InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Minds, Shattered Hearts ❯ Chaos and Amber ( Chapter 5 )

“I am Corwin, of Amber. Amber is the one true place, Substance, if you will. All else, including here, is Shadow. Imagine a set of mirrors, where each one reflects that of the one before it, but where something is askew in it. If one goes far enough out, the shadows go mad; beyond that is the Courts of Chaos. At their edge is the Abyss—Nothing. It is the end of the universe.”

 

I paused to let this sink in. “The Courts of Chaos is Substance itself, but of a different nature. It is derived from something called the Logrus—the essence of Chaos. Amber is from the Pattern—the essence of Order.

 

“My grandfather created the Pattern of Amber in a revolt against Chaos. That is a tale in and of itself. But, he used a talisman, the Jewel of Judgment in Amber, the Eye of the Serpent in Chaos, to create it.

 

“Those of the Royal house of Amber who have walked the Pattern have power over Shadow.”

 

They all looked a bit confused still.

 

“Imagine holding what you have in one hand, and what you want in the other. We Amberites can add and subtract things from the world to get in closer alignment with what we want. That is Shadowshifting.”

 

“I am of the royal house. My father, Oberon, reigned in Amber for millennia. Until recently, I cannot remember a time when he did not rule. However, some years ago, a handful of my siblings set out to overthrow him. One of them wished to completely destroy the Pattern and create it anew. He was insane. He did manage to mar it, though. Oberon used the Jewel of Judgment to fix it, but it killed him. My brother Random now rules Amber, while my son, Merlin, is king in the Courts of Chaos.”

 

This last statement caused a few eyebrows to rise, but they all held their tongue, hoping for me to continue.

 

I thought of Deirdre, then, and almost cried. Inuyasha sniffed the air, and gave me a strange look.

 

“The trumps” I pointed to my pack of cards they had seen earlier, “are a way of communication and teleportation. They are similar to a telephone.” I noted looks of recognition on Inuyasha and Kagome's faces, but not on the others. “The main difference is that they are capable of transporting one person to wherever the other is, or just passing items. That is how Bill came and went.”

 

“So how does this relate to the Shikon Jewel?” Kagome asked.

 

“I and several siblings concur—it is directly related to the Pattern of Amber. None of us know how, or why, but—“

“And how do we know you aren't running us a line of crap?” spoke Inuyasha.

 

“It does seem rather farfetched.” Agreed Miroku.

 

“It's crazy if you ask me.” Shippou added.

 

“At the moment, you will just have to trust me.” I didn't feel like a long walk through Shadow, and we had more pressing matters as it was. Namely the Shikon Jewel shards.

 

Inuyasha snorted.

 

“That's asking quite a bit.” Sango noted.

 

Everyone was quite for a moment. I suppose it was not everyday someone told you the world was but an insignificant part of a whole. I let them think on it.

 

“How many siblings do you have?” Shippou asked, rather suddenly.

 

“Hmm… at least twenty that I know of, though five, maybe more, are dead.”

 

“Twenty!” they cried in unison.

 

“Those are just the ones I am aware of. And that's just siblings, not aunts or uncles, nieces or nephews, or… grandchildren.”

 

“It's amazing your mother didn't die of a heart attack raising all those kids!” Sango murmured.

 

“Uh... Most of us don't share the same mother.”

 

Inuyasha looked quite confused. “Don't your kind take mates?”

 

“Mates?” I had to laugh at that. “Maybe for the night. My family isn't exactly known for fidelity.”

 

Miroku raised his eyebrows. “So what are you known for?”

 

THUNK!

 

“Hentai.” Sango muttered as she removed her giant boomerang from Miroku's head.

 

“DAMMIT!” Inuyasha cut in, silencing my chuckles.

 

“What is it?” Shippou asked, wide eyed.

 

“I smell that bastard brother of mine!”