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Walking down the grand slope of the port face of Mount Kolvir was a long but easy jaunt, winding lazily down to the city at an easy gradient, very unlike the other faces of the mountain, which was jutting and steep all the way to the top if approached from the forest of Arden or the Vale. That way would take one up a narrow staircase in the rock until they arrived near the summit and took the Vale door into the castle. It was a route not used very often, and many preferred the road that Dubiel used now.
As always, Dubiel's mask got strange looks from everyone she passed by. No one seemed to understand it, but it had become commonly known that the Princess Dubiel was fond of such a mask, and so as she passed the commoners of Amber she received the bobs and bows and curtsies suited for one of her rank. How she chose to feel about being treated this way was up to her, but it had happened most of her life. Only out in Shadow was she really treated solely on her many merits - and even then only because she would seek out such Shadows.
Hidden within the folds of her dress was the Jewel of Judgement, the most precious artifact in creation. She had woken one day to find it sitting in a box by her bedside, wrapped in the crimson cloak that was stuffed in her traveling pack beside her. She felt certain her father had left it to her, and probably with good reason, but she was blind to what it could be. Everyone knew Bator was his favorite, he'd even drunkenly announced it as such at one of his victory feasts that she had attended. And Bator was a Pattern wielder of immense skill. No one knew the Pattern like he did - so why should it be her that received the most potent tool of Olin's creation?
Surely if Bator were to have inherited it, it would have been as good as Olin naming him heir, and yet it had not. Did that mean? Could that possibly mean that Olin had wanted her to succeed him? The possibility was madness at first glance but impossible to ignore. Dubiel knew many stories that spoke of reluctant rulers being the best ones for the job precisely because they did not desire a crown or scepter. Yet here was the scepter of all scepters... and she dare not give it away just yet, not without knowing what Olin had meant by bequeathing it to her. She had studied it while in Shadow, before coming to see Olin on his deathbed. She had walked the pattern in its three-dimensional image, imprinting the Jewel into her mind. It had been the hardest thing she had ever done in her life, even harder than walking the Pattern in Amber for the first time, but Dubiel had always been the best when it came to perseverance - maybe another reason why Olin had given the relic to her?
As she reached the city gate, she had to determine where it was that she was going. She could go to see Wanda, her friend and Steward of the City. Of all the other royal siblings, Wanda was the only one who had ever taken the time to visit Dubiel in Shadow at her theater world. That counted for a lot with the royal thespian. There was also Lord Aiden, the judge of Amber City, who resided in a large mansion in the upper class part of town. He was a long time patron of the arts and was on good terms with Dubiel as well. Then there were any of the other siblings to possibly visit: Edric at his army barracks just near the outer walls or Rhone out in Arden, walking down the many forest paths someplace. She could also take to the see and try to visit Gamon in Shalomar or Siobhan in Mystara. Or she could simply decide to get on a horse and ride out of Amber and eventually into Shadow.
As always, Dubiel's mask got strange looks from everyone she passed by. No one seemed to understand it, but it had become commonly known that the Princess Dubiel was fond of such a mask, and so as she passed the commoners of Amber she received the bobs and bows and curtsies suited for one of her rank. How she chose to feel about being treated this way was up to her, but it had happened most of her life. Only out in Shadow was she really treated solely on her many merits - and even then only because she would seek out such Shadows.
Hidden within the folds of her dress was the Jewel of Judgement, the most precious artifact in creation. She had woken one day to find it sitting in a box by her bedside, wrapped in the crimson cloak that was stuffed in her traveling pack beside her. She felt certain her father had left it to her, and probably with good reason, but she was blind to what it could be. Everyone knew Bator was his favorite, he'd even drunkenly announced it as such at one of his victory feasts that she had attended. And Bator was a Pattern wielder of immense skill. No one knew the Pattern like he did - so why should it be her that received the most potent tool of Olin's creation?
Surely if Bator were to have inherited it, it would have been as good as Olin naming him heir, and yet it had not. Did that mean? Could that possibly mean that Olin had wanted her to succeed him? The possibility was madness at first glance but impossible to ignore. Dubiel knew many stories that spoke of reluctant rulers being the best ones for the job precisely because they did not desire a crown or scepter. Yet here was the scepter of all scepters... and she dare not give it away just yet, not without knowing what Olin had meant by bequeathing it to her. She had studied it while in Shadow, before coming to see Olin on his deathbed. She had walked the pattern in its three-dimensional image, imprinting the Jewel into her mind. It had been the hardest thing she had ever done in her life, even harder than walking the Pattern in Amber for the first time, but Dubiel had always been the best when it came to perseverance - maybe another reason why Olin had given the relic to her?
As she reached the city gate, she had to determine where it was that she was going. She could go to see Wanda, her friend and Steward of the City. Of all the other royal siblings, Wanda was the only one who had ever taken the time to visit Dubiel in Shadow at her theater world. That counted for a lot with the royal thespian. There was also Lord Aiden, the judge of Amber City, who resided in a large mansion in the upper class part of town. He was a long time patron of the arts and was on good terms with Dubiel as well. Then there were any of the other siblings to possibly visit: Edric at his army barracks just near the outer walls or Rhone out in Arden, walking down the many forest paths someplace. She could also take to the see and try to visit Gamon in Shalomar or Siobhan in Mystara. Or she could simply decide to get on a horse and ride out of Amber and eventually into Shadow.