The Chronicles of Amber

“Beautiful.” He twisted in his saddle, looking in all directions. “I want a room with a southern view. And lots of windows.”

I chuckled. “Then it will do?”

“More than do! It's perfect, as long as it lasts!”

I studied him. “How do you feel? Tired? Sick?”

“Huh? Fine, of course.”

“No ill effects?”

“No-o-o… should I have some?”

I smiled with relief. “I was half afraid everyone else would get sick here, like Blaise did.”

He pointed down the mountain, where the wagons had just drawn to a stop. “She looks fine now, as far as I can see.”

I shaded my eyes and studied her, plus Conner and Freda. None of them lay down suddenly and went to sleep, which had to count for something.

Aber stood up in his saddle, waved, and shouted a “Halloo!”

Freda waved back. Everyone climbed down from the wagons and hiked toward us. Servants, meanwhile, began to unload everything and set up tables for lunch.

Ten minutes later, my sisters and brother joined us. Blaise looked pale and faintly sick, but not as bad as before. Conner and Freda were winded, but well.

“You look good,” Freda said to me. “Almost glowing. This world agrees with you.”

I laughed. “This place… it's in my blood. I feel strong here, more powerful and alive than I've ever been before.”

“It is the Pattern. Its nearness…” She turned slowly, studying the land. “It is… different here. Not like Chaos. Nor quite like Juniper. There is something powerful about it… an energy I can feel.”

“It's better,” I said.

“Different,” she repeated.

“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Aber said with a sigh.

I glanced over at him. “What do you mean?”

“Do you really think King Uthor will let us build here? He will march against us immediately.”

“You forget,” I said, “that this is my world, not his. It's built from the Pattern within me. I feel like a god here. So let him come—I'll kill him and hang his head from my castle gates!”

“Castle? Gates?” Aber turned slowly, staring at the emptiness. “He isn't going to wait for us to build. I bet he's gathering his forces now.”

“It doesn't matter,” I said. My imagination soared. Towers—walls—ramparts—a whole city will rise here, on the side of this mountain! “We will bring as many workers as it takes. We can rebuild Juniper in a year.”

“Not Juniper,” Freda said sharply. “That was Father's. Make this your city, Oberon. Put your stamp upon it.”

My own city… yes. I could see it in my mind's eye. Tall towers with minarets, proud pennants flying. High stone walls, shining white in the rising sun, surrounded by a beautiful town with red-tiled roofs and well-cobbled streets. Down to the sea, where the sun shone like amber on the waves…

“Amber,” I whispered. It fit this world. It resonated nicely with Juniper's name, too… a proud and unashamed continuation of our father's legacy.

“Amber? Is that the best you can come up with?” Aber asked.

“Kind of boring. How about Aberton? Now that's a name with personality!”

“No,” Freda said flatly.

“Or just Aber. It's shorter.”

“Only by one letter,” I said.

Freda said, “Absolutely not!”

“Or maybe Oberonia?” he went on, grinning at me. “What do you say, brother?”

I had to laugh. “Actually, I kind of like Oberonia!”

“No,” Freda said firmly, turning to me and folding her arms stubbornly. “Do not encourage him, Oberon. He becomes very silly if you let him.”

“How about Fredania?” Aber suggested with a knowing smirk.

She glared. “No! This world will be called Amber. That is the end of the discussion.”

“I like Amber,” Conner said.

“So do I,” said Blaise.

“Then it's settled,” I said. “We'll call it Amber. The name fits, and I like it.”

“No sense of fun…” Aber muttered.

“It is settled.” Freda sighed and looked to the distance. “Now comes the hard part.”

“We all know an attack will come,” I said. “The only question is—when?”

“Maybe building here isn't such a great idea,” Aber said. “Dad had a hundred years to prepare Juniper, and he still couldn't hold it.”

“We must build Amber to withstand greater forces,” Freda said. “We know what we will face. This time, we will be ready.”

Aber shook his head. “Easier said than done!”

“Higher ramparts and stronger walls will only do so much,” I said. “I've seen what primal chaos can do. If Uthor unleashes it here, nothing will save this Shadow.”

“We cannot hide like animals,” Freda said.

“I didn't say we should.” I swallowed, eyes turning to the distance. “We need a home. A place to plan and gather our forces. If war is inevitable, I'm not going to wait for it to come to me. We'll attack first.”

Aber gasped. “Attack the Courts of Chaos? Are you mad?”

I looked at him levelly. “I've never been more serious. If I have to fight, it's going to be on my terms. If Uthor has spies in Amber, we'll have spies in Chaos. If he gathers an army to attack us here, we will attack him first. I'm not like our father—I'm going to fight, and I'm going to win. No matter what it takes.”

Freda looked at me strangely. “I see our father in you,” she said. “But there is something else, something more.”

“I have a mother, too,” I reminded her, thinking to the unicorn I had seen three times now. I half believed my father's claim that she had birthed me. “If any of what I suspect is true, she is quite remarkable.”

“Your mother, yes, that must be it,” she murmured. “For the first time… I believe you will succeed.”

I chuckled. “Let's not get maudlin. We have work ahead of us. Hard work, and a lot of it.”

“I don't like the sound of that!” Aber said with mock alarm.

“Think bigger, beyond yourself.” I gestured grandly, taking in the mountain before us. “Look at this world as a blank slate. We have architects—stonemasons—carpenters, all at our call. We can buy food in great supply. We will hire all the help we need from Selonika and other nearby Shadows. Amber itself will provide the rest. A quarry for granite and marble. Lumber by the ton. Enough land for farming, fish from the sea and meat from the forests…”

“Whoa!” Aber said. “We haven't even had lunch yet!”

“Can Amber really be built so quickly?” Freda asked.

“Yes. We'll do it the old-fashioned way… with greed.” I grinned. “And, for anyone who doesn't want gold, there's plenty of land available. We need farms and wineries. For anyone really valuable to us, we can hand out minor titles—”

“You would set up a peerage among the Shadow-people?” Blaise asked, looking aghast.

“Why not?” I grinned at her. “I've lived in Shadows my whole life. There were more people of honor and integrity in Ilerium than I found in all of Chaos.”

“But none of them can control Shadow or Chaos,” Conner said. “They have no real power.”

“Oh, a few generations of interbreeding with the likes of us, and I think they'll share our powers, too. I