Amber and the Circle States

[Home][Background][Map][Current Situation]

Amber and the Circle States

Amber has agreements with the members of the Circle states that allows Amber to move troops through the states in exchange for Amberite forces coming to the defence of the state should it be attacked from outside the Circle states. There are also a number of separate trade agreements that have been built up over the years to try and prevent individual states from putting into place protectionist policies and thus stiffling trade.

The politics of the Circle States are complex and there have been a number of wars between nation states over the years. Amber tries it's best to officially remain neutral in these cases, but it is widely believed that it has interfered more than once with local politics in the past. If Amber is found to be interfering in this way it may well have serious consequences for the alliance, so anything that is done must be done discretely.

Amber maintains a large navy as not only is it is the fastest way to travel around the Circle States, but is also extremely useful to trade with it's neighbours to get the goods it needs. Amber is very short on food and wool as it really doesn't have a farming industry of it's own and relies on imports from outside states to ensure that the population of the city below Amber is fed. Whilst Amberites could go out and solve the problem from Shadow, the Amberites have better things to do than Hellride through Shadow to get a bite to eat or two. Plotting is number one on an Amberite's agenda and the trade agreements help take this mundane problem away from their attention.

The following table describes the various states that make up the Circle states.

State	Capital	Government	Rulers	Description
Aelo	Aerillian	Ruling Council	Prefect Mathur Readle	Aelo is a Shadow with varying gravity that is populated by a bird people called the Xaran. They live in strangely built cities that house buildigs reminiscent of an Esher building. The council has a defensive agreement with Amber and several strong trade agreements. The population has a problem with Dragons that inhabit the world. Only Sorcery works here. Power Words, Conjuration and any technology do not work.
Argent States	Sciona	Petty Kingdoms	Various	The Argent states most notable feature is the sky in the Shadow is a sparkling silver colour. No magic works in these states, and technology is steam age. They are a series of petty Kingdoms within the Shadow that vie for economic dominance through their state industries. Polution is a series problem in the Argent States. Amber has a number of agreements with the states, but since it is a constantly shifting state it is difficult to report on the current agreements.
Begma	Begma City	Monarchy	King Gustav	Begma is one of the principal traders partners with Amber. It has been a monarchy for years with only the very rich merchants and nobles appointed to positions of power. Begma has traditionally had problems with it's neighbours Eregnor, Kashfa and Quessel and has been involved in several wars. Begma has discovered gunpower and it has primitive guns, but not much technology. Sorcery does not work here, but Conjuration and Power Words do work.
Deiga	Daliphos	Monarchy	Queen Kinta	Deiga is a beautiful island with marvellous coral reefs and picturesque waterfalls and countryside. It is also the home to many of the most deadly insects and snakes in existance. Poison and treachary are common within the Kingdom which still has a feudal nobility. All magic with the exception of Trump works in Deiga. For some strange reason Trumps go cold in this Shadow. Queen Kinta has been a friend to Amber for a number of years with a mutual defense treaty and several trade alliances in place. She has ruled Deiga for over a centuary, and no one knows the secret of why she does not seem age.
Endermol	Enderford	Computer	Tiga 1650	Endermol is a starnge dimension where fire there is no combustion and thus fire. They have developed silicon technology and created a supercomputer called Tiga 1650 to run their economy, and advise on forign policy. All magic works here, and the supercomputer uses Sorcery to view the tracts of probability for the benefit of the economy. Amber is nervous of this Shadow since the consequences of Tiga 1650 malfunctioning are not well understood, but they have a strong treaty with Amber.
Eregnor	Rassendahl	Democracy	Prime Minister Coruso	Eregnor is a full democracy and a trading partner to Amber. It is a late medieval society akin to Japan on Earth that has just discovered gunpowder via spies travelling through Shadow. The concept of honour is important in Eregnor and reincarnation is widely accepted. All magic works in the Shadow, although Conjuration sometimes gives unexpected results. Amberites are unsure exactly why this is.
Guardian Isles	None	None - druidic	None	The Guardian Isles are home to a colony of Druids who live a simple life. Amber encourages these islands to live a simple life so that it can not be used as a staging point for invasion. The druids have an agreement with Amber that they will warn the city of invasion in exchange for being left alone to commune with nature. No technology works here but all magics do.
Kashfa	Rislyn	Monarchy	Queen Jasra I	Queen Jasra I has ruled Kashfa for some thirty years and seems to have a firm grip on the country. She has a standard defensive agreement with Amber and a few minor trade agreements. The country is medieval and lightly forested. No technology works here, but all forms of magic work.
Quessel	Querayessar	Autocracy	Autarch Hector I	Quessel has a history of revolution that has kept it unstable in the eyes of Amber. It is a very military country with a powerful navy, and it builds most of the ships for Amber. Although it has technology akin to 18th Centuary Europe it has not so far sought to expand. All magic works here, but nuclear power and electricity do not. Hector I is a fairly rational man and Amber is currently not worried that he took over in a military coup some three years ago when Amber was busy in the Patternfall war.
Syns	Serek-Var-Syn	Theocracy	Archdeacon Mychros	Syns is home to a very quiet race of lizard like creatures called the Drahk who are naturally telepathic. They have little to do with other nations and practice their own brand of strict religion. They shun outsiders and visitors to the Shadow are segregated from the general populace in a specially built section of town. Syns does not have any agreements with Amber. All magic works in Syns but electricity does not. The north of the Shadow is very cold and covered in snow.
Tarth	None	Tribal	Elder Aisner Elder Iamis Elder Numa Elder Resla	The four tribes of Tarth live in the Jattar wastes are ruled by a tribal elder. The tribes get together every ten years to discuss policy at one of the many Oasis'. There is little that Amber wants to trade here, so Amber has only negotiated a defense agreement with the elders. No sorcery or conjuration works in Tarth so the Shadow is of little value.
Uopoi	Olawe	Elected Hierarchy	Heirarch Totapu	The people of Uopoi are pygmy humans with an enlarged forehead. They are a peaceful people who are prone to study and learning and they have a great library built into their capital. The Uopoi people are can Shadow walk very slowly and they have gathered much knowledge from around the local Shadows in their library. Amber has a special agreement with Uopoi that allows them to use an inlet as a naval base as it is located in the centre of the circle sea. All magics work in Uopoi.
Valisharn	Sondanasta	TV Democracy	None	Valisharn is akin to modern Earth in it's development with everything except nuclear power. The Shadow is run by a multinational TV station that has a number of stations including a voting station that allows the population to vote on every burning issue imaginable. There is also a CCTV station that makes the whole place feel a bit like Big Brother. Currently Valisharn has a treaty with Amber, but that status could change at any time by a new vote. All magic works here in addition.