"Some natural skepticism as to the purity of all human motives came and sat upon my chest... " - Nine Princes in Amber

Diary

Day 31 P.O. [post oubliette] 
I've found an abandoned house on a crooked street in this cursed city. I had some trouble with several inhabitants of various odd natures before barring the door against them. The city teams with goblins of various size and intentions as well as other odd folk. Dust lays in thick, grey sheets on every surface within this stone edifice - making one feel as if you had disturbed the funerary wrappings of a soul long gone.... There is a fair library on the second floor - much of it crumbling to dust or eaten by moss that watches one with human eyes. Still, there are a few tomes to pass the time...enough. The third floor attic is a creaky roost with an old iron bed stead. I fell on it last night and slept among the cobwebs and accumulated detritus for two solid days. What woke me I cannot say, but I've found this volume - pages faded past readability - and a non-to-sharp quill to write of what I would much rather forget. Still....it is all I have left, these few memories of imprisonment and torture. Would it be better to forget and have nothing? Perhaps. But the scratching of the pen may unlock what I have lost - may I find what I have lost be it good or ill.

 Day 56 P.O. 
I’ve found a father – or rather he found me -don’t know yet if that is to the good or not. Rather distracted fellow and what one would consider ….. distant. He sets an elegant table but I can’t help but feel that he cares rather little for my well-being. So. If I can’t be well I shall simply try ‘being’. Ha….existence for its own sake seems rather dull. I’ve been in limbo too long, time for something to happen. He mentions the identity of a mother. Father had nicely created a door for me to leave his presence and I did this thing. Seemingly I do not dress to his liking – well I’ve had enough of swinging by someone else’s strings. I may as well choose my own costume prior to taking the stage.

Day 56 P.O. 
Havenmoor Shadow~ The ‘door’ has kindly dumped me on a dusty forest path some few feet ahead of a young man dressed much like me. We seem to favor dark finery – he introduces himself as ‘Connor’ and we make our way to the clearing ahead. There I meet my ‘cousins’ it seems, our relations hinging on this mother I have recently acquired. Everyone appears to be in blustery good humor for being ceremoniously dumped in some backwater. Flickers of memories suggest the words ‘shadow’ and others that stream through the sieve that my mind has become. I shall endeavor to plug these holes….. We drink, we banter. It all seems rather pointless………..and the wine tastes like piss. If I have to cool my heels here it might have had a decent vintage…….gods, I’m pretentious.

Day 138 P.O.

Amber Castle ~ Most of my new-found cousins are dead. Dead or lost and it matters little as I am presented with new ones almost as a daily event. Whomever said that the seed of Oberon took but rarely must have been deep in his cups or unable to count. We are over-run with family and by our very nature and our numbers cannot be valued too highly. Still, I am housed in a well enough manner and have a fire to stare into when I am not asked to do the pretty for some minor statesman. In a few days there is a command performance - a ball to honor the Prince of Chaos.

Day 142 P.O.

That went well. I was not asked to dance and Merlin died. One very much on par with the other to my mind. That fool Alex raised the pattern to spy what force was influencing the Prince and brought the attention of... something.... on us. I'm no fool - I fled, taking Connor with me. After a meeting in the library, we returned to the scene and then sent to bed to await the morning's accusations.