The "Saint Crispin's Day" Speeches

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Brennan, in command of Corwin's Little Furry Guys

"You stand together with us at the edge of all that there is! You stand here, chosen of the Gods, because of your faith. You assemble here, hands and weapons of the Gods, because you are the finest and the fiercest and the strongest.

"Soon, the hordes of Chaos will disgorge, and you will fight under the God of War, with the God of Luck at your backs, because Brand, the Fallen One, Lord of Evil has sought to deal with the lords of Chaos, and the Gods have banded together to cast him down. Know that even the Fallen One's son has gathered to cast him into the pit!

"You stand here, most honored by the Gods, as the anchor and the center of our forces. We advance in the footsteps of your sweat, we fall back protected by your blood-- the line of battle rises and falls on your shoulders. You are the rock of battle! You stand in defense of Paradise! You are the rock of Amber! You stand in the sight of your salvation! You are the rock on which the waves of Chaos will be broken!

"MAKE YOURSELVES READY!"

Brennan pauses for the swelling roar that must surely follow his inspiring speech.

With this, Brennan breaks into a martial song, one in Thari and picked up from a Shadow close enough to Amber that he hopes the men will have heard it. If not, the refrains are simple enough for them to join in anyway.

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Jovian, in command of the dragonriders of Calusa

Canareth, Jovian projected, looking out upon the eighty-four men, women and sentient beasts he was about to lead to death or glory -- or both. Pass this along to the rest of the dragons. The riders don't need to be shouted at.

Comrades, I'm not one for speech-making, and I need you cool and focused, not whipped into a frenzy. So I'll keep this short.

We're about to launch on the most important flight of our lives. If we fail here, we don't go home disgraced - because there won't be a home to go back to. For anyone.

We're not going to fail. Not just out of all of reality, but out of all possible realities, you have been chosen as the strongest, boldest, most disciplined and skilled aerial fighters to defend not just the armies below us, but the path to the source of power that keeps our world and countless others from plunging into Chaos. We have prevailed for twelve Passes, carrying out our duty to protect and defend our world. And now we will prevail again in our duty to protect and defend all worlds.

I am honored to know each one of you, and twice honored to lead you and fly with you today. The Harpers will not quite know what to make of this day, my friends, but they'll know what to make of you.

Heroes.

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Marius, in command of the Amber Navy regulars

When the first wave is over, Marius gathers the sailors around him to address the troops. Marius is a good public speaker and his eyes contain a fire and passion. He starts speaking slowly and in a voice just loud enough to force the back ranks to lean in, just a little bit. As he talks, his speach grows louder and more animated.

"There is little time to speak. The first wave has broken off, but the battle is far from over. As I expected, your conduct has been exemplary and I am proud of each of you. You do credit to your uniform, to your shipmates, to me and to Amber. I only wish there were more time to revel in this pride.

"The second wave will be on us soon. We have been entrusted with the left flank of the army. It is our job-- no, our duty-- to make sure that the forces of chaos are funnelled through to the main body of Amber's forces. When the chaos troops have passed us, then, and only then, will we sweep in behind them, to slay them with our righteous fury, to throw them down for having the impunity to attack the holy city, the one true realm of Amber.

"What you have seen thus far is but a taste of the attack to come. There is nothing solid about our foes, they are demons whose shape and size will change. They live in a hell of shifting planes and landscapes. As you fight on the field, there will be only one thing which is true and certain-- the uniform that you wear and that the man next to you shares. In this, you will find all the reason you need to fight and all the strength that you need to prevail. It is the strength of your hearts that keeps the navy great. The strength of you minds that keeps Amber strong. The strength of your spirit which drives back the demons and madness which you now face.

"I stand amidst the greatest force ever placed on a battlefield preparing for the greatest battle fought in the course of history. Some men would falter for the fear and pressure created by such a moment. Standing here among you, I feel no fear, no pressure. For I know that I am surrounded by greatness, a greatness created by each of you, a greatness which far exceeds each man here."

(Although he has been getting progressively louder, Marius gets quiet for the next bit, only to get loud again quickly...)

"Many of us will die in the coming battle. If I die, so be it, for I will fall as part of the greatest cause of all-- the salvation of Amber, the one true realm. If I die, I will die knowing that I will have died the finest death possible, a death in battle surrounded by the best company any man could hope for.

"As we begin the battle, your eyes will be sharp, your strength steel, your heart shall be on fire and your spirit shall be pure. None can stand against your holy fury."

(By now, Marius is shouting...)

"For ORDER, for OBERON, for AMBER! VICTORY SHALL BE OURS!"

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Sonnets from the Calusan

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Patternscore

My valiant comrades, ranked all in four wings
From dark to darkness chased the battle line
Against such foes their ancient wise design
Had never known -- such strange and deadly things!
Of this, one man in three shall never tell,
Of flashing talons, clashing teeth and flame.
That I should die and leave a hero's name!
It falls to me to lead them into Hell.
The devil wings that soared from the Abyss
Are beaten back, the field and sky are won.
The golden horn-anointed king I shun
For keening, broken lines and cold wind's kiss.
The glory of this day -- a rolling cloud
That settles on my shoulder like a shroud.

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Westchester on the Abyss

An island in a sea of empty space
Gives pretense of a land some once called home
A land once fixed in memory may roam
And yet still dare to call itself a place...
A ghost's familiarity, a ruse
That taunts us with its substance-lacking form
May yet become a harbor in the storm
If one can but endure to give it use.
A stranger can in strangeness yet imbue
A power and a transitory calm
Perforce a falsehood must become a balm
And ghosts at sea will steer their courses true.
This journey home, a timeless watch we stand
And then debark a distant call from land.

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Dreams in Purple

O worthy stranger, and yet stranger still
For beastly form to harbor such a heart,
More human than these men who take my part
Below, our warlike destiny to fill!
What dreams incomprehensible to man
Take shifting shape to stir your fevered rest?
With gentler dreams your slumber would be blest
'Twere mine to give - such comfort as I can
I offer now. And always, were it fair
To say such things when time is but a ruse,
When blood of my blood rends itself for use
Of true intent, and court a fell despair.
These violet eyes that reach into my soul
And warm my heart, will burn it yet to coal.

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Purple to Black

While over shifting nighted lands I fly
The days race past on hooves of ancient rhyme
And I, who ever made a friend of Time,
Shall find her caught out in her warding lie.
The home that I have left to seek my path
Marked out in spots of scented flame and blood
Hath spirits of its own in burning flood
That drown the heart and ardor turn to wrath.
The hope, the foolish hope that dared to dawn
And sweep away the dread of lurking fate,
Is ground to dust beneath the lurching weight
Of sudden grief, of esperance withdrawn.
The shadows press our steady courses back
And mist my eyes as purple fades to black.

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