Lord Armond of Amber
Some Personal Information
Trump Description: As I look at my trump, I see a man in his mid twenties just under six feet tall with clear blue eyes and straight shoulder length black hair topped by a black brimmed hat with the right side edge tilted up while the left droops slightly down and bears a rather large white feather. He is wearing a black leather vest, trousers and knee high boots over a white shirt while a long silvery rapier hangs from his left side. The upper two thirds of the trump is dominated by clear blue sky while the lower third sports a gray rock surface that gives the impression of one standing on the edge of a vast chasm. Upon closer inspection, a small pendant with a black diamond rapier crossed with a quill against a white pearl setting hangs from his neck. Overall, I get the impression of a man amused with the world with just a hint of mischief and danger about him.
Pattern Roses: I have a gift when it comes to manipulating shadow even to the point of effusing it with traces of Pattern, but I am not fast. My work takes time and concentration, except for one item. I can nearly instantly conjure a single rose of any color with nothing more than a slight hand gesture. Nor are the roses ordinary, for I place the merest spec of Pattern within them, and they become things of unearthly beauty. Unlike most of my enchantments, which last a year and a day, the roses will burst into stardust at dawn and leave nothing but a memory. Perhaps my time could have been better spent practicing a more useful conjuration, but I doubt it.
Quarters in Castle Amber: I have small, and I do mean small, quarters in Castle Amber. There are some distinct disadvantages to being one of the youngest of a rather large Royal family. There is a tiny room to the right where I can clean myself up and directly opposite the front door is a small oak desk under a long thin slit that I refuse to call a window. The main room is dominated by a rather large and surprisingly comfortable brass bed with a large locked oak chest at its foot. A black and white checkered throw rug is located just in front of the chest. The large oak closet is the only other major piece of furniture in this fairly Spartan room.
White Manor: My real home when I am staying in Amber is within the city not the castle. A large intricate black wrought iron fence encloses the half acre that comprises my estate in the affluent section of Amber city. The site is dominated by a three story white marble building surrounded by a heavily landscaped yard dominated by exotic long leafed trees and rose bushes that flower only in black and white. While White Manor is not as large as I would like, it is still big enough to comfortably house myself, two guests, and four servants.
As near as I can tell, my servants were selected by my mother's servants or something like that. My head servant is Pierre, a small serious middle aged man who is charged with running the household and conducting my affairs within the city. Pierre's wife Jeanette is my maid, who always manages to keep the place sparklingly clean without my once ever having seen her actually do any real cleaning. I like that in a maid. My cook, Sofia, is Jeanette's second or third cousin and is a very attractive red headed young lady with deep green eyes, who is a truly gifted chef. Of course, my opinion is probably a little biased. I now, apparently, have an errand boy named John, who was born to Pierre and Jeanette during the war and I know very little about. Finally, there is the gray haired but still tough Marcus, a former calveryman in the Amber military, who serves as my footman and mainly takes care of my three horses that reside in the main Amber stables. I believe I often employ a few temporary servants for special events or spring cleaning but Pierre takes care of them and I just ignore them.
The rooms of the manor are decorated in the spirit of the Italian renaissance but with a definite eye towards making the place a comfortable place to live. Scattered throughout the house are various mementos of my travels through shadow such as my master's degrees from shadow Earth, the enchanted scale armor and the bastard sword I sometimes used during the war, the hauntingly beautiful painting of Castle Amber against a background of storms my Uncle Eric gave me for my twenty-first birthday, an aging Irish Wolfhound named Red my mother and father gave me when I was nine, and various works of art mostly from shadow Earth. One thing you will not find lying about the place are any items I manipulated with my ability, because I do not like leaving powerful things where I can't keep on eye on them. You can credit that piece of advice to my Aunt Fionna. There is not much more I care to say about White Manor except its the one place I really consider to be home.
Shadow Victoria: Once out in shadow and if I ever have time, I plan on locating a suitable place to create a designer shadow as a gift for my mother. The base shadow will be very simular to the Shadow Earth very early twentieth century except the world was conquered by the British empire by the 1860's, gunpowder does not work nor do fossel fuels burn, energy is derived from simple yet effective solar powered steam engines, scientific developement and industrialization have slowed to a crawl due to technical difficulties imposed by the physcial laws of this reality, magic exists but is rare and weak, and travel is mainly done by horseback, steamship, or airshp. The time flow relative to Amber will be set up so that one hour in Amber translates to a day in Shadow Victoria while the Shadow itself is resistant to certain powers/abilities. Also anyone who attempts to enter Shadow Victoria, who has not been there before, will encounter difficulties. If someone manages to enter Shadow Victoria improperly, the inhabitants of the shadow will indentify the intruders as criminals, rebels, and/or insane and will be dealt with. Finally, mother and myself are the last two members of a still respected but no longer important branch of English nobility, the Percy's, with a large countryside estates located throughout the world but the ancestral home is located just north of the English city of York.
Some Personal Observations About the Others
Andrew: He is one of the guards I have seen around Castle Amber, but more importantly I have just found out that he is Bley's son. Furthermore, he is several years younger than me which means I am no longer the youngest known member of the family. I don't know a lot about him yet but he seems to have adapted quite well to the military lifestyle.
Auric: I briefly spoke with Auric several times in Amber, and I have gathered that he is some sort of Trump artist plus a child of Julian. Despite his lineage, I get along fairly well with him and he seems to be a fairly friendly sort, but Julian raised him and that has to leave some deep scars. I truly feel sorry for him.
Fitzgan: I had seen Fitzgan around Castle Amber but never actually spoke with him until recently at the same event where I met Auric and Aros. After having several dealings with him, I can now say with some confidence that he is an important member of Amber's court, having received a naval captaincy directly from Gerard. I still know little of his motives or background, but he certainly appears to be a helpful and loyal servant of the realm.
Ian: I met Ian shortly after my arrival at Castle Amber and consider him to be one of my few friends there. During the Patternfall War, he served with Amber's military doing special operations with Morgan, who looks to be Ian's best friend and confident, and is the son of Gerard. Ian is a little overbearing but, overall, is quite friendly and a fun guy to be around and we often went drinking or fenced. Despite the fact the Ian is several hundred years older than myself, I know I am a better fighter. However, he is much stronger and has an affinity with animals, plus Ian seems to suffer from overconfidence and impetuousness.
Joss Sloan: I have recently met Joss through Fitzgan, she seems to be related to Caine. I would say she has an attitude problem but that would be an understatement. However, she seems to have a good heart, and I really shouldn't complain too much given the way I behaved when I was younger. She also seems to be a talented sorceress.
Morgan: I was introduced to Morgan at the same time I met Ian, and Morgan is also one of my few friends in Amber. He served with Amber's military during the war and was at the final battle at the Courts of Chaos. Morgan is quieter than either Ian or myself and appears to hail from Remba, plus he is related to Llewella in some way. I believe Morgan is roughly the same age as Ian, plus he seems to be a slightly worse fencer than Ian is. There is something about Morgan that seems odd, but I don't know why.
Zane: Apparently, he brought a injured Fionna out of Arden and has been given chambers at the castle, but that is all I know about him.
Aros: He is a newly discovered son of Oberon whom I first noticed at the Courts of Chaos at Oberon's funeral but was not formally introduced until I reached Amber, and Bley's formally unveiled Aros to Amber. He has become rather interested in my affairs lately and seems to be trying to help me, but I just get a creepy feeling about him. Perhaps, this feeling is caused by the strange powers he seems to wield, but more likely it is because he just does not act like my other aunts and uncles.
Corwin: I have had very few dealings with Corwin. I like him a little better than I did Eric.
Eric: I believe Eric was someone who felt he had to be ruthless to save the realm. My feelings about him are very ambivalent.
Fionna: She is my favorite aunt and the family member whose opinion I most value.
Flora: Despite our opposing temperaments, my mother and I get along very well.
Gerard: He is my favorite uncle and the family member I must trust next to my mother.
Julian: My feelings toward Julian border on hatred, and I imagine he could care less.
Bleys: He is charm incarnate, but he brings to mind this story about a spider, a fly, and a parlor.
Lord Armond of Amber's Notes are copyrited © by Scott Pippo 1998, 1999.
Edited for Game Purposes by George Gitari.
To Armond's Notes: The Patternfall War and Wars End