The Pattern
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- This article is about the concept in The Chronicles of Amber. For the band, see The Pattern.
In The Chronicles of Amber series of fantasy novels, The Pattern is an inscribed labyrinth which gives the multiverse its order.
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[edit] The Pattern
Deep under Amber Castle, in the caves beneath the mountain Kolvir, the Pattern is in a huge cavern, luminescent and glowing. It consists of a single, intertwined curve, never crossing itself, laid out in a spiderweb-like shape. 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 universes. 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 passes 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 acquired the power to walk in Shadow. As well, being at the center gives him the opportunity 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.
(Spoiler warning) During the series, it is revealed that Amber itself is but the first "Shadow" of a Primal pattern located when the Unicorn of Order leads Corwin to a previously unseen location. The Primal Pattern is guarded by a dragon/Wyvern type creature that apparently has also been placed there to guard Dworkin (previously thought deceased), as Dworkin has, at this point at lost much of his mentla faculties. This Primal Pattern is damaged prior to the events of Nine Princes In Amber. Oberon attempts to repair the Pattern, although he realizes the process will kill him. Brand, whom Dworkin acknowledged as his most apt pupil in study on the Pattern, suggests that such repair may not be possible. Brand also suggests when Corwin is inscribing his own Pattern that there cannot be two such centers of order in the multiverse, and that it is necessary to destroy Corwin's Pattern before he can inscribe his own. However, Oberon successfully repairs the Pattern, and it is seen to coexist peacefully with Corwin's Pattern - possibly because both are merely reflections of the Pattern in the Jewel of Judgement.
[edit] Other Patterns
Through the course of the ten books, the existence of many other alternate Patterns is revealed. There is the Pattern in Rebma, a reflected version of Amber beneath the sea; there is one in 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 latter are called 'Broken Patterns' and can be walked by anyone with enough courage to do so. Broken Patterns allow initiates to converse shadow and perform magic in a similar way to the initiates of the true Patterns. However the broken path manifests itself in a number of ways. The main example is that the break in the Pattern manifests itself in each Shadow the initiate visits. The size of the break depends on the size of the break in the Pattern and one's distance in Shadow from Amber. Broken Pattern mages draw their power directly from the break, similar to drawing their power from Chaos. The Pattern degenerates the farther it is from Amber. The first nine broken images are negotiable.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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".
