Mandalay

The Primal Realm of Mandalay and the Mark of Mandalay. A major realm in the Jeweled Amber Campaigns.

Ygg

"I am the end of Chaos, and of Order, depending upon how you view me. I mark a division. Beyond me other rules apply."

Ygg,

After the creation of Avalon, the damaging of the pattern of Amber, and the resurgent militancy of Chaos, Ygg grew worried about the damage done to the shadows that span the points of power. Ygg contacted a child of Oberon named Adrian who shared similar worries. He had gave shade to this son of Oberon on many a long year and they had been friends since his planting. They began discussing a way to defend the sanctity of the shadowlands against the depredations of the families at either ends of shadow who, despite empirical evidence, doubted the reality of the shadows until their regard was cast upon them.

A deal was struck. Mandalay is the result. The story of its creation can be read elsewhere. Mark_of_Creation-Manadaly

Mandalay is a Primal Artifact forged upon a jewel-encrusted root Ygg grew for the act. The Mark of Mandalay casts shadows as does the Patterns of Amber & Avalon.

King Adrian rules the realm, supposedly a child of Oberon unknown till now. The court is held at the Vale of Plenty. This is a large verdant plain dominated by Ygg, now a massive tree. The Hub of Ygg, a raised, polished bar, 25 miles in circumference, circles Ygg at a distance of 8 miles out. It is filled with plenty, and is endlessly replenished.

From this place a sense of well being emanates outward to effect the health of plants, animals, waters, and the very land that comprises shadow. Avalon is most closely effected due to its proximity, and Chaos & Amber both feel the wash of its power. Opinion is mixed about whether this is a good idea or not.

Low hills ring the Vale of Plenty at a distance of 16 miles. To the South of the Vale of Plenty is the Vale of Song. To the north is the Garden. To the East is the Vale of Flowers and to the West is The Vale of Rocks. The Jeweled Road leads east to west and has it's only break in the Vale of Plenty. Good luck marching an army through this mess. Eastward lies Amber; westward lies Chaos.

One of the many oddities of Mandalay is that when one decides to travel from one area to another, they think on it and the distance seems to shrink. Consequently rather than walking the 29 miles from Ygg to the Vale of Song one needs to merely decide to go to the Vale and within a mile's walk one arrives there. Not actually teleporting, sort of like skimming, one frequently sees striders appear, take 4 or 5 steps, and disappear. Of course, the striders may be going someplace but they can turn aside at any time.

Places in Mandalay

A sentient talking tree, originally quite small, gnarled and ancient-looking, of no known species, roughly halfway between Amber and Chaos. It claims to have been planted by Oberon. Generally it seems not to have much to say.

Regardless of the route one takes through shadow, Ygg (or the shadow it is in) always seems to be there, roughly halfway between Amber and Chaos. It has been a major point of convergence and a paramount destiny trap laid by Oberon at in the first century of Amber. The idea was that if shadowwalkers stray towards the Courts of Chaos they would have to pass Ygg.

Vale of Plenty

The center of Mandalay is the vast plain of the Vale of Plenty. Low hills ring the Vale of Plenty at a distance of 16 miles. To the South is the Vale of Song. To the north is the Vale of Flowers. To the East is the Vale of Rocks and to the West is The Garden. A wide road of 5 & 7 sided stones leads east & west. East Lies Amber, west lies Chaos.

Graceful towers, mansions and humble dwellings rim the hills of surrounding the Vale of Plenty. Yet no permanent of buildings exist in the Vale itself. From the mid point of the hills to the 12 mile ring tents, and vast campgrounds exist.

• The Hub of Ygg provides all the food anyone could ever need.

Vale of Rocks

This region is on the Jeweled Road on the Chaos side of Mandalay. It is a desolate area of jagged rocks, outcroppings, uneven ground and mesas. Nearly every type of sharp rocks can be found in this area.

The Hub of Ygg

This is the actual area including the Mark of Mandalay, The Wheel, the Greetings Areas of the interior of the hub.

The Jeweled Road

The Jeweled Road is a massive construct stretching from Amber to Chaos. At the creation of mandalay a vast number of shadow trails, commercial routes and highways throughout shadow. At the time of the mark's creation Amber was also nearly finished with a massive re-pavement and upgrading of services project in amber featuring the creation of an extensive sewer project, running water plumbing and resurfacing of the streets and highways of amber with puzzled stone. All the streets of Amber were now covered by puzzled stone well out into shadow and as far as Diaga. Suddenly the road came into existence as an act of creation and shadow reverberation. Thus a road 30' wide now extended from the city of Amber to the Fane of Zilla. Nice trick.

The road can be traveled from Amber to Mandalay in 10 days. From Mandalay to Chaos in 5 days. It takes 2 days to clear Mandalay. A very good trick indeed.

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Adrian's Dramaturgy

Adrian's Dramaturgy is a massive collection of amphitheaters in a long, narrow, valley between the Vale of Plenty and the Vale of Song. Its complex of production areas, training and practice rooms, stages, stadiums and apartment buildings are a center of entertainment like few in shadow.

Many gateways and shadowtrails lead here. People who arrive by one of a thousand different ways other than walking out ot he Vale of Plenty ofr the Vale of Song, can not leave the region of the Dramatugy.

• This is a showcase zone like no where else in shadow. A thousand shadows send their best performers here to display their skills. Many of the performers never leave. They live in the Ring of Life and work in the Dramaturgy. Many live here, and living here, as in Amber, they become young and long-lived, if not immortal.

• The Cabri Carts are the best snack carts to be found anywhere, with a vast profusion of finger foods and drinks. Each is staffed with a stand-up comedian or improvisational actor auditioning for parts in the established theaters. Auditions might take years as they dispense portable potables. The results are outrages, profane, bizarre, often morbid, and hilariously funny.

• The Resheika Theater presents only works by Shakespeare, Alvian, Dresir, Mondolian, Shaw, Arthur Miller and the famed, and well-respected dramatist, Bleys of Amber. The Resheika Troop does only the highest of class productions.

• The Hop Shop is a comedy shop where the Cabri come for open mic nights and you are very likely to see famous celebrities from the length and breadth of shadow plying their trade. One might catch Robin William, George Carlin and Droppa Ma Pantz doing a three-man show once. Spectacular.

• The other end of the scale is Miko's Bashery. This place caters to, aaa..low brow humor, shall we say? Here you will find people destroying a wide variety of things; not for the weak of heart. The only rule is that you can not kill it specifically for the show. However, you can kill it, even sacrifice it, if you plan to eat it afterwards. Oh, and no sentient victims.

• Kanil Dri's is a concert hall for orchestra and opera. Never a dull moment, never a note off key, never a warbling soprano unless the libretto calls for it.

• The Bijou Multiplex is a massive movie theater with 10,000 screens. Rooms hold 12 to 12000 seats. The IMAX and ALLMAX halls seat up to 20k. The holoform rooms seat as few as 2 or as many as 30. Show times are set ahead of time.

• The Bellevue Multiplex is next to the Bijou. It has 5000 small theatres that can be reserved for private shows. Then the renter may either provide their own piece, or pick from the unlimited collection owned by the Bellevue itself.

• Shiki Lee's is a jazz/swing. Dance club that can't be beat. Great tunes, great beat and lots of movement, cold drinks and willing women. Adrian, you lucky dog.

• Lastly, The Forum of Gold. This massive concert hall features mainly loud techno music of the sort earth-folks term Metal or hard rock. The big bands and the big shows from a thousand different techno shadows either come here or have their shows holographically presented here.

Speaking of Holographs. Many of these venues kype holographs of performances out of shadow. Takes some of the juice out of seeing things live but it is probably a heck ofa lot easier that way.

The Living is Easy in the Dramaturge. Currency and the Ob

Currency in the Dramaturge is a complicated subject that requires the willing cooperation of everyone who lives and visits.

Obs stand for Obligations. As the currency of the Dramaturge they act as a symbol of enjoyment and appreciation between performer and spectator.

An Ob is a unit of entertainment. Mandalay is a place that draws performers from shadow in a subtle way. Its a type of ideal place for performers; a place where the effort they put into their art is enjoyed for its own sake. The ease of subsistence in The Dramaturge makes normal forms of currency of little value. But the receiving of an Ob for an effort, and the donation of an ob for an effort is a symbol of pride and respect between viewer and performer.

The currency in the Dramaturge is a fluid thing based on a general concept of obligations and time performing efforts. It is an expression of the honor system that one accepts that they will give an Ob for an Ob's worth of effort.

Physically the Ob is a small ceramic pod the size of a pea. Receptacles are available in a variety of places and the general practice is the take a handful on a regular basis. Fresh Obs are clear until used at which time they become milky white. Made of a material identifiable as a form of marble immune to damage under normal circumstances while in the realms of the Mandalay Sway. They are created as a function of the Mark of Mandalay and their permanence fades as they are taken further from Mandalay. There is no exchange value and the ease of acquiring them makes them of little value in themselves. Lords of the Mark have the power to know what venues an Ob was contributed to and they may cleanse them back to their clear appearance.

The Dramaturge is a collection of Venues or performing spaces. Some are as small as a corner of a park large enough to stand in to a massive stadium able to house a hundred thousand to watch a gigantic performance. Some are a push carts that carry everything from food to artwork, jewelry, handicrafts, clothes, etc.

It is easy to survive in the Dramaturge without a means of support. Access to entertainment venues are free. Hub Platers are available in most domiciles. Housing venues are required to have 5% of their apartments available for Non-Ob residency.

Automats: Automats are businesses designed to produce certain types of goods using Energy to Matter conversion units. Energy to Matter replicators are common in the Dramturge. They are found in many Automat locations publicly as well as being available in nearly all residences and businesses. Matter like refuse can be placed in them and transmuted into nearly anything. Programming them can be as easy as placing an item in the replicator and directing it to produce a duplicate of the item and store its replication matrix.

Some Automats are specific to producing food. Some allow individuals to place and order and take their to be eaten on the premises or to be take eaten elsewhere. Some are cafateria style where a person walks through a line choosing items produced by replicators. These often provide examples of other resteraunts and are essentially dvertisements designed to entice a diner to seek out the actual venue that produces the meal freshly rather then replicating it.

Many goods stores, similar to walmarts, have basic materials available for no charge, created by replication. Basic clothes, furniture, craft equipment, and all matter of objects are available for free.

Examples of Ob use and Venue Shares

Dandaro's Quilia Theater Impresario Dandaro Alaguilla is a famous theater owner who on the shadow of Quilal. He ran theater companies for 90 years before lapsed into dementia and was preparing woefully for death. One night he rose and in a delirium slipped family and friends and wandered off in his hometown. The forces of Mandalay called to him and unknowingly followed a shadow trail that brought him to the Dramaturge. In time he worked in other venues and performed in various plays, and eventually decided to open a venue himself

• First he found a Venue space. Finding a 400 seat theater suited to the small cast plays he was famous for in his world. He negotiated with the block Manager for a 5% OB donation from his shares in appreciation of the use of the space. The Block Manager oversees a number of Venues within a defined space. (The Block Manager has to juice up to the Sector Manager, who juices to the District Manager, who juice to the Regional Director or mayor.)
• He established a 7 Tier Ob levels. This means everyone on his staff fits in one of the 7 levels. A person at a tier level gets one Ob for each level. At the end of a night the total gathered Obs will be divided according to the total collected.

For the Quilia Theater the tiers are as follows:

• 7-Venue level: Dandaro as venue Manager, Rukana Shalm (Theater Manager)
• 6-Director Level:Event Director( over sees a particular production), Staff Director and treasurer, Musical Director
• 5-Technical Level:Technical Director, Costume Manager, House Manager, Main Cast Members, Main Band Leader,
• 4-Manger Level: A great many people overseeing senior elements; Cast manager, Production manager, stage manager, Floor Manager. secondary Cast members. Read director.
• 3-Staff level: Actors, makeup artists, crew members. Senior Janitor. Musicians.
• 2-Support level: many active members below decision making level: Extra, chorus, Ushers,
• 1-Venue Maintenance Staff:Janitor. Foot Publicity.

For a Production of "Red Hatted Fox" there are two people at Tier 7, 5 at Tier 6, 5 at tier 5, 20 at tier 4, 25 at Tier 3, 30 at tier 2, and 12 at Tier 1.

• This is a total of 296 total Shares.
• One night the show is particularly good. The venue seats 400. 80 contribute no Obs. 100 contribute 5 ob , 140 contribute 7 Obs (a typical amount), 30 contribute 10, 10 contribute 15, 10 contribute 20, 10 contribute 25(another typical amount) the remaining 20 represent 2380 total in other values. For a total of 4690 collected Obs for one night's performance.
• This gives 4690 obs divided by 296 shares giving 15 Obs per share. Fractions are rounded down to the benefit of the venue manager.

So: Nightly Payouts.

• Tier 7 individuals (2) gets 1O5 0bs. 2 for 210 Obs.
• Tier 6 individuals (5) get 90 Obs. 5 for 450
• Tier 5 individuals (5) get 75 Obs. 5 for 375
• Tier 4 individuals (20) get 60 Obs. 20 for 1200
• Tier 3 Individuals (25) get 45 Obs. 25 for 375
• Tier 2 individuals (30) get 30 Obs. 30 for 900
• Tier 1 individuals (12) get 15 Obs. 12 for 180.

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The term "Ob" also is used in the meaning of obligations in the sense of favors given and favored owed. The saying "You have a card in the deck" to refer to a political favor would have a confusing meaning in Amber. Terms like "chip in the Game" or "There's an Ob owed" are used instead.

The Ob

• 1 pip-Extra Hard: Nearly indestructible under normal wear and tear, they can be destroyed in many ways if one really wants to.
• 1 pip-sensitivity: This is the ability to transmit their authenticity to anyone and to be reacted to by the Lords who can sense their history of use and can purify them.
• x4 Shadow Wide
  • 8 Pips (Paid by Adrian)

Services in Mandalay

Dashel's Musical Tours. Lord Dashal and his associates lead tours into shadow to witness and experience a wide range of performances.

The Green Belt and Green Sway

Green Belt

This is the region of shadows directly effected by Mandalay. Like the Golden Circle of Amber, The Black Zone of Chaos, and the Silver Ring of Avalon, Mandalay is surrounded by the Green Belt. This layer of influences spreads widely in Amber.

Green Line Accord

Mandalay has a Green Line Accord that is comparable to the Golden Circle Signatory Treaty (GCST) and the Black Zone Pact Instrument(BZPI). It is not as formal, and is more interested in mutual cultural exchange then military aid.

Green Sway

This is the shadows in proximity to Mandalay and influenced by the mark of Mandalay.

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Powers of the Mark

Mark of Mandalay

The tale of the Mark of Mandalay's creation is given here-Mark of Creation-Mandalay

• 50 (15 granted) pips Basic Imprint: Frame can hold 12 spells of any power level with great power.
• 80 (30 Granted) pips Advanced Imprint:Frame can hold 18 spells of any power level with great power.
• 100(60 Granted) Pips Master's Imprint.: Frame can hold 24 spells of any power level with great power.

• Permission to assay the Mark must be given by Ygg and Adrian. Once permission is given assaying the inscription is effortless.
• Wearers of the Mark have extensive nature-oriented powers.
  • They may encourage to health any sick plant.
  • They may cause a plant to grow quicker depending on the psyche of the wielder.
  • A wielder may purify water. They may cause water to become a liquid appropriate substance for a specific plant.
  • A wielder may quench a natural fire. May cause fingertip fires.
  • A wielder can cause a seed to germinate regardless of the specific and even usual circumstances required by the plant.
  • A wielder may draw water from a plant.
• Sign of the Mark can defend against direct magical attacks.
• Holders of a mark imprint may walk in shadow by force of imaginative willpower.
• The Sign of the Mark can be used defensively.
• The Mark can empower high order sorcery. It also empowers a wide variety of Low Order magical systems through proxies in shadow.

• The Mark rarely manifests. It has been known to work through pattern ghosts on rare occasion.
• Wearer of the Mark may order any food they wish from the Hub of Ygg or any of its satellite units.

The Stones of Mandalay

The stones of Mandalay are major artifacts of power, linked directly to the Hub of Mandalay itself.

In the creation of the Mark, Adrian had taken half of 5 First-Shadows of the Jewel of Judgment; Emerald, Ruby, Citrine, Sapphire, and Amethyst, and cut them in half. One half of each he put away, one half of each he carefully crushed, leaving tiny chips of each half. He then meticulously embedded each one into the root of Ygg. He used the Primal Jewel of Judgment to inscribe the Mark of Mandalay, each chip became a marble the size of a shooter stone.

The stones have powers based on their attunement but also have social importance. To become a Lord of Mandalay one must present to King Adrian of Mandalay one of each of the stones and 50 coins of service.

Each stone has specific powers and powers in common. They work especially well in conjunction with sorcery based magics but can also forcefully boost Wizardry, Magery, Listry and other wide-spread second circle magics. They have effects in controlling trumps and may help boost them into protected realms.

Common Powers

• Psyche Boost x1.5. This can be used in psyche battles and to push magics as a focus. One of each type of stone can be used at a time, their powers additive, not multiplicative. One stone is Psyche x 1.5. Two stones is Psyche x 2, 3 is P x 2.5, 4 is P x 3, 5 is P x 3.5. This is a general rule and the stones may work in different ways in different shadows. They are a dangerous and temperamental items that may cause more trouble then they are worth sometimes.
• A stone placed in a body of water u to 50 gallons will purify it to pure water.
• A stone placed in any liquid will purify it of poison to the person drinking it.
• Stones tend to react to each other magnetically.
• A tiny effort of concentration, a reaching to psyche, can cause the stones to glow and emit light.

The Jeweled Road

Information on the road may be found here: The Jeweled Road

Holders of an imprint of the Mark of Mandalay have an affinity to the road. They can detect it aas they shadow walk and can tell where various sections are within a ride range of shadows.

While walking on it a imprint holder heals at a greatly increased rate. In Mandalay there are special hospitals built on sections of the road for imprint holders who become direly wounded.

Specific Powers

• Red: Fire Effects, Fire Ripple on Weapons-Double Damage. Dropped in up to 50 gallons of liquid will cause the liquid to boil. When urged by psyche can create an area of 100sq feet to rise or fall in ambient temperature to a temperature comfortable to the stone holder.(This does not mean immunity to fire)

• Green: Healing, earth magic. Heal plants. Left in contact to a plant will cause it to grow 3 times as fast and to grow in a healthy manner along the genetic ideal of their type. Buried in the ground will cause up to a plot of 16 acres of plants to grow at double speed and in a health fruitful manner.

• Blue: Cold Based magics, weapon chill. In cold liquid up to 50 gallons will freeze, the stone ring to float on the surface of the ice.

• Yellow: Concentration spells, research spells, mental magics. The stone when held in a hand will cure confusions, inebriations, and other focus issues. When urged by psyche the stone will emit ambient light, suitable for reading.

• Purple: a mysterious stone, lending its powers to diverse efforts. Healing magics. The touch of the stone will expel malicious possession. Certain classes of spirits based creatures shy away from the stones. Mounted in items that have bound spirits or Dufiro the item will be extra robust and encourage the most powers from it.

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Royal House of Mandalay

The royal family of Mandalay is descended from Amber and the House Bariman. King Adrian is the son of Oberon. His children are children of Amber. Royal blood does not automatically confer lordship.

King Adrian has three sons, Houk, Andre,and Kenshin and one daughter, Nadine.

• Houk is the son of Sand as well. A skilled diplomat, he is the spymaster of Mandalay. Houk is a Houka, a teddy-bear-like creature a little over 3' tall. Fierce and imitative, Houk is a troublesome child.
• Andre is a the Master of the Jugglers of Arn, a master Juggler troop that sidelines as assassins. He is a fine painters and the creator of Mandalay Trumps.
• Nadine is as friendly a person as you would ever hope to meet.
• Kenshin is a force of nature and the leader of the nominal military forces of Mandalay. Adrian tends to roll his eyes a lot around Kenshin and is not interested in the military aspects of the realm.

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Lords of Mandalay

To become a Lord of Mandalay one must have 5 stones of Mandalay of different colors and 50 Coins of Service to Mandalay'

At the time of this writing there were 44 Lords of Mandalay. Each having gained his seat by service to Mandalay and dumb luck. Two forces Adrian respects; Luck and Service.

Lords (or Ladies) of Mandalay have wide authority in the naturalistic realm of Mandalay and its Silver Belt

The first of the Lords of Mandalay were Fleece and his pack- Hounds of Mandalay

The Hounds of Mandalay

The Hounds of Mandalay are a pack of hounds of tremendous power.

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Wood Lords

Other Lords were present at the time of the creation of the Mark. They are called the Wood Lords.

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The story of the Marks creation an be found here.

Seated Lords

Others assayed the Mark with the permission of Ygg and Adrian and are called the Seated Lords.

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