Far back in the mists of time, the universe was formless chaos, ruled solely by the beings called the Chaosborn. This ended when a rebel Chaos Lord named Dworkin Barimen created the Pattern, the source of order. A great deal of cosmological realignment occurred at this point: the Elemental planes, as well as the planes of Energy and Entropy, formed about the Pattern; the cosmic structure of the Pattern focussed through the raw stuff of the Elemental planes brought about the Prime plane. Nearest the Pattern formed the True World -- Amber, the center of the universe.

The people who rule this place -- the descendants of Dworkin, those who carry the image of the Pattern in their very blood -- are called Amberites, and their power is immense. They resemble humans in basic shape, form, and feature, but their strength of body and mind is beyond that of anything humanly capable. Their lives stretch over countless millennia.

Only Amberites are capable of walking the Pattern, a process which grants them even more formidable esoteric abilities. Initiates of the Pattern are called Princes of Amber, and they are an elite among the elite.

An Amberite who would aspire to Princehood must be of formidable skill and experience; for this reason these folk often explore the various worlds accessible to them, and sometimes one may even adventure upon the Prime plane amidst ordinary folk. Their exploits there often become the stuff of legend. Given that an Amberite is born no more frequently than once every few hundred years, though, their appearance is not a common thing. Their native language is the One Tongue, Thari, though in their long lives they usually have the opportunity to learn many others.