This story was written for the AmberCon New Courts campaign.
I adapted the character of Brigid from the Wisconsin Amber campaign as a child of the Realm of Emerald and the daughter of Fiona: I would later do the same for all seven Pattern realms as a thought experiment.
Seven Pattern Realms. Diamond, Pearl, Amber, Ruby, Lapis, Emerald and Jet. Each further apart from the others than the Courts of Chaos, yes close enough that those who know can cross between them, Each as different as the jewels that represent them: Diamond and Jet, the bright and dark Realms, eternal opposites; Pearl, the Realm that Dworkin eternally seeks to uncreate; Amber, the familiar Realm; Ruby, the Realm of blood and war; Lapis, the Realm where everything is for sale, including honor; and Emerald, the Realm of Madness, where Fiona reigns and inflicts her insane evil genius upon a tortured Realm.
Serrian, the younger brother of Gervald of the House Jerroboam of Emerald, had let it slip that he and some of his companions had grown bold enough to go beyond merely thinking of overthrowing Fiona’s despotic rule of Emerald, and had actually considered joining Llewella’s forces in Dlareme. Then, a month later, Serrian had disappeared into the city beneath the sea, embarrassing the family politically, potentially fatally.
Fiona had heard of the defection of the second heir to one of the major noble families of the realm, the family was sure of it, and she was almost certainly displeased. They waited, worrying, for Fiona’s vengeance.
A vengeance that was delayed by Fiona’s whimsy. Instead, the entire family was invited to Castle Emerald, an invitation they feared but could not and would not resist. Their only hope for survival was in obeying Fiona’s will, hoping past hope that they could entertain her sufficiently to stave off total destruction.
But when they arrived, they were greeted warmly, as if nothing had happened. They were feasted in grand style for three days and nights. By the third night, Gervald’s mother and father were almost ready to defect themselves, if only to escape Fiona’s apparently sincere show of sympathy for their plight.
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