Dear Antaeus - "On Princes"
...in a cedar box hidden in a safe place lies a letter written in a tidy, careful hand and sealed with the symbol of Eirene, Custos of the Pathi people, addressed to 'Shadow'...
Dear Antaeus,
Today I thought I would write to you about princes, for I have a strong feeling you will know several in your life as they are a most common creature in Amber, and I know how fond of this city you are...
As it happens, I have met a score of princes since we have come to this city. They are all very different men. But the most important thing to remember about princes is that they are never simply men -- there is a weight to them, a tie to the throne that gives them title, whether they embrace it or abjure it. To have a drink with a prince is to have a drink with a man, but lurking as if shadows behind each is the knowledge that they are More. They are a prince, possessing a bloodline that holds a throne.
Of course, they may also be daft idiots who can't form a sentence, or a drunken madman bent on world domination, or simply a nice fellow who enjoys fishing -- but that part that is More is the part that must be watched. Fate tangles them in schemes even the finest of them cannot avoid forever. Be cautious. I am a guardian and know well that my life may be laid down to spare one such as that - a prince or princess or simply a person of power. But you are yet young and free enough to make your own choice, whether to be caught up in the webs of power and machination, or to be free of it and live as you please.
I hope you make the choice that is right for you. Some princes are worth serving, if that is the route you choose to go. But if your choice is a different one and someday you find yourself on the deck of a ship sailing in swift wind, gazing at the sea with all of the worlds before you, know that your mother is proud of you. Just try not to be too much of a pirate -- killing honest folk for their goods is no life for one as good as you.
“Seek not good from without: seek it from within yourself, or you will never find it” -- your uncle said that to me once, and I never did forget it.
With love always,
Your Mother
Dear Antaeus,
Today I thought I would write to you about princes, for I have a strong feeling you will know several in your life as they are a most common creature in Amber, and I know how fond of this city you are...
As it happens, I have met a score of princes since we have come to this city. They are all very different men. But the most important thing to remember about princes is that they are never simply men -- there is a weight to them, a tie to the throne that gives them title, whether they embrace it or abjure it. To have a drink with a prince is to have a drink with a man, but lurking as if shadows behind each is the knowledge that they are More. They are a prince, possessing a bloodline that holds a throne.
Of course, they may also be daft idiots who can't form a sentence, or a drunken madman bent on world domination, or simply a nice fellow who enjoys fishing -- but that part that is More is the part that must be watched. Fate tangles them in schemes even the finest of them cannot avoid forever. Be cautious. I am a guardian and know well that my life may be laid down to spare one such as that - a prince or princess or simply a person of power. But you are yet young and free enough to make your own choice, whether to be caught up in the webs of power and machination, or to be free of it and live as you please.
I hope you make the choice that is right for you. Some princes are worth serving, if that is the route you choose to go. But if your choice is a different one and someday you find yourself on the deck of a ship sailing in swift wind, gazing at the sea with all of the worlds before you, know that your mother is proud of you. Just try not to be too much of a pirate -- killing honest folk for their goods is no life for one as good as you.
“Seek not good from without: seek it from within yourself, or you will never find it” -- your uncle said that to me once, and I never did forget it.
With love always,
Your Mother