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Post by Brian on Jan 5, 2024 2:08:45 GMT
I furrow my brow. I glance at the Druid who gets the Merchant to lead the men off to the main part of the bar. Brian's view to Druid was serious and determined. " I am not sure I know your meaning but.....Prince's and curses seem to suggest something to my mind." He glances at Hal who seems to be curiously watch...."You are speaking of Amber?'
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2024 10:32:09 GMT
Jacob takes a draw on his pipe, nodding as he does. When he releases the smoke, there is a sigh in the exhalation. "I am. I expect we are cousins, after a fashion."
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Post by Brian on Jan 5, 2024 11:39:37 GMT
" I see." I take a shot directly from the bottle. "You're not the first one I've met. My people have complicated legends about Amber.... it is why I sent them away. Of course, I've come to the understanding those legends are likely not true. But are misunderstandings of history. I'm not much better...I've met a couple of you and my Lady wife has told me things. She has in her way chosen to be unbiased. I'm from Earth originally. "
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2024 17:17:02 GMT
Jacob tilts his head slightly to one side, "Interesting phrasing you use there - 'first one', 'one of you' - are you not of Amber, then?"
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Post by Brian on Jan 5, 2024 17:27:50 GMT
" In the most formal way I am....but substantively? Never been there....not sure I want to. No idea who my mother or father is....its a sore spot. My lady wife thinks i should go and sort it out."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2024 21:18:30 GMT
Jacob nods thoughtfully, "Sadly, 'sort it out' is one of those terms that has little real meaning in the shadow of Mount Kolvir, and less effect. That said, you may rest assured that, however little interest you have in Amber, Amber certainly has an interest in you. I say this not with any personal intent - I have only just met you. It's just that..." he pauses as he considers his words, "...there is no escaping it, and worse, the less you know, the more it can intrude on your life invisibly. I would not be overly surprised to find an Amberite's fingerprints somewhere on the cloaks of this false god whose mess you are cleaning up."
"You strike me as a competent warrior, and so I hope you'll reconsider - competent warriors know the danger of not knowing an adversary. And whether you know them or not, you have adversaries."
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Post by Brian on Jan 5, 2024 22:16:14 GMT
I laugh a bit " I mean I came upon 2 likely cousins before I knew what I was. One after and now you. The Reader's Digest story of my life. I spent 13 years on earth. Dad was a Naval Operations officer, Mom worked as a Librarian. I was as normal as normal can be. Had a girlfriend who broke my heart. I fell down a Cenote, and as I was about to crash into the bottom...I fell into Ayalos. I was enslaved for a time, then I was moved to the fosterage of my Mentor Old Kane. An irony as that's also my surname. Then the crises happened. The knowledge was not particularly difficult for an Earthman who grew up learning the Irish Sagas and Tarot wouldn't know. The same knowledge that led me to ally with my lady wife.....I thought of course I was just physically more resiliant than the men of Ayalos." I take a hard drink. " I swore to become king to save a woman. At the end of the fight against the false god, I ended up on the pattern. " I tap the table "I've not figured if it was my wife's wickedness or kindness that led her to tell me about Amber. It was likely both. So I wake up and work....and I think....was the man I thought to be my father a betrayer of the man I thought to be my mother? Vice Versa? Did they lie to me my whole life? Was I raised like a cuckoo? My lady wife and I went back to earth to see my parents.....but were they the people who raised me? Or did the pattern lead me to closure with them? Was I forgotten, was I abandoned, is my sire or mare dead? Are there people who have a vendetta against me for blood I don't know I have? Do I by right or honor have a vendetta I should seek out." I shake my head. "My lady wife tells me seeking Answers in Amber will help me find my peace with it. I've spent a long time cooling centuries of feud culture.....I am disinclined to put myself into a deeper one."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2024 14:11:02 GMT
"Irony...yes." Jacob leans back and listens to Brian tell his story, "Your Majesty is no doubt familiar with the wisdom of old soldiers - Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Mahan - so you might consider the following: you talk of 'allying' with your lady wife, and mention her wickedness and kindness. You are unsure whom to trust and you question every step of your existence, wondering how much of it was laid out for you and whether any of it was truly your free choice."
Jacob leans forward and looks Brian in the eyes. "If you'll pardon a small pun, you are already living in Amber's Shadow, Your Majesty. You are a part of its world and its treacherous and labyrinthine politics snake their way around you like so much fog. You are not avoiding Amber - you're just refusing to look at it. And that is like standing on a battlefield with blinders on. You may do majestically against whatever is right in front of you, but your lack of peripheral vision could be terminal."
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Post by Brian on Jan 6, 2024 14:34:02 GMT
"We will need your end of the parlay I think." I smirk "But...one last bit of entertaining tale-telling from me. When I first saw my lady wife she was a old Crone.On Ayalos she was a minor legend. But *I* knew the Washer of the Ford. I wore her symbol as the Morrigan. " I let that fill the air. "I looked in her eyes and saw her as Anu....as Gentle Annie. There was a pain of loss there. An absense...I felt compassion for her."
I drink again "When she isn't lying she tells me I am a better man than the Dog. I treat women better than the dog." I laugh a bit at that. "When I am favorable to my lady wife and I want to keep her favorable I call her Annie. When I saw her next I was at the edge of death and she was Macha. When we consummated our marriage I saw her as Badb Catha." I tap the bottle we've been drinking from. " My lady wife is Queen, Goddess, Death, War, History, Fertility.....I think she might be the first time the Shadow of the Morrigan was cast. But for all I know she is a Chaosian who has been running a very very long con on me." I laugh.
"My people believe that Amber, Rebma, and Chaos invaded themselves in their most ancient past. I've come to believe the truth is somewhat more muddled. But old stories still leave their ghosts."
"So what is your tale Cousin.... that's the other thing." I shake my head " I don't even know if we are proper cousins. We are cousins in the broad royal sense. How is it you find yourself here and not in Amber?"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2024 14:56:17 GMT
Jacob takes his pipe in hand with a soft laugh. "Well, if you know not your own parentage precisely, I could not resolve that for you. But, if you wish to know my story, we will need a proper drink."
He stands from his seat, "One moment, please." He walks back towards the bar, weaving his way into the now more crowded with Brian's men common space. He passes right by the bar, goes to the door, and steps out into the street, shutting it behind him.
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Post by Brian on Jan 6, 2024 15:12:00 GMT
I cock an eye brow and look at Hal. ~You want to bet he doesn't come back?~ the bird says to me. I shake my head. " Let's see."
But I have sonw affairs to finish.....but yes... once those last fires are managed.. I might make my trek
" Besides " I say to the bird. " Perhaps I've gotten from him what I needed."
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