Understanding the Map. Each circle is a different shadow. The light grey regions are land, the white water. The hand-drawn brownish-green lines represents the major overland shadow paths. (The path from Aravill to Shee is actually a tunnel that claustrophobes would do well to avoid.) The straight bluish lines represent oversea shadow paths, which are be no means actually straight. Each shadow has been drawn with local north to the top of the page; note that for two of the oversea shadow paths, Lambay and Disterdermot, local north is discontinuous relative to Amber. Overlap between circles represents areas of overlap between shadows. The travel time from Amber the city out of Amber's shadow is one normal day's ride; the sailing time from Rebma to Shee is one day's sail.

The Golden Circle is a set of shadows near Amber which have traditionally been major trading partners and allies with the eternal kingdom. However, many of the old treaties were broken during the Patternfall War, and war has twice raged through the Circle itself. Amber's victory in the last war has brought a nomial peace and unity to the Circle again, but tension lurks under the surface.

• Anglesey This gorgeous city has vastly outgrown the island it was built on. Soaring towers start underwater, grow past the canals and suspended roads and walkways, and reach elegantly for the sky. With a love of the arts and culture, this is perhaps the most civilized city of the Golden Circle. There is a not insignificant population of mer-people.

  During the First Circle War, the lack of direct shadow path to Aravill kept Anglesey out of the action. Thanks to disputes with Begma, Anglesey stayed neutral during the Second Circle War. This didn't do great things for its current relationship with Amber, but did serve to keep it relatively unscathed.

• Aravill This landlocked shadow is extremely well-contected with overland shadow paths. Whether this is the result or the cause of a legendary struggle there during the early days of Amber is unknown by most still living. However, the high connectivity is undoubtly why the leftover forces of Chaos chose to cut a deal with the ruler of Aravill. Together, they launched the long and bloody First Circle War.

  At the end of that war, Aravill had been devastated, and placed the rulers of Galazon in charge of the remnants. Unfortunately, this meant that the sudden coup in Galazon several years later would free-up Aravill, precipitating the Second Circle War.

• Brittas On the side of Aravill in the Second Circle War.

• Galazon A cold place of pine trees and warm, hearty people. Galazon came under fierce attack from Aravill in the First Circle War. In the aftermath, when things were looking up, a coup was engineered to start the Second Circle War. Today the rightful rulers are back on the throne, and the place is rebuilding.

• Shee An undersea island like Rebma in many ways. While the water is quite breathable by humans, the primary population here is mer-people.

• Stang Once a place of beauty and learning, Stang had the misfortune of being Aravill's next-door-neighbor during the First Circle War. After the devestating initial attack, Amber propped up strong-armed general Fergal as a buffer against Aravill. The ploy worked all too well, and the tyrant still sits on the throne. He has grown increasingly independent and ruthless, remaining neutral in the Second Shadow War and very cold in its aftermath.

• Lambay The most interesting documented feature of Lambay is its profusion of gods and temples. The temple district is nearly a quarter of the city. (It should be noted that while there are many gods in Lambay, there are apparently no gods of Lambay to worry about.)

• Disterdermot On the side of Aravill in the Second Circle War.

• Begma The primary sufferer of the Second Circle War. Many consider the prime cause of that war to have been Begma's long-standing dispute with Kashfa over Eregnor. At any rate, Begma was attacked on two other fronts while Kashfa overran Eregnor.

• Eregnor A peaceful place of rich farmland and even richer mineral deposits which was has suffered mightly from Kashfa and Begma's long-standing feud over ownership. The small town which is Eregnor proper is seeing a lot of immigration as Amber encourages it to become a city and power in its own right.

• Kasfha On the side of Aravill in the Second Circle War. One of the principle motivators of that war.