Part V
BLEYS
We traveled back to the library with little conversation and no hostile attention. Once there, Giles, Willow, and I began setting up the ritual circle in accordance with the local rules of magic that I had divined, and which Giles and Willow instructed me in some specifics. After a couple of hours, we had completed the preliminaries, which included setting an enchanted taper to burn until the next sunset. . .we would have a wait on our hands. I looked around and saw that Xander and Oz had dozed off in their chairs, and Willow quickly joined them in slumber. Angel commented that dawn was rapidly approaching and bade us all goodnight. Giles nodded to me and retired to his office. . .leaving me alone with my daughter for the first time. She looked at me, and I could see that any fatigue she felt was completely overwhelmed by curiosity. "So, tell me about them."
I looked at her innocently and replied, "Tell you about who, Buffy?" She glared at me and growled, "You know very well about what. I have a family I didn't know anything about until a few hours ago. . .don't you think that I might want to know about them?"
I nodded gravely and replied, "I suppose so," then began to give her an overview of the family history. I told her of the founding of Amber by Dworkin, and how Oberon-his son, my father-- had ruled it for millennia. I told her how Oberon had run through many wives, resulting in a flock of half-siblings that didn't always care for one another. I told her of my dead siblings, both those I had known and those who had passed on centuries before my birth. She listened raptly as I told her of the events surrounding the Patternfall War, including the disappearance and reappearance of Corwin, our doomed attempt to oust Eric, and brother Brand's mad plot to destroy the Pattern and with it the universe. I described each of my living brothers and sisters, and their children: brilliant Benedict, moody and dauntless Corwin, mighty Gerard, powerful Fiona, and all of the others. I showed her the Trumps with their pictures, and explained their function. By the time I finished, the sun was high in the sky, but the others were still sleeping. Buffy had been silent for some time, and seemed to be about to speak when an odd little man came storming into the library and surveyed the scene, scowling.
I could feel the hostility radiating from Buffy as she looked at the man and commented, "Principal Snyder. . .don't you have any small animals to torment. . .bridges to lurk under?" The man glared at her and replied, "Very funny, Summers. Just because the school board won't let me expel you doesn't mean that I can't make your life unpleasant. . .and I don't recall the library being made over into a dormitory, or whatever other weird things you seem to be involved in." He looked over and saw the ritual circle, and his eyes widened as he shouted, "Now, you've gone too far this time! This is a school, not some refugee camp for you Goth wackos-"
Sensing that this was not good, I grabbed Snyder by the shoulder and spun him around as the others woke up and looked at the scene with bleary-eyed concern. Snyder began to say, "You're looking at a lawsuit, Bud-", then stopped as I locked eyes with him and the power of my mind fell upon him. He stared blankly as Buffy asked hesitatingly, "What did you do to him, Bleys?"
I smiled and replied, "The mind of an Amberite is very powerful, Buffy. In close contact, or using psychic artifacts such as Trumps, we can impose our will on those with weaker minds. . .of course, the Trumps always pose the risk of exposing us to an even more powerful mind, such as one of our relatives." I was receiving mental images from Snyder as I spoke, and I realized quickly that while he was a nasty little bastard, he was not involved in the matter of the Hellmouth or directly with any other evil enterprises in this town, though he covered up things at the behest of higher-ups. I stared into his eyes and gave him a few mental commands: as the others watched, he walked over to Buffy, bowed, and called out, "Forgive me for my transgressions against you, Lady Buffy of the royal family of Amber." He kissed her hand, then left the library without further ado as the others gaped. Buffy grinned and commented, "I could learn to like this," just as a man who looked like a younger version of Giles entered the library with a beautiful dark-haired girl who seemed to be a little younger than Buffy. He seemed normal, but my ring told me that she was a shadow of my doomed sister Deirdre. . .she must be Faith, the Slayer who had run into some recent problems. The man looked around the room, puzzled, before snapping, "What in the world is going on here? Why wasn't I called if something important was happening?"
"Question kind of answers itself, doesn't it?" Xander commented, drawing snickers from Oz and Willow and an amused snort from Giles, who had just emerged from his office. Ah, this had to be Wesley, the new Watcher who was held in such contempt by the others. I sized him up. . .no fighter, this one, and a taint of cowardice. . .still, he seemed bright, and if he survived his apprenticeship here, perhaps he would amount to something. I began to open my mouth to explain things, only to be interrupted by my daughter.
"Wesley, Faith, this is Bleys. . .Prince of Amber. He's told us that the Hellmouth is about to blow sky-high and destroy the entire universe. Don't suppose you'd like to start helping and stop bitching, Wesley?" I noted that she omitted the matter of our relationship, and I also noted that the others seemed to pick up on her omission, as Wesley hemmed and hawed for a moment before looking at me and exclaiming, "Amber? Wait a minute. . .that's right, the Unicorn cult! You're an archetypal representation of some great truth of reality. . .remarkable." He pointedly moved toward the stacks, only to have an annoyed Giles toss him the appropriate tome. I repressed a smile. . .apparently this young fellow was Giles' equal at research, if nowhere else.
Faith moved over to me with a vaguely predatory look on her face, taking my arm. "So, you're a prince, huh? Sounds interesting. . .tell me more." The strength of the grip on my arm reminded me that she was a Slayer, and as such was far more physically formidable than her appearance would suggest. Fully aware of the appalled gazes of Buffy and her friends, I disentangled myself from Faith and replied, "I'd love to, Faith, but now might not be the best time. . .perhaps once we solve this crisis, we can all sit down and talk about my homeland." Faith looked disappointed, and everyone other than Wesley looked relieved.
Buffy turned to Faith and asked, "Why are you here, Faith? You usually don't get up anywhere near this early."
Wesley walked over to Buffy and replied, "She stopped by my apartment about an hour ago. She was out last night informally, in preparation for her re-certification by the Council, and she heard things about some impending disaster, though she wasn't able to get too many details. . .though apparently you were." He puffed himself up, and continued, "Given the stakes involved here, if the matter here will require extra fighters, I believe that the Council will support my decision to temporarily put Faith back on duty to deal with those requirements."
I saw Giles roll his eyes and was inclined to agree: Wesley was a bit of a pompous ass; however, I knew that we would need every fighter we could get. I could see Buffy had doubts-she looked at the ceiling for a long moment before turning to the Slayer and smiling wanly. "Welcome to the party, Faith." She clasped hands with the younger girl, and I saw a startled look cross Faith's face before she smiled and returned the handshake.
Sensing that this was a good moment to interject, I commented, "All right, now that that's settled, let's discuss our likely opponents during the daylight hours. It's clear that some power in the Courts of Chaos is using the Hellmouth as a means of gaining increased Shadow-wide power, so they will send various forms of Chaos creatures against us. Here's what I know about fighting them . . ."
*****
BUFFY
Bleys wasn't kidding about those Chaos creatures being nasty. Fast, strong, not to mention the fact that they regenerated. Still, they couldn't grow heads back, and a thrust to the heart seemed to be just as fatal as it would be for a vampire. Fortunately, it was Saturday, so we could take the battle outdoors without much risk of being spotted by the less than attentive Sunnydale police. In the seven hours before dusk, we managed to take out fifteen of them with no casualties and only bruises otherwise. I was not thrilled with the prospects of dealing with whatever they would throw at us when we were actually performing the ritual. Still, a victory is a victory, and I was feeling rather good about what we had accomplished. We were all back in the library, and I was about to ask Bleys what would be coming next when he seemed to suddenly stare off into space. "What's wrong?", I asked. He gestured for me to be quiet, then whispered, "I'm getting a message." He "listened" for a moment, then extended his hand. Suddenly, an outline appeared, and a beautiful red-haired woman wearing a green dress appeared, holding Bleys' hand. She smiled and whispered, "Thank you, brother," and immediately began to survey her new surroundings. Her eyes focused on me, and I began to blush under the attention.
The woman turned to Bleys with a question on her face, and Bleys quickly shook his head. She nodded, and commented, "Well, Bleys, aren't you going to introduce us to our new allies?" He nodded and introduced all of us to her: "May I present Fiona, Princess and Sorceress of the Court of Amber." He introduced her to each of the others individually, and I was pleased to see that the others managed to keep their cool. He saved my introduction for last, and I took a deep breath before taking her hand: I gathered from Bleys' stories that she was one of the most potent magic wielders in the entire universe, and I had spent enough time as a rat, thank you very much. She shook my hand with a firm grip and leaned over to whisper in my ear, "We'll have a lot to talk about later, Buffy." I managed to keep my composure and nodded as she turned to face her brother.
Bleys was frowning as Fiona turned back to him. "Why did you need to come, Sister? We seem to have things well in hand here without your assistance."
Fiona looked visibly concerned as she replied, "I've come into new information since we last spoke, and I believe that you will need my help in dealing with this problem, Bleys." She paused for a moment, then continued, "I've been operating under the assumption that this whole thing is a plot by one of the rogue Lords of Chaos, and that either we could deal with it through simple magical operations, or by petition to our nephew the Emperor of Chaos if things got nasty. Unfortunately, things have gotten far worse. . .Bleys, I've found unmistakable signs that an Avatar is involved. . .and the worst one we could conceive of." She took a deep breath, and her next words turned my blood to ice as I remembered the stories my father had told me just hours ago.
"Bleys, Brand is back."
As always, comments are welcomed and desired.
BLEYS
We traveled back to the library with little conversation and no hostile attention. Once there, Giles, Willow, and I began setting up the ritual circle in accordance with the local rules of magic that I had divined, and which Giles and Willow instructed me in some specifics. After a couple of hours, we had completed the preliminaries, which included setting an enchanted taper to burn until the next sunset. . .we would have a wait on our hands. I looked around and saw that Xander and Oz had dozed off in their chairs, and Willow quickly joined them in slumber. Angel commented that dawn was rapidly approaching and bade us all goodnight. Giles nodded to me and retired to his office. . .leaving me alone with my daughter for the first time. She looked at me, and I could see that any fatigue she felt was completely overwhelmed by curiosity. "So, tell me about them."
I looked at her innocently and replied, "Tell you about who, Buffy?" She glared at me and growled, "You know very well about what. I have a family I didn't know anything about until a few hours ago. . .don't you think that I might want to know about them?"
I nodded gravely and replied, "I suppose so," then began to give her an overview of the family history. I told her of the founding of Amber by Dworkin, and how Oberon-his son, my father-- had ruled it for millennia. I told her how Oberon had run through many wives, resulting in a flock of half-siblings that didn't always care for one another. I told her of my dead siblings, both those I had known and those who had passed on centuries before my birth. She listened raptly as I told her of the events surrounding the Patternfall War, including the disappearance and reappearance of Corwin, our doomed attempt to oust Eric, and brother Brand's mad plot to destroy the Pattern and with it the universe. I described each of my living brothers and sisters, and their children: brilliant Benedict, moody and dauntless Corwin, mighty Gerard, powerful Fiona, and all of the others. I showed her the Trumps with their pictures, and explained their function. By the time I finished, the sun was high in the sky, but the others were still sleeping. Buffy had been silent for some time, and seemed to be about to speak when an odd little man came storming into the library and surveyed the scene, scowling.
I could feel the hostility radiating from Buffy as she looked at the man and commented, "Principal Snyder. . .don't you have any small animals to torment. . .bridges to lurk under?" The man glared at her and replied, "Very funny, Summers. Just because the school board won't let me expel you doesn't mean that I can't make your life unpleasant. . .and I don't recall the library being made over into a dormitory, or whatever other weird things you seem to be involved in." He looked over and saw the ritual circle, and his eyes widened as he shouted, "Now, you've gone too far this time! This is a school, not some refugee camp for you Goth wackos-"
Sensing that this was not good, I grabbed Snyder by the shoulder and spun him around as the others woke up and looked at the scene with bleary-eyed concern. Snyder began to say, "You're looking at a lawsuit, Bud-", then stopped as I locked eyes with him and the power of my mind fell upon him. He stared blankly as Buffy asked hesitatingly, "What did you do to him, Bleys?"
I smiled and replied, "The mind of an Amberite is very powerful, Buffy. In close contact, or using psychic artifacts such as Trumps, we can impose our will on those with weaker minds. . .of course, the Trumps always pose the risk of exposing us to an even more powerful mind, such as one of our relatives." I was receiving mental images from Snyder as I spoke, and I realized quickly that while he was a nasty little bastard, he was not involved in the matter of the Hellmouth or directly with any other evil enterprises in this town, though he covered up things at the behest of higher-ups. I stared into his eyes and gave him a few mental commands: as the others watched, he walked over to Buffy, bowed, and called out, "Forgive me for my transgressions against you, Lady Buffy of the royal family of Amber." He kissed her hand, then left the library without further ado as the others gaped. Buffy grinned and commented, "I could learn to like this," just as a man who looked like a younger version of Giles entered the library with a beautiful dark-haired girl who seemed to be a little younger than Buffy. He seemed normal, but my ring told me that she was a shadow of my doomed sister Deirdre. . .she must be Faith, the Slayer who had run into some recent problems. The man looked around the room, puzzled, before snapping, "What in the world is going on here? Why wasn't I called if something important was happening?"
"Question kind of answers itself, doesn't it?" Xander commented, drawing snickers from Oz and Willow and an amused snort from Giles, who had just emerged from his office. Ah, this had to be Wesley, the new Watcher who was held in such contempt by the others. I sized him up. . .no fighter, this one, and a taint of cowardice. . .still, he seemed bright, and if he survived his apprenticeship here, perhaps he would amount to something. I began to open my mouth to explain things, only to be interrupted by my daughter.
"Wesley, Faith, this is Bleys. . .Prince of Amber. He's told us that the Hellmouth is about to blow sky-high and destroy the entire universe. Don't suppose you'd like to start helping and stop bitching, Wesley?" I noted that she omitted the matter of our relationship, and I also noted that the others seemed to pick up on her omission, as Wesley hemmed and hawed for a moment before looking at me and exclaiming, "Amber? Wait a minute. . .that's right, the Unicorn cult! You're an archetypal representation of some great truth of reality. . .remarkable." He pointedly moved toward the stacks, only to have an annoyed Giles toss him the appropriate tome. I repressed a smile. . .apparently this young fellow was Giles' equal at research, if nowhere else.
Faith moved over to me with a vaguely predatory look on her face, taking my arm. "So, you're a prince, huh? Sounds interesting. . .tell me more." The strength of the grip on my arm reminded me that she was a Slayer, and as such was far more physically formidable than her appearance would suggest. Fully aware of the appalled gazes of Buffy and her friends, I disentangled myself from Faith and replied, "I'd love to, Faith, but now might not be the best time. . .perhaps once we solve this crisis, we can all sit down and talk about my homeland." Faith looked disappointed, and everyone other than Wesley looked relieved.
Buffy turned to Faith and asked, "Why are you here, Faith? You usually don't get up anywhere near this early."
Wesley walked over to Buffy and replied, "She stopped by my apartment about an hour ago. She was out last night informally, in preparation for her re-certification by the Council, and she heard things about some impending disaster, though she wasn't able to get too many details. . .though apparently you were." He puffed himself up, and continued, "Given the stakes involved here, if the matter here will require extra fighters, I believe that the Council will support my decision to temporarily put Faith back on duty to deal with those requirements."
I saw Giles roll his eyes and was inclined to agree: Wesley was a bit of a pompous ass; however, I knew that we would need every fighter we could get. I could see Buffy had doubts-she looked at the ceiling for a long moment before turning to the Slayer and smiling wanly. "Welcome to the party, Faith." She clasped hands with the younger girl, and I saw a startled look cross Faith's face before she smiled and returned the handshake.
Sensing that this was a good moment to interject, I commented, "All right, now that that's settled, let's discuss our likely opponents during the daylight hours. It's clear that some power in the Courts of Chaos is using the Hellmouth as a means of gaining increased Shadow-wide power, so they will send various forms of Chaos creatures against us. Here's what I know about fighting them . . ."
*****
BUFFY
Bleys wasn't kidding about those Chaos creatures being nasty. Fast, strong, not to mention the fact that they regenerated. Still, they couldn't grow heads back, and a thrust to the heart seemed to be just as fatal as it would be for a vampire. Fortunately, it was Saturday, so we could take the battle outdoors without much risk of being spotted by the less than attentive Sunnydale police. In the seven hours before dusk, we managed to take out fifteen of them with no casualties and only bruises otherwise. I was not thrilled with the prospects of dealing with whatever they would throw at us when we were actually performing the ritual. Still, a victory is a victory, and I was feeling rather good about what we had accomplished. We were all back in the library, and I was about to ask Bleys what would be coming next when he seemed to suddenly stare off into space. "What's wrong?", I asked. He gestured for me to be quiet, then whispered, "I'm getting a message." He "listened" for a moment, then extended his hand. Suddenly, an outline appeared, and a beautiful red-haired woman wearing a green dress appeared, holding Bleys' hand. She smiled and whispered, "Thank you, brother," and immediately began to survey her new surroundings. Her eyes focused on me, and I began to blush under the attention.
The woman turned to Bleys with a question on her face, and Bleys quickly shook his head. She nodded, and commented, "Well, Bleys, aren't you going to introduce us to our new allies?" He nodded and introduced all of us to her: "May I present Fiona, Princess and Sorceress of the Court of Amber." He introduced her to each of the others individually, and I was pleased to see that the others managed to keep their cool. He saved my introduction for last, and I took a deep breath before taking her hand: I gathered from Bleys' stories that she was one of the most potent magic wielders in the entire universe, and I had spent enough time as a rat, thank you very much. She shook my hand with a firm grip and leaned over to whisper in my ear, "We'll have a lot to talk about later, Buffy." I managed to keep my composure and nodded as she turned to face her brother.
Bleys was frowning as Fiona turned back to him. "Why did you need to come, Sister? We seem to have things well in hand here without your assistance."
Fiona looked visibly concerned as she replied, "I've come into new information since we last spoke, and I believe that you will need my help in dealing with this problem, Bleys." She paused for a moment, then continued, "I've been operating under the assumption that this whole thing is a plot by one of the rogue Lords of Chaos, and that either we could deal with it through simple magical operations, or by petition to our nephew the Emperor of Chaos if things got nasty. Unfortunately, things have gotten far worse. . .Bleys, I've found unmistakable signs that an Avatar is involved. . .and the worst one we could conceive of." She took a deep breath, and her next words turned my blood to ice as I remembered the stories my father had told me just hours ago.
"Bleys, Brand is back."
As always, comments are welcomed and desired.