The Power of Pattern

The Nature of Pattern

The Primal Pattern casts three immediate reflections of itself onto the plane of Amber:

Amber, the city on the mountain
Rebma, the city under the waves
Tir n'a n'ogth, the city in the clouds

Those of the blood of Amber may be initiated into the system of the Pattern by walking its spiraling, labyrinthine length. The Pattern destroys lesser beings who attempt this. It is believed that the Pattern tears down and rebuilds its initiates as they traverse its glowing blue path. Certainly observers see little but a tower of sparks as the initiate nears the center of the Pattern, though this may be at least partly an effect of distance - the Pattern is roughly the size of a football field.

The Pattern is associated with the element of Fire. It embodies energy, requires energy to traverse, and most of its abiilites require movement on the part of the initiate and tricks of sight, the sense associated with Fire. Dworkin Barimen tells us he drew the Pattern with "blood and fire."

Pattern Abilities

The Pattern initiate has the ability to shadow-walk or hellride through the myriad shadow worlds beyond Amber that the Pattern casts. Most Amberites have believed those worlds are not even real in the sense that Amber is. But then, most Amberites were ignorant of the fact that Amber itself is but a shadow of the purer plane of the Primal Pattern until relatively recently.

Regardless, Pattern gives its initiates awesome powers over shadow. They can pass from world to world. Within worlds they can make the possible probable and the probable certain. Advanced students of Pattern can use its mental image as a defense against the corrupting influences of magic and chaos, conjure new entities from the stuff of shadow, alter the rules that obtain in a shadow and possibly even destroy it outright.

Initiates move from shadow to shadow by subtracting this detail and adding that one, until their surroundings match their desired destination. Then they have arrived.

Shadow Movement - an Act of Discovery

One serious limitation obtains. The changes must be discovered - one must come upon them. You can't simply change a toadstool from brown to green while staring at it. Rather you must decide that there will be a green toadstool just around that stump and then find it. Pattern-induced changes take place out of sight. Around the bend, over the horizon, down that hollow or in the next room - that is where you must look.

This is probably a psychological limitation, but no one has broken it yet.

Nor can the changes be too absurdly quick. You are unlikely to turn from a beach crowded with tourists and find an abandoned, loaded machine gun on the other side of the first dune.

Suppose you are sitting at a sidewalk cafe and want to find Godzilla. He will not be ambling up to you as you sip your latte. Nor would it make sense that he would be right around the corner of a peaceful street scene. So you get up and duck down an alley. At the other end is a traffic jam and now you hear helicopters. Another block and when you turn the corner you see that a lot of people are abandoning their cars. There are roadblocks and sirens. Fight your way along and the crowd of people streaming toward you thickens. A jet passes overhead. Once through an especially thick knot of people you hear a crash, then the thumping of artillery...

Hellriding - Shadow-Travel in a Hurry

Given the visual restrictions attendant on shadow-walking, the Amberite in a hurry resorts to the Hellride. This is not just a matter of speed. Nor is it a matter of danger as such, though hellrides are dangerous. Rather, the Amberite accepts danger as a by-product of the conditions that enable faster shadow travel - reduced vision. "Motion and temporary bafflement of the senses," in Corwin's famous words. They pass through storms, gullies, rockslides, riots. The quest for Godzilla would be a hellride even if the Amberite never goes faster than a brisk walk. Those panicked crowds and nervous troops constitute a genuine hazard.

Buying Pattern in Amberway

A character who purchases any points of Pattern is of the Blood of Amber and has survived walking the Pattern at least once. In Amberway, both your total points spent on Pattern and the specific abilities you purchase matter. The first ability chosen must be Walk in Shadow.

Each of the following abilities costs one point:

Blood of Amber - You have innate, minor power over shadow. You can manipulate probability, finding little things to be the way you want.

Shadow Travel - You have survived a pattern-walk and have amplified ability to move in shadow. You can work toward a specific destination.
Pattern defense - use the image of the Pattern to fortify yourself against hostile energies.
Recognize Pattern - You can recognize Pattern initiates and possibly even those with potential.
Conjuration - You can create new entities from the stuff of shadow.
Walk the Pattern-of-the-Mind - Cleanses the initiate of alien forces such as curses, charms and the like.
Destroy shadow - eliminate a shadow outright. Some doubt this is truly possible, since shadow is infinite.
Alter shadow rules - transform the nature of a shadow without leaving it.

There may be other abilities possible, particularly to those in possession of the Jewel of Judgment, the artifact with which Dworkin drew the Primal Pattern. Advanced students of the Pattern such as Fiona may know what amounts to an elemental cross-specialization in Pattern, letting them accomplish Pattern tricks based on an element besides Fire.