Thus spoke the Champion of Amber, "I looked into the heavens, and saw one who shone like an angel, who seemed to be made of precious metal and jewels, so that men sought after this one. But this false angel was stained in blood, and though soothing words came forth from his mouth, they were poison to those that received them. He reached even higher into the heavens and stole away a bright and burning star, and put a dead one in its place."The host of heaven marveled at this, and rejoiced, and those of their number who did not rejoice, they cast down so as not to diminish the joy of those pleased with the new star, though it gave no light. And to worship this new and dead star, they cut off their right hand and plucked out their eyes, and reasoned to themselves that this star did not give off a light to be seen with the eyes, but to be seen with the heart, so that their eyes lied to them, and should be cast away, and they would have cast off both hands as well, except that one was needed to wield the knife.
"Thus maimed, they bled, thinking themselves exalted, and a red rain fell upon the earth at their passing. And the dead star stole a little of their shed blood, thinking to keep it for itself, but it knew not that its master, the shining angel, took every drop it stole for himself in turn. And once the host had maimed themselves and bled themselves until they were weak and helpless and slowly dying, the shining angel laughed and devoured the dead star and all of the host, and so great was his hunger that he kept consuming all within sight. At last, he devoured his own limbs, then, maimed and bleeding just as the host, he expired, though he did so thinking himself victorious at last, and heedless to the damage he had inflicted upon himself."
Thus spoke the Champion of Amber, "There was a garden, and in it were eight vines, that had only newly grown, tended to by a child slave. The vines had thorns, and the fruit they bore were bitter, but the child, being a slave, had no choice but to tend them and suffer injuries from them. He sought relief from the vines, and found a little worm that he placed upon a leaf of one of the vines, and watched as it began to chew, hoping that it would at last devour the vine, little bite by little bite.
"But the master of the household had weeds growing elsewhere in the garden, where the child could not reach. The master was shrewd and stingy, and wished not to send any of his own servants to tend to the weeds.
"Therefore, he took a servant and sent it to his neighbor and his rival, and had his servant whisper to the rival, 'Behold, my master whips me and torments me, and there is no end to my suffering. I cannot raise a hand against my master for revenge, but my heart burns against him. I know you wish ill of my master, so I shall tell you this: in thus-and-such place in the garden is the most prized flower of my master. Here is some oil, and here is some flint and tinder. When the master is not aware, you may set fire to this part of the garden, and he shall feel great sorrow when he learns that his flower is gone, and we may both rejoice at our vengeance.'
"And the rival heard this and thought it was good, and agreed in his heart to commit this deed, and took the oil and the flint and tinder, to do as the servant bid. Little did he know that the flower, while it was indeed beautiful to look upon, was a wildflower, and one that had not been planted by the master, so the master cared nothing for it, and would think it a fair price to pay for being rid of the weeds.
"So the rival set fire to the flower and the weeds around it, but it had not rained in many days, and the grass was dry. The fire spread, and the rival was caught in the flames and perished, but so too it spread to the vines, and scorched them, so that they curled up as if dead, and the slave child was frightened and hid away.
"But less than four days later, buds formed on the vines, and more of the bitter fruit grew, and the thorns grew sharper than before, and the vines returned to life. The thorns stabbed at the slave child, forcing him out of his hiding place, and the vines themselves bid the child to tend them, or there would be no end to the torment visited upon him.
"And the master was pleased that his rival had burned and that the weeds were gone, and once the vines bloomed again, he overcame his sorrow for their temporary loss. But he did not see that they grew larger than before, and threatened to choke out the rest of his garden. And at last they swallowed up the whole of the garden and the master as well, and one vine became a tree that rose above the others, and continued to grow in size until it blocked out the sun."
Thus spoke the Champion of Amber, "What was thought the first was not, and the one that was first shall call those who were first, but who are no longer what they were before. One who by blood shall call others false shall himself be even more false, deeper than blood. He shall claim a name higher than his own, and in his name, much sorrow will come to those who have suffered greatly already. His return shall be celebrated, but a song of rejoicing will soon become a funeral dirge, and what was once bound shall be bound again, even while it claims the contrary."
Thus spoke the Champion of Amber, "I looked up into the heavens, and a garment was stretched out, and upon it was painted a door. And this door opened up as if it were real, and a painted place beyond it became as if real. And a mortal being wore this portal and this garment, and became one with it. And a creature borne of nightmare came forth through this portal, and was made flesh and bone. The door was sealed behind it, and the key was given to this nightmare, and the nightmare clothed itself in this garment to walk among mortals."
Thus spoke the Champion of Amber, "I looked down, and I beheld a sky garden that passed over a vast ocean, with no dry land in sight. It settled down upon the waters. The garden wished for soil to grow roots, and so it was that an island rose from the waters underneath the plants, so that they might flourish. And the garden dictated the length of the seasons and the fertility of the soil and the purity of the water and the warmth of the sun. And so it settled in for autumn and for winter and for spring, when it flourished and expanded to fill the whole island. But when came the summer, the air grew not only warm, but hot. And it grew so hot that the ocean boiled around the island, and the garden shriveled and died away, leaving only dead seeds.
"And the summer ended, and with the autumn, the waters around the island cooled, and so did the air. Sky gardens drifted past, and dropped seeds that drifted down, and some of them alit upon the island. Though there were many seeds of different gardens, they flourished, and when they flowered, their blooms were of similar color to that of the garden that had died before. But as before, after the autumn and after the spring, the summer grew hot, and at last the garden burned away.
"And when the autumn came, I beheld more seeds raining down from sky gardens upon the island, landing in the soil in betwixt the charred remnants of the gardens before. And they took root and they flourished, though they did grow so great as the gardens before them. And there were a few fires still burning on the island, and some of the new vines grew into the burning places, and shriveled away, even before the summer."
Thus spoke the Champion of Amber, "A jewel of great price was stolen. The jewel was hidden away, in case it might be bargained off for a far greater price. But the jewel was not truly hidden away, but rather kept in plain sight, although away from where eyes normally wander, where it was mistaken for a replica, a flawed imitation of the original. It was tucked away in the store of the very jeweler who had crafted it and determined its price, in the very place where the jeweler had taken out his scope and tested the worth of the gem."
Thus spoke the Champion of Amber, "It is at night when the Procession shines most brightly."
