The Splinters of Amber

by Travis Hall

Immediately when I saw the speck against the red haze of dawn, I knew it was the first sign of their coming. I lingered until I could make out the shape of its dark wings. No mere bird was this, coming from beyond the storm clouds. No, this was what my family had once called a bird of desire — Corwin's, I guessed. Ravens were always his style.

So, the paths to Shadow open again, and surely the raven would be only the first herald of their coming. I knew I must ascend Kolvir and return before they arrived.

By the time I was ready for the hike, a green-banded hawk had joined the raven in the sky. Perhaps a dove would join them in the afternoon, or maybe a griffon, or something stranger from out of distant Shadow... but I had not the time. That night, I would know more. Then I would say to my family the words I've longed to speak for centuries.

Where were you, my brothers, as the kingdom to which you once swore fealty crumbled into ruin? Where were you, my sisters, when the Pattern died and took all I loved with it?

We called Amber the Eternal City. Well, eternity ended, and you weren't here.

A tale of fallen Amber, for 20 (or so) kings, queens, princes, princesses and other survivors.