and Places of Note

Artifacts
Creatures
Places
Substances

Artifacts

Alastor: Ariana's weapon of choice, it was created from the sword given to her by Thereon, after the blade was broken in battle. To make it more effective against faeries, Ariana worked cold iron into its metal, and she later modified it to make it capable of assuming more than one form. It is capable of doing a great deal of damage to whatever it strikes.

Annufngwyn: Heather's body suit, it protects her from injury and allows her to move through Shadow.

Ariel: Bartholomew's familiar and spell-storage device, he intended for her appearance to represent his ideal woman. Ironically, she looks identical to Laughter. She was originally only a few inches tall when she appeared, but Bart was eventually able to modify her form to be life-sized. She often stays in a pearl that Bartholomew wears on his belt.

Cristilweir: Eris' crystal sword, originally wielded by Driscoll, it is made of a single, transparent crystal shard.

Curetana: Senlin's sentient sword, forged with Sequence and Song by Calamus, originally wielded by Rosemary, it seems to enjoy taunting Sequence immensely.

Eye of Chaos: Right eye of the Serpent, counterpart to the Jewel of Judgment, it was recovered by Laughter when the Serpent and Unicorn killed each other. During the battle between Nicholas and Zane, it merged with the Jewel of Judgment and the Unicorn's two eyes to form the Orb.

Eye of Destruction: One of the eyes of the Unicorn, counterpart to the Jewel of Creation, not much about it was known, other than the fact that it could be used to enhance Trump abilities to an almost unstoppable level. It was recovered by Laughter when the Serpent and Unicorn killed each other and brought to Amber, where it was stolen by Brand, who used it to ill purpose until the destruction of Ygg. It then fell into Zane's hands, where it remained until the battle between Nicholas and Zane, when it merged with the Jewel of Creation and the Serpent's two eyes to form the Orb.

Faerie Wards: Stones that absorb the energy of faerie magic, thus preventing its use against their owner, there are rumored to be no more than seven of them. So far, only two have turned up in Amber. Nicholas possessed Redstone, a circular, flat, red, palm-sized stone with the faerie rune for fire inscribed in it. It is bound in leather with a small cold iron ring at the top, so that it can be worn from a chain. When he abdicated the throne to Random, it is believed Nicholas passed the Ward onto him as well. Benedict possessed Silverstone, which was similar in appearence to Redstone, except it was silver in color and had the faerie rune for metal inscribed in it. It was absorbed into Whimsy's body when she wore it while walking the Pattern, making her, in essense, a living Faerie Ward until the birth of her twins, Castor and Pollux. Some of the essense of the Ward was passed into them, such that only when all three of them are together can they produce the normal effects of the Ward.

Ghostwheel: Avatar of the Rose and Merlin's favorite sentient computer toy, it was disabled during an attack on the Rose, but Merlin probably has it fixed by now.

Gordon: Foster's shapeshifting artifact, originally used as roller-blades, skis, etc., now serving as Foster's artificial legs, his real legs having been eaten by a dragon on Lazarus.

Jewel of Creation: One of the eyes of the Unicorn, counterpart to the Eye of Destruction. It was recovered by Laughter when the Serpent and Unicorn killed each other and brought to Amber, where it was then stolen and replaced with a fake by the Feyans. It was lost again when Zane attacked Avalon, but was recovered by Fiona while she was trapped in Chaos for 100 years. It remained in Amber's possession until the battle between Nicholas and Zane, when it merged with the Eye of Destruction and the Serpent's two eyes to form the Orb.

Kvalnir: Usires' ax, it was a gift from Caine. Naturally, it is capable of doing more damage than your standard ax.

Morglyph: Ahab's Pattern sword, capable of molding Shadow so that it can cut through almost anything. Due to an agreement he made with Lucien, Ahab left the sword to Morgan when he died. Until Morgan comes of age, it is being held for him by Ariana.

Morquan: Ishmael's favorite weapon, it is capable of many forms, all of them dangerous.

The Orb (destroyed): Red opaque stone that was formed when the eyes of the Unicorn (AKA the Jewel of Creation and the Eye of Destruction) and the eyes of the Serpent (AKA the Jewel of Judgment and the Eye of Chaos) all merged together during the battle between Nicholas and Zane. An object of great power, only a direct descendant of the Serpent and the Unicorn could touch it without being destroyed. Despite this difficulty, Finndo was able to wrest it away from Nicholas, with some help from the Unicorn's Amulet. With Jack o' the Willow's assistance, Finndo was then able to shatter the Orb and toss its fragments into the Abyss, greatly reducing the power of Pattern and Logrus, and eliminating the power of conjuration altogether.

Return: Nicholas' sword, it brings him home when he gets into trouble, forged with Source by Laughter and Ahab.

Sequence: Laughter's psycho sword of little brain, forged with Curetana and Song by Calamus, reforged with Source and Return by Laughter.

Song: Calamus' sword, forged by him with Curetana and Sequence. Song went dormant after Calamus' death, but was awoken by Chameleon so it would attack Laughter. Fortunately, Ariana was able to convince it otherwise, and it is currently wielded by Driscoll.

Source: Beauty's sword, forged with Return by Laughter.

The Spikards: Eight rings of great power, they are Faerie in origin. Among other things, they can be used to power spells, both decreasing their casting time and increasing their power. They can also be used to ensure the security of a Trump link. Once worn, a Spikard cannot be removed without some difficulty. The power source for the Spikards is the life energy of a person. In the past, the energy was drained from whoever was wearing the ruling Spikard, who usually was not a willing provider. Now, those possessing Spikards must power them with their own energy. Five of the eight Spikards are currently accounted for. They are in the possession of Bleys, Fiona, Teresa, and the faeries, who posses the two Spikards that originally belonged to Delwin and Teresa. The Spikard which Alex once possessed is the one currently held by Teresa. The whereabouts of the missing three Spikards is unknown. Oberon was in possession of the ruling Spikard before he was attacked by Dara, but it was not found on his body. The Spikard that Brand possessed during Patternfall is the one in Fiona's possession. The missing Spikards may also be held by Faerie. The faeries have recently been making a concerted effort to retrieve all of the Spikards, deeming them too dangerous for humans to posses.

Torment: Vixen's sentient sword, it has an unnaturally sharp edge and warns Vixen when she's in danger. It was given to her by Eric.

The Unicorn's Amulet: Amulet given to Bartholomew by the Unicorn, shortly before she died, it is able to negate all Pattern and Logrus energy within an area around it. This ability made it one of the few weapons that could defend against the power of the Orb.

Verdegris Moulder: Driscoll's dragon pin, which transforms into a small dragon. Supposedly nothing can hold her against her will.

Creatures

Abel: Meander's familiar, he has more intelligence than your average crow, although how much more is open to interpretation. Meander can see through Abel's eyes, although the perspective is somewhat skewed.

Angel: Gavin's former sentient cat companion, it is unknown how she came to be with him, or why, as she refused to share this information, or even her name, with him. His ability to move through Shadow before he walked the Pattern, and much of his psychic scanning abilities, stemmed from her. Angel's unwillingness to reveal her true name caused Ariana to suspect that Angel had origins in Faerie, a suspicion that was later confirmed by Fiona. Fiona imprisoned the pregnant cat after Angel freed Gavin from one of Fiona's Shadow pockets, and later sent her back to the Unseelie Court. Still unanswered is what she was doing with Gavin in the first place, and who (or what) fathered her children?

Bruce (formerly known as Battlestar): One of Julian's Stormhounds, he is intelligent and capable of speech. Originally assigned to watch Shard, who named him Battlestar, that job ended when Shard became a vampire. He later spent some time in the company of Ronan, who picked a new name for him at the Stormhound's request. He hasn't been seen since Ronan's disappearance.

Clytemnestra: Driscoll's dragon friend.

Ironclaw: Enormous dragon who guards the entrance to Lazarus.

Mercury: Eris' albino dragon friend, he is one of the fastest of his species.

Places

The Halls of the Dead: Destination of faerie souls after they die, it is reached by traveling the Paths of the Dead. These paths are varied, and the journey is difficult enough that some souls become lost along the way. Souls that are successful in reaching the Halls of the Dead then have a choice; to be born again, or to stay in the Hall of Judgment. Those that are born again retain no memory of their previous lives, although those memories can sometimes be retrieved via faerie magic.

The Faerie Ring: Located in the heart of the Seelie Court, it appears to be nothing more than a ring of mushrooms. In reality, it is the source of a power that predates both the Pattern and the Logrus, although it is not quite as powerful. All of Faerie and its inhabitants draw upon this power. Others may access this power as well, by walking counterclockwise around the Faerie Ring, preferably while speaking the following rhyme:

Walk you through the wood
Mind your step and thought
Wish you what you should
Lest your soul be caught

The power you gain depends on how many times you circle the ring. The first circuit teaches the walker the use of faerie magic, although it is possible to learn faerie magic even without walking the Faerie Ring. The second circuit gives the walker the ability to travel via the Tween. The third circuit changes the walker into a full-blooded faerie, with all of their advantages and weaknesses. If the walker attempts a fourth circuit, they are bound to the lands of Faerie forever in servitude to the Crown, and if they attempt to leave, they quickly grow old and die. The secret of how to properly walk the Faerie Ring is only known by the faeries, however, with a few rare exceptions like Ariana, so many a greedy human has found themselves trapped unexpectedly.

The Planes of Power: Every power has a primary plane which is the source of its power, and some have an Avatar (or three) which represents its interests. The planes and their locations and Avatars are as follows:

Plane	Location	Avatar
The Plane of Faerie	?	None
The Plane of Logrus	?	None
The Plane of Magic	Discworld	?
The Plane of Pattern	?	None
The Plane of Shadow	The Vampire Realms	?
The Plane of Trump	The Keep of Four Worlds	The Triumvirate: Brand, Vincent and ?

The Rose: Corwin's Pattern.

The Star (destroyed): Brand's Pattern, it was destroyed by Brand for reasons unknown.

The 'Tween (also known as the In-Between Lands): A place of formless gray mist that exists between and around Shadows, it is, in essence, the building material that all Shadows are created from, and existed long before the creation of either Amber or Chaos. Faeries use it extensively as a means of traveling between Shadows, and only a full-blooded faerie, or those who have walked twice around the Faerie Ring, can access it. One must also be touching some part of the current Shadow in order to enter the 'Tween.

Substances

Blood-poison: Chaosite poison that prevents shapeshifters from using their ability. The effect wears off once the poison has worked its way through the system. It is possible to make a blood-poison that will only affect members of a certain house.

Takaran metal: Created by a rather elaborate enchanting process, it prevents shapeshifting from working on wounds inflicted with it. This includes the rapid healing and regeneration abilities of Amberites, since these are essentially caused by latent shapeshifting. Weapons made of this metal are illegal in the Courts of Chaos, and the penalty for being caught with one is the removal of the hand which held the weapon, using the weapon in question. Any really good shapeshifter can feel the presence of this metal, and, although there are protective sheaths that can conceal it, once a Takaran blade is drawn it is easily recognizable. The secret of how to make the metal is only possessed by a few, and their organization is rather cult-like in its secrecy. New members are not inducted readily. Ishmael, Miranda and Nicholas are among those known to possess the secret of making Takaran metal.

The icon of the Faerie Ring is the work of Wendi Strang-Frost and is © by her. Please contact her before reproducing it in any fashion. For more examples of her work, check out her web page, her online comic "Johnny Public" or the "Wavedancers" story in Elfquest.

Last modified on July 21, 2000 by Kris Fazzari.