This information is what most Amberites know: visitors and non-family members would not know all of it.
Amber has a certain 'pull' on nearby shadows, like a gravitational force. It is a pole of reality, therefore it attracts shadows to the real.
The shadows near Amber are stable; Reality rubs off onto them.
Creatures periodically come out of shadow into the vicinities of Amber. Sometimes entire armies will come out of shadow into Amber. This is normal. What was abnormal about similar incidents during Patternfall were the frequency of these incursions, and the distance from Amber where these creatures originated.
Amber is not a planet. 'Planet' is a concept peculiar to certain Shadows, and effectively irrelevant near to Amber.
The structure which houses the Royal Family is a palace. It may have been a castle once, but it's definitely a palace now.
The Castle is a single building, with no exterior wall or other defensive works. Around the castle are several well-kept gardens, including Benedict's in the south (of which the Japanese gardens of Shadow Earth are but a pale reminiscence).
Yvonne and several servants are often busy in the western gardens constructing something.
Also outside the castle, in neatly landscaped positions, are the stables, and various workshops (smithy, tannery, etc.)
The basic shape of the Castle is, as you know, a pentagon, with the leading point being where the main entrance is. It has four floors (and access to the roof). The floors are referred to, somewhat confusingly, as the ground floor, the first floor, the second floor, and the top floor.
The main entrance opens into a hall which runs around the entire castle, and side branches extend outward and inward from it. This hall has its companions on every floor. Lining these halls are collections of fabulous art work. They are mostly depictions of Amber, Oberon, the Unicorn and so forth, but some more unusual pieces can be found.
On the ground floor are such sights as the Kitchens, access to the Treasury, the Great Hall (Throne Room), and quarters for servants, officials, guards and mundane guests such as Ambassadors.
The first floor, and above, are exclusively the province of the Royals and their special guests. If you are caught here, and fit into neither category...
To get there, a magnificent marble staircase is at the back of the Castle, near the Great Hall. There is usually a guard on the first floor landing, to ensure no one unauthorized "accidentally" walks up the steps.
Any 'new' members of the family will be assigned quarters on this floor. The rooms of some of the 'missing' Amberites are here, including Brand, Deidre, and Random's former quarters. Also here are rooms for 'special guests' of the Royals. The quarters on this floor tend to be either cozy or cramped, depending on the person you are talking to.
Also on this floor are the Dining Room and the Library, which includes a space for the various cacophonous instruments of Random, Martin, and the other music lovers.
The second floor is where most of the elder Royals have their quarters, especially the fabulous suites of the King and Queen, and the always tasteful Flora. Eric's and Corwin's rooms are here.
There is more room up here, and so the rooms are correspondingly bigger. Moving up to the second floor, as it were, is a big deal, although some Royals prefer first floor quarters for their own reasons...
Also on the second floor is a fencing room and gymnasium, Vialle's sculpture studio and other areas set aside for generic use.
The top floor is mainly storage, although it is being opened up for use gradually -- Fiona has one of her experiment rooms up there, there is an art studio, and there is talk of adding a salles d'armes. The Hall of Mirrors can sometimes be found here.
In the Basement are the Dungeons, the Pattern, and the magical laboratories, both generic spaces for anyone as well as the underground private labs of Fiona and Bleys, and Brand's old lab...
Shadow shifting is possible perhaps 40 or 50 miles from the Castle.
Amber City's one and only lifeline is it's trade. The port is easily the busiest in the Golden Circle, since it is the place for Golden Circle members to meet and trade. The fleets of the Prince Gerard and Caine make sure it is a peaceful trade. Needless to say, the Merchant's Guild has a long reach.
Estates such as the Bayle's, places such as the famous Lighthouse of Cabra, and other miscellany comprise the borders of Amber.
Its people are long-lived (average lifespan about 500+ years), and in good health. They do not appear to be prone to much illness, and can be assumed to recover reasonably well from injury and sickness. They do not possess the ability to regenerate lost limbs and organs, however. They do age, but slowly.
The nobility of Amber have significant political power, enough that Oberon did not lightly tread on their feelings, and that it was not unusual for feuds to occur between them and the Royal House.
While there, one is as a ghost amongst ghosts, unable to touch or communicate with the insubstantial forms. Not much more is known for certain about the ghost city.
It is an acceptable and not uncommon practice for the family to visit Tir in search of omens.
It is generally believed that nothing and no one of the ghost-city can be brought out of it.
Tir-na Nog-th is accesible roughly every 60 days, depending on such vagaries as the proper amount of cloud cover. The next conjuction should be around 10 days after the campaign starts (near the time of Random's coronation).
Oberon and Moire had a generally unfavourable relationship. Rebma's Queen viewed Eric with even more disfavour.
Rebma lies 20 miles to the south of Kolvir. The stairway down (Faiella-Bionin) is marked on the beach by an 8 foot high cairn of stones.
Combined all together, it makes Arden the greatest forest in known Shadow, and Julian is a more than able keeper.
Arden comes closest to Amber from the west.
Treaties with the Golden Circle involve several standard clauses. Some of these deal with military matters, including Amber's right to move troops into and through the place without prior notification.
Well-known Golden Circle states are Begma in the north and Lelban in the south.
| Monday, August 25, 1997 | |
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