|
|
Timeline Details
Pre-Amber Epoch or Chaos Reigneth
The era before Amber is one of Chaos. The entirety of creation was void and substance, creation and flux, material and the stuff of chaos. The High Lord ruled over peoples diverse in form and power. Each lord ruled a 'Way.' A Way is a region that might include a single building or a vast number of regions, lands, even universes, They have no permanent form. The Lords ruled in these ways as gods. They fought each other, for fun and out of anger. The family Swayvil ruled as High Lord, led by a leader who assumed the name Swayvil upon ascending to the throne.
There was an heir of the House Swayvil, his name at the time, before his ascension, was Dworkin. In his desire of chaos was the imagined possibility that in the endless void would be a way for everything to exist at the same time. In his vasty realm of Bariman Way he met a creature whose origins were as ancient as Chaos. The Unicorn; Sister of the Serpent, the Lion, the Bear, and the Dragon. In it's mouth was the Eye of the Serpent, a ruby stone. They engage in the romantic arts of ritual, sorcery, sex, and creation. Dworkin mounted the ruby stone and hung it on an ancient golden chain.
A time came when blood and pleasure were mixed in Dworkin's hands, and they held the jewel as well. He contemplated creation and Walked. Behind him was the Pattern of Amber. Until his first step there had existed no permanent thing, no thing a Lord of Chaos could not dispel at a whim. Chaos howled. It fought, it called him mad and cast him out, called him rebel.
Dworkin, attuned to the ruby he now called the Jewel of Judgment, went to see what he had wrought.
Time passed.
Bunny Free was a petty warlord and crime kingpin in Diaga. He assembled 10k thieves, mercs and disreputable figures as well as a cadre of pirate ship and began attacking Amber's trade routes at distant locations. Gaining a foothold in several shadows he managed to slowly gain followers and military forces, even gaining noble rank in Darsaga, a shadow between Diaga and Amber. His attacks on Amber were of a small scale till 1656 when a ship sailing towards Amber contained a horribly wounded Oberon and Benedict.
Bunny Free placed the two wounded Amberites into suspended animation in Darsaga. He then sent forces directly into Amber, stripping his military and hiring as many Mercs as he could find. The troops swarmed over the city of Amber and into the castle. Only the fierce defence of the castle in the grand hall and throne rooms of Samuel Feldane and Caleb Chantris and Jopin of Cabra saved the castle from falling. The enemy forces then established siege lines and held the harbor and city against the defenders in the castle. Jopin of Cabra, an admiral of the Navy sneaks out of the castle through the tunnels beneath it arriving in Fantalin Thelusia. There he convinced King Calmana to send forces to save Amber. Jopin led the troops and destroyed the naval forces;
This embarrassing incident caused Oberon to rethink the security needs of Amber.
One of Random's first acts was to hold a massive Grand Court lasting three weeks. This marathon session cleared 500 years of backlogged cases. Many were hopelessly deadlocked in the courts and Oberon & Eric had refused to rule on them. Random heard abbreviated explanations of cases and then ruled. While there were a lot of ruffled feathers even those who lost cases agreed that having them decided once and for all was a good thing. The action was generally well received. He slept for 10 days after it was over. During this time he made dispositions of the court
Patternfall Treaty
The Patternfall Treaty accomplished many things. Amongst these were Chaos' recognition of Amber as an equal and the disenfranchisement of the House of Amber from the succession of Chaos.
Throne War in Chaos
The Throne War of Chaos was fought in duels, assassinations, suspicious accidents and outright murders of hundreds of candidates. the winnowing process became more brutal as the illness of the old Swayvill intensified and finally claimed his life.
The article, "The Diners of Amber: A commentary on the Place Trumps of King Random's Deck" was written by Prince Bleys of Amber was originally published on Jan 7, 5250, by New Warren Press, City of Amber, Amber. It was revised and augmented on Aug 30, 5251 and is included with the Citizen Decks of the King Random's Trumps.
Originally written as a spoof of Random's choices for the deck the article quickly became a cult favorite among the people of Amber. It describes the places in the deck in loving and sarcastic detail, describing the people and attractions of the locals.
Much to his own chagrin Bleys was forced by Dworkin to continue to add commentaries to the deck as more cards appeared in it. He has become known as the "Tour Guide of Amber" and the "Food Critic of Amber", both titles he despises though he is not above using the later to get free food.
King Random's Deck contains artwork from a number of notable Amberites and is empowered by Dworkin. From time to time new cards showing new places will spontaneously appear in all the decks. Non-magical copies of the deck are widely sold and are used in a variety of card games. They are popular because despite the non-magical nature of the cards they too occasionally manifest the new cards added to magical decks.