There is a thin shaft of sunlight that peeks from the bars of this cage.

I keep telling myself they cannot keep me here if I do not want to be here. I am a scion of Power. I have my eyes, my wits, my strength.

I may be shorn of my family, and there's doubts as to my soul.

They cannot keep me here.

But I cannot leave.

--Big D

from the papers of Prince Naturaelusus

hard rations for 40,000
ballista and crews
50 smiths
500 wagons

1 quart blood
1 eye
1 raven

13 xha

scribble:
combine dry ingredients and mix with enemy in field
mash wet ingredients together into pulpy stew

drink stew without swearing

sing with xha until fog of war is light and crisp
enjoy!

131th day of regency

To His Highness Prince Martin
(approximately a week and a half after the reply is received:
Day 118)
(royal courier to Amber spy route used again
perhaps he is getting complacent?)

Why didn't my father finish the job?

Don't worry,
OLD FRIEND,
the knife in question
star-traced runes
and old blood
has gone missing.

Do old wounds ache
or burn?

The blood of thousands
stains my hands.

Don't let yours be but another drop in the sea.

--Luke

Day 120
discovered hidden in a boot pouch of a dead grayspur
delivered to Shadow Merinae by a friend of a friend of Tynan
truth of origin unknown

Before, when my brother was one of the Chosen Best, who on their honor guarded the Kingspur through sleepless nights, I was only a shadow of my finer brother. I saw my brother's corpse returned to family. I saw his head separated from his fine body. I saw the cut and knew it for a hand I could find.

Later, they said it was the Croc took them all.

I could not believe then, that so small a Crocodile could behead a man bigger than I. Now there is no question. The Kingspur fell to the Croc. All the Chosen Best fell to the Croc. I was told and did not believe.

Even so, I was one who got lessons from the Croc. I was good. The Croc made me better. Perhaps even better than my brother. We trained every day with the Croc. I slept as little as possible, and used the extract to keep me going. My brain hurt with the learning and training.

But the Croc slept less than I. He talked to a wind called Marcus. He had sex with a wind called Keph. He is mad. He is a killer of a fine kind.

He killed my king and my brother. I will be there when he dies.

I love to lay in the grass after all have turned in and listen to the Croc weep before he sleeps. I only wish I knew the why. In front of us he laughs. He trains more of us every day. I want to know the secret of his weeping before I kill him.

Sometimes, he falls in the training. Every one of us leans towards him then, to see if he will die by a spur blade taking him in the moment of his error. It doesn't happen. I do not know what protects him. Every attempt to kill him fails.

I will be there when he dies.

I have sworn.

...in webs of Arden

Bright burning blood
We sung them blooded
Sung all the Blooded of Zark
We not blooded
You battle
We always admired

Burning, the blood runs South
We sung them South

Burning, still Burning
Sweet the Burn

Sweet the Zark

118th day regency

Create a place of power
mother said to me
Make the place your bower
call the fae not free

Here with stones I mark
where my knights will stand
Here with blooded bark
Do I begin my land

The oaken wood my army
The sun's pyre my throne
Consort Rowan the High Tree
Consort Blackthorn called home

Blood and fire from the dreaming
here when screams and fear fade
where fire, blood, power weaving
settle in this echoing glade

Now a mate for the sigal
a Queen no more a maid
Blood turned fire burns the symbol
Stones, Throne, Souls, Glade

Mark you mine slaving faries
Now I free you from her call
Take my message to the Green Queen
You are loosed from her thrall

Marked are we as sure as they
Who take power all unknowing
Wear this symbol like a blade
and worlds we will be growing

The dance of creation on Midsummer's Eve
The birth of protection from fire that seeks

...from the papers of Prince Naturaelusus

Tynan
Corazan City
Shadow Merinae
by Hired Private Agent

Tynan,

Never.

Day 95
Sent Via Black Seeker Courier
to Genevieve, with the note,
"See this gets to Him."

Luke,

I thought long and hard about how to respond to your message. You know what was on my mind the whole time? How lonely the Unicorn must be. Are there no more of her kind, only the illegitimate partial breeds of her dalliance with a wizard (if the rumours are true)?

Do you want me to forgive you? Fine.

I forgive you.

Does it change anything? Not for me. I am beyond wanting to know why. I am even beyond wanting to hold you up by the throat and executing you personally. You have rid us of chaff from the family tree. You have rid us of our complacency. Safety was just an innocent bystander, another victim.

I can forgive you because it costs me nothing. I don't have any of that coinage left to pay.

What does it cost you? Why did you pay? Is it the bargain you wanted?

My knife has been dipped in blood for Amber, for Chaos, for Family...again and again. You don't wear a knife and expect it to stay clean, right? That's one of my rules of life.

I will give you a warning:
I have something to fight for.

I cannot give you redemption. I cannot even save myself.

--Big D

Day 95
To Ana
via their special birdbond

Love,

I had been thinking about you as a sparrow.
I may owe you an apology.
You are definitely a hawk.

Good hunting, my sweet.

--D

Dara: We shouldn't have won.

Bleys: No. Even with the reserves Lalage and I scrounged up, we should have lost. We were aided by the fact that Rinaldo didn't bring all his power to bear, and we did. We won't be able to do this again.

Dara: You saw what she did to Gilva.

Bleys: And you saw what Gilva did to her.

Dara: That's not all.

Bleys: I saw the other, too. Are you going to tell Martin?

Dara: I don't know what to tell him. What do you think?

Bleys: I think he won't hear it from me.

Dara: I think he won't hear it at all.

Bleys: I think you're right.

Day 106

OPEN PROCLAMATION:

Gilva Maaike Hendrake
daughter of Stana Hendrake
of the line of Dara
daughter of Moisakos Minobee
of the line of Athene
sister of Bisenija Hendrake
sister of Ghalib Minobee

may the blood of her enemies
stain her
so that she is known by her ancestors

may she walk in the cool darkness
where there is no Fire.
may she walk the paths of the dead in peace

may the serpent judge her with kindness
although he no longer sees true
with red eye gone
and the other blue.

the lists of the noble dead follow.

(:: Tynan :: TRANSMIT)

Thus does the weak woman greet her enemies.

Within the box is the head of Gilva Hendrake.

Day 88

To: Bridgette

(sent by official messenger)

Cousin--

I seem to have a little fly
who fell into a
nasty
nasty web.

The spider
did not find him to his
taste.

He appears to be one of yours.
Would you like him returned?

--R