Lord Rein:
Most noble lords and ladies, hear me now:
I stand before you,
minstrel to the Court,
Honoured musician to all Amber's folk,
To speak to you of a most
tragic tale.
The Tragedy of Eric, King of Amber,
Most mighty lord, who did once hold
the crown,
And bore the Jewel of Judgement on his breast,
But now is dust, long since
passed into death,
Joining the shadows to which we all come.
His death was gallant, as
his life was proud,
Spent for the sake of Amber, that fair land
Which we all love, and
merits all our days
In tireless service, till our lives may end:
And even then our deaths are
better made
If we should die in service to our land.
Thus did he live, my lords, thus did
he die,
And of that life and death you shall hear now,
Of all his kin, and their part in his
life:
His enemies, and their part in his death:
From life to death, I shall unfold his
tale,
And with his story make the rafters ring:
The Tragedy of Eric, Amber's
King.
(Exit Lord Rein.)
Scene 2 : Eric and Deirdre,
walking in a formal garden. Deirdre holds a
silver
rose.
Deirdre:
These were the roses which our brother
loved.
Eric:
Sister, if you have aught of weight to say,
Then say it now, and
henceforth hold your peace.
You know my love for Corwin...
Deirdre:
That I do,
Your love for him was like to his for you:
A constant enmity, a
bitter hate,
A fire never quenched, unceasing rage
That only death could come between
and end.
Eric:
Then why speak of him? You have made it plain
That though we
all were kinsmen, close by blood,
You loved him far the better than myself,
Would ever
take his side in argument,
Bind up his wounds, and hear his long
complaint.
Deirdre:
But that is why I speak: though he is dead,
And long since
dead, too often have I thought
His blood was on the hands of one of
us.
Eric:
Sister, that is an unwise thing to say.
Deirdre:
I name no
names: I do not point to cry,
"Thou art the man!"
Eric:
Your
thoughts are plain enough.
Either now speak them, or be ever still,
And have no such
suspicions here again.
Deirdre:
You threaten me?
Eric:
I
merely now suggest
That you refrain from malice of this kind.
Deirdre:
Malice
indeed! I speak the very truth,
As well you know, beloved brother mine:
How, long ago,
the pair of you rode out
Into fair Arden, talking of a hunt,
Of game pursued, and prey at
last laid low:
And only you rode back, yes, you alone,
Claiming no knowledge of his
whereabouts,
Nor would you speak as to the day's events,
But merely doffed your gloves
and sword, and smiled.
Eric:
I parted from him, true, with angry words,
And in
cold silence we chose separate paths,
But I know not how Corwin met his end:
No trace
of him was found, nor has been since.
Deirdre:
You smiled that day as you are
smiling now.
Eric:
Then, sister, do not give me cause to frown,
And do not cast
false accusations here
With neither truth nor proof to give them force.
I know you better
than he ever did.
Deirdre:
I do not understand.
Eric:
Oh,
but you do:
Did you not see your brother on the throne,
And you beside him, ever at his
side,
Most trusted counsellor and sure ally?
You would have held the power, sister
dear,
And he your loyal puppet and your slave.
Deirdre:
You
lie!
Eric:
I speak the truth: you never have.
Deirdre:
You shall
have cause to long repent those words.
(Exit Deirdre.)
Eric:
Sister, you spoke
the truth in this at least,
The blood of Corwin is upon my hands,
But better he should
sleep in silent Shade
Than be your puppet, and desire my death.
(Exit
Eric.)
Scene 3: Caine, Gerard, and Julian, by a
dockside.
Julian:
Brothers, I have now joined you, as you
wished:
What is this matter of such grave import
That it could not wait for some other
day?
Summer now holds fair Arden: all the land
Requires my keeping, and my constant
guard.
Gerard:
Long is our father absent from our land,
And Caine is troubled
that he is not here
To give us guidance and to bear the crown.
Caine:
Never
before has he been gone so long,
We have no word to when he shall return,
Nor certain
knowledge as to where he is.
Julian:
The land does well enough: we hold our
posts,
Continuing our duties, as he charged:
What more is there to
say?
Gerard:
What more indeed?
Brother, I came to you, as you
have asked,
But there seems little reason now to speak:
As Julian says, the land is well
enough,
We live in peace, and all is prosperous.
Caine:
Brothers of mine, how
can you be so blind?
Certain of our close kin would hold the throne:
Now that our liege
is gone, without a word,
They seek to take his place, and reach for power,
And trample
down those who stand in their way.
Gerard:
I will have none of this: I will not be
The first of us to stand and take a side
Against another of our closest kin.
If the land
stands in peril, I will act:
If not, I see no interest at all
In this discussion, light and most
unproved.
Should you have proof, then come and speak again.
But for the moment,
brother, hold your peace,
And carry tales to other ears than mine!
(Exit
Gerard.)
Julian:
What more did you expect? You know him well,
He thinks no
wrong of others till sure proof
Is placed before his eyes, he hears no tales:
Only for
Amber would he take a stand,
And not for any members of his kin,
However closely they
be bound by blood.
Caine:
And what of other members of my
kin?
Julian:
If you have proof, then show it to me straight.
If not: I may believe
far more than he,
Being by far less honest and less just,
But I will not take action on my
own,
Nor make a move that would imperil all
Of Amber's royalty, and Amber's
land.
Caine:
You make yourself quite clear: if I should find
That proof, I'll lay
it straight before your eyes,
Feeling content that you would take your stand
With those
who would seek peace and loyalty,
Rather than civil war and open
strife.
Julian:
I ride in Arden: should you find that proof,
Then you will find me
there.
(Exit Julian.)
Caine:
I'll find the truth,
For
none shall hold dominion over me
Unless I should desire to serve them then,
And later...
well, the world must often change,
And power may fall to one who has the strength
And
constant brothers as his sure allies,
Who know his true concern is for the land,
And for
our everlasting city fair.
(Exit Caine.)
Scene 4 : Flora and
Deirdre, in the Library.
Deirdre:
Sister, it is a long and weary
time
Since last you walked these walls and met your kin.
What stern errand now keeps
you far from us,
That you may not spend time as oft you did,
In gay frivolity and constant
mirth?
Flora:
Your words are chosen, as they ever were,
With due intent to
sting: I do not choose
To speak to you of all my own concerns.
Why should you choose
to trouble me now thus?
Deirdre:
My dear, you are too hard upon me here!
I
merely questioned you in idle thought,
Remembering the parties where you danced,
And
all the men delighted in your smile.
Flora:
And yours as well.
Deirdre:
They never turned away
Once you had smiled upon them, but remained,
Begging
for one more dance, or but a word,
That they would treasure far above all
else.
Flora:
Perhaps: I know they flocked to reach my side,
And smiled at me
so often in return...
But why this sudden curiosity?
Deirdre:
Eric is brother to
me, dear, as well,
I run his errands too, from time to time,
I merely wondered what he
so desired
That he should cast you out of Amber thus.
Flora:
Our brother's
business is his own affair.
I'll speak to you anon: farewell for now.
(Exit
Flora.)
Deirdre:
So Eric is concerned in this affair!
Why should he care for one
small Shadow thus,
That he should choose you as a constant guard?
My sister, I shall
know the truth of this,
Nor shall I ever kneel to Eric's reign.
(Exit
Deirdre.)
Scene 5 : Caine and a servant, in a
corridor.
Caine:
And while they spent their time in this debate,
Did
any of them speak of rulership?
Servant:
Most certainly, my lord: they first
discussed
Whether some power they had lately gained
Would be enough to daunt their
enemies.
Caine:
And did they name that power?
Servant:
No, my lord,
But merely spoke of some far distant courts
From which they
hoped for service and for aid.
Caine:
Continue.
Servant:
Next
Prince Bleys inquired of them
Whether the Jewel of Judgement was yet found,
Or if some
other of their noble kin
Held it in secret from the sight of all.
Caine:
And they
replied?
Servant:
That it was secret still,
Nor did they know the
truth of where it was.
A matter of importance, said Prince Brand,
A grave concern to
them till it was found.
Caine:
And the Princess Fiona?
Servant:
Merely smiled,
Asking him what he knew upon this theme
That he should be
so ardent for the Jewel.
The Prince fell silent, and did not reply.
Caine:
And
then?
Servant:
The Princess counselled them, beware,
For they had many
foes among their kin,
And she named you as the most dangerous.
Caine:
How...
flattering.
Servant:
Then she continued straight
To say that when
Prince Bleys should hold the throne,
And she should stand beside him with Prince
Brand,
They either must be sure of your support,
Or you must be removed without
delay.
Caine:
As ever, she shows wisdom. But what
then?
Servant:
Prince Eric's name was spoken then in fear,
As yet another who
might seek the throne,
Prince Bleys admitting that he might still be
His master with the
sword and on the field.
He must be watched and warded, said Prince Brand,
Lest further
strong precautions be required.
Then they departed, each to their own path,
And I came
here to you, my lord, at once.
Caine:
You have done well: accept my grateful
thanks,
And come to me again should you learn more.
(Exit Servant.)
So
now, my hunter brother, I have proof:
And now we all must place our final stakes
Before
the final card is turned and shown,
And every player's true allegiance known.
(Exit
Caine.)
Scene 6: a room, fireplace, several chairs. Bleys lounges
in a chair, Fiona stands behind
him. Brand leans on the
fireplace.
Brand:
Now that we have the power we desired,
The
aid of Chaos in this enterprise,
The throne lies open to our eager hands.
And we, the due
inheritors, by right
Of power and of wisdom, now may seize the
crown.
Fiona:
You go too fast, my brother: others yet
May not perceive our
claim in that same light,
And feel they have some right to power themselves.
We should
take steps to halt these fantasies
Before they grow to cause us injury.
Bleys:
Be
calm, beloved sister: none will dare
To stand alone against the three of us,
Triumvirate
unmatchable in power:
Whether in magic or in feats of arms,
None will oppose us now:
not one would dare.
Fiona:
But several might.
Brand:
Which
several?
Bleys:
You mean Caine?
Or Eric, Julian, or strong
Gerard?
They have their own affairs, and would not care
To form a league, or join in any
way
In unity, as we have often done.
Fiona:
I think in this they might unite to
stand
Against us, should they know our private plans.
For some strange reason, I have
often found
That others of our royal family
Believe us treacherous, and cunning
too,
Prone to betray, unworthy of their trust.
Brand:
How strange. Our wish
to seize and hold the throne
Is nothing more than their desire, as well:
Yet we shall have
that wish, and have the power,
Wherefore they call us traitors, renegades,
Usurpers of
their power, merely because
We had the will and force to claim our dreams
While they
sat back to ponder and to muse.
Bleys:
Leaving aside this dull philosophy,
What
do you then propose, my sister dear?
Fiona:
Julian and Caine might come to take
our side,
Could we persuade them that it would be best.
Brand:
With what
persuasion?
Fiona:
Power, brother, power.
Power is the truth and
meaning of our lives,
And none of us would turn from power's call.
Whoever holds true
power, masters all.
Bleys:
You do not mention Eric.
Fiona:
No, indeed!
He would not dream that any other man
Could come to hold the
throne but he alone:
Julian and Caine might take a humbler place,
But Eric must be king,
or no-one else.
He'd sooner see us dead, or locked in chains,
Than have us rule in power
over him.
Bleys:
A not unnatural thing: I'd feel the same
If he should hold the
kingdom and the power.
Brand:
Leaving aside this empty empathy,
It seems that
we with brothers must consult,
And offer pledges so they take our side.
Perhaps, sweet
sister, you would care to speak
With Arden's master, your most loyal friend?
So often
has he cast his eyes on you
That surely he would listen to your words
And swear away
his honour and his heart.
Fiona:
Where Julian casts his eyes is his
concern!
Never, I swear, have I returned that gaze,
Or offered to him glances in
return.
His thoughts are his: I have no part in them!
Bleys:
Enough of this: let
us not break our bonds,
Nor argue thus, where we have amity.
Sister, I know you have
no care for him,
But he, I think, has some concern for you.
I ask you, therefore, speak
some words to him,
And seek to turn his loyalty to us.
Fiona:
As you desire, my
brother.
Bleys:
Brand, you too
Are skilled in sweet persuasion's
many arts:
I ask you, therefore, say a word to Caine,
Convince him his advantage lies
with us,
And power may be gained from standing thus.
Brand:
I shall do as you
wish: we'll meet anon.
(He leaves.)
Fiona:
He is not now the same: I do not
know
What he has learnt within the changing Courts,
But something stirs within his
teeming mind,
Some bitter vision, some compelling dream
That drives him from us, on
a private quest.
Bleys:
You know more of these things than I: so say
What he
has learnt that has so changed him now.
Fiona:
I do not know, I tell you! Oft he
spoke
With those who were most skilled in sorcery,
And knew much of the Pattern, and
its art.
My brother, once as close to me as you,
Is now a stranger to me, and to
you,
Our closeness shattered by some secret thought
That he will not release, but thinks
upon
Until ...
Bleys:
Until?
Fiona:
Brother, I
do not know,
But this I'll say: I fear for all of
us.
Curtain.