Information AboutThe Pattern |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT THE PATTERN | |
| the chronicles of amber | |
| pattern, the | |
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THE PATTERN Deep under Amber Castle, in the caves beneath the mountain Kolvir, the Pattern is in a huge cavern, luminescent and glowing. A member of the Royal Family of Amber can walk along the Pattern to its center in order to gain the power to walk among ''shadows'' - possible Universe s. Once the walker sets foot upon the Pattern, he must continue following its labyrinthine course to the center; stopping for too long, or leaving the pathway of the Pattern, results in a terrible death (with a decent special effects display to punctuate it). Walking the Pattern is not an easy task. There is a resistance that slows the walker, as if he is wearing lead boots that get heavier and heavier with every step. During the ordeal, the walker passed through several points of extreme difficulty called "veils"—The First Veil, the Second Veil, and the Final Veil. These points represent intense surges in this fierce resistance; however, "breaking through" a Veil causes the resistance to let up a bit. Once at the Pattern's center, the walker has the power to walk in Shadow. As well, being at the center gives him the opportunity then to command the Pattern to send him anywhere he wishes--across the room, back up to Amber Castle, across the world, to another Shadow world, here on Earth, etc. OTHER PATTERNS Through the course of the ten books, we find the existence of many other alternate patterns. There is the Pattern in Rebma, a reflected version of Amber beneath the sea; there is the ghost-city reflection of Amber in Tir-na Nog'th; there is the Primal Pattern, the one true Pattern that is higher on the reality scale than even Amber; Corwin's own Pattern, off in Shadow; and even imperfect versions of the Pattern found in Shadows very close to the true Pattern. THE JEWEL OF JUDGMENT The Jewel of Judgement is a large ruby-like gem worn as a pendant around the neck. As the saga progresses, its importance grows. At first it is just a device for controlling the weather, useful in battle, but then Corwin is told that if he walks the Pattern carrying the Jewel, and then uses the power of the Pattern to project himself into it, he will gain a new level of power. When he does this, he finds that the Jewel itself contains a Pattern, in three or even more dimensions. Eventually he learns from Dworkin that the Jewel is the real source of the Pattern of Amber, and that it was obtained from the Unicorn. Corwin uses the Jewel to forge his own Pattern, when he believes that Amber's Pattern has been destroyed. Standing at the center of his Pattern, he is then able to project himself into the final battle at the Courts of Chaos. THE MERLIN CYCLE In the Merlin Cycle, the second series of five novels in the Chronicles, the Pattern is shown to be Sentient . It is able to manifest itself at any point in shadow, and teleport others without their consent. It is also able to create ''Pattern ghosts'', artificial versions of any person who has walked the Pattern. The Jewel of Judgement is revealed to be the left eye of the Serpent of Chaos, stolen by the Unicorn at some point in the very distant past. It eventually ends up serving as a replacement eye for Coral, allowing her to see the "clear, cold lines of eternity". SEE ALSO |
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