AFR: Session 01 -- 'Shadowfire & Reign' Report
General Summary
It wasn’t his choice to be a stowaway. Ossiphan Cruk moved on to the lounge and considered strapping in. The belts wouldn’t prevent serious damage to his body in the event of a serious impact but for more minor things it might be worth it. The latching mechanism might be something that was monitored from the ship’s piloting area. Ossiphan decided against using the belts as a risk worth taking. Secrecy was everything. The machine’s engines began to be audible. In seconds, the engines were loud enough to cause pain. Ossiphan placed an ebontine clamp on his head. The sound of the engines went away. He could think again. His thoughts were all about the person he’d followed out of the Old Realm. His target was the Most Lawful Selidor of the considered edifice. Ossiphan had managed as best as he could ascertain to keep his presence near Selidor a secret. It was only sensible that he had maintained Selidor’s ignorance of his presence. Selidor wasn’t like Ossiphan except that they were of a kind. Selidor was like and yet most unlike Ossiphan Cruk. Ossiphan had been telling himself that very thing frequently since beginning to follow Selidor. There had been several occasions when Ossiphan had come close to revealing his position because he’d wanted to debate a point or interject his alternate opinion. It might have gone well but Ossiphan knew there was a better chance that revealing himself would be awkward, worse still Selidor might not have had the restraint needed to be magnanimous . . . Better by far to wait. He’d been learning small things along the way as it was. The latest evening had been a case of learning a great deal more than this. Things had gone well prior to yesterday. His first achievement had been the surreptitious tracking of Selidor’s transport, the ‘whipping star-craft’. Thanks to Ossiphan’s own miasm generator, discreet tracking had been simplicity defined. It was unfortunate that he’d had a problem with the generator on arriving at the lakeside cabin. It was still able to keep his presence well-hidden but its internal guidance process was faulting. It meant he had to make future trackings by some other means. Selidor’s chances of noticing had just gone up, even if the the young Sacrament had no idea of this. Cruk was not a mechanically inclined person. There was sufficient technology inside the miasm generator to make his fixing it impossible. He turned his attention to the place he’d followed Selidor to. His diagram indicated the basics. The cabin was located in a kingdom called Iorinth, on a continent called Coaseth, itself a land on the world of Miranse. Ossiphan looked up from the diagram to see the reality of this place. An impressive city sat not too distant to the north. Cruk’s measurements indicated it was four and three quarter miles. The Sacrament had seemed to have a purpose in stopping at this unremarkable place. Unremarkable – it seemed an average lakeside setting – until the occupant (owner?) was made better understood to Selidor. Gerard, “of Amber-once-a-kingdom” – as he introduced himself -- was no mere mortal. Ossiphan had to admit to himself that this Gerard might not be a mere immortal either. . . He stood tossing a large net on to the lake’s waters but the apparent normalcy of this activity was belied by the man’s nature. Cruk watched the net make a satisfyingly perfect circle on the water’s surface, every time it was thrown. The net was gigantic. It would take a boat designed for trawling not to struggle with the thing. The large number of fish caught in the netting, he released. It seemed Gerard did this to pass the time or as a way of Ordering his mind. Cruk knew that the Amberite royals were prone to Chaos. He’d read that Gerard was reasonable as this royal family was measured by the linear. Ossiphan noted that he should still be careful with Gerard should it come to a meeting. Chaos must be served. . . Selidor too, watched the throws and subsequent withdrawls from the lake for a minute. During the throws that occurred after Selidor got the older man’s attention, the large Amberite spoke calmly to the younger man. Cruk was unable to get close enough to hear what passed between the two men. He chafed at the intervening distance but held firm to the line. He knew that those who had the blood of Barimen in their veins were able to utter curses that could follow people for a lifetime. Ossiphan Cruk didn’t want to take a chance that Barimen blood might not have unknown strengths to detect the hidden. Cruk knew no stories of the Barimen succumbing to a sneak attack. Chaos had wanted any of the Barimen murdered for millennia and yet the Amberites had never suffered such a fate. Whatever was said, the two seemed to be well-disposed toward each other. Gerard looked calm through the course of the discussion and Selidor exhibited no emotional reactions. Cruk didn’t expect any from Selidor. It was when the two men shook hands that Ossiphan was taken aback. He’d assumed that Selidor did not acknowledge his half-Chaotic birthing. There was no edict against Selidor being this way but it was against the Law. An arranged rendezvous seemed to be agreed upon. Ossiphan made a comfortable enough campsite a distance from the cabin. The two men stayed inside for part of the day. When he came outside, Gerard said loudly enough for someone past Ossiphan to hear that he would “… see Selidor at Shanklyn’s establishment…” and that Selidor should “… remember to arrive fashionably late.” Typically Chaos. What kind of plan is so deliberately imprecise? Fashionably late is not a unit of time measurement. Cruk didn’t know how Selidor would be able to manage to arrive as the older man wished. Ossiphan was glad it was Selidor who had to meet this challenge. Ossiphan Cruk simply followed Selidor’s steps as he made his way toward the large city to the north of the cabin. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ossiphan let Selidor enter the tavern of Shanklyn while he remained outside. Ossiphan detected that inside there were first eight, then nine and finally ten individuals of exemplary power. He knew to leave the room these gathered in, well alone. He did manage to occupy a position beneath one of the room’s three windows. He took advantage of a momentary distraction when someone else who was eavesdropping without Ossiphan’s abilities, was noticed and captured, to get into this position. The conversation he heard was mainly between Gerard and Oberon of Amber-once-a-kingdom. Gerard re-stated his position as eldest brother to Oberon and rightful king of any kingdom to come. Oberon made clear his place as former first monarch and despite other kings after, his ability to be the future king once more. Then it was upon the others to give voice to how they would come down in this choosing. Ossiphan Cruk was an Orderly man and made a listing: Osric – Stood with Gerard Finndo – Stood with Gerard Benedict – Stood apart, warning the rest to reconsider this aggression Julian – Stood with Oberon, his oath still binding Bleys – Stood with Oberon, mainly to make things even and interesting Brand – Stood apart, claiming nobody understood what was at stake. Corwin – Stood apart, to maintain his position in the Spectral Array Deirdre – Tried to retain her neutrality to be free to follow Corwin Ossiphan could admire some of these choices and wonder at others. Some were so arbitrarily random that he could scarcely write them down. Nonsense didn’t sit well with Ossiphan Cruk. The most obvious of these was Brand. The man was objectionably, difficultly Chaotic even when it cost him. Ossiphan was well learned in the concept that those who made this Chaotic approach their path, felt that things random would eventually wind up in their favour. Ossiphan made a footnote to indicate that Selidor had stood with his father, Gerard… Brand refused to be silent about the wrongness of the meeting’s purpose. Oberon called him to explain his stance. Brand outlined in vague terms that there was a deeper truth not known to the survivors of the Inundation. That Amber was different from what they had always been told. Ossiphan thought it telling that none there called Oberon to explain for this neglected knowledge. Ossiphan could not imagine the reasoning to keep their origins from the family members, even to the point of letting some of them perish without ever knowing the truth. Ossiphan Cruk couldn’t imagine it, but admired Oberon’s valuing information to such an extent as to keep it from them. Oberon warned Brand to reveal only what Oberon approved. Brand was careful to try to comply but Ossiphan noted several instances where Brand earned Oberon’s irritation or contempt, over the next few minutes. Brand outlined a history of events that occurred at the formation of the First Realm. Brand actually stated this period happened prior to the First Realm but that made no sense to Ossiphan. Something couldn’t happen before the start. In this period there were thirteen thoughts. These thirteen primary thoughts were called ‘dragons’. Ossiphan wondered what a dragon or a thought might look like but no one asked this question so Ossiphan Cruk was frustrated in learning of it. The thirteen dragons represented aspects of the realms. Things like Chaos or Light and Darkness. Brand revealed the name of the dragon of Chaos as being, Anachaos. Some in the room were learning of this for the first time. Osric was not. He claimed he had sworn allegiance to Anachaos. Ossiphan wanted more. It would be a valuable thing to have this list of thirteen names and associated powers written down. When Oberon grew tired of the questions of his children and the posturing of Brand in particular, he called the gathering to an end. Cruk noted that Gerard still played the follower in allowing Oberon to take command of the situation. Before he left, Oberon charged each of the others in the room with the knowledge that he would not forget their place in the world, nor would he allow them to live to defy him should they carry on with their intention to depose him. This even extended to Selidor, though Cruk could see little in Selidor’s past to make him accept this challenge as being fair. Oberon was a commanding presence, even to Ossiphan Cruk’s way of thinking. He could understand why Selidor might follow such a person. The meeting ended as it began with individuals leaving at their own pace. There was some small talk about next steps. Ossiphan heard Gerard tell Osric and Finndo to watch over Selidor, as Gerard intended to station Selidor in this city. Osric and Finndo apparently were also stationed here. There seemed no issue between the three men and so Ossiphan was confident that they would stay nearby. This meant he might have time to attempt to find the energies required to mend his miasm generator. Ossiphan Cruk was pleased for the night’s information. His friends in the D’Archon would be interested. . . Events to follow will occur in the Campaign --
