Pattern Swords

[Shoby187]

Yeah really, what "gods" is Corwin even talking about? And "stabilization of shadow"??
Isn't that what creating the Pattern did??

Most of the times when I run Amber is has to do with these ideas.

In my games, before the Pattern the shadows were murky, ever changing, but could be stabilized by expending a great deal of energy in order to keep the area from changing. This is what the spikards were created for. The energy required is more then any living creature could safely control so the spikards were used to tap into all of the various power sources they had access to and direct the energies.

The Gods in my games are ancient beings like the Aes Sidhe, Tuatha De Danna, Odin, etc. They were creatures of powerful magic. Before the Pattern the Shadows were their playground. When the Pattern was drawn it smothered most magic out in shadow which is why things are always so fantastic in legends but more mundane now. Many of the Gods died, were forced into Slumber or even Imprisoned when the Pattern was drawn and changed the shadows.

I once ran a game where Oberon had long ago imprisoned most of the gods within an area of shadow surrounded by an ever present mist. The mist blocked all trumps and magic. Think of it like the Trogoliths but in mist form. The Gods could not escape, (I think I had Delwin and Sand trapped within those lands as well). After Oberons death however the mists started to fade since they were his creation, a work of his power over Pattern. The Gods began escaping and different faction within them had to decide how they would approach these new shadows.

The Fight between Greyswandir and Werewindle in Hall of Mirrors was a contest between those two to decide who's side they would take when the Gods became free. Greyswandir wanted to side with their old masters, but Werewindle wanted to side with Amber. Werewindle won the contest (his wound to Corwin was worse then Greyswandirs to Luke) so the Pattern swords would fight for Amber.

Eventually the players aided one faction of the Gods and convinced them to sign a treaty with Amber.

[Croaker]

That's great!

[Trevelyan]

Yeah really, what "gods" is Corwin even talking about?

Who can tell? But perhaps they were ancient magical beings of the same breed as the unicorn and the serpent. Or maybe they were localised deities given unlimited power in their home shadows but unable to leave that shadow , or perhaps unable to leave those shadows immeidately adjacent. An enterprising sorcerer or shadow walker might offer such a creature limited access to other shadows in exchange for some say in how that creature's power was to be used. Perhaps the Spikards are a ticking time bomb, and each time someone uses them they increase the risk that some unknowable evil that makes Cthulhu look like a pussy cat will break free from it's bonds in shadow and escape through the apature that opens when the spikard calls on its power.

And "stabilization of shadow"?? Isn't that what creating the Pattern did??

But the Spikards predate Amber and the Pattern, yet do not predate the Logrus. Perhaps they were needed to create some stability amidst chaos in the days before the Patern was enscribed.

Based on the principles of sorcerous lynchpins and chaos magic, each spikard was tied to a number of sources across shadow, each with the power to be self sustaining (hence gods and similar) and so provide constant energy. The effect of the 13 or so spikards, each tied to several dozen power sorces, was to create 13 "webs" of intershadow energy, which collectively provided some sort of "brace" for shadow as a whole - an underlying cross shaodw framework to which other shadows could be secured against the relentless encroach of the abyss.

Such a "web" could not be tied to a given point since that would render the entire structure vulnerable, so instead each "web" was tied to a ring, which could be safely stored in Thelbane beyond the reach of the abyss and moreover could be easily transported or given to a noble family as a sign of the kings favour, or to grant them some power over the region of shadow reinforced by that particular Spikard. Perhaps the magical potential of the spikards was a side effect of this whole exercise, one discovered only significantly after the fact, and many wars were fought throughout shadow as the king tried to recover these potent weapons that he had so carelessly betowed on his potential rivals.

Before the Pattern was inscribed, the deities and similar powers which underlay the netwrok were accorded great honours by the Lords of Chaos in exchange for their continued support in preserving shadow. With the respect and even worship of the forces of Chaos they were considered gods indeed and basked in the praise, respect and even worship that they received. Perhaps the Serpent iutself, ever fickle patron of Chaos, grew jealous of the attention given to these false gods and contrived to loose its own eye at the horn of the Unicorn, thereby paving the way for the creation of the pattern and ultimately rendering the Spikards irrelevant.

For ages the Spikards were little but an elaborate reminder of a far older time, and a source of power for those who held them in secret. As ages past they were lost or hidden and the gods to which they were bound slept. But when Oberon repaired the pattern and unleashed a wave of chaos across shadow the tenuous webs of power bound by the spikards flared once again, holding those shadows closest to Chaos secure until the normal balance was restored. Since then, the old gods and those who wield their power have begun to move once agian, with the ancient gods manipulating those who now hold the spikards in order to bring about the destruction of the Pattern and renew the glories of old.

Certain Spikards have long since been warded to prevent such manipulation, or may even represent the pwoer of gods which prefer the current situation (Greyswandir, perhaps), while others may have remained awake these many aons, constantly seeking the removal of the pattern (Werewindle/others held by Brand), but now the awkening of their brothers has burst through the old wards and activated the networks of the ancient gods that predate the Pattern.