Book One Many people are invited to the Coronation of Random, including all of the elder Amberites, except for Corwin the missing and the currently dead family members. Also invited are Sebastian, son of Fiona, Jove, Crown Prince of Amber, son of Random and Vialle, Garth, son of Julian, Oliver, son of Gerard and Waldhiem, a member of the Chaos delegation. All these people are present at the reception, as are two strangers. Random stands up, welcomes everyone, and asks the two strangers to introduce themselves. They turn out to be Connor, son of Benedict and Vale, parentage unknown. She asks if any of the elders claim her as their daughter. After a few moments of silence, Bleys does. After Random's speech, people break off into groups. Notable happenings: it is established that Corwin is missing, no one can contact him, and his special ammunition no longer works in Amber. In a conversation about Random with Benedict, Martin, Oliver, Connor and Garth, Gerard says that the family is behind Random, and regards Garth's comment of "For now" with great suspicion. Oliver reveals that he was a member of the Amber delegation to Chaos, along with Bleys, Caine and Flora. Sebastian claims he has mostly spent the time since Patternfall in Amber, with some side trips into shadow. Everyone else is pretty cagey about where they've been recently. Benedict is asked why Connor was not called in to help fight in the Patternfall War. Benedict replies that he didn't think Connor would have been any help. Several hostile words are exchanged between Benedict and Connor. Eventually, everyone retires to their quarters. Vale gets lost and has an interesting encounter. The next morning, Garth goes riding in Arden. Vale and Sebastian get together and talk. Oliver starts off the day with Waldhiem, trying to teach him more Thari and show him around a bit. Oliver later gives Connor a tour. At the banquet that afternoon, Oliver shows up with a scratched face, and won't say how it happened. Sebastian, Merlin and Vale all show up wearing silver roses. After the banquet, the presentation of gifts begins. Vale presents Random with an olive branch, Sebastian, a pair of hawks, Oliver, a branch from Ygg, Jove, a pair of drum sticks, Garth, a sword and Waldhiem a large piece of wood. Connor does not have a gift. When the gifts are presented most of the guests swear an oath of fealty to Amber and Random. The exceptions are Garth and Dworkin, who only swear fealty to Amber, and Vale and the Chaos delegates, who swear no oath at all. Random is then crowned. At some point, Vale, Sebastian and Merlin head off to try to contact Corwin. Later that evening is the masquerade. Oliver comes dressed in his usual outfit plus a domino mask, Vale comes dressed as the Forest of Arden, Jove comes dressed as a flower, Sebastian comes dressed as a red demon, Connor comes dressed as a jester, Garth comes dressed as a knight and Waldhiem and two of the other Chaos delegates come as wolves. Jove, Waldhiem, Vale, Sebastian and Oliver discuss whether Amber and Chaos will ever be able to truly work together. Vale notices someone at the masquerade who bears a startling resemblance to her. Just then, Random enters and starts to make a toast. He is interrupted by some servants, who run in screaming that Benedict has been murdered. Random asks the family to come with him to catch the killer. Sebastian replies "Fuck that!", but comes anyway, as do most of the Amberites. When they reach Benedict's quarters, they find his elite guard surrounding the door, holding someone inside. That someone is Connor, who is covered with blood. Benedict is found lying in his bed with a knife wound. Connor claims that a blond woman named Helen approached him at the party, saying that his father was sick. She brought him back to Benedict's quarters, where he observed Benedict tossing fitfully. Connor suspects he was poisoned. Suddenly, Helen pulled out a knife and stabbed Benedict. Connor tried to stop her, but was tossed aside. Then she disappeared. Connor says that Helen appeared to be killing Benedict because she thought she would be doing Connor a favor, since he hated Benedict so much. Gerard begins trying to save Benedict. Connor is led away in chains as the primary suspect. Mount Kolvir is sealed off until the matter is resolved. Meanwhile, Vale manages to catch up to her look alike, who claims that she is Clarissa, the mother of Bleys, Brand and Fiona. Twenty-four hours later, Benedict has regained consciousness. Everyone gathers in his quarters, except for Vale, Caine and Connor. Benedict berates Gerard for allowing so many people in the room when one of them might be his killer. Gerard asks if Benedict knows who the assassin was. Benedict replies that he doesn't, since he wasn't completely conscious at the time. He gives a speech about how he had held hopes that the family would change its ways with Random's kingship, but that he was now thoroughly disgusted with everyone. He then proceeds to curse "all of you: you will know more pain that ever before, until Amber's greatest enemy is..." Unfortunately, he dies before completing his sentence, leaving some question as to what was to be done. Everyone feels a strong sense of dread at hearing these words. Fiona pretty much voices everyone's feelings on the matter, with a heartfelt "Oh shit!" Gerard begins to do CPR on Benedict, without much success. Oliver suggests taking Benedict to a high-tech shadow for help. Hi is told that such a trip would take several days of Hellriding, something Benedict would not survive. Oliver claims that he can get there immediately. He concentrates for a minute, picks up Benedict, and disappears. At this point, Caine finally shows up and notices that Benedict is missing. He is quite alarmed to hear that the family allowed Oliver to take Benedict by himself. Meanwhile, on a shadow much like Shadow Earth, Oliver arrives at a hospital emergency room. Benedict is given to the doctors while Oliver remains behind to fill out the necessary paperwork. Before he is finished, the doctors return to tell him that there was nothing they could do to save Benedict. Oliver asks to see the body, and when he is brought to it, he grabs it and teleports back to Amber. Oliver arrives back in Benedict's quarters shortly after Caine enters. He tells the family that nothing could be done. Julian immediately accuses Oliver of having helped kill Benedict. Random places Oliver under house arrest. Oliver offers to take Random and Caine back to the hospital to prove his innocence. They both agree, and all three disappear. Most of the family leaves Benedict's quarters. Many of them mill about in the hallway outside. Jove cries and checks Benedict's Trump, just to make sure. There is, of course, no answer. Julian gets a Trump call from Flora, informing him that the dungeons have been invaded. Julian relays this to the others and heads off towards the dungeons, accompanied by Sebastian, Garth and some guards. Bleys heads off in a different direction, followed by Jove and some more guards. Apparently, the residential section of the castle is being invaded as well. Jove takes a moment to contact Random and inform him of recent events. Random is not pleased, and has Jove bring Caine, Oliver and himself through. Naturally, Oliver had not yet managed to clear himself of suspicion. Jove also contacts Vialle and brings her out of the royal quarters to a safer spot, where he leaves her surrounded by guards. In the dungeon, Connor is confronted by a sorcerer named Giscard, who commands the invading troops. Several of his troops are watching an apparently unconscious Vale. All of the troops are armed with air rifles which fire poison flechettes. Giscard offers to free Connor if he will join him in taking Amber. Connor refuses. The attack on the castle continues. Connor eventually manages to psychically overcome one of the guards and get him to shoot at his companions, but the armor they're wearing is impervious to the flechettes. Vale decides that this is a good idea, tries it on one of the guards surrounding her. She gets pumped full of flechettes for her trouble. She vomits and pretends to pass out. Meanwhile, Oliver, Bleys and the guards engage the invaders in the residential section. Oliver is attacked by a large cat which he (just barely) manages to hold off. Realizing that he can't keep this up for long, he asks Bleys for assistance. Bleys mesmerizes the cat and it is captured. The invaders are wiped out, except for one who is captured for information. Back in the dungeon, the first line of Amber guards fall under the fire of the invaders. Julian is attacked by another large cat. Garth picks up one of the bodies to use as a shield against the flechettes, and Sebastian quickly follows suit. Once the attacking invaders are dispatched, Sebastian and Garth round a corner and are confronted by four more invaders dragging Vale's limp form. The invaders unleash a hail of flechettes at the two, who duck back behind the corner for cover. Julian breaks the cat's neck and joins them. Garth looks at the others and says "Let's do it", at which point he and Julian jump out and attack the four invaders. After checking to make sure that it's safe, Sebastian joins them, saying "Oh, you meant now!" Seeing his forces being routed, Giscard retreats down the hallway. Garth pursues but only finds a mirror on the floor. Once the attack is over, Jove tries to contact his mother again, and finds that he cannot. When he returns to where he left her, he finds all of her guards unconscious and no sign of her. When the guards are revived, they say that a man fitting Giscard's description suddenly appeared and put them to sleep. Gerard is discovered to be in a coma, the apparent victim of a psychic attack. He is holding a Trump of Connor in his hand. Fiona has also disappeared. The captured invader reveals little useful information, claiming that Giscard rules a land somewhere off in shadow, and that he and the others were blindfolded before they were brought through. Their orders were to persuade either Connor or a child of the next eldest Amberite to join them, and to destroy as much as they could. Random, rather perturbed by these events, calls a family meeting in the library. Bleys, Caine, Random, Flora, Julian, Merlin, Martin, Sebastian, Vale, Jove, Garth and Connor all show up. The attacks are discussed, and it is revealed that each invader had a tattoo of a purple rose on their right breast. The possible use of the mirror is debated and Garth and Vale exchange words over Vale's presence in the dungeon. Merlin confesses to drawing the Trump of Connor that was found on Gerard's body as well as the one in Flora's possession, at their request. Connor explains Giscard's offer to him. He claims that Gerard had been in Trump contact with him, but that he had not attacked him. Random announces that he will give Connor the chance to prove his innocence. He is also exiling Connor from Amber, so Connor must select a champion in Amber to aid him. Connor chooses Merlin, who is less than thrilled with the whole idea. He only accepts after getting pressured by Random. Connor asks for a Trump of a family member to keep in contact with. Most of the family is reluctant, since Gerard seems to have been killed while in contact with him, but Oliver and Vale offer to give him their Trumps. They then proceed to ask Merlin to draw these Trumps for them. Julian objects to letting Benedict's probable killer go wandering around free in shadow, but Random ignores him. The meeting is ended and everyone leaves. There are lots of people wandering in and out of people's quarters until the wee hours of the morning. Oliver and Sebastian talk in Oliver's quarters for a while. When Sebastian leaves, he runs into Garth and they discuss Connor's guilt or innocence. Garth then goes to Connor's quarters and asks Connor if he can join him in seeking out Giscard. After some careful thought, Connor assents. Garth goes to Julian's quarters and tells Julian that he is leaving with Connor in the morning. Julian isn't too happy about the idea, but admits that someone should go with Connor and keep an eye on him. When everyone finally goes to sleep, they have horrible dreams, and no one sleeps very well. After much wandering around in the early morning, everyone gathers for breakfast. Present are Bleys, Flora and all of the younger generation, except for Vale (surprise, surprise). The Chaos delegation arrives late. Much eating and talking occurs. Garth tries to get Merlin to draw some Trumps for him, but Merlin is too busy. Garth also shows a mirror that he found in the residential quarters to Jove and Sebastian. The mirror looks very similar to the one left by Giscard in the dungeons. Oliver examines it with a Pattern lens, much to the discomfort of the Chaos delegation. He says that the mirror appears magical, but he can't tell anything else about it. Abbadon offers to send a member of the Chaos delegation with Connor, since "we too are under suspicion". Connor, not surprisingly, refuses. Waldhiem is found examining a set of Trumps. Further investigation reveals that they are Oliver's, who was unaware that Waldhiem had removed them. Garth and Connor finish breakfast and head down to the stables. They get horses and supplies and ride off towards Arden. Once they get far enough away from Amber, they start Hellriding. Eventually, they reach Avalon, where they narrowly avoid an enormous army that is heading in their direction. Connor (now dressed up to look like Benedict) and Garth ride to Benedict's home in Avalon, where they encounter Lancelot. Lance is happy to see Connor, but has no knowledge of the army that Connor and Garth encountered. He sends some men off to investigate. Back at the castle, concern is expressed over Vale's absence. A search of the castle fails to find her. It is eventually determined that she packed, got a horse from the stables and left early in the morning. She apparently looked rather frightened when she left. Oliver goes to check on Gerard. Jove decides to check out the mirror on his own. While examining it closely, it begins to work like a Trump and he is psychically attacked. Servants find Jove drenched in sweat and make the obvious conclusions. They run down the hall screaming "Connor is attacking Prince Jove". Coincidentally (or is it), Connor receives a Trump contact at about the same time. When asked who the caller was, he says, "No one important". Connor and Garth begin tearing apart Benedict's rooms and furniture, looking for clues. All they find is a Trump deck containing a Trump of Connor drawn by an unknown artist. Oliver and Sebastian hear the servants' cries and rush to Jove's quarters. They find an exhausted Jove who assures them that it was Giscard who attacked him, not Connor. Jove berates the servants for raising such a fuss. There is a discussion about the way family members seem to be dying/disappearing/becoming comatose. An attempt is made by Oliver and Sebastian to reach Flora. Surprisingly, they reach Llewella instead, who is not happy at all. Connor contacts Oliver and asks him to check out Avalon. Oliver looks at it with a Pattern lens and says that Avalon and its surrounding shadows are being warped. Connor brings Oliver through to take a closer look. Oliver observes that there is a central point from which the warping seems to emanate. Connor asks if he can fix it. Oliver tries, and meets resistance. When he pushes harder, a vortex begins to form over the three of them. Oliver quickly brings them back to Arden. Looking back at Avalon, Oliver says that the vortex is really making a mess of things. Connor asks him to get rid of it, but Oliver doesn't want to risk making things worse. After determining that the storm will take several days to die down, Connor decides that he cannot wait and asks Oliver return them to Avalon. Oliver drops Connor and Garth off and goes home. Jove calls yet another family meeting. Bleys, Merlin, Oliver and Sebastian show up. Julian does not. Garth, Connor and Vale are not notified. Sebastian and Oliver mention their Trump troubles. There is a fair amount of disbelief at their story. Merlin asks if they were sober at the time. Jove announces that Random has left Amber in search of Vialle, leaving him in charge. Bleys is less than helpful but agrees that, given all of the recent trouble, the Chaos delegates must leave. Oliver volunteers to escort them back, even though Gerard is still comatose. Jove is rather surprised by this. Waldhiem wanders in and asks to see Random. Jove tells him that Random is unavailable. He says Waldhiem can talk to him, since he is the Crown Prince. Waldhiem insists that he can only talk to Random, since Random is the only one with the title of "King." Sebastian asks if Waldhiem has ever heard of Giscard. Waldhiem claims he hasn't. He asks for a Trump of Random, so that he can contact Random himself. He is positive that Random will want to hear what he has to say. Jove asks him to leave and he does, mumbling something about trying other methods. Bleys decides to leave as well. Jove panics, figuring (probably correctly) that Bleys sees this as an opportunity to kill him and take the throne. He tries to contact any elder Amberite he can to gain support. He does manage to reach Julian, who is angry that Random has left but doesn't offer much help. The contact is broken in mid-sentence. Julian later contacts Jove to ask why he broke the contact. It becomes apparent that the contact was broken by someone externally. Connor and Garth go searching through shadow for some horses for Benedict's former army. Connor hopes to use them in case he runs into that large army while traveling to the center of the disturbance. Through various Trump contacts, both Connor and Garth learn of the recent happenings back in Amber. Connor offers Garth a chance to leave, since his army will be vastly outnumbered. Garth decides to stay, joking "The odds here seem to be better than those in Amber". Jove calls still another family meeting. Garth turns him down (I'm busy). Connor (surprise, surprise) is not invited. Connor brings Vale through to assist him. Then he rides off, leaving Vale and Garth alone. They studiously ignore each other for several hours. Bleys, Julian, Caine, Flora, Merlin, Martin, Sebastian and Oliver attend Jove's meeting. Sebastian suggests inviting Llewella as well, which Jove proceeds to do. After some initial discussion, the elder Amberites all adjourn to another room to discuss who should be appointed regent in Random's absence. Jove is rather nervous about this, and suggests that the younger generation should all stick together. The response from the others is underwhelming. When the elder generation returns, minus Julian, they inform Jove that he will be given a two-week trial regency, to see if he can hack it. Of course, it is understood that he will listen to the wise counsel of his elders. Connor, finding himself unable to reach Avalon via Hellride, attempts to contact Merlin from shadow. Merlin's Trump burst into flames. Connor contacts Oliver for assistance, and Oliver brings him through to Amber. Just as Oliver is about to look into the Avalon problem, they hear servants screaming that Lord Sebastian has been kidnapped. Connor dons a cloak for concealment, and they head in the direction of the disturbance. Out in shadow, Vale appears to be meditating, while Garth is practicing fencing. Suddenly, Vale disappears, leaving Garth behind. Garth tries to contact Julian, but meets resistance. He decides to continue on toward Avalon. Vale, Connor and Oliver all arrive outside the Pattern room. They find a large hairy being carrying an unconscious Sebastian and fighting the guards. As Vale and Oliver manifest the Pattern for assistance, the wall to the Pattern room suddenly crumbles, and the hairy being walks through. When Connor goes after it, it turns into a bird. Vale gets hurled around by some unknown force. The bird becomes a pterodactyl, lands next to the Pattern, and tries to stab Sebastian. Sebastian, now conscious, dislikes this idea and fights back. Connor gets in a few good strikes at the thing, causing it to release Sebastian. A rock creature rises up out of the ground. It grabs Sebastian and begins to crush him. While Vale engages the first creature (now revealed to be the Chaos delegate, Wendell), Connor takes on the stone one. It threatens to rip Sebastian in two if Connor does not back off. Hack, hack, goes Connor. Rip, rip, goes the stone creature. Ow, ow, goes Sebastian, who's obviously not having a good day. Connor eventually forces the creature to drop Sebastian, who is now bleeding profusely, and face him head on. Connor uses his cloak to prevent Sebastian's blood from reaching the Pattern. Oliver moves to assist Sebastian, who decides that enough is enough and gets the Hell out of there, via Trump. Vale, after some conversation, finishes off Wendell and goes to help Connor. The stone creature takes on the form of Benedict. It claims that it is really Benedict, and that its apparent death was simply a convoluted trick. Vale tries to hack "Benedict" with her sword, but is easily grabbed and subdued. Vale screams "Connor, kill it!" Oliver suggests "Make it walk the Pattern." Connor decides for a more straightforward method and attempts to stab "Benedict" on its armless side, since its only arm is occupied with holding Vale. He succeeds and cuts it deeply, causing it to release Vale. Vale proceeds to hack the badly wounded Chaos delegate to pieces. Upon its death, it reverts to its natural form, and they realize it was Ulrich. Oliver uses a Pattern lens to find the remaining three delegates. He learns that Abbadon is lying dead in his quarters while Waldhiem and Rugarth are facing off Bleys in the library. Oliver transports himself, Vale and Connor to the scene. Garth finds his path blocked by a large chasm. When he tries to shift shadow around it, it turns into a river of lava. Frustrated, he tries to contact Julian again, and this time succeeds. Julian brings him through to join the fun. Bleys says that Waldhiem doesn't know anything and subdues him psychically. Connor offers to interrogate Rugarth, since Bleys is unable to obtain anything from him psychically. Rugarth claims diplomatic immunity and demands to be returned to the Courts. He says that the Chaos attack on Sebastian was revenge for the murder of Abbadon. No one listens to him. Bleys thanks Connor for his help. Connor tells the tale of Merlin's exploding Trump and his difficulty in reaching Avalon. Oliver mentions that he also had a Trump explode, when he was trying to contact Fiona. Vale Trumps Caine and pulls him through. Julian does the same for Garth, who sarcastically thanks Vale for leaving him behind. He explains the obstacles he ran into while attempting to reaching Avalon. As everyone compares notes, it is learned that a mirror similar to those found after Giscard's attack was found next to Abbadon's body. They don't know if it is the same one that Jove was studying. Jove cannot be asked, since he has been found stabbed by a poisoned, barbed dagger. He is still alive, but he is comatose. He is placed in the same room as Gerard. Bleys decides that with Jove incapacitated, he will act as regent. There are no immediate objections. He also decides that the inaccessibility of Avalon must be investigated and asks for volunteers. Connor and Garth agree to go. Vale is asked but walks out of the room, apparently oblivious. Bleys assigns Oliver, Vale, Martin and Merlin to help Garth and Connor check out the Avalon problem. The group turns to the problem of how to hold the Chaos delegates and keep them from communicating with the Courts. Garth suggests throwing them on the Pattern. They adjourn without reaching a decision. Everyone eventually goes to bed. The bad dreams continue. Jove wakes up from his coma. People go about their morning business. Vale wakes up in the hay in the stables. Martin, Oliver and Connor show up at the stables at noon to leave for Avalon, but no one else is there. Connor Trumps Vale and asks where she is. She tells him that she'll show up when she feels like it. No one knows where the others are. Oliver gets a Trump call from Dworkin, who appears to be in chains. He claims that he is dying, and that when he goes, the Pattern goes with him. Somewhat alarmed, Martin, Oliver and Connor force a Trump contact with Random and tell him of Dworkin's message. He has them pull him through. All four of them try to contact Dworkin and fail. Vale finally arrives, along with Waldhiem, who is in a wolf form. Vale tells everyone not to worry about Dworkin. Surprisingly, everyone listens to her. Oliver asks why Waldhiem is running around loose. Random tells the others to have Bleys reinstate Jove and leaves again via the Pattern. Garth arrives at the stables just in time to get whisked to the Primal Pattern, along with the others, by Oliver, who thinks that Random might be going there. The group finds nothing there except for an old nearly empty room in a cave, and Vale's name spelled out with stones outside. The group returns to the stables, where they find Vale and Waldhiem again. Garth and Connor express displeasure at Waldhiem's apparent freedom. The group decides to leave Vale behind. Garth relates two interesting events: 1) while Hellriding, he was drawn into a shadow of Avalon, encountered Benedict and had an extremely difficult time shifting away, and 2) when he tried to contact Julian via Trump, he was attacked by some creature. The first is chalked up to a side effect of the shadow warping and the second is lumped in with the other strange Trump effects. Oliver begins to transport the group, one by one, to Avalon. Jove arrives towards the end, and Oliver decides to bring him along. Shortly after the entire group arrives in Avalon, Oliver and Jove disappear. Connor and Garth grumble for a while about being essentially back where they started. Martin doesn't say much at all. Eventually, Oliver and Jove reappear, along with Sebastian. Oliver calls up a Pattern lens, which he and Jove use to examine the surrounding shadows. They determine that there is a "real" person in an adjacent shadow, namely Benedict. They also discover that one of the nearby shadows has been destroyed, leaving behind a rift and an energy trail. After much discussion about leaving someone behind as a contact, the entire group takes off for the rift. At the rift site they find an inn. A woman who seems to be the owner comes out and speaks to them in an unknown language. They determine that the trail continues downward into the house, so Connor psychically dominates the woman and has her take them down to the basement. Everyone except for Garth links with Oliver. Garth stays out of the link to keep an eye out for trouble. Oliver uses the link to push against a force that exists on the energy trail. As they begin to make progress, Garth notices that the others are shrinking. Despite his warning, the process cannot be reversed, nor is Garth able to join them. Garth finds himself alone once more. Mumbling something about going around in circles, Garth leaves the inn, mounts his horse, and rides away. Connor, Sebastian, Jove, Oliver and Martin find themselves in a basement exactly like the first, except that Garth is missing and the basement door is locked. Oliver manifests the Pattern and looks for real people in the shadow, while Sebastian paces the circumference of the room. Oliver tries to figure out where they are in shadow, and finds that he can no longer see any other shadows. As the group exits the inn, some of the local men drinking at the bar decide to have some fun and insult them. The Amberites beat the shit out of them. As the group heads out of town, they notice a man wearing a long cloak who appears to be watching them. Connor approaches him, followed shortly by the others. The man introduces himself as Perce. He asks the group to join Lady Morgana, a local ruler who opposes Modred, an evil wizard. After everyone goes to sleep, Jove probes Perce's mind. He finds that Perce (whose real name is Percival) is telling the truth about Morgana and Modred. Oliver uses the information gained from Perce to spy on Modred. He comes across a few functionaries and one very powerful person before he spots Modred. The sorcerer also spots him and engages Oliver in mental combat. Modred overpowers Oliver and does quite a bit of damage before Jove joins in and drives Modred off. Jove tells the others that Modred must be Giscard, since he matches the presence Jove fought in the mirror. Connor insists that they leave for Morgana's castle. Oliver is still too injured to transport the group via the Pattern, so they have to buy some horses. Just as they are leaving, they see a flaming comet fly overhead. It appears to be searching for them. Percival says it's a fire demon, an immensely powerful creature used by Modred. The party hides in the stables, but it lands outside. Jove psychically determines that it has been joined by something else even more powerful. Jove attacks this second being psychically. It turns out to be human, and Jove manages to crush its mind. Sebastian tries to douse the fire demon with water and is severely burned. Several people join their will to Oliver's, giving him the strength to transport everyone to Morgana's castle. Percival introduces everyone to Morgana. She congratulates them for killing one of Modred's more powerful henchmen. Oliver is Trumped by Vale. She claims Bleys helped her reach this shadow, and she's brought Garth and his horse with her. Oliver brings them through to the castle. Connor and Jove are suspicious of Vale. Connor asks if she brought Waldhiem with her. She claims that she didn't, but Jove detects an invisible person in the room. This person is soon revealed to be Waldhiem. The group argues for a while over what to do with Waldhiem. Garth's horse begins to act strangely. They examine it and find that it's a mindless shapeshifting creature. Waldhiem talks to it in some Chaos language. He gets a reply, but claims that he didn't understand what it said. He denies that he has anything to do with its presence. Morgana offers to examine the creature and takes it away. Jove reveals that Trumps are being monitored by Modred, so he hears everything said in Trump contact. He can also attack anyone through Trumps when they are being used or change their destinations. Everyone decides to sleep on this new information. Sebastian wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. He tells the family that he was attacked by Modred. Modred claimed he could easily crush Sebastian's mind, but did not. He told Sebastian that Corwin would die at noon the next day. Jove asks to examine Sebastian's mind for anything Modred might have left behind. Sebastian says he'll consider it in the morning. Sebastian agrees to be scanned the following morning, but asks Vale to participate, in case Jove tries anything. Jove determines that nothing nasty has been done to Sebastian. Vale reveals that Modred is a member of the family, but he hasn't walked the Pattern. He was protected by an elder Amberite, but she refuses to say who the elder is, or how she knows this. The group finds this answer unacceptable and continue to press her. Eventually, she agrees to reveal the information if everyone swears not to harm Waldhiem. After more discussion, everyone agrees, with various conditions. Connor is the first to swear and Garth is the last. Martin is particularly careful about the terms of his oath. Satisfied, Vale tells them that Eric was the one who supported Modred. She claims to have met him personally after he Trumped her. Everyone mulls over this news for a while, then attempts to Trump Corwin, despite the possibility of Modred interfering. When the contact opens, they find that Corwin is chained to a wall. Connor, Garth and Sebastian step through to free him. As they appear in the cell, they discover that they are surrounded by twenty men with crossbows cocked and pointed at them. The men order them to surrender. Sebastian turns to Corwin and says, "Thanks a lot." Corwin replies, "Attack! Don't just stand there!" Connor and Sebastian attack the crossbow men while Garth frees Corwin. Once this is accomplished, Garth, Connor and Sebastian grab Corwin and have the others pull them through. Corwin appears to be in bad shape and they begin to tend to his injuries. Before they can do much, the castle is attacked by Modred's forces. Waldhiem and Garth head for the top of the nearest tower. They each find an arbalest and begin shooting at the dragons leading the assault. Jove psychically attacks a dragon, but finds that he cannot overpower it. Connor begins shooting an arbalest from the courtyard. Waldhiem and Garth each hit and kill a dragon. Unfortunately, Waldhiem's target crashes into the tower and knocks the top over. Waldhiem simply shapeshifts to a suitable form and glides down. Garth, lacking this ability, plummets to the ground. The impact breaks several bones on his left side, including the bones in his left arm. He barely manages to stay conscious and immobilize the arm. Connor spots Modred riding one of the dragons and shoots at it. He manages to knock it out of the air, but doesn't kill it. When it lands it begins shooting flame at the people nearby. Connor reloads and fires at the dragon again. This time he manages to kill it. Modred begins advancing towards Morgana. Connor, Garth, Waldhiem and a group of Morgana's knights attack Modred and prevent him from reaching her. Morgana eliminates most of Modred's forces with a lightening bolt. Modred casts a spell that sets off a huge explosion. Garth and Waldhiem dodge aside, but Connor is deafened and sent flying back. Modred conjures up seven stone columns. Iron golems emerge from them and advance on Connor, Garth and Waldhiem. The trio fights back, but golems are unaffected by their attacks. Waldhiem hits on the idea of picking one up and using it to bash the others. Jove attacks Modred psychically. Connor and Garth take advantage of Modred's distraction and charge him. Modred casts a spell which sends several spears flying towards Jove. In order to avoid them, Jove has to break off his attack. Oliver uses the Pattern to create an area around Modred where sorcery doesn't work. Modred turns to Connor and tries to cast another spell, but is unsuccessful due to Oliver's tinkering. After a brief combat, Connor and Garth behead Modred. They tell Corwin of their victory, and learn that the man they just killed was Corwin's son. Garth collapses from his injuries. Sebastian volunteers to get him some medical attention. He brings Garth to a hospital in his shadow, takes his Trumps, and leaves him there. Oliver brings the rest of the group back to Amber. Corwin still appears weak, but he insists Oliver help him to the Pattern room. When questioned, he claims walking the Pattern will help him. Oliver apparently doesn't find it odd that someone who is too weak to walk unaided expects to be able to walk the Pattern and does what Corwin asks. Corwin begins walking the Pattern. As the stress of walking the Pattern hits him, he reverts to his true form, that of Modred. Oliver Trumps anyone he can reach for aid. Caine tries throwing a dagger at Modred, hilt first, which fails to stop him. Sebastian arrives and decides that Garth's Trump deck makes an excellent blunt weapon, so he throws it at Modred. Modred easily catches it and thanks Sebastian for the gift. Vale begins walking the Pattern after Modred. She attacks him psychically, but he begins to overpower her. Suddenly, she is flooded with enough additional power to defeat him. He appears to vaporize on the Pattern. Vale claims the aid she received was from Eric. Julian is concerned by the absence of his son. He questions Oliver about it. Oliver tells him that Garth was badly injured during the attack and collapsed. Sebastian offered to take him to a hospital. Julian finds Sebastian and demands to be taken to Garth. Sebastian assures him this isn't necessary. Julian insists. Sebastian asks Julian to leave Morgenstern behind, since they'll be going to a hospital. Julian refuses. Sebastian brings Julian to his shadow. Garth wakes up in a hospital bed. His left arm is in a cast and his ribs are taped. He searches the room and finds his sword, but not his Trumps. He gets dressed and is preparing to leave when he hears a commotion coming from outside of his room. When he investigates he sees Julian riding Morgenstern down the hall, accompanied by a rather put out Sebastian. They are being followed by several incredulous hospital staff. Julian asks if he's ready to go. Garth says he is, so Julian Trumps them all back to Amber. Garth asks Sebastian for his Trump deck back. Sebastian reluctantly admits that he threw it to Modred. Julian and Garth are not happy about this. Random returns and asks for help in rescuing Vialle. Connor, Oliver and some others accompany him. They are successful. When Random returns, he lifts Connor's exile, in gratitude for his assistance. Vale and Waldhiem leave to explore shadow. Connor and Garth attempt to track down the woman who murdered Benedict. Life returns to normal in Amber.