"Seeker's Journey"
by Corvus
-- Prologue --
Sunlight poured down upon the tranquil isle, playing across the rooftops, dappling under the trees, dancing across the waves that lapped the shores. Gulls shrieked their songs to each other, the sound piercing through the rising and falling rush of the ocean. A faint hint of salt tang wafted on the breeze, mingling with the freshness of leaf and grass. This place was unspoiled, even in the wake of a betrayal years ago. The spirit of its creator would have smiled.
Two men occupied the island this day. The first, sitting cross-legged and leaning his elbows on the table, was in his middle years, spectacles decorating a visage that had seen the sun of countless worlds. Short brown hair sprinkled with a hint of gray topped his round face, and a carefully-trimmed beard and mustache framed his lips. He dressed as an explorer would, simple and rugged pants, shirt and boots, but with a splash of color on the woven vest he wore over the tunic. His solid hands held decorative cards, the components of the game he had introduced to the man sitting on the other side of the low wooden table they had placed on the grass.
That man looked young and vibrant, perhaps half the age of the explorer. He was handsome, beyond a doubt, and some women had called him beautiful in the past; hair black as a raven's wing hung down in curling waves to his shoulders, and ice-blue eyes stared out over an elegant nose and sensuous lips. His clothes were casual -- black slacks, white button-down shirt open the first two buttons to let the breeze caress his chest, and well-polished black shoes on his feet. He lounged on the grass, cards folded in one hand. He found the game quite entertaining, though the explorer had trounced him in the first three hands.
It was a routine they had adopted since they had first met, quite by accident, five years before. Since that time they had become fast friends and shared their knowledge with each other. The young man and the elder would meet in this place, and the explorer would teach the other some new game, song or story he had learned, and then attentively learn a new secret from his friend. This card game was merely the latest of their exchanges.
The explorer considered the cards he held. Of the seven cards, five of them were bordered "common" cards that made up the bulk of the playing deck. Each of them bore the design of a season down the left side, and one of the four Elements -- Earth, Air, Fire and Water -- across the top. Season and Element combined to label the card with one of the twelve months of the year in which the game had been created. The body of each common card was one of four landscapes, either Ocean, Desert, Mountain or Sky. These attributes were combined in various ways with those of other cards to score "tricks" worth various points.
The other two cards were quite different. These special cards, known as Phenomena, depicted various astronomical or weather occurances. When played in conjunction with common cards in tricks, they modified the value of that trick.
The point of the game was simple -- score the most points. Emptying your hand was worth points in and of itself, but it would bring the round to a close. Balance and strategy were the keys. Should he attempt to empty his hand early and prevent his friend from scoring more tricks, or should he attempt to build more tricks and overwhem the other man? Twice he had bided his time and built a solid point base while letting his friend feel his way through the game, but in the previous hand, when the other man had made a surprisingly strong showing, he had ended the round as fast as he could. Now they had begun a fourth round, and he had a feeling he was going to lose this one.
"Raven," he said to the other man, "there's something I need to discuss with you."
Across the table the man named Raven frowned slightly, lips pursing. "I figured, Atrus. You've seemed a bit distracted all morning."
Atrus, for that was the explorer's name, chuckled briefly. He had thought he was hiding his inner doubts well. Anyone else who knew him would have missed the apprehension he was suppressing. Anyone but Raven. The other man's perception never ceased to amaze him. "I need the assistance of someone with your particular... talents." His brown eyes lifted from the cards he held to consider Raven. In truth, the man he studied was the elder of them both, easily four times Atrus' age. Raven's people did not age nearly as rapidly as either the D'ni or humans. The man was something quite different. "I'd like you to go with me when I return to Misara."
A look of consideration crossed Raven's features. The promise of adventure lifed the frown from his lips, and they curled upward slowly. "When do we leave?"
"You don't want to hear the details first?"
Raven waved his free hand dismissively. "I figure you'll tell me what I need to know when I need to know it. You always do."
"I knew I could count on you." Atrus sighed with relief. That burden lifted he chose three of his cards, all decorated with the mountain landscape, and placed them on the table. Then he took note of his score, placed the remaining cards in his hand on the table and stood to stretch. "Catherine will be upset that I didn't ask her, but she's already got enough tasks... and this could be somewhat... dangerous."
If something was somewhat dangerous to the D'ni-human man standing there in the sun, it would be a moment's distraction for one such as himself, Raven thought. Unless Atrus was understating the problem -- which he had been known to do before. "Dangerous like your father, or dangerous like our last excursion?" While Gehn had posed a threat to multiple worlds, he had been defeated by a human who had aided Atrus at least twice. Defeating the master of the Labyrinth had taken a bit more... force. "I broke a sweat last time."
The explorer laughed. "I don't think it'll be quite that exciting." His friend could be arrogant, yes, but Atrus knew he was simply making an understatement of his own. Both men had suffered quite a bit in their quest to defeat the sorcerous overlord of the Labyrinth. "As you know, the Misarans are quite fond of festivals and ritual. For some time now there's been a growing unease in their society about the upcoming turn of the millennium according to their calendar. There's a ritual set down in their holy texts, but an object required for the ritual has apparently been sealed away under powerful magical guards, and no one can get to it. The Misarans turned to me, and I couldn't deny them my help, since they've been so good to me. But after careful examination of the problem... I realize I'm in over my head."
Raven laid the cards in his hand on the table face-up, one at a time, and didn't stop until all seven were down. "Four of a kind, with rain, lightning and tornado. Ten thousand points." Atrus' eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't thought it was possible to achieve that hand at all, let alone have it dealt out. "I went to Castle Amber after we left the Labyrinth," Raven went on. "I had to re-walk the Pattern after what that sorceror did to me, and I didn't want my mother fretting all over me. Good thing King Random decided to keep his mouth shut -- with a hefty gesture of goodwill from me, naturally. Anyway, to sum things up, I walked the Pattern again, I'm back to one hundred percent, and I'm with you all the way. I could use some fun."
"Then we can leave right away. Um... you win, by the way."
The Amberite flopped back on the grass and stared up at the flawless azure sky overhead. "What would you do if I told you I cheated?"
by Corvus
-- Prologue --
Sunlight poured down upon the tranquil isle, playing across the rooftops, dappling under the trees, dancing across the waves that lapped the shores. Gulls shrieked their songs to each other, the sound piercing through the rising and falling rush of the ocean. A faint hint of salt tang wafted on the breeze, mingling with the freshness of leaf and grass. This place was unspoiled, even in the wake of a betrayal years ago. The spirit of its creator would have smiled.
Two men occupied the island this day. The first, sitting cross-legged and leaning his elbows on the table, was in his middle years, spectacles decorating a visage that had seen the sun of countless worlds. Short brown hair sprinkled with a hint of gray topped his round face, and a carefully-trimmed beard and mustache framed his lips. He dressed as an explorer would, simple and rugged pants, shirt and boots, but with a splash of color on the woven vest he wore over the tunic. His solid hands held decorative cards, the components of the game he had introduced to the man sitting on the other side of the low wooden table they had placed on the grass.
That man looked young and vibrant, perhaps half the age of the explorer. He was handsome, beyond a doubt, and some women had called him beautiful in the past; hair black as a raven's wing hung down in curling waves to his shoulders, and ice-blue eyes stared out over an elegant nose and sensuous lips. His clothes were casual -- black slacks, white button-down shirt open the first two buttons to let the breeze caress his chest, and well-polished black shoes on his feet. He lounged on the grass, cards folded in one hand. He found the game quite entertaining, though the explorer had trounced him in the first three hands.
It was a routine they had adopted since they had first met, quite by accident, five years before. Since that time they had become fast friends and shared their knowledge with each other. The young man and the elder would meet in this place, and the explorer would teach the other some new game, song or story he had learned, and then attentively learn a new secret from his friend. This card game was merely the latest of their exchanges.
The explorer considered the cards he held. Of the seven cards, five of them were bordered "common" cards that made up the bulk of the playing deck. Each of them bore the design of a season down the left side, and one of the four Elements -- Earth, Air, Fire and Water -- across the top. Season and Element combined to label the card with one of the twelve months of the year in which the game had been created. The body of each common card was one of four landscapes, either Ocean, Desert, Mountain or Sky. These attributes were combined in various ways with those of other cards to score "tricks" worth various points.
The other two cards were quite different. These special cards, known as Phenomena, depicted various astronomical or weather occurances. When played in conjunction with common cards in tricks, they modified the value of that trick.
The point of the game was simple -- score the most points. Emptying your hand was worth points in and of itself, but it would bring the round to a close. Balance and strategy were the keys. Should he attempt to empty his hand early and prevent his friend from scoring more tricks, or should he attempt to build more tricks and overwhem the other man? Twice he had bided his time and built a solid point base while letting his friend feel his way through the game, but in the previous hand, when the other man had made a surprisingly strong showing, he had ended the round as fast as he could. Now they had begun a fourth round, and he had a feeling he was going to lose this one.
"Raven," he said to the other man, "there's something I need to discuss with you."
Across the table the man named Raven frowned slightly, lips pursing. "I figured, Atrus. You've seemed a bit distracted all morning."
Atrus, for that was the explorer's name, chuckled briefly. He had thought he was hiding his inner doubts well. Anyone else who knew him would have missed the apprehension he was suppressing. Anyone but Raven. The other man's perception never ceased to amaze him. "I need the assistance of someone with your particular... talents." His brown eyes lifted from the cards he held to consider Raven. In truth, the man he studied was the elder of them both, easily four times Atrus' age. Raven's people did not age nearly as rapidly as either the D'ni or humans. The man was something quite different. "I'd like you to go with me when I return to Misara."
A look of consideration crossed Raven's features. The promise of adventure lifed the frown from his lips, and they curled upward slowly. "When do we leave?"
"You don't want to hear the details first?"
Raven waved his free hand dismissively. "I figure you'll tell me what I need to know when I need to know it. You always do."
"I knew I could count on you." Atrus sighed with relief. That burden lifted he chose three of his cards, all decorated with the mountain landscape, and placed them on the table. Then he took note of his score, placed the remaining cards in his hand on the table and stood to stretch. "Catherine will be upset that I didn't ask her, but she's already got enough tasks... and this could be somewhat... dangerous."
If something was somewhat dangerous to the D'ni-human man standing there in the sun, it would be a moment's distraction for one such as himself, Raven thought. Unless Atrus was understating the problem -- which he had been known to do before. "Dangerous like your father, or dangerous like our last excursion?" While Gehn had posed a threat to multiple worlds, he had been defeated by a human who had aided Atrus at least twice. Defeating the master of the Labyrinth had taken a bit more... force. "I broke a sweat last time."
The explorer laughed. "I don't think it'll be quite that exciting." His friend could be arrogant, yes, but Atrus knew he was simply making an understatement of his own. Both men had suffered quite a bit in their quest to defeat the sorcerous overlord of the Labyrinth. "As you know, the Misarans are quite fond of festivals and ritual. For some time now there's been a growing unease in their society about the upcoming turn of the millennium according to their calendar. There's a ritual set down in their holy texts, but an object required for the ritual has apparently been sealed away under powerful magical guards, and no one can get to it. The Misarans turned to me, and I couldn't deny them my help, since they've been so good to me. But after careful examination of the problem... I realize I'm in over my head."
Raven laid the cards in his hand on the table face-up, one at a time, and didn't stop until all seven were down. "Four of a kind, with rain, lightning and tornado. Ten thousand points." Atrus' eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't thought it was possible to achieve that hand at all, let alone have it dealt out. "I went to Castle Amber after we left the Labyrinth," Raven went on. "I had to re-walk the Pattern after what that sorceror did to me, and I didn't want my mother fretting all over me. Good thing King Random decided to keep his mouth shut -- with a hefty gesture of goodwill from me, naturally. Anyway, to sum things up, I walked the Pattern again, I'm back to one hundred percent, and I'm with you all the way. I could use some fun."
"Then we can leave right away. Um... you win, by the way."
The Amberite flopped back on the grass and stared up at the flawless azure sky overhead. "What would you do if I told you I cheated?"