AMBER
Now we, returning from the vaulted domes
Of our colossal sleep, come home to find
A tall metropolis of catacombs
Erected down the gangways of our mind.
Green alleys where we reveled have become
The infernal haunt of demon dangers;
Both seraph song and violins are dumb;
Each clock tick consecrates the death of strangers
Backward we traveled to reclaim the day
Before we fell, like Icarus, undone;
All we find are altars in decay
And profane words scrawled black across the sun.
Still, stubbornly we try to crack the nut
In which the riddle of our race is shut.
- Doom of Exiles,
Sylvia Plath
Key 21. AMBER
The Castle - Rising out of the dark city like a spiderweb of steel, all dark arches and pointed towers with huge milky gems set at odd intervals and angles among all that silver like spider's eggs or the eyes of some fabled Chaosian beast, Amber Castle dominates its surroundings by dint of its sheer enormity, the power of its dark beauty and the velocity at which its many-bladed outer walls and fortifications whirl through the air, daring any invader to make his way to the inner sanctum.
The City - Most of the city is low and dark, of gray stone and white marble. The nicer portions of the city: the Gardens, the Merchant's Quarter, and the residential areas for the rich, are actually quite lovely from up close. The fluting and crenellations apparent are detailed and delicate, and flowers of a snow white and a dark, brooding violet send up intoxicating perfumes. In the Gardens the sacred Phoenix has occasionally been seen, a creature of gold and silver fire that is said to offer good luck to those of Queen Dara's line. However, from a distance even the beautiful areas of the City attain a murderous glimmer, like the light in a madman's eye, and the delicate scrollwork that looks like flowers and cherubs from up close all comes together to form the snarling heads of predatory beasts or cruelly nailed hands bearing weapons with wicked spikes.
Dockside - where dwell the punks, druggies, murderers and derelicts of society, Dockside is a place no one from Amber City would go unless she had a deathwish. The fleets of Amber, lacking a Captain or any real purpose of existence, drift like ghosts upon the dark water, and it is said that the tall Cerberean Lighthouse is now occupied, although no one knows who or what might be able to endure the dark and the silence of that place.
Diamond Alley - A curiosity of Amber City, Diamond Alley comes and goes as it pleases, sometimes linking streets, sometimes making it impossible to continue one's course. It appears most often Dockside and tends to house mysterious magical shops which sell items and artifacts of uncertain lineage and great power. It is generally considered good luck to see Diamond Alley, although most who see it do not change course to traverse it. It offers knowledge and the possibility of powerful aid, but whatever the Alley offers it offers for its own reason, and generally there is a hidden price.