A shifting of debris and a groan sounded in the ruins of the Tenebrae capital pyramid. Terridus crawled out from under a chunk of building and came to rest against a downed metal beam. He took a moment to regain his focus and he surveyed the destruction that lay before him. The ruins were littered with bodies of both zombies and Winter clones but Terridus saw the real Winter off in the distance. In the final explosion of the battle, the one that had nearly leveled the entire capital city, Winter had seemed to have taken it much worse than Terridus did. skewered on a broken metal pole was the scorched and battered body of Winter.
Terridus struggled to his feet and limped his way over to where Winter lay slain. He still couldn't believe what had happened. Winter had double crossed him and attacked him and Tenebrae seemingly out of no where and for seemingly no reason. Terridus made his way over to him and looked over his cousin. He wanted to work with the man and now this was just another set back in Amber's war against the eagle. If the family kept killing each other, the eagle was going to win.
Terridus came to sit at Winter's feet and he held his hands in his hands, weeping as he thought about what was happening in the golden circle. Everything they had worked for and built was coming undone around him. He kicked himself for killing Winter, he hadn't meant to and for a while, during the fight was fairly certain that he wasn't going to be able to win. He would have forgiven the man, something that is rare in this family. He would have forgiven him just like he had the villainous Steven when he tried to kill him and his brother. Just like he had forgiven Oberion for striking his brother, and staying idle while Paragin and Khan had been killed. He forgave the family a lot more than most did, but this time there would be no chance for it.
He cast one last lonesome look up at his cousin and pulled out the one trump card he own, the one of his brother. Terridus turned trump back on in his shadow and curled up on the ground and hoped his brother would know to call him.
After his tense talk with Oberion, Terridus made his way up to his room in the castle. Oberion had told him that he would be calling for a meeting of the royal family the next day and Terridus was worried about just what would come of the meeting. He realized that With Oberion back, the leadership of the golden circle was now in flux.
Terridus, in an effort bring the best leadership to the front of the family had only further complicated the situation. Renee had fought a rebellion to unseat her farther while she was crown prince. She lost and was then forced into an exile of sort by Elmdore who was then named the new crowned prince. When Oberion disappeared, Elmdore was put on the throne and made Terridus crown prince. As crown prince, Terridus then sought to get the old crown prince back to put her on the throne against the wishes of both Oberion and Elmdore. The second Renee came back however, Elmdore suffered a loss and Terridus became acting king while trying to make Renee king, only to have Oberion show back up and retake the throne.
And let's not get started on weird the whole situation with Zahava is...
Terridus got back to his room and waved off the guards by the door and floated into his room. He moved over to his work bench and stared blankly at some plans he had laid out on it and tried his best to predict how the next 24 hours in Amber would go and in the end who would be seated on the throne.
Terridus was fairly certain that Elmdore no longer wanted anything to do with being the king. HIs reign was being undermined from the begining by not only a rebellion in the wildlands but even by his own son. Terridus would have to find some way to make peace with his father about that at some point and knew that he may never be the same with the death of his sister being some what his fault. Those that didn't understand the man may think of him as emotionless but his sons knew better than that.
Renee may still be recovering from her time spent in her coma but Terridus saw this as a dangerous situation. She had rebelled before on the grounds of doing it for the betterment of the family. If she still had such pure intentions she may start up her attempts to take the throne once more. The golden circle was under attack and the eagle was still a danger. The last thing Amber needed right now was an other civil war. Terridus would even feel more responsible if such a thing were to occur because of his egging on of Renee to take the throne. The only thing he could hope for was that Renee would be sensible about the situation at hand and work with the family until the crisis was over. If Her and Oberion wanted to kill each other in the market place, they could do it after the eagle was dealt with. Terridus wondered if the eagle had some how egged on Renee in the beginning to rebel in an effort to get it's plan kicked off but some of that logic just seemed paranoid.
Oberion's return put Terridus in a dangerous spot. Terridus had gone against Oberion's orders of having Renee 'exiled' and Terridus also openly attacked Oberion when last they met. Oberion had struck Terridus's brother and such a betrayal would not sit with him. While attacking Oberion, Terridus had then helped cause a shadow storm and destroyed the old castle. Also, While Oberion was masquerading as Gaius, Terridus had had a few arguments with him. Over all, Oberion was most likely not pleased with Terridus. Terridus debated hiding behind his father and Renee but figured the two of them would have enough things to worry about themselves and figured he'd deal with his grandfather's judgement alone.
And what us his reign as king? As short as it may have been, Terridus would have never thought himself able to hold such a position. Maybe he never actually was holding the position. With Oberion being in the picture the entire time he could have taken back over whenever he wanted to and did just that when the time came. Terridus never wanted to be king, he knew he wasn't cut out for it. He always wanted his older brother to be king. Lises was much kinder of a person and cared a lot about everyone in the family. He cared for them much more than they deserved. All of them.
The idea that Oberion was around the entire time and did nothing was a comforting and infuriating notion. In some regards Oberion seeing Terridus fit enough to hold the title for even the briefest time, was a vote of confidence and him doing nothing to stop his saving of Renee was some what of a granting of permission. But at the same time, Khan's rebellion and Peregrine's death was all on Oberion's hands. As head of this family, it should have been up to him to quash that rebellion and save poor Peregrine. All it looked like to Terridus was that Oberion used his father Elmdore as a fall guy while he pulled off his faked death plan. Renee claimed that Oberion was not interested in the other members of his family and that he only cared about himself. This could be a prime example of that line of logic.
Terridus floated over to his bed and for the first time in a long time just laid down and thought. As the conversations, schemes and angles played out in his mind, he feel into a downward spiral of hopelessness. After a few moments of the thoughts he shrugged the entire thing off and settled on one concrete notion: Regardless of what he does, he can't do everything by himself. Terridus resigned himself to just waiting to see what the family meeting would bring. There was really no point in worrying about it anymore.
Terridus hovered from window to window in the throne room looking out to parts of the city in the distance. From the windows he got a good view, that's how he had designed them. By now most of the family was on it's way the edge of the golden circle to do battle against the monster that was coming to destroy Amber. Many of them had asked Terridus to come along but he refused. He found it odd that after all their secrete missions and lies they now wanted him to join them and was actually specious of some of them at this point. Terridus's reasons for staying behind however had nothing to do with not wanting to work with the rest of the family. y There were a few reasons for staying behind. Terridus didn't know much about the eagle or it's plans but there was one thing he did know about it, things with it were never simple. The idea that one giant monster was just going to walk into the golden circle and ruin the place just seemed... to simple to be the work of the eagle. maybe the monster wasn't working with the eagle, which only meant that Terridus should be especially worried about a sneak attack from the eagle. If the eagle saw the amber family busy with a 3rd party, it may take this time to attack the castle, the pattern. Terridus would wait here in amber and keep an eye out for the second attack.
An other worry Terridus had was the nagging thought of what would be the back up plan if the family wasn't able to stop the monster on the edge of the golden circle? What if the monster punched right though and made it all the way to amber? Who would be here to stop it? Terridus had a plan for dealing with the monster but it required being here in amber. It would be a last ditch effort, but it was better than nothing.
The last thing weighed on Terridus mind as he passed a window that gave a view to the front gate. His niece could be seen organizing troops and preparing for the worst. He had grown closer to her in the last few years. Building the castle and working with her and his father here in Amber. Her well being was an other thing that was going to keep him here in Amber till the crisis was averted.
Terridus passed by the last window and decided to float down to the pattern room. He knew that he would be visiting at lot today.
The experience of being a parent has been some what eye opening and I now understand a little more about what my father has to deal with. He said I would better understand many things when I finally got around to having offspring and I can certainly say I see things from a different angle now. I'm sure the returns on my time investments will make all this worth it.
Raising children is almost like an experiment really... An experiment in thought. Raising a child is like molding clay, shaping them to be as you see but knowing that there will be some factors you can not fully control if you want the piece to really come to life. Ideally raising a child shouldn't be too difficult but it's when you start to over think things that it really starts to weigh on a being's mind.
You start out with a plan and panic when things don't go according to it. You have a goal and panic when you're not reaching land marks that you wanted to. You want the children to be free to do as they please but worry about the dangers of the universe. Even amberites can be overcome by things. At some point you just have to let go. Knowing when to let go is the hardest part and some make the tragic mistake of never letting go. Like any decision a parent makes, the decision as to when to let go becomes more complex when you start to over think it. Spend too much time with the child and they will be spoiled and clinging. Spend too little with the child and they become distance or possibly resentful. I think this is the problem I have made with my children. One I held onto for too long, while the other I let go of too soon.
And how fine a line it is between letting go too soon and not soon enough. Lises, my first child. How I dotted on him and loved everything about him. I spent so much time with him when he was young and loved the experience so much that I was determined to have a second son soon there after. Terridus, my second child would always be in his brother's shadow. Years later I realized the unfairness of it. The incalculable difference just 1 year of age would make on them is something a normal parent would simply over look but then I started to over think it and that's when things became complex.
My mind would not rest until I found a way to raise the two as evenly as possible. If only they had been twins I could have had an easier time standardizing their education and rearing. But they would soon grow to be very different. The best I could do is just try not to over think it. When I focused on them too much I was an over baring father. When I tried to give them space, I was cold and distant. Everything was becoming over thought and soon all I could do is just watch them grow, and grow they did.
Lises was ready to walk the pattern almost as soon as I was able to when I was young. I knew that once he did, he would be able to make his own choices as an amberite. But to my surprise, Terridus demanded to walk the pattern the same day. He seemed to have a chip on his shoulder, not wanting to be in his brother's shadow any longer. When the two of them walked the pattern, I knew that my role of father would be much less important from that day on.
Again, the best I could do was watch from a distance. Lises came back to amber before Terridus and seemingly expanded on his respect for all life. Lises was never one for politics and sought peace in all things. He wanted nothing more than to live and love life and I was happy to let him. Terridus however came back and was very different from his experience. He stayed in amber and took part in court, pursuing his agendas with tenacity and vigor. Where as Lises opted out of that life, Terridus embraced it. I soon came to realize a very strange aspect of my children, not the things that made them similar but the things that made them different.
They both had different takes on things. Lises was experimental; learning trump and crafting single, powerful items. He loved living things and individual lives. Terridus on the other hand kept with Pattern and when made items made them in mass amounts. Terridus did not care for individual lives, but was more interested in life in general. Lises would defend a being at any risk, while Terridus would make sacrifices if it benefited many others. Both took shadows of their own and filled it with being that interested them, both would protect their charges with whatever power they had.
Terridus is in my opinion the harder to understand of the two boys. His philosophy of ending life to protect it is a contradiction that few take the time to try and figure out and even fewer fully understand. Like me he experiments in many different ways but does so in safe ways, like his mask wearing for instance. Many speculate he does so out of some kind of shame of his looks, but I know the truth. Terridus is also much more vicious and ill tempered than LIses, seemingly making up for LIses's lack of those things. What impresses me the most about Terridus is his ability to focus on things. Amberites have a problem with focus I feel. With so much going on it's easy to get side tracked. What some in the family see as reclusive behavior I know is actually my son dedicating himself to a goal and stopping at nothing to achieve it.
During Renee's rebellion my children reached a turning point I feel. Lises , still maintaining his stance of peace and understanding refused to pick a side while Terridus stood with conviction at his king's side. Even when I declared myself neutral, Terridus did not yield. Nothing could have made me more proud than to see my son... my YOUNGER son, refuse me. Even with him knowing how powerful I am, and seeing other sons and daughters siding with their parents and his own brother being loyal to his father, Terridus still refused me. He fought hard for the king and in time his actions were overshadowed by others, but I did not forget this. I would never.
After the battle he came to me and tried to make amends, I told him that he had made his choice and he had to stand by it. Terridus did and when the king's rule came to an end, and I was named the new king, I didn't think twice about who I was to name crowned prince. Lises, although having starting a family of his own, was still no king. What a shame I thought to myself; the one son who is ready for a family has none and the one who still has growing up to do already has a family. How strange such things are.
Terridus impressed me again when I learned of his plans to wake Renee. Such brash moves were not like him but I studied his plan and was interested in seeing if it would work. Normally a king would be outraged at a son plotting his down fall, but I did not stand against my sister Renee before and I will not do so now. If my son can undo what I did to her, and replace her onto the throne, then he deserves the fruits of his labors and she deserves to be queen.
I know my son bares me no ill will and challenges my authority not out of viciousness but out of loyalty. He strives to be the best son he can be to impress me and he know he can do that by showing his talents to me directly. My only regrets about him were his lack of social skills for I feel one day he may sit on that throne and have no idea what he's doing. I think that if he were to have a son... He may see things from a different angle... Just like I did when I had children.
If someone had told Terridus 100 years ago he'd be sitting on the throne of Amber, he would have laughed. If someone had told Terridus 50 years ago that his father would be so ok with turning the title over to Renee, he would have argued with them. If someone had told Terridus anything about the eagle ever, maybe he would be able to help...
All the family was keeping something from him when he had been nothing but honest with them... At least his brother had asked for forgiveness. He didn't want to, but he needed to, he was his brother... It what family did, or at least what family should do. Terridus was prince, and now acting king, He had to lead by example. He was sickened by how open many members of the family were about trying each other poorly. Heck, Morrigan flat out said she would kill him if it benefitted her and if Bridgette was subverted, she too was a sane, overtly dangerous member of the family.
There were some members of the family that didn't seem so vicious. Cullen was more a danger to himself than anyone in the family, Terridus was surprised the man hadn't just killed himself yet. Astrid seemed pleasant on most days. Winter and Serpentis Seemed nice enough. Terridus had high hopes for Annalee, hoping the 'new cousin' would be clean of the petty rivalries and hard feelings that the other cousins had, only to find out that she was even more of a lair than all the others cousins as she wasn't even an Amberite.
As Terridus sat on the throne he rubbed his chin and asked himself what his father or Oberon thought when they sat up here. Sitting up here while everyone looked up and either hated him for being there and wanted to unseat him, or ignored him and wanted nothing to do with him. He wondered how most of the family felt about him. It was a sickening feeling hoping for uninterested ignoring, instead of spiteful anger. Oh how grand it was to be king...
Terridus had taken weeks to find a shadow where a proper subject dwelled and was very pleased to find the one he. His spell had tipped him off to the subject's location and he had spent an other full week fallowing the subject to and from work. The man was some kind of scientist who worked in a large office building and laboratory in a large city on the shadow. The man seemingly kept to himself and also lived alone. Terridus was pleased to find such a similar shadow of himself to add to his collection. In the week, he memorized the man's habits and schedule and planned the best time to strike.
Terridus waited in the dark at the man's house and hid from sight. When the man returned home for the day, Terridus allowed him to shower and get ready for bed. Once the man was asleep Terridus came out from hiding and cast a spell in the room. All the air in the room left and the man slowly died in his sleep. After the first few experiments, Terridus had landed on this as the best way to kill a subject without damaging important parts of the body. Once done, Terridus snapped out a body bag and put the subject inside it. He then walked the pattern back to Tennebrae.
At the Praetor's pyramid on Tennebrae, Terridus's legion of Necro-techinitians worked on arming and outfitting the army of Tennebrae. Standard units were made up of the dead of Tennebrae, but a special unit was being assembled by the Praetor himself and a select few necro-techinitians. They held their workshop separate from the standard facilities and Terridus himself oversaw the work personally.
When he returned from his recent expedition out in shadow, his special crew was summoned and work continued on Terridus's special unit. The unit was to be his personal guard while here on Tennebrae. Extra details and care went into the crafting of these models. The standard design was simply, Terridus wanted a solider that would fallow orders without question so the concept of undead was the first pick. Although he lost some problem solving that normal soldiers had, the benefits of an undead army far outweighed the cons. As undead, the soldiers would not need to be supplied food, shelter or even pay like some traditional armies. As undead they were immune to illnesses, starvation, fatigue, or even demoralization. They could be deployed to shadows that didn't maintain conditions suitable for life and would stand guard till ordered otherwise.
The only problem became operating in shadows that didn't allow for magic. Undead animation required magic and on shadows where such things didn't work the soldiers became little more than well equipped corpses. The infusion of technology became paramount to their design. The reenforcement of the units with metal made them much more durable and allowed them to function on shadows were magic did not work. Terridus set out to create the perfect force for Tennebrae and himself.
Most of the royal family of Amber scoffed at the idea of his forces, but few understood why he did what he did. Where as other shadows used it's inhabitants to protect it, Tennebrae avoided risking it's citizen's lives in combat this way. The citizens of Tennebrae would not be sacrificed by it's lord in war. Most saw Terridus as cold and detached from the concept of life, seemingly having embraced so much death. But it was his love for the living that he did the things on his shadow that he did. With out air, few things could live. That included micro organisms that would normally cause illness, the people of his shadow would never know such things. With his army of mechanized undead, his people would never see the front line in mass. With advances in technology brought to the shadow, the citizens of Tenebrae enjoyed comfortable lives.
Terridus was only slightly aware of the his conception that the rest of the family had for him though. What they thought of him and his work was not of his concern. Being left to his research and work was all he really cared about, or was it?
Jubei tells me to shut the fuck up in front of Oberion and Rajanie
My brother lies to me, possibly endangering my life and the life of Renee.
Shcala lies to me and then calls me a lair.
James calls me, demands my help and offer no thanks.
Annalee pretends to be my cousin, lying again, and offer no means of saying sorry.
Corwin calls me terror face.
Steven tries to kill me, my brother and my father while i do nothing but try and help him.
Garrick treats me with contempt while he is a guest on my shadow.
I'm fairly certain Viola is trying to fuck me.
I'm glad I never really bought into my title as crown prince, I think if I had I'd be even more upset about how poorly they all treat me. Just what I have I ever done to wrong them? I want nothing more than to help the golden circle and keep as many of them as safe as possible.
I've been helping to rebuild the golden circle.
I've been trying to replace my father with Renee.
I've offered my shadow up for protection.
I've served as crown prince of amber even when I didn't want the title.
I've personally saved their lives in surgery. James and his mother Bridgett, both bleeding to death in my hands.
What else can I do? What else do they want? I guess this is something I will have to get used to. No Respect.
The eagle has subverted many members of the most powerful royal family in existence.
The last person who should be king of Amber is king.
Reality as we know it could end at any point...
Do I really need to bother with a mask right now?
No.
Terridus gave Garrick and Graham a side ways glance as he pulled off his mask and crushed it in his right hand. He took a small measure of satisfaction in their reactions to seeing his face. He steadied himself and thought back to his training on the pattern and started to walk.
"You know, that's a bigger deal than you may think it is."
Towards the end of it's construction, when the last pieces were coming place, Terridus looked over his creation and crossed his arms in disapproval. The nearby necro techs looked to their praetor and and knew that from his body language something was wrong. The lead technician slid forward and gave the amberite a worried look.
"Praetor, is there something wrong?"
The technician asked and flexed his hands some. Terridus's gaze did not leave the machine and a single finger came up his mask and tapped on it, the tapping the only sound in the room.
"Padding."
Terridus said simply. There was a pause from the technician and then a nervous echo came up.
"Padding?"
The man asked through his gas mask. Terridus slowly glided across the room and he looked over a work bench.
"Padding. The seats need padding."
Terridus said and motioned to the chairs that were set up around the chamber. All the necro techs shared confused looks and the lead technician stepped forward and continued to speak.
"Padding on the seats... You want them to be more comfortable?"
He asked Terridus. Terridus gave a raspy chuckle, still recovering some from his fight with Garrick.
"Yes, I want the people sitting in the chairs to be comfortable."
The lead technician looked back to the chairs and then to the amberite.
"Why?"
The question lingered in the room for a while before Terridus slowly floated around to look the man over. He gave a heavy cough before he answered the technician.
"Because, I intent on using this machine to help people. Important people. People who are important to me. They will be putting their trust in me and risking a lot in doing so..."
Terridus said and flew close to the man and not only was he taller than the man but also floating off the ground and looked down at the man.
"At the very least. I can get them a comfortable seat."
He said in a tone that boarded on vicious. A silence lingered for a moment with no one really knowing what to say. The lead technician shifted some and then made a hard swallow.
"Shall it match the rest of the color scheme then?"
He asked in a level tone. Terridus stared down at the man and then poked him on the chest hard.
"Now that's the spirit."
He said, joyously but oddly enough still in a vicious voice. Everyone let out a sigh of relief and a few technicians pulled out their note pads and got to work. The lead technician rubbed the place he was 'poked' and followed Terridus over to his work bench.
Terridus spent the next few days in Tantegel and was seemingly left to do his own things. The business his father had with his sibling seemed to continue and make him even more on edge. Terridus was encouraged to work on his magic some that day. Even at his young age, Terridus was showing a great aptitude for the craft. Being left alone for extended periods of time lead Terridus to strange places with his magic. He still help bad about what he had done to the butterfly that Lises was upset about. He had taken the butterfly back to the manor with them and he was working on bringing it back.
Spells to rise the dead existed throughout shadow and Elmdore had not spared any expense at finding his sons the brightest teachers in the golden circle and when he had time, made sure he taught them what he could. Terridus was already able to cast some minor spells and was determined to make this one work. He wanted to set things right with his older brother. Seeing him upset always tore Terridus up.
Working with the butterfly Terridus was, in time, able to get the insect to move. Got it come to a life of sorts. Terridus realized that the butterfly however was still not ready to be presented to Lises. The poor creature was still torn in two from when Terridus had hit it with the net. He was careful to try and put the butterfly back together, borrowing a servant's sewing kit and some fabric. He stitched the insect back together but still it wasn't ready to fly. He wanted to make sure it was just like new. Terridus found some parts from a model plane that his aunt Renee had got him for his birthday. With the fabric and some parts from the kit, Terridus was able to get the butterfly ready to fly.
Terridus walked the hallways of the manor and found Lises in a dinning room with a few other children. The children were slightly older than the Aberite boys but were what Elmdor referred to as 'fake' people. The children paused their game when they saw Terridus arrive and Lises warmly greeted his brother.
"Hey there Terridus, what's that you got there in your hands?"
Lises asked with his normal smile. Terridus gentle held his hands closed and gave an awkward smile to the other children.
"You know that insect that I harmed the other day? Well I fixed it."
Terridus said excitedly and opened his hands. The butterfly flapped it's wings and flew out of his hands. The other children looked at it in wonder and for the first few seconds were very impressed with what they saw. After it flew for a few seconds, a stitching came loose and the bug fell out of the sky. When it landed a small wooden piece snapped and the bug was left twitching on the ground making an awful scrapping noise on the ground. The children's excitement turned to horror as they watched the bug struggle on the ground. One of the girls shrieked in worry and a boy step forward.
"This poor thing!"
The boy shouted and moved to stomp on the bug. Terridus cried out for the boy to stop but the boy brought his foot down. The bug stopped moving and many of the children were seemingly disturbed by what they had just seen. A few of the children started to mock Terridus, calling him freak and other things. Lises stepped up next and gave his brother a disappointed look.
"You just don't understand anything do you Terridus. Why are you so weird? Why are you so cruel?"
Lises asked him and soon motioned for everyone to leave. Terridus was soon left by himself with his crushed creature. He keeled down and scoped up the broken butterfly, tearing up as he did so. They were all so right, there was something wrong with him. He didn't understand life, he ever would. He cradled the bug in his hands and brought it to his chest. At least he would always have his creatures. In time he maybe be able to get them to keep him company.
Terridus and Lises moved about the tall grass on the bright and sunny day. Their father had take them out of the city to one of the few places on Tantegel that wasn't an urban setting. Elmdore had decided he needed to go out and clear his head after a heated debate he had had with one of his siblings and opted to bring along his children. Elmdore reclined under a near by tree and a few servants lingered about. The boys had been given bug catching nets and given free range of the hill. Lises was having the time of his life, being out in the country, surrounded by the plants and animals were a welcomed sight to the young boy. Terridus however was not as pleased to be outside as his brother. He shielded his eyes from the bright sun and was seemingly obsessed with keeping grass and dirt off of his pants. Lises saw his younger brother seemingly out of place in the country side and went over to cheer him up.
"Come on Terridus, you gotta put that net to use! I bet you'd be great at catching them. You're so fast!"
Lises said and swung his net around some and motioned for his brother to join him. Terridus looked at his dirty hands and frowned some but at the mention of being good at something he perked up some.
"Look over there Terridus, go get dad a butterfly. I'm sure he'd like it."
Lises said and pointed out the hill top where a small swarm of butterflies floated about. Terridus looked over and saw them and gave a week smile. He was captivated by how they moved and how the sun caught their color. Terridus followed Lises over to the hill top and watched as his brother got to catching the bugs. Terridus gripped his net tightly but didn't quite know where to start. Lises leap around and laughed out loud as he enjoyed himself. Terridus watched him and smiled some more. Lises chased a butterfly at Terridus in an effort to get his brother involved.
"Here comes one now! Get it Terridus!'
Lises shouted to his brother. Terridus saw the butterfly come his way but wasn't ready for the bug. He was startled some and swung his net wildly at the butterfly. The net flew though the air at the hands of the amberite and the edge of the net caught the butterfly in the center of it's mass. In a split second the bug was cut in half and Terridus looked down at the two pieces of butterfly. Lises saw the bug get split and looked down in horror at the butterfly as it lay on the ground.
"You killed it!"
Lises shouted at his brother. Terridus jumped at his brother's raised voice and looked down at the bug as well.
"Why'd you do something like that Terridus?! It never did anything to you! How could you!"
Lises yelled and started to tear up some. Terridus knew his brother to the sensitive type but he knew that he was upset because of him.
"I didn't mean anything by it Lises, it was an accident."
Terridus stuttered some but Lises was now fully crying.
"Why are you so cruel Terridus?! I'm telling dad!"
Lises shouted and ran off the hill top towards the place his father was at. Terridus was slow to follow and found his brother in his father's lap still crying. His father held him in an awkward and loose embrace and he was speaking with one of the near by servants.
"Yes, Lises here is very sensitive, look how upset he is over a dead insect. Terridus however is seemingly more violent. Already killing things and what not."
Elmdor said in a monotone voice. Terridus had over heard him and stopped where he was. He didn't mean to kill the butterfly. It was an accident. He wasn't a killer, or was he? Just look how upset he had made his brother. Whispers in the court about there being something wrong with Terridus got to him. The people of this shadow were seemingly unaware of how good an amberites hearing was. Maybe they were all right, maybe there was something wrong with him.
Terridus and Winters left the cell with Steven in it with Terridus slamming the door loudly. Doroshea didn't budge from his position and regarded Terridus with little more than a raised eyebrow. Terridus stood statue still with the exception of his right hand which shook with rage. Terridus stormed off from his cousins and started to move through the hallways of the lower castle. He knew them like the back of his hand at this point, having had a hand with the design and construction of the castle. As he moved though the castle his thoughts raced some as he tried to regain his composure. The one thing he could not figure out about his encounter with Steven was how Steven could have seen this going any other way.
Could he have really been that blind to the ire he had drawn from the family?
Did he really think he was going to talk Elmdore into anything?
Is he really so detached that he sees himself as the only person that could save amber? Was he the only person who could save amber?
Terridus stopped and planted his fist into a near by wall, cracking the stone slightly. He stood there for a moment, fist against the wall and then thought more about the situation. His brain desperately rationalize his thought and he found himself drawing strange comparisons to Steven. Steven and Renee should be where him and Elmdore were. The throne was never for Renee's taking, but always for her to inherent. Steven would have made a fine crowded prince before the rebellion. Terridus shifted some and leaned against the wall some.
When Steven was admiral of the navy, and Renee was crowned prince, Terridus had felt so safe in the golden circle. He never worried about the courts of chaos attacking or anything like that. All the shadows were so full of boats, so much trade happening and things worked together so well. Those day were so comforting, and now they were gone. If someone had told Terridus 100 years ago that he would be crowd prince under his father's rein, he would have had considered the person telling him to be crazy. Terridus wasn't fit to rule, and neither was his father.
He thought back to the speech his father had given at the feasts start and thought about what he had said. Talking about how he didn't care about people's happiness and how toil will define their place in this kingdom. Terridus was terrified of his father, always had been. He didn't want his father to be king. He wanted desperately to help Renee and put the rightful heir onto the throne. Steven was convinced he couldn't save her, but he was going to prove him wrong.
Terridus pounded on the wall again. Steven would pay in time for the damage he's done to this kingdom and Terridus would never let him be crown prince again. He had no right. That was of course if Terridus didn't just out right call for his head. The worry of blood curse surfaced again and Terridus momentarily wondered just who Steven would curse. Terridus wasn't afraid of going out that way but also thought of what if Steven really did care about the family, would he blood curse someone outside the family. It would certainly prove his value to the family...
Terridus was pulled from his thoughts, hearing heated conversation upstairs. Corwin had arrived and it didn't sound good. Just his luck after all.
In the time after the calamity in amber, Terridus is known to have sought out Schala and took her recovery upon himself. He was quick to inform the shadow of Dormaguez of the situation and then put all his efforts into her revival. In time she came around and he gifted her with his most advance prosthetic limb he's ever made. Once she was ready to leave, Terridus turned his attention to the political situation that he suddenly found himself in the middle of. WIth Oberion's disappearance and seeming death, Terridus's father Elmdore had been made the new king and in turn made his the crown prince. Terridus helped his father organize the realm and provided military units for the protection of Amber. Terridus also provided the supplies and builders for the new castle that was slowly coming together. Terridus also played a role in the design of the new castle.
Over time, Terridus became one of the most commonly seen amberites of his generation in the golden circle. Moving from shadow to shadow, helping out organizing his father's new administration. Word gets out that he has been talking with the other lords and ladies of the golden circle in an effort to solidify the governments of the golden circle. He hopes to spear head the combined effort and has been encouraging a stronger sense of national identity among the common folks of the realm and his cousin who had remained in the gold circle.
Terridus is slatted to be in attendance for the feast of the unicorn, the first to be had under his father's administration. He's arrived a few days ahead of time along with a large delegation from Tenebrae. He's made the effort to help decorate the feast and organize it's details. When the feast begins Terridus is easily found, wearing his white robe and black mask.
When he arrived back at his lab in Tenebrae he nearly collapsed from fatigue and the weight of the recent events. When he saw that Renee, or fake Renee, or whatever she was, was still in the chair be breathed a small sigh of relief. Terridus simply moved over to his machine and sat on one of the chairs and hung his head, holding it in his hands.
Things in the golden circle just become very unstable and he felt something he had not in a very long time. Fear. That primal sensation that drove him to his ends. He was so scared of what was to come now, he couldn't remember a time so uncertain. Things had happened so fast, all he could do was simply list them, he couldn't even analyze their true meaning yet. He figured he had to start somewhere:
Oberion was very possibly dead. Terridus wasn't even sure if such a thing were possible at this point, but now it seemed very likely. Terridus had attacked the king of amber, which would make him technically a traitor to the crown. Not that he wasn't already, undoing the punishment on Virgil and working to fix Renee as well, but, Terridus had attacked the king and what were the ramifications of that? If Oberion had somehow managed to survive, he may seek out Terridus and extract revenge on him, that would be bad. If Oberion were dead however, would he have used his blood curse? Did Oberion have a blood curse to use? There were just too many variables in that equation that were unknown to solve it yet.
Elmdor was claiming the throne of Amber, something that Terridus did not want to happen. He said he was going to gather the leaders of the golden circle to organize the ascendancy. Terridus wanted Renee to hold that position in the case of Oberion's passing but she was still unable to do so at the time. Since Terridus was a lord of the golden circle, would Elmdor come here and seek his support shortly? Would the rest of the family support him? Would there be a civil war in the golden circle? More unknowns...
Renee... Was that even her sitting over there in the chair. When they had gone into her mind and met that demon... Was it actually a trap? Could it have all been a lie? And that other visitor... more unknowns.
And the topic of everyone's worry; Virgil. That physco-path... Terridus had looked at his plans while he was in his mind, knew some of the reasons that Oberion had him censured in the first place. Terridus knew that what he was capable of. Just didn't think he'd go through with it and in the end, chances were, it wasn't under his control. Garrick and Terridus had just talked down the Courts of Chaos and then, bang, all was dust. It nearly killed Schala, thankfully Jubei was around and took her to safety. He vowed he'd go and find her, but, he was too busy right now.
The eagle, he knew now the true enemy of all. Supposedly holding Virgil hostage and acting through him. What a dangerous combination, A genius like Virgil being used by such a being. Why did the eagle seek him out in the place? Was it because of his mastery of Trump? Maybe, Virgil was working with things he didn't fully understand and some how brought this on himself. His blind drive towards mastering trump could have caught the attention of eagle who is now using him as an agent of it's destruction? Maybe he's not being held hostage at all, maybe he went willingly, maybe he likes the eagle's ends. Maybe Oberion was right to have him censured as he did.
Terridus's head was spinning. His mind was racked with so much that it was causing him actual pain. He tore off his mask and crushed it in his hands while yelling at the top of his lungs. He cast the mask away and tore off towards his work benches. enraged, he began to toss things aside and continued to yell. All the anger of his being poured up to the surface of his thoughts. Oberion attacking his brother, Virgil killing hundreds of thousands, Jubei's repeated insults, the trap that may be Renee, Schala's near death, Annalee's claim to have been able to stop it but not doing so. All of it came out in one huge, amberite temper tantrum.
After a few moments Terridus stopped and surveyed the destruction he had wrought upon his own lab and wiped a stray piece of his blond hair from his face. Over his ragged breathing he heard only one other thing, Renee. He slowly walked over to and came to stand by the chair that she was still locked into and looked down at her. What little recognition the Renee gave him was most likely fear, the very same thing he was brought back to himself.
He had so much to do; whether it was go track down Schala and make sure she was going to make it, gather the rest of the golden circle and help bring some stability to the royal family, join Annalee's Coalition of the hapless that will throw it's self at fighting to save Virgil and stop the eagle or just seeing if Oberion is actually dead. But with all that weighing on his mind, Terridus realized that he didn't care anymore.
Over eight years ago now, he swore to fix the crown princess Renee and he wasn't going to give up on that now. All of reality as he knew it could be coming to an end and right now, he literally didn't have the energy to care about it. Terridus gently stroked the side of Renee's face, or the fake Renee, well, he didn't care really now. He wasn't going to try one last time to save her. Again, the demon had told him this one was a fake, something that Rajani didn't confirm or deny when Terridus confronted her about it while he talked her down. He would find out one way or another, and nothing else would stop him.
He left her side and put on another mask. He moved out of the room and found a nearby attendant that he instructed the following:
"I will be busy. I do not know for how long. I am not to be interrupted no matter what."
Terridus said and snapped his fingers. His personal guard of Zombies arrived and he had them organize around the door to protect him. Terridus went back inside alone and paused again at the side of Renee. He looked her over again and then moved to sit in his master chair. He started up his machine and let his mind take over. He cleared his mind of everything he could and focused on the woman in the nearby chair.
The first time Terridus operated the kaleidoscope he had gone in alone. It was just a simple test, he checked out the lobby of the machine and a few of it's functions. Terridus tested his power over the machine and then it's emergency shut off system. Everything worked well that test. The second test he took a few of his lab workers in with him to see what a shared vision was like. He saw the inside of all the other's minds and when the machine was at full force, he really knew everything he could from these people. He got their whole history and their deepest dreams. Making physic contact with people in the machine was nothing like he had ever done before. The kaleidoscope was designed to magnify a person's physic powers and with that force, Terridus was looking deeper into someone mind than ever before.
They left the Machine and Terridus was ready for an other test. He had one of the shadows of Renee brought over to the kaleidoscope and had her put into the machine. She was kicking and screaming, Terridus didn't have his spell up so he didn't know what she was saying to him. Once the kaleidoscope turned on she stopped screaming and went into her coma. Terridus entered her mind through the kaleidoscope and explored it completely. He saw everything this woman had experienced and learned all there was to know about her.
He witness her childhood, her marriage and the birth of her children, and even her kidnapping and interment at his hands. It was odd to see someone's memory of himself. He always thought he looked taller than he did. Once he had saw everything, he tried to figure out just how he would go about rendering her into a comatose state the like of which his father had laid on the real Renee. After some time he exited the kaleidoscope to see how he had done. Terridus had succeeded in making a perfect match of the mental state of the real Renee.
Terridus brought the now comatose shadow of Renee back to her cell and when the second shadow of Renee saw how she was now, she panicked and screamed in fear. Terridus had the second shadow brought out and also put into the machine and tested to see if he could do it again. The second trip into the shadow of Renee's mind was just like the first and he wondered if doing this to an amberite was just as easy or if it would be harder. Ideally with Stephen's request to be completed first, he would see into Virgils mind and get a feel for it.
Now, with two false Renees he would hand them off to Stephen in an effort to keep safe the real Renee. Before he did, he ran one last experiment where he went into the head of one of the shadows of Renee that he made comatose and tried to change her back into the way she was. Working on the memory was difficult but with a lot of effort he was able to convert her back.
Terridus theorized that if more physic power was applied and focused onto the person, the easier it would become. He started to conspire a means by which to get more power into the kaleidoscope and wondered just who within the family would help him with such a task. He knew that Scala was the most powerful within his generation and wasn't sure if any of the elder amberites would bother to help. Maybe Astrid or even his brother Lises could help. He couldn't think of anyone else within the generation that would be potent enough to help him.
The question came in clear to Terridus as he walked from cell to cell. For days the shadow of Renee he had found had been telling at him in some language he didn't understand. He had grown so annoyed that he finally put up the spell that allowed him to understand and speak languages he heard. He stopped and then turned back to the cell. He tilted his head and looked her over again and then spoke.
"It's for something important."
He said simply and turned to leave again. The shadow of Renee was surprised but the answer, it was the first time he had spoken to her since he took her from her home and brought her to this strange and dark place. She stood and ran to the bars of the cell and took hold of them.
"Is it more important than my life? my family?"
The woman yelled and beat her hands against the bars. She yelled and cried in anger. Terridus paused for a moment and flexed his hands nervously. When she was speaking a language he couldn't understand he had no problem taking her hostage and keeping her in a cell. But now that she was talking to him and he understood, she seemed a lot more... Real to him. She spoke of her family, so much like the real Renee.
"Yes."
Was all Terridus was able to get out. He really couldn't even talk down against a shadow of Renee. He turned away from the shadow for good this time and headed out to his machine. He shook some as he came to stand by the machine, still shook up by the conversation he had. He pulled off his mask and rubbed his face some. He knew he had important work to do. He couldn't let these feelings he had get in the way. Simply too much hung in the balance.
The Kaleidoscope of souls started off little more than a drawing on a piece of paper. Laying in the burn victim room he had made for himself Terridus didn't want to do much for the first few weeks. Regrowing all the skin on his body was very painful and time consuming. His mind wondered to dark places during his recovery and he didn't like it. Hours on end planning and plot his revenge on the traitor Garrick. In time his mind shifted from Garrick to Stephen and then to his mother Renee. The fate that had befallen her was a blow to the entire family weather they realized it or not.
He thought more and more on what his father had done to Renee and started to plan on a means by which to fix her. He had a lot at his disposal, he was after all the most power thing in existence. He was an Amberite and if it could be done, he could do it. He knew that he would have to use everything he could. Magic, technology, and pattern. He tried to figure out a way to bring the three elements together and drew up the Kaleidoscope.
Once he had a conversation with Stephen, he learned some more about his father's work. Stephen had confirmed something that had been eating at Terridus, it was in fact his father that had turned Virgil into such a strange and random man. Stephen demanded that Terridus fix Virgil before he would let him work on Renee. So, Terridus changed some of the design and then started work on the project.
It took 7 years for him to get the whole thing done. The advanced psychic connectors, the magical interface, coming up with a frame that was strong enough to hold it all together and then building the facility that would house the Kaleidoscope. He had the building constructed on an island that he had formed a few decades ago but he hadn't used it for much other than storing things that interested him.
Once everything was done, terridus had gone out into shadow and done the grim work he had once done before. He had developed a spell that allowed him to find shadows of people. He had used it many times to find shadows of himself which he had sought out and killed for his body guard detail. He used the spell to find shadows of Renee and got two that he really liked. Kidnapping them was not hard, and he had them brought to his facility on Tenebrae.
As they sped off towards the rock from the city of Amber, the sounds of the battle fading off into the distance, Terridus watched Schala go ahead of him and his brother. A tingle of worry threatens to over take the calm that usually covers the Praetor. It wasn't the battle behind him that worried him, but the battle ahead of him. He didn't know why his cousin was speeding ahead of him, maybe she was just as excited as he was. Maybe she just wanted to show off. Maybe she had the same thought he had in the back of his mind, saving Renee may end the war. But, the thought that worried him the most was if she was going to stop him.
Terridus had been planning all of this for years now. His machine, his research... All of it. He could plan most of this out, but the only unknown in the plot was the other members of his family. A lot of it was Stephen. Renee was his mother, Terridus needed to work with him to save her. He didn't blame Stephen, Terridus would be just as protective as him if something had happened like that to Elmdor. Stephen had demanded that if he were to try his machine on Renee he would first have to try it out on Virgil.
Terridus wasn't sure about that prospect. Just what was Stephen's angle on that. Did he task him with fixing Virgil just to test the machine or was it to test Terridus's resolve? Just to see if the Praetor could wrangle the mad man. Stephen had just told him he wanted his friend back... If that was true, was his task of fixing Virgil actually a vote of confidence in Terridus's intelligence? Ideally, if Stephen had left his 'friend' in my care, it could him thinking highly of me.
Terridus didn't pretend to fully understand the other members of my family, and that is why Schala rushing off ahead was bothering him so much. He looked over to his brother Lises and felt a small measure of comfort in knowing that his brother was near by. The two of them together could take out Schala if she threatened to hamper the project. He knew he could count on his brother for most thing. His drive to protect life was a noble one indeed and for the first time in decades, the two of them were not at each other's throats.
To Terridus's surprise and relief; when he arrived at the rock, Schala was waiting for him with Renee.
"Good, just simply paranoia, Schala was trust worthy."
Terridus thought to himself as he saw the small frame of Renee draped in his cousin's arms. In the last few hours he had learned more about Schala than he had in the all the time he had known her before. Her mind was filled with darkness. A darkness not like the madness of Virgil of the oppression of his own, but a painful, stabbing darkness that unsettled his brother and himself.
He looked his cousin over and landed next to her. In just a few seconds however, he found that Schala had found one of the fake Renees that Terridus had gifted to Stephen in an effort to keep the real Renee safe. Much like when made his army of zombies of the shadows of himself, Terridus had sought out shadows of Renee which he then wiped their minds so that they would be prefect copies of the current Renee.
Terridus motioned to have the fake Renee returned and sought out the real one. He found her down in the basement, the last place some one would think a loving son would hide their mother. But again, Terridus was not quick to jump to conclusions. Did Stephen hide the real one down here to protect her? Or was he ashamed of her and hid her away as best he could? A long conversation with Stephen was coming but now there was more important work to do.
Terridus started to carefully look over the body of Renee and gently wrapped her in a near by blanket. His hands were delicate, his hands were steady. It had been eight long years since he had last seen her and she was just a beautiful as he remembered her. The Rose of May would bloom again.
"Why are you stalling? Why are you taking so long?"
Terridus went stiff and turned back to see his cousin and brother both looking at him. They didn't understand just how important she was. Terridus slowly removed his mask and gave the two of them a stern look.
"I'm not stalling. I am taking my time. I've spent years building that machine in Tenebrae, I've tracked down shadows of this woman to protect her, I've traveled across shadow, I've gone into the head of a mad man, I've gone against the word of Oberion and the actions of my father and I've even now witnessed the beginning of existence as we know it. Nothing I've done, nothing either of you has ever done, is more important than what we're doing right now in this moment. Hundreds of thousands of lives depend on this one woman and that's just the corner of a much larger picture. I'm not stalling, I'm doing what needs to be done, and I'm doing it right."
Terridus said and turned back to Renee and gently traced a finger around the edge of her face. He put his mask back on and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. They made their way back out onto the rock and onto a boat. They had to get back to Tenebrae and they needed to get there now.
The history of the shadow of Tenebrae is an interesting one. Like all of the shadows of the golden circle, the shadow of Tenebrae is linked to Amber. Tenebrae is different than the other shadows in the golden circle as it is unable to hold life on it. Through the randomness that is shadow, Tenebrae has no air on it, or any beings that can live without it. Many resources that are rare on other shadows; gold, silver, oil, gems... were all very common in Tenebrae. Tenebrae was seen by outsiders as a seeming treasure trove of resources that were unavailable to those that lived on other shadows. The shadow went a long time without any people on it till an expedition from Dormaguez was able to travel into the shadow from Dormaguez and set up an outpost there.
The members of the expedition team where aided with technology from Holmgard and after just a few expeditions, they were able to establish a permanent settlement. The royalty of Tenebrae came about from the leaders of the expedition and soon Tenebrae was an independent shadow of the golden circle. Excepted to the court of Amber, Tenebrae supplied resources to the other shadows of the golden circle and in time grew in strength. Although it was growing in power, it went generally unnoticed by the royal family of Amber due to it's generally unpleasantness.
In time, only one member of the royal family found interest in the shadow. Terridus, son of Elmdor, was declared lord of the shadow by Obrion. When he arrived at the shadow he set to work on the shadow and helped it grow even more in power. To this day Terridus, much like the shadow of Tenebrae is largely ignored by the rest of the golden circle and the court of Amber, however, it's importance is growing with every passing year.
Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:10 pm
