Discworld, year 27, day 211 continued

Evening

Meander had no trouble reapplying the geas. I don't suppose there's any reason he would, but I'm afraid I was feeling rather paranoid. Maybe I've been living in Amber too long. Of course, the fact that there are vampires roaming around the city might have something to do with my paranoia.

Amber

I must admit, I knew trying to assume a faerie form would be difficult, but I thought having spent so much time in one already would help. And maybe it has, but I'm still finding the whole process rather challenging. I know how I want to wind up, but it's the process of getting there that's difficult. I don't just want to look like a faerie, I need to *be* a faerie. And it appears that's going to take me more than one night. But I have to figure it out. With the recent vampire activity, being able to assume a form that they can't see could be a life saver. And I don't think that when I'm running for my life would be the best of times to try figuring it out. Maybe I'd be having better luck if I was trying to assume Loryn's form, rather than a faerie version of my own. But I'd rather avoid using her form, if I could. I think Lucien worries that I spend too much time thinking of myself as Loryn anyway, and this probably wouldn't help. I'd rather be myself while a faerie anyway, instead of walking around in the body of a dead woman. It just wouldn't feel right.

Amber, year 27, day 212 (Thursday, November 24, 4)

Morning

Reeshau was at breakfast. How unusual. Especially since it wasn't just Reeshau in Alex's body, but he even *looked* like Reeshau. That's never happened before. Not that Alex isn't capable of doing it, but he's certainly never wanted to do it before. He hates having Reeshau in his head, and anything that reminds him of it. Why this change, I wonder? Could it be related to bringing back the Disc? I could ask him, I suppose, but somehow I doubt Alex will want to talk about it.

I knew it! I knew that must have been Lucien. Ishmael admitted that his sword hasn't been affected by the loss of conjuration. Which means that couldn't have been him the other night in the Pattern room. Hah! Got him! I can't believe Ishmael was willing to get himself all cut up for a fight he wasn't even in. Then again, he's always been a masochist.

OK, so maybe I shouldn't have told Ishmael that I was on to him. I haven't been this sore since the workouts I used to have with him when we were guarding Ygg. When did he get so fast? Or am I just getting slower? Maybe I have been getting lax in my workouts recently. Or I'm just getting older. No, that can't be it, Ishmael's older than I am. I wonder, do Amberites slow down at all as they age? Probably not. I don't know how old Uncle Benedict is, but I'm sure he's over 1,000, and he certainly hasn't slowed down. And Lucien can move pretty fast when he wants to, 3,000 years old or no. No, whatever the reason, it certainly isn't my age. Maybe Ishmael's just had more time to practice recently than I have. Between the children, the hospital, and my classes, there hasn't been a lot of time left for other things. Not that Ishmael doesn't have classes and children as well, but he has less of them, and I suspect Maddy does most of the dirty work where the kids are concerned.

Afternoon

And to think that Jessica was such a cute baby. Now she's setting my dress on fire and saying what a great sacrifice I'd make. I guess blood will tell. Her father's continued association with demons probably hasn't helped, either. I'd almost consider his vampire problems to be a form of karmic retribution, if it didn't pose such danger for the rest of us as well. I feared there would soon be more of them. Gavin's lucky he wasn't killed last night. Of course, given his luck, why he thought walking into one of their traps was a smart idea is beyond me. It's a good thing he was able to reach Shard. I almost offered to contact him for Gavin, to find out what happened to the vampire he was fighting last night, but then I remembered Nicholas' edict. I've got to do something about that. It's been almost five years, and given the current circumstances I suspect I'm going to need to speak openly with Shard on occasion.

I wish I'd known that Caine would be reading Nicholas' messages. I mean, I knew he was depressed, but I didn't think he was incapable of reading his own mail! At least Caine rescinded the edict, but I resent his commentary on the matter. Nicholas didn't issue the edict because of anything I did, he issued it because of what Shard did to Ishmael. It's not my fault that Shard is attracted to me. I would give anything to change that, for him to find someone who could return his affection. But then, since when has love ever given a choice to its victims?

Evening

Meander has found me a witchcraft tutor. That was certainly fast. I'm a little nervous about what this woman is actually like, however. Meander mentioned that he had a hard time finding someone who was willing to teach outlanders, and there was something in his tone as he wished me luck... It almost sounded like a warning. What sort of witch has he found?

Now I understand why he wished me luck. Granny Witherall is...well...hard to describe. She actually wears a pointy witch hat. And she smells of whiskey. Poor Whimsy. Apparently her table manners are also rather lacking. I think learning from her would be a trial, but I guess it's not something I'll be finding out for myself. She refuses to teach me. Says I smell like an elf. Which is apparently her way of saying that I know how to use faerie magic. And she won't teach me until I've rid myself of it. As if I would, even if I could. I'd rather lose my arm. It never occurred to me that such a thing would matter. Then again, they limit what kind of magic you can learn based on your sex, so why should one more pointless limitation surprise me? For all I know, even if I did rid myself of faerie magic, Granny might detect my faerie soul and still refuse to teach me. I decided not to make a fuss about it. If I'm lucky, Whimsy might be able to teach me later on. Why jeopardize her chances by creating a problem now? Whimsy needs this more than I do anyway, since she'll never be able to use faerie magic again. Not as long as the Faerie Ward remains a part of her. Still, it is rather disappointing. To go through all of the effort to bring the Disc back, and not be able to use its magic... Well, that isn't the only reason I brought it back, or even the main one. Even if I can't learn witchcraft, it will have been worth it, just for the opportunity to see Looks Twice and the others again.

Lasker is behind the recent spate of vampire activity. I knew it! But I find no joy in being proved correct. In some ways, it almost would have been easier had it been an unknown vampire. Well, easier for me. Perhaps not for Amber. At least this way we know how he got here. The question, what do we do now? According to Gavin's man, they grow in number every night. People must be warned, or else they will keep growing until they have an army. And then there will be too many of them to fight. But how do we warn people without causing a panic? I wish I had an answer to that one. Hopefully Caine or Random does. I wonder if Nicholas even knows this is happening?

I've made some more progress on achieving my faerie form tonight. It's still going slower than I'd like, though. I tried asking Lucien what I'm doing wrong, but he says it's something I have to work out myself. Apparently shapeshifting is only similar amongst people up to a certain level of study, and I've moved beyond that point. After this, he can give me suggestions, but how I do it isn't necessarily how he'd do it. I suppose that makes sense. Healing abilities like mine are normally developed by shapeshifters at about this point in their study, and I worked those out on my own. I just did it a little earlier than I should have been able to.

Amber, year 27, day 213 (Friday, November 25, 4)

Morning

Granny Witherall and Reeshau appear to be brother and sister, and they definitely have it in for each other. That's all this family needs, another pair of squabbling siblings. And it sounds like Whimsy may have been caught up in it. When Alex asked Granny about some flowers she left him, she said he'd have to ask Whimsy what they did. Whimsy just doesn't seem to have any luck at all where flowers are concerned. The last time, she nearly set me on fire. Gods, I hope she's not in a similar state now. Who knows what she might do?

At least it was only an inebriation spell. Whimsy still looks quite displeased about the matter, however. I don't suppose I'd feel any differently, in her shoes. She says the flowers are still in the hallway outside of Alex's room, and she wants me to dispose of them. I don't particularly like the idea of trying to move them, lest I get caught in the spell as well, but we can't just leave them lying out where they can affect anyone who comes along. I just hope I can hold my breath long enough to get rid of them.

No wonder Whimsy was so pissy. It's not an inebriation spell, it's a lust spell. What did she do to poor Edwin, I wonder? And why didn't she warn me about it? If I hadn't encountered that page, I might never have known that she lied to me, at least not until it was too late. That poor page... Not that I minded being looked at like I was the most beautiful woman alive, but I suspect Lucien wouldn't understand if I let the boy get the spell out of his system. Fortunately, I was able to move away before he did something he would regret later on. There's still the problem of getting rid of those flowers, though. A spell to create a giant gust of wind would be perfect, but sadly, that's not a spell I know. I suppose I could try a dispel. I'll have to be careful, though, since I'm not quite sure how faerie magic and witchcraft interact. The dispel might work, or nothing might happen, or the two magics might combine explosively. I think I'll try the dispel on a small part first, just in case.

"Outrageous Fortune"
Ariana's Page | Ariana's Diaries
Other PC Diaries and Contributions

All text on this page is © 1999 by Kris Fazzari.

Last modified on July 28, 1999 by Kris Fazzari.