Re: Amber Auction Thread
Birth Order
The Queen Eileen has given birth to four children. The first and eldest by many years is Bator, who is widely considered by everyone to be the rightful heir to the throne. He was born shockingly close to the first 9 months of Olin and Eileen's marriage, leading some to wonder about the nature of how the queen came by her royal station.
Bator was a young boy of about ten before he received his first true sister, the Princess Vivianna, who is the joy of the kingdom's eye. For them, the birth of Vivianna meant a reconciliation between Olin and the queen, who had been estranged while Olin had waged a long campaign against the Chaos Courts.
The good years rolled on, and the Queen then gave birth to her final children, the twins Svaltus and Vaelus, who through the first formative years of their lives seemed to be almost of one mind about things, able to finish one another's sentences and sense where the other one was by instinct, or know when the other was wounded and how badly. It wasn't until many years later as they went their separate paths that the twins' fraternal sympathy lessened in its strength.
(Final bid: Bator 24, Vivianna 5, Vaelus and Svaltus 1)
OLIN'S FAVORITE:
Being Olin's eldest and legitimate child by many years has given Bator the opportunity to make a good impression on his dad. He got a lot of alone time with the old man, and when he was old enough, Olin invited him to go campaigning with him. His father told him of many secrets in shadow and about the Pattern and about the responsibilities of a king of Amber. It was clear to many that Olin was grooming his first born to inherit the throne.
(Bator wins this auction with a bid of 14)
DEWORIN'S FAVORITE:
When they were young, grandpa Deworin was still puttering around Amber from time to time. The old man was considered senile by many, including Olin, but no one could ever stop him from coming or going. He just showed up at places. And he liked to play practical jokes on the adults when the children were looking. No one enjoyed his cleverness more than the Princess Vivianna, and the old kook took a liking to her. Sometimes the Princess would dissappear for a day, much to the worry of the castle, only to show up again with Deworin, telling everyone how grandpa was teaching her chess, or going fishing down by the great lighthouse in the nearby kingdom of Ulmf. It was clear that she had an in road into the heart of the man who had created the Pattern.
(Vivianna wins with 4)
EILEEN'S FAVORITE
The Queen was somewhat distant from most of her children, though of course she preferred them over all others sired by her troublesome cad of a husband. She had thought to pin down his love for her by getting pregnant and forcing him into a marriage of convenience, and it had for the most part worked. He even seemed to adore their firstborn, Bator. But he would campaign against Chaos for years, and probably have half a dozen bastards with various camp followers during that time. Still, she had her ways, and even managed to romance his attentions back to her for a time, when she produced three more children by him. Little Vivi was supposed to have been her own pet project but the little girl seemed to have a wanderlust which was only worsened by that lunatic grandfather of hers. That left the twins to be hers. They were odd children, the twins, but there were differences. Svaltus was slightly more rough and tumble while Vaelus had a more graceful air to him that appealed to the Queen. It was with Vaelus then that she had most kinship and in her secret heart she thought that with him on the throne, she would be most comfortable living as the Queen Mother.
(Vaelus wins with a bid of 2)
NALA'S FAVORITE:
By the time that they were all teenagers, the royal siblings had learned some certain facts of life, and one important one was that there father was not the most loyal husband. It wasn't that he was uncaring, or not loving, it was just that you couldn't force the man to do anything that he didn't want to do. He was King of Amber, protector of the Pattern, and he could do anything and have anyone he wanted. This made him susceptible to seduction, and he had many courtiers who tries this tact, mainly to gain favors for themselves or for their own kingdoms.
One notable courtier was the purple skinned woman known as Nala. Beautiful and cunning, this woman was a constant presence in Castle Amber for the past decade, and a constant eyesore for the Queen. Nala even had her own room in the castle and had regularly scheduled "appointments" with the king. In her free time, Nala had the chance to take an interest in the Princess Vivianna's exploits and the two of them began to share a close bond, chatting away long hours about goodness knows what. The fact that her own daughter now cavorted around with this "whore" drove Eileen up the wall. With the recent death of Olin, Nala hasn't been seen in the castle, and for good reason, as the Queen Regent would probably find an excuse to kill her on sight.
(Vivianna wins this auction with 5)
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The next auctions are
6)Rebma's Champion: Moire, the Queen of Rebma, the Under Sea Kingdom bordering Amber, supports your claim to the throne.
7)Spymaster: You control the royal spy network. This is a secret auction and only the winner will know who claims this.
8)Castellan's Favorite: Prince Jules controls the palace guard and defenses of Castle Amber. He supports your claim.
9)Steward of Amber City's Favorite: Princess Wanda runs the City militia and day to day government. She supports your claim.
10)Lord Marshal's Favorite: Prince Edric has the allegience of Amber's army, though it is scattered across Amber's borders. He supports your claim.
11)Admiral of the North's Favorite: Prince Gamon commands the northern fleet and the Shalomar Naval Base. You and he go way back.