was the first King of Amber.
The next card was of Benedict. Foina said that Benedict had two
brothers who no longer associated with Amber.
The next three were Eric, Corwin, and Deirdre. They were
all direct siblings and half siblings to Benedict and his brothers.
Strangely, all three of these people were presumed dead. I remembered
Merlin speaking mourningly of Corwin, his father.
Then came Caine, Julian, and Gerard. I'd heard of Caine. Connie had
told me about Luke's (Captain Loopy as he called him) many failed
attempts to kill Caine. I also remembered Gerard. He was with
Locke when last I saw him.
The next set of direct siblings was Fiona, Bleys, and Brand. I asked
Fiona if there was a pattern or cause of each set of siblings
containing three people. She seemed to think it was coincidence, but I
made a note to look into this more closely. Fiona and Bleys had both
struck me as being amazingly adept at Sorcery. Maybe this branch of
the royal family was the most attuned to magic. Connie had mentioned
that Brand might be his grandfather. Brand was presumed dead.
Next was a card of Lewella who had been with Locke earlier.
I think she
and Vialle were both from the underwater kingdom of Rebma. Lewella had
no direct brothers or sisters.
Also siblingless was Flora. She was almost as beautiful in the card as
in person. Was it a weakness that I long to know her better? I made a
note than it would be gauche to Trump contact her merely to ask her to
dinner.
Finally, there was Random. His sister, Mirelle's, card was ordered
by Random, removed from the deck in her memory. Wouldn't it be unnerving
to find the cache of Mirelle cards hidden away in an old box in the
attic of Castle Amber?
The last card was not of a person, but Castle Amber itself.
Fiona showed us how to activate the card and cautioned us that we
would be vulnerable to attack during Trump contact. She suggested we
practice Trump travel, so Connie and I decided to
explore Castle Amber