present:
Bree
Bridgid
Gerhardt
Natasha
Silas
previously on Fate of Amber…
Bridgid] had been recovering in Amber castle after dealing with the Green and using the song so much.
Silas is returned from rehoming the Arden farmers, and returns to Amber. Caine asks him to bag and tag some dignitary in the Court of Amber. Silas starts casing the target….
Gerhardt is working on the train route through Arden.
Bree is trying to find Dark Brand and Elifam (Osric's son). Was tipped they were sighted in a region of shadow associated with the Ascendency. She starts planning to investigate.
Silas checks out his target, who is an liason for a defense undersecretary. He has a wife, who is having affairs with multiple members of the court. One is the secretary for the seneschal, one is another liason for military officials, and one is Oberon's valet. Silas finds a place in the city to attempt the abduction, and prepares to knockout darts, one for a nomral human, and one Corwin-level knockout dart.
Bree meets with Bridgid. She asks Bridgid about his intersts in shadow. She responds that he appears to be interested in making the world a better place. Bree smells a rat. Bridgid agrees but hasn't found anything sinister. Bree asks if she knows about a place called the Ascendency. They visit Brand's old prison (the one from Fiona and Bleys. Bree as a precaution seperates a piece of herself and hands it to Gerhardt who also came along, and then locks herself in the prison and shapechanges to Brand and sets a 2 minute fuse on the change to revert back.. Bridgid listens to the music while this happens. Brand speaks through Bree (in Brand shape). Brand addresses Bridgid, saying this is a poor copy. Brand says most everything she has heard of him are lies. More than 2 minutes pass….. Brand addresses Gerhardt and says he could help him. Gerhardt attempts to end the conversation. Brand says he could get out of this prison. But he says it would take too long to get ouf of the prison. Brand says "when it comes to the final fruition, if you'r eon the wrong side you will be really kicking yourself."…. Bridgid hears music similar to a Wagnerian opera. Brand says to end it or he'll break out. Gerhardt ends it. Even after this is over, Bree hears Brand's voice in her head. She tries to isolate and neutralize the part of her brain it came from, but is unable to do so.
Bree gets into an argument with the Brand voice in her head, but Bridgid and Gerhardt only hear one side of the conversation. Bridgit doesn't hear the Brand music. The Brand mentions that Maeve was one of the best things that ever happened to them. Brand keeps wanting Bree to come over to the other Brand and talk. Mentions he has many plans in motion.
Silas darts the guy. He goes down and his team whisks him into a carriage. The guy jumps up, kills two of them and stabs Silas with a poisoned dagger. Silas manages to stay awake and slaps himself with an adrenaline stimulant. He manages to hit the guy with a stronger dart, then passes out. He comes to and the other guy was also knocked out. Silas uses trump to move the guy to the black ops site. He reports the delivery to Caine, then trumps to the Medicus One facility in the Phoenix Empire that he has used before and gets a full checkup. They find lingering toxins and begin treatment, which causes Silas to pass out.
Bree and Bridgid trump to the Phoenix Empire as a starting point to get close to the Ascendency. In the Phoenix Empire, they use pattern and the song to try and find the Ascendency Brand. THey move towards the place that Brand is… and spot Silas in a coffin like box being loaded into a facility. They manage to steal Silas and get away via trump before missiles are fired at him. This place was in the ascendancy. Bree files a report. Brand keeps taunting Bree. Silas files a complaint via diplomatic channels at being abducted from Medicus One.
Given that the Ascendency (in space near the phoenix empire) and Bastiano's empire is called the Ascendency, Bridgid decides to investigate whether there is a connection or just a coincidence. She finds evidence of a Bastiano agent having been here. But nothing she can tell from what she has access to links them.
Silas goes back to Medicus One and finds the place had been infiltrated by agents who were waiting for him. They have been rooted out. Silas begins searching for a new place of healing.