Anyone who has talked with me about role playing has probably heard me mention Amber. And so far, most of them didn't know what the heck I was talking about. So here, I'll do my best to explain this incredibly diverse and powerful world.
A long time ago, there was Chaos. Creatures and shapeshifters learned how to thrive in the constantly changing conditions, the more intelligent of them forming together. Eventually, a Court was formed, in the outer reaches of the Primal Chaos. For untold centuries, they bickered and pulled pranks on one another, learning what they could about the world around them. Then, one of their number rebelled.
He was named Dworkin. Dworkin, according to legend, met a Unicorn one day. The Unicorn convinced him to steal the left eye of the Serpent, the mythical embodiment of Chaos. Somehow, Dworkin did get the eye, called the Jewel of Judgement. Fleeing the wrath of his elders, and the Serpent, Dworkin followed the Unicorn away from Chaos. There, on a plateau, he took the Jewel of Judgement, and used its magical powers to inscribe a symbol into the stone.
This symbol is the Pattern. The Pattern is the representation of Order. Because of the new Pattern, many new worlds, called Shadows, were formed between the Pattern and the Primal Chaos. Dworkin discovered new powers with the Pattern, namely that it could increase the physical strength and stamina of any who managed to walk it. Dworkin fathered a son, Oberon, who founded a city, called Amber, in the Shadow closest to the Pattern. The city of Amber grew and prospered, forming trade alliances with nearby Shadows.
Oberon fathered several children, who also walked the Pattern, and learned how to shift Shadow, to visit any world their imagination could create. His children fought and bickered among themselves, often violently, as they grew up. Paranoia was a standard part of any dealing with a family member, even (or especially) with their father, Oberon. They used all sorts of tricks and traps to manipulate each other, and try to gain standing with their father, the king.
Of course, even the most power-hungry of Oberon's children still needed a break. They would often go riding off into Shadow, to look for objects, or worlds, that would give them a break from the constant infighting. Everyone had decks of Trumps, magical cards that allowed communication, or even teleportation, with the person or place drawn on the card.
One day, Oberon vanished. For a while, his children fought with each other over who would hold the throne of Amber, but eventually Eric, with the support of Caine, Julian, and Gerard, stood as the Protector of Amber. They continued the trade, and dealt with legal matters of the kingdom. Soon, Bleys and Corwin organized an army, and made an attempt to usurp the leadership from Eric. Their attempt failed, and while Bleys escaped, Corwin had his eyes burned out and was cast into a dungeon for four years.
Back in the Courts of Chaos, where Dworkin had left from, the shape shifters and Chaos Lords there still thrived. Their power was born of the Logrus, the always shifting embodiment of Chaos, and the symbol of the Serpent. Some of them walked the Logrus, and left for lands in Shadow, but more stayed home. With their own versions of the Trumps, and the powerful spellcasting abilities strengthened by the Logrus, they worked to build up their home, and prepared for a war with the renegade Dworkin.
Using their powers over the Logrus, they created a pathway from the Courts all the way to the base of the mountain Kolvir, where Castle Amber perches. Hordes of monsters, including wyverns, manticora, and others more strange and deadly still, were sent along the Black Road into Amber. The defenders of Amber were pressed harder and harder, even drawing Benedict back from his place in Shadow to defend their kingdom.
While this was happening, Corwin regenerated his eyes, and escaped the dungeon. Having discovered a substance that burned like gunpowder in Amber, he recruited a small group, armed them with special guns, and marched on Amber again. Discovering the monsters attacking Amber, he came to the aid of the kingdom and drove off the monsters. Eric died during the battle, and left the throne to Corwin. Oberon, not dead but merely hiding, reveals himself, and organizes his children. They form another army, and attack the Courts of Chaos. Despite the interference and betrayal of Brand, the Amberites still win, and Oberon loses his life repairing the Primal Pattern.
Peace was declared, though neither side still trusted the other. During the war, the Amber family discovered that their blood could erase the Pattern, as Brand had tried. This gave rise to a series of 'Broken Patterns' in the nearer Shadows to Amber. These Broken Patterns could be walked by anyone, not just those of the royal blood, and give that person power over Shadow. It had great risk, but the opening of untold worlds was worth it for many.
Also, another Pattern had been created. Fearing the destruction of the Primal Pattern in Amber, Oberon's son Corwin etched his own Pattern. This one can only be walked by Corwin's children, or so it is thought. Some of the Amberites had children, namely Merlin, Corwin's son, and Martin, son of the new King Random.
Merlin had his own misadventures after the war. He walked both the Logrus and the Pattern, making him unique in both the Courts and Amber. Merlin spent several years studying computers on Shadow Earth, turning his knowledge into creating an artifact. This creation, named Ghostwheel, was a magical computer that could flip through Shadow to search for objects. Every year, on April 30, someone had been trying to kill Merlin, and he hoped that his computer would be able to help figure out who was behind it. He soon learned that his murder attempts had been caused by his best friend Luke, also called Rinaldo, son of Brand, and Luke's mother Jasra. After Luke decided not to keep trying to kill his best friend, Jasra secretly trained an ex-girlfriend of Merlin's, named Julia. Jasra taught Julia the arts of sorcery, and walked her through one of the Broken Patterns. Julia overcame Jasra, and locked her up as a statue, which she used for a coatrack.
After defeating Julia, his brother Jurt, and several 'ghosts' created by the Pattern, Merlin learned from his brother Mandor that he was next in line for the throne of the Courts of Chaos. He attends Luke's wedding, has to explain why Luke's wife is pregnant, and deal with making up with his brother Jurt.
The younger generation, of people like Merlin and Luke, is where the role playing game of Amber starts. Oberon's children have been around for centuries, if not millinium, and certainly some of them have had children. Knowing the family, they just didn't tell their siblings. Or, at least for the males, they might not even have known about it.
Now for the role playing -- if you're going to be the child of one of Oberon's children, you need to know something about your uncles and aunts. Click here.
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