The Heroes of Amber were resting their heads,
Now that Hellas was safe, and Hera was dead.
They never once dreamed of what was to come,
They thought it was time they all had some fun.
So they scattered to Shadow to do what they pleased,
To catch up on knowledge, or some well-earned z’s.
But it wouldn’t last long ‘fore it came to an end,
And the Heroes were back to defend against Brand.
But where should I start it, the story so sad?
So many beginnings, it seems that it had.
From children, to cultists, to enemies found,
But we’ll start with the Heroes, and where they were bound.
Karma, the eldest, was eager to flee,
She went into Shadow, quick as could be,
Back to her home, and her Pirate ship too,
She quickly commanded the rest of the crew.
Meanwhile, brave Jasmine was honing her skills,
Staying in Amber, and reading her fill,
She took up a seat in the library there,
And studied the books as much as she dared.
Damon, also, was happy to stay,
Quite close to Amber, and help as he may,
He offered his service to Regent Gerard,
But ended up working down at the shipyard.
Artemis, happy and young as could be,
Went into Shadow to see what she'd see,
She discovered a world of smog and of murk,
And returned then to Hellas to start her earthworks.
Dietrich, the Pirate - or was that Privateer?
Also left Amber with nothing to fear,
He sailed into Shadow as quick as you please,
And soon he was once more the scourge of the seas.
And that's where they were at the start of this tale,
Each of them happy and healthy and hale,
But that could not last, you'll be happy to see,
For the Heroes of Amber, they're destined to be.
Damon and Jasmine were first to begin,
On their new adventure, to order a King,
To marshall his armies and then declare war,
So they travelled from Amber to brave Eregnor.
You see, they had reason to launch an attack,
Upon those of Begma who couldn't fight back,
The Begmans had allied with Hera's new Cult,
And wouldn't back down, not even for Dalt.
So Artemis sent word to Regent Gerard,
Explaining she wanted someone to guard,
The flanks of her Shadow from other attack,
While she marshalled her troops, and drove Begma back.
To ensure that her plans were met with good faith,
She sent forth Appolo, to speak with the grace,
Of the God that he is, and he surely did prove,
That with words he's a master - when he's in his groove.
The people stood stunned when Appolo did speak,
They couldn't believe he sounded so weak,
And so inexperienced in what he did say,
He really did manage to blow them away.
And thus it was that two of the five,
Made their way to their Uncle Dalt's side,
To explain that he must send forth his men,
If he wanted to make claim to Amber friend.
Dalt agreed, though he wasn't too pleased,
But did as was bid, in attempt to appease,
The rulers of Amber, who'd ordered him thus,
So he rallied his men with nary a fuss.
Damon set off on a ship bound for port,
In Hellas, to meet his cousin once more,
While Jasmine remained with her Uncle, the King,
As hostage and proof of good faith in this thing.
It is now, my good listeners, the true story starts,
All of this background is merely a farce -
Just there to confuse you as I tell my tale,
So you're not really sure when to cheer, or to quail.
In fact, you might think, as you listen to this,
The tale that I tell seems to turn and to twist,
Like there was someone designing the fate,
Of everyone here, and the course they would take.
You can almost imagine the almighty man,
Sitting down with his notebook to plot and to plan,
The latest adventure the Heroes must face,
Full of danger, and intrigue, and maybe disgrace.
Imagine him smiling as he watches them squirm,
Or think of him grinning as they stand firm,
Against all the odds that he's stacked up so high,
Secure in the knowledge our Heroes may die.
Let's leave him behind now, this mythical man,
And return to the point where our story began,
With Damon off sailing to Hellas once more,
And Jasmine a most willing prisoner of war.
It was on this long voyage that Damon first found,
A boy on his ship who was hanging around,
He seemed to have been there for quite a long time,
His name it was Rupert, which just doesn't rhyme.
Franklin was a boy with bright red hair too,
He turned up in Eregenor with nothing much to do,
He found a job near Jasmine, in the palace grounds,
And was always just behind her when she turned around.
Karma was sailing in Shadow so deep,
Able to pirate, and plunder, and keep,
All of the treasures she found on the way,
Including the red-head who showed up one day.
Artemis went to the place where the one,
Would see truth and reason, and what was to come,
But instead of the Oracle, she found a girl,
Named Helen, who soon lost all her red curls.
The four little children were all rather odd,
They followed the Heroes wherever they trod,
But put them together, and they’re stranger still,
They all spoke as one, and had lots of will.
And so there were now the four red-head kids,
Rupert, and Franklin, and Helen would sit,
Behind or beside the Hero they’d claimed,
While Gwendolyn soon was an equal friend named.
And so it was that the red-headed freaks,
Were part of their lives in less than a week,
A quick glance around was all it would take,
To summon a child, if it was awake.
But back to the story that hides behind this,
The background adventure our Heroes won’t miss,
The war that was brewing ‘tween brave Eregnor,
And Begma, supported by Hera’s strong core.
Damon had docked in the waters of Delphi,
Where even the slaves were happy and healthy,
His long entourage took him up to Olympus,
Where he bested the men in a contest of fitness.
The plan, it was simple, in its full extent,
To sweep into Begma, where Hephaestos had fled,
While meanwhile, the armies of Dalt also fought,
Attacking the soldiers who found themselves caught.
And after they’d fought off the Begmans again,
And all of the Cultists were simply dead men,
Dalt would acquire a large tract of land,
And Hellas would reclaim their entrance, so grand.
The plan, it was faultless, and destined to work,
They’d fight through to Begma, and never would shirk,
The duty they had to defeat Hera’s men,
No matter that others would chase after them.
Who were these others, I hear you enquire?
But I tell you, my friends, that I am not a liar,
For others were seeking our Heroes as well,
And their motives were bad, I don’t need to tell.
But before we go on to these new enemies,
Let us cross back to the wild seven seas,
To Karma, and her new little friend,
Where they’ve stopped at a port to sell and to mend.
A silent, black ship sailed into the port,
And sailed 'til it found that which it sought,
It fired upon the Wave Runner then,
And left as Karma screamed for her men.
Her ship was destroyed, while she was at port,
What type of crew would do that? she thought,
No honourable man would ever attack,
A ship where it couldn’t even fight back!
So Karma swore vengeance on those men in black,
And then trumped to Hellas with only a pack,
Where Damon and Artemis waited to see,
If she would help to make Hellas free.
But the decision was made by another’s hand,
As evil reached out in the form of Brand,
He fought from the Abyss to become free,
And sought to use Karma as his key.
His pyschic powers were so advanced,
Karma couldn’t stop them, she had no chance,
When he appeared to her within her room,
She fought against the feeling of doom.
But he returned once more, and she was stuck,
For in her dreams he decided to fuck,
With her mind – And it wasn’t long before,
She knew that she would give him more.
For a child was growing there in her womb,
And she knew with truth of intimate doom,
That the child she carried belonged to Brand,
And she wouldn’t kill it with own hand.
So Karma escaped from the war she was in,
To flee into Shadow, away from the grins,
Of those who would wish her the best for her babe,
When she knew that her child would end in a grave.
Meanwhile, sweet Jasmine, was still to be found,
Quite close to Dalt, to a war they were bound,
As they marched their army with stealth and with guile,
To the borders of Begma, to wait for a while.
While Jasmine was waiting, she felt a contact,
From her cousin Noah, a young man who lacked,
Most qualities we expect in a Prince,
Though he can be quite handy when you’re in a pinch.
He turned up in Begma all noble and proud,
And claimed to never ever feel cowed,
He had a small child with bright coloured hair,
Her name, it was Skye, and she’d followed him there.
When asked what it was that he could do,
Noah said could handle necessity too,
He said he could do what had to be done,
So he opened the town gates, just for some fun.
It seemed he was surely the master he claimed,
He escaped from the city without getting maimed,
Though it seemed that the Begmans had allied with beasts,
Jasmine shot one as it escaped from its feast!
Noah brought word of some red-headed men,
Who’d pursued him through Shadow, and wanted to send,
The red-headed children away from this place,
And back to be tortured, leaving no trace.
But Noah was sure he’d capture a red-head,
So set off that night, just like he’d said,
To locate the men who wished his child harm,
And somehow he even managed to stay calm!
So he went into Shadow, showing no fear,
And soon he succeeded, the red-heads were near,
He set up an ambush with Skye as his bait,
Never once thinking of what was her fate.
The red-headed men approached Noah’s site,
And Noah leapt forward, eager to fight,
But the attack was a ruse, just to succeed,
In capturing Skye, so she wasn’t free.
But Noah still managed to fulfill his quest,
He returned with a red-head and did his best,
To recapture Skye, but the chances looked slim,
For a red-head had vanished, and Skye was with him.
The terror to Begma, soon it did come,
Despite the fact that they were having fun,
And the Heroes soon learned that danger approached,
When the red-headed man on Begma encroached.
Now let me just stop and tell you some more,
Of what our brave Heroes had learned from the four,
It seemed that the red-heads were part of a whole,
Though they weren’t quite certain what was their role.
Our Heroes kept pressing for more info though,
And slowly the story, it started to grow,
And when our brave Heroes discovered the truth,
They couldn’t believe it without any proof.
The red-headed freaks were related to Brand,
And finding the Heroes was certainly planned,
So how could they trust the word of these freaks,
Though they claimed to be truthful when they did speak?
But taking the red-headed freaks at their word,
Resurrection of Brand was what they had heard,
Was the prime objective of why they were here,
And this was the reason the Heroes must fear.
The way to bring Brand back from the Abyss,
Was much more simple than the Heroes would wish,
In fact it was easy, and not even grand,
Just Karma’s baby and a piece of Brand.
The Heroes of Amber were stunned with this news,
But the red-headed children had some more clues,
It seemed they would work as a part of Brand,
If the red-headed men ever got them in hand.
But they had no wish to take part in the plot,
In fact, they’d escaped from that terrible lot,
And wanted to stop the red-headed man,
From ever completing the end of his plan.
And so we return to Begma once more,
Where our heroes are fighting an unending war,
And the minions of darkness are bearing down,
On all of them there and the red-heads they found.
As quick as a flash, Artemis stood,
And grabbed the reins of all those of good,
Leading our Heroes back to their home,
To Amber, where they could defend and not roam.
So our brave Heroes returned to the scene,
Where all this began, or so it would seem,
But even in Amber, nothing was safe,
Only reality repaid their faith.
For as they stepped into the Castle’s great halls,
Karma was struck down and started to fall,
An arrow the sign of the shot that she took,
A wound to her belly, they saw when they looked.
But even before her cousin fell down,
Artemis reacted with nary a sound,
She drew forth her bow, ready to score,
As Karma slid down the wall to the floor.
But the second shot, it just didn’t come,
And Karma proceeded to become a Mum,
While Artemis stood protecting her cous’,
From anyone else raising a fuss.
And so it was that before darkness fell,
Karma gave birth to the baby from hell,
Her cousins were worried about how she’d fare,
So they took her away, and left the child there.
The Heroes of Amber were now in a bind,
The babe had been born, and they had to find,
A way to destroy it, or stop its use,
In managing to set Uncle Brand loose.
While Karma slept deeply and started to heal,
Her cousins discussed the way they would feel,
If they’d given birth to a demon-child,
And would have to kill it just to survive.
But no matter their plan or their intent,
They couldn’t perform the actions they meant,
The baby was strong in mental powers,
And held them back for hours and hours.
So once again, our Heroes were faced,
With choices hard, and full of haste,
For the red-headed men were on their way,
To wrest the child from them this day.
So, to recap the story I’ve told,
Our Heroes were strong, and certainly bold,
But events had taken over their calm,
And filled their days and nights with harm.
Red-headed freaks followed them round,
Brand’s minions they were, it was found,
But they swore that they were there for the best,
And did not wish to break Brand’s rest.
All they wanted, they were quick to proclaim,
Was to rescue their siblings from the Brain,
And stay away from the world of Brand,
Were they’d be safe from his far-reaching hand.
But the red-headed men came closer each day,
Determined to take the children away,
To use them in their nefarious plan,
To take them away, and then rescue Brand.
But if they wished to succeed in their quest,
They’d needed the baby as well as the rest,
So the answer was simple, or so it would seem,
Just kill off the baby, and there goes the dream.
But it wasn’t so simple, our Heroes found,
For the baby could not simply be drowned,
Its resisted attempts to cause it pain,
It had great power within its brain.
There was also another side to this tale,
In helping the children, they just couldn’t fail,
But to get to the world they were being held in,
They had to allow the red-heads to win.
For without an anchor within Brand’s land,
The red-headed freaks couldn’t give them a hand,
By creating a trump of the place where they were,
They needed the baby to have been taken first.
And so our brave Heroes were in such a bind,
No easy solution, it seemed, they could find,
But by morning, the question was taken from them,
As the babe had its own plan, and it was a gem.
Noah, the bravest and mightiest man,
Was the obvious target of the baby’s plan,
It reached out with its mind into Noah’s head,
And convinced him to do whatever it said.
And so then the baby forced Noah’s hand,
He eagerly followed its every command,
It made him collect it, and take it away,
Deep into Shadow, come whatever may.
Artemis, though, would not let them go,
Without her, so she tried to say no,
But Noah continued, he had no real choice,
The baby commanded his every voice.
So Artemis chose to travel with him,
Realising this was not just a whim,
She managed to warn Damon through Trumps,
But couldn’t prevent Noah’s great jumps.
Instead of travelling the way that he should,
He jumped straight through Shadow quick as he could,
And after just four hours of travelling thus,
They wound up in Chaos, and started to cuss.
But all was not done, for they weren’t alone,
Benedict they found defending his home,
With plenty of apes – they all had eight arms,
And Artemis thought they had plenty of charms,
Jasmine returned from talking to Dalt,
To find her cousins gone, the baby at fault,
Karma awoke to find much the same,
And decided to contact her cousins by name.
So Damon, Jasmine, and Karma too,
Combined all their powers to see what they’d do,
And if they’ could contact Artemis’ mind,
Worried about what it was they would find.
But something went wrong in the trump that they used,
For the power it trapped them, their minds it abused,
And then they were not in the place that they were,
But deep out in Chaos, right next to her.
The Heroes now were together again,
They went into Shadow to confront the men,
Who wished to take the baby they had,
And take it away to retrieve its Dad.
In a strange Shadow, an attack it came,
From men with red hair, and quite little brain,
Our Heroes defeated them with little harm,
But that made no difference, the baby was charmed.
Noah set off when the battle began,
And returned the baby to those waiting hands,
Of red-headed men, who gave him a glare,
And made him collapse, right then and there.
Although the battle was quick to be won,
It didn’t matter - the red-heads had done,
All that they planned, the baby was gone,
Reality broken, warped, and torn.
So to the children, our Heroes did turn,
To create a trump, so that they could learn,
Where the baby had gone, they needed to go,
After the men, and destroy their foe.
When that was done, our heroes stood firm,
They stepped through the trump, though it did burn,
And found themselves in a place so strange,
Compared to their home, it was quite a change!
Thel buildings were tall and grew into the sky,
And roadways were filled with cars flying high,
Small metal robots patrolled the streets,
Keeping them pefcectly tidy and neat.
Into a building, our Heroes did duck,
And wouldn’t you know it, they were in luck,
They located the place the babe was held in,
Right in the center of the city, they grinned.
So out they went, and followed a man,
Who tried to help them with their plan,
He showed them how to find the place,
Where the council of Brands had their base.
The Heroes of Amber were nearing their goal,
Determined to stop Brand growing whole,
They went into the building, sure they would win,
That nothing could stop them now they were in.
They fought their way to the top of the tower,
And forced all the council of Brands to just cower,
While they made their way into the main,
Room, where it was they located Brain.
The Brain was a giant blob in a vat,
But none of the Heroes did mention that,
It floated around in a bubbling gloop,
Of blood, and it told them what they could do.
The Brain explained that one of them there,
Must step on forward, if they would dare,
To be purified, and then bring the child,
Back to the Brain, to be decompiled.
Damon stepped forward, to be the one,
To take on this task, though it wasn’t much fun,
The purification process alone,
Was enough to make Damon want to go home!
But he did as was bid, the baby he brought,
Back to the Brain, though the process was fraught,
With danger, elduing all of the guards,
And returning once more, the babe in his arms.
Once he returned, the baby was placed,
In a tube, where its body was quickly displaced,
It disappeared, and the Brain said adieu,
The process, it seemed, would soon kill it too.
Artemis rescued the small red-haired freaks,
Who’d been left to sit there for weeks and for weeks,
Then she took them back, her unselfish plan,
To protect them, and raise them, all safe from Brand.
The danger was over, the baby destroyed,
The red-heads were rescued, the Heroes were buoyed,
Brand could no longer avoid his fate,
For they had prevented his almost escape.
So they opened a trump gate ready to go,
Back to Amber, where they would know,
They had completed this dangrous quest,
One undertaken at their own behest.
But that was not all of the tale left to tell,
For Brand had a secret, most evil and fell,
A voice seemed to whisper as they left the land,
In a tone of pure evil, that must have been planned.
“I am Brain. I am Brand.”