Something is rotten in the state of Asgard. Well, maybe not rotten, but something is amiss nonetheless. Looks like I'll be taking Brita away for a while again. It could be serious. Thinking of taking her to Amber, if I can get there this time. Things have been changing recently... Still, going to leave some belongings with Sirus in the storeroom. Don't know when I'll be back, but it's not like I can hire a moving wagon to come with us, especially if I don't know that we'll make it. It's too early to say. I've got good art of the alley behind Sy's place. Assuming I don't get "out of range" I should be able to come and go once we have a destination. If I can't take a direct flight, I'll do my best to consider good canditates for layovers. I don't want to lose this one. Sirus has been a good friend. I'll have to play something good at his club the night before we depart. Would it be good to draw Vidar before I leave? Probably, but contacting him thru such means would not go over well. Not to mention trying to explain that his grandfather is the second cousin of his daughter's mother, or some such. Odin's been so bullish on his divinity, he probably wouldn't react well to Amber, nor the fact that my blood is a generation's more pure than his. It's been a while since I've written. This journal got tucked away and forgotten once we reached the castle. Ah, how Amber's changed! I've found an unusually high number of cousins. Well, to be honest, it seems I have a whole squadron of Aunts & Uncles I didn't know about. Looks like that old rascal Oberon kept busy. Most of them are off at war in Chaos. The only elder left behind is Gerard, who was injured in what they refer to here as "The Sundering". I've managed to find a place for myself within the structure of the castle and the city. A few investigations that I've undertaken into local crime seem to have gone well. That's something I'd never really done before in Asgard, but I seem to have a knack for it. I'm surprised at how many artists and musicians there are among my cousins here. I often get passed over when people are looking for opinions on either art or music, even though my knowledge and experience is surely greater than anyone else here. So I silently sit back and let them have their day. When I play, people pay attention. When I paint, there's a spark of recognition. That's good enough for now. I'm guessing any of my more physically inclined cousins are off at war as well, which might explain the disproportionate number of artists left behind. Ah well. Note to self: with the pattern under the castle broken, and people able to shift shadow while on Kolvir, perhaps I should have a non-initiate such as Brita try to shift. If some rules have changed, why not all of them? There's a new king in Amber. Aparently his name is Random. I'll be off soon to try to bring more family folks back. Wanted to note a particularly interesting technique I developed recently, though. Self portrait trumps... I've found that by putting two mirrors at right angles I can reverse the image of myself that I use for reference. So while in a single mirror, I could paint a portrait from the point of view of another seeing me; with this technique it is as I see myself. Might have a few subtleties not found in other work. *shrug*