"The people are revolting! We must leave before they overwhelm us!"
Darius Roland looked up from his text at the old man opening his door, "I will calm the people, Father."
Darius stood and walked to the window, retreating introspectively; then pushing outwardly. His mind hung resolutely before his eyes in the air, and he spoke through it.
"People of Sinistral, you take arms against he who seeks only your well-being."
The door splintered inwardly at that point, and then broke as an axe flew through it. Surazal drew his sword to defend them both.
Darius turned to him, "No Father, do not."
In the saying, Darius' voice weaved the old priest into his will. He started singing to hold the spell in place. For lack of knowing any other song, Darius sang a lullaby that he had learnt as a small child. Darius turned back to the balcony. The people had dropped their farm-tools and swords, looking at him adoringly. They felt his desire for them to be happy; they knew him as God. He stood, singing for a time more. Darius felt his influence spread until each of his creations knew of his love for them. Finally having encompassed the entire Shadow touching each soul in passing, he released his people into sleep. Darius trudged to his couch and sat down. He spent several minutes fighting his eyelids to stay awake and lost to a different world.
Seeming moments later, Darius' eyes bulged. Unable to breathe and with only moonlight to guide his hand, Darius started to grab for his throat, but caught an arm instead. A hand covered his mouth and nose. He tried to breathe, catching instead a harsh scent somewhat like breathing thorns. Darius fought only a few moments before the world around him darkened beyond blackness.
Even later, Darius awoke and felt nauseous for his trouble. He kept his eyes closed, listening to his environment.
A woman's voice, "Light a fire under your ass, old man. Surazal, you know we don't have all night. Your boy must be returned for his morning appearance before the sun arises."
The man in the driver's seat and clucked the horses into moving faster. The old man drove for several hours. Darius knew the sounds of the carriage they rode in as one of the castle's own carriages. After a while Darius relized that his impressions of the world were changing, constantly changing. The night sky perceptibly lightened becoming day. The plains gave way to trees and in turn were displaced by a type that he had never before seen; the trees thickened into a forest. Darius heard a sharp sound. The horses reared once and the carriage bucked. Both horses stamped nervously. Darius risked opening his eyes and saw an arrow quivering in the road.
A voice spoke to them from further up the road, "What is thy name, and station?"
The woman leaned out, "I am Llewella, Princess of Amber and late of Rebma. Stand aside, brother Julian will vouchsafe me and my passage, for I am on King Random's business."
The voice became a man jumping down from a tree. He looked at the trio, "Why is the boy bound and gagged?"
She lied easily, "He is not a boy, but a Chao demon sent by Prince Caine to spy on me. I have captured him and suspect that he is invovled in a plot against Amber. So I come to ask King Random to question him."
"On your way then."
"Thank you for your expedience."
Surazal got the horses moving again.
"At the next turnoff we go right to proceed up the face of Mt. Kolvir after which I will tell you when to stop. I cannot shift Shadow this close to the Pattern, things are too real here."
"Yes Mistress."
The doing of it took up most of the day; just as night fell she told Surazal to stop the carriage at an outcropping of stone that appeared as if someone had carved it into three steps. The stone hung just over the edge of the mountain. Llewella brushed away Surazal's hand as he tried to help her out of the carriage. She lifted Darius out of the carriage and set him on the ground, then she untied him allowing him to work feeling back into his muscles. She handed Surazal a large card. It felt cold, Darius knew, having touched one before as a small child.
"You will stay here with my Trump in hand in case something goes wrong. You cannot go into Tirna Nog'th, as it will not become solid for you."
Darius could see the card from where he stood. It was a portrait of Llewella except that it seemed more than a mere painting; it seemed as if the card held his princess' essence. She wore a pale green dress, and appeared to be underwater; dolphins were swimming around her.
Surazal nodded; he started to concentrate firmly on the card and the Llewella residing in the card. Darius knew the card would become colder and more real, and the connection between them would grow until the card's image became that of the Llewella standing in front of him in the same setting.
Llewella started up the stairway.
"Good. Now hold this connection," she turned to Darius, "It is time for you to ascend to your true power."
The boy looked at the three bare stone steps. Darius realized that this woman had spoken the ancient language, Thari. He looked again at the steps and saw that a ghostly stairway had semi-materialized where none had been minutes ago leading up from the steps. Darius knew that destiny lay at the top of the glittering stair. He took the first three steps firmly, and the third he was about to mount when Llewella spoke to him again.
"Don't attempt to look too hard through the stairway, lest it vanish beneath you, and we cannot remain here longer than the moon or suffer the same."
Darius stopped at the third step. It is daunting, he thought, this stair that is not really there to be climbed. Darius looked up, if this woman can do this then I can as well.
From that he climbed what seemed a hundred steps, and then a hundred more. The moon had moved considerably by the time he stopped for a momentary rest.
Another hundred or so steps passed with Llewella shouting that he was possibly the slowest person she had ever met, and Darius finally approached the last step. Llewella waited for him, and without giving him a rest led the boy by his arm. They started walking and shortly came to a castle ghostly people walked along ignoring the pair of real people.
"This is Tirna Nog'th, the dream that is real."
Darius shuddered as one of the ghosts walked directly through him.
Llewella led him through the castle to a another stair which turned out to be a downward spiral. They went down to an open door. Darius could see a light shining from within a room which they entered. The room held a huge circular pattern in the floor which hurt his eyes a little.
"What is it? Its so real, even more so than me."
"That is the Pattern, and it is your destiny."
"What am I to do with such a thing."
"Walk its lines. Learn to know it. The Pattern will bear you farther than you have ever been."
Llewella led Darius to the point at which the Pattern met the normal tiles of the floor.
"Once you start down this path you may not turn away or back. The Pattern will kill you if you try. When you reach the center, it will ask where you want to go. You may go anywhere."
Darius stood at the beginning of the Pattern. He scrutinized his feet for a moment, the bright white light giving his face a ghostly cast. Darius lifted his right foot slowly, he set it on the Pattern. Darius then took his first full step on the Pattern. He could feel the energy building underneath his feet, coursing through his body. Blue-white sparks covered Darius toes by the third step.
As the Pattern coursed through Darius' body, he saw himself circulate through the Pattern in little eddys of himself.
::First game of Dom'qa:: Father, the priest, at the sacrificial table:: picnics with friends' parents:: Jabi, the first kiss:: Jonoi, the Palace of Tharin spring in the garden tending winter roses::
Abruptly Darius was beyond the First Veil. He realized the way to be easier than it had been. Respite did not last but a moment, however as the blue-white sparks covered his lower leg with each step.
::Mr. Tree, bounding up to his shoulder singing so that all could hear:: Slipping, rushing out, AAH-AAH AAI-AIR, Breathe, In, Out, In, Out, Unhappy, Yell, Oww, Hurt:: Up, Up, over the horse's head, to the ground, ground, ground, oww:: Wearing the Shroud of Kiom, Father performs the prisoner sacrifice:: Ashimin, favorite tutor::
Darius passed the Second Veil. Every step became a new death, the lifting of his foot, a birth, the setting of his foot, a new death. His entire life having reshown itself to him, Darius exploded. He was reborn, again and again. Each time permeating his body with itself, the Pattern covered Darius' legs and most of his body in bright white sparks.
Darius pulled inwardly for the last major push. He thought for about himself for a moment extremely tired although for some reason clearer than at any time in his life. The Pattern seemed to be reminding him of his place in Shadow and in Amber. In Shadow, Darius knew himself to be a God, the force of all creation, all good and all evil would spring forth from him. In Amber, the situation Darius knew would somewhat different, all evil might not come from him or even show iself. Oh, but for the joys of reality.
The entire universe seemed laid out before him as if it were a small scale model. He forced himself to lean into the onslaught of the Pattern. More exhausted than he could remember, Darius groaned at the exertion of pressing his feet down and picking them up to make each step. Finally, Darius slumped as the world regained its semi-stable nature; he realized that he was in the center of the Pattern past the Final Veil.
Darius heard Llewella shouting his name, and looked over to her.
"You must choose where you will go, and what you will experience first! The sun has nearly risen, choose quickly! I must return to Kolvir now."
Llewella turned and stepped into a rainbow door, which had not existed the moment previously.
Darius Roland thought for a moment and knew what he should choose. Darius stood and spoke to the Pattern, "I am God. I want to go everywhere."
As the sun rose over Mt. Kolvir, Darius disappeared in a ghostly rainbow flash, and then Tirna Nog'th vanished, awaiting the next moonlit night.