The Golden Circle are those nearby shadow nations with have established shadow paths, trade, and diplomatic relations with Amber, as welll as mutual defense treaties. There are currently fifteen Golden Circle nations, inlcuding...
Think of Ballynar, whose capital is also named Ballynar, as Victorian Europe in flavour, where Magick and steam-powered technology work side by side, and where Dwarves and Faeries exist and are as likely to be seen walking down the avenue as any Victorian gentleman and lady. It's like Sherlocke Holmes, Jules Verne, Prisoner of Zenda, and A Midsummer Night's Dream all rolled into one.
From an econmic point of view, Ballynar conducts an extensive trade with Amber in textiles (especially silks), spices, and other similar luxury items, and the merchant families of Ballynar wield a fair amount of power in this slightly odd monarchy. Travel between Ballynar and Amber is primarlily by sea.
While Corfane is considered to be a single realm of the Golden Circle there are actually four empires in Corfane. There was a time when they were at almost constant war with each other, attempting to snatch territory from each other in spite of the natural boundaries that make any such acquisitions very temporary. Eventually, after years of war the four emperors figured out that border wars were a losing proposition. It also gradually dawned on the people of Corfane that the wars were making them poorer and poorer, and really they liked their neighbors at least marginally better than these weird folks that they were coming into contact with in the Golden Circle. After a while a lasting peace was forged and a great treaty was signed. Now the four emperors hold the balance of power between them and even show a more or less united front to the outside. Of course, that doesn't mean that they aren't constantly trying to outdo one another in small ways.
Technology in Corfane is best described as early medieval. The magical arts are rather more advanced as the Corfanians are a mystical people by nature, with each empire having is own flavor of mysticism. The art of war is also still studied very actively, even though they have not fought one another for quite some time. Each empire has its own martial disciplines, which it passes on to the younger generations along with the particular brand of mysticism favored in that part of Corfane. Each of the four empires is quite distinct, and very proud of its particular traditions.
East of the great inland sea of Corfane and north of the great rift is the Empire of Loken. Its warriors pride themselves on their great battle axes and their ferocious nature. They are certainly a sight to see charging across the tundra on their war-mammoths, their great blond-haired warriors clad in fur and horned helmets, ready to descend upon any foe stupid enough to stick around. The people of Loken know the value of brute force; they don't tend to advertise that they also know the value of strategy and a few well-placed spells. The people of Loken also know the value of being able to stay at home near the sauna. The Loken empire makes its living primarily through harvesting timber and selling furs.
To the west of the great inland sea and north of the bloody mountains lie the lands of Hebregia. The Hebregian lands tend to be hilly, wet and cool. The Hebregian military tradition has raised the hit and run attack to a high art. They've also developed a particularly tough breed of mountain pony that is perfectly suited to their tactics. The Hebregians have a well deserved reputation for tenacity. They primarily fight with swords, but they aren't picky -- they'll use whatever weapon gets the job done. In these more peaceful times they trade in beer, whiskey and wool. They are also famous for their intricate and haunting harp music.
South of the bloody mountains and west of the desert of tears are the lands of the Quasians. Their coloring is much darker than that of their northern neighbors; they also have their own special breed of horses, though theirs are suited to lightning fast cavalry charges. The curved blades of the Quasians have been known to make quick work of any foe. Now that more peaceful times have come to Corfane, the Quasians travel the mountain passes to buy wool instead of to attack, and they transform that wool into carpets that are famous for their design and durability.
South of the great rift and east of the desert of tears is they mighty empire of Tseung. The Tseung are a very homogenous people, all with straight black hair and almond-shaped eyes. Tseung warriors are trained from an early age is the martial arts, including both armed and unarmed combat. This training is believed to strengthen the mind as well as the body, and certainly the most highly trained Tseung warriors seem to fight as though they have supernatural abilities. The Tseung are famous for their fine porcelain, delicate paintings, and for the fine carved furniture that they make from the timber they import from their northern neighbors.
While at first glance the four empires of Corfane seem very different, they do have a lot in common under the surface. One example of this similarity is the fact that they all export mercenaries to the rest of the Golden Circle. If you want good fighters at reasonable prices Corfane is the place to go as there are a lot of well trained by out-of-work warriors there. To the outsider looking to build a force it probably doesn't matter a great deal which empire they come from, just don't tell them that.
Diega is one of Amber's trading partners by sea and along with Gossol and country to be named later has one of the largest Navies in the Golden Circle.
This Golden Circle country is a fairly straighforward monarchy. King Andrew... (Princes Cecil and Richard, Princesss Elayne).
Gossol has suffered a great deal from piracy in the more recent past, particularly around the cities of Bossis and Eberhard. Before and during the Patternfall War, Black Harry (Harry Black), Hanging Jack Williams, and the Butcher of Calee Bay, Morgan Black, brother to Harry terrorized merchant vessels throughout Gossol and nearby Golden Circle countries, causing Gossol to enlarge its navy dramatically. After the Patternfall War, there was a sharp decline in piracy for several years, until the appearance of Black Harry's daughter Morley Black, rumored to have taken down both Hanging Jack and her own uncle.
Inmeara is a realm of the Golden Circle. Travel to and from Amber or any place in shadow from Inmeara is by sea, for Inmeara is a place of islands. Some of the islands are as large as European countries, but most are much smaller, and there are countless islands of a few square miles or less.
As with any place of the Golden Circle, Inmeara is much like Amber in climate, as in other aspects of life. Technology is similar to that of the renaissance on Earth. Inmeara has a few practitioners of magic, but they are not common. The architecture of Inmeara is worth seeing, for though each island has its own style, the castles and palaces look like they could be the illustrations of a children's book of fairy tales. Even the more humble cottages are picturesque and well built; the latter is understandable in a land with so much ocean and therefore a great number of storms.
The politics of Inmeara are not for the faint of heart. The people of Inmeara seem to have taken the lessons of their powerful neighbor to heart and seem almost to be trying to rival Amber for political intrigue. They say that once the whole of Inmeara was united under the High King. Those days are long gone. Now, each island is a law unto itself, with the ruler of the island invariably taking the title of Prince (or Princess). In cases like that of Prince Jasrend of Glopick this is more than a little silly as the only subjects Prince Jasrend has on the four square mile island of Glopick are a dozen pigs, four goats and a goose. In other cases the claim to the title of Prince is a much more serious matter; there are by best estimate fifteen different Princes who have a reasonably legitimate claim to the title of High King if they only had enough force to make it stick. Of these, at least four are major players: Trent, Prince of Nifland, Clarise, Princess of Quelinnard, Duwayne, Prince of Liscinnia, and Torvalle, Prince of Ronvald.
In addition to the constant jockeying for position among the major princes many of the larger, more important islands have their own internal intrigues. It is not unheard of for a prince to die of a mysterious stomach ailment and be replaced by his younger half-brother. Feuds are a matter of tradition, and dueling could almost be declared the official sport of Inmeara.
Inmeara has a fair amount of trade with Amber -- by sea of course. Rumor has it that many Inmearan merchant vessels simply paid huge sums to the pirates of the area in order to be left alone. Inmeara sells wool, fine rugs, glass products, and may crafted items to Amber. The architects of Inmeara are also in demand in Amber when the wealthy wish to build imposing houses.
This is a shadow with medival technology, magic, an earth-like climate. It has one large land mass where the Emperor, Simon IV, has united the various kindgoms, dukedoms, and other power bases into a coherent and orgnaized whole.
Climate in the north of Reichland (the name of the empire) is misty, cold, and snowy. It becomes increasingly tropical the further south you go. Climate on the southern shores of Reichland is Carrabean in climate. (Obviously, heavy metal armor is not popular and the Reichians has developed a leather and composite type armor that is lighter and cooler, but just as strong as metal.)
South of Reichland lies a large ocean dotted with islands the size of Madagascar and smaller. Most of the islands are the size of Hawaii (the big island). The culture here is Polenesian with a trace of Celtic in flavor and the people are fun, laid back, and enjoy kicking back in the sun sipping a margarita. However, when their ire is aroused watch out! The Keltians are expert sorcerers and naval tacticians and could give the Reichian's a sound thumping any time they like, however the two cultures are friendly and ideas and trade is freely shared across the borders of the two cultures.
Solance is a Golden Circle nation that has managed to avoid getting involved in any of the worst of political entanglements and wars that Amber has been engaging in. Part of this is due to the wisdom of Solance's King (currently Claude XIX) and the strength of the King's Own swordsmen, an elite guard of rapier and crossbow wielding men in cool hats (the kind a broad brim rolled at the side with a large feather sticking out the back). Most of the credit, though, probably goes to the fertile fields of Solance. Only a military idiot would attack a place that is producing a large portion of the food that is feeding their army, and the surplus of Solance gets sold to many of the Golden Circle nations.
The northern hills of Solance are famous for their apple orchards. Over two dozen distinct varieties of apples are grown there. You can be sure of finding the perfect apple for baking, making into cider, drying or eating raw. The forests of the north are also famed for the maple sugar and syrup that they produce. The large central plains are grain country, and wheat, barley and oats are all grown there. The oats are sometimes sent to the western uplands to supplement the grazing for the huge dairy farms.. The famous solancian cheeses are all shipped out of the western harbors. The riverlands of south are known for their wines and grow nearly every vegetable imaginable. In the far south of Solance there are huge plantations that grow dates, sugar cane, cotton, peanuts, rice, olives and cork trees.
Technology is Solance is on a par with the rest of the Golden Circle, that is to say medieval. The one thing of note is the sophistication of the plumbing and irrigation systems. Roman style aqueducts are build all over the country to get water where in needs to go, and most of the fine houses and palaces of the aristocracy have running water available, though it is generally unheated. Windmills are common in Solance, especially in the central plains where they are used to pump water to irrigate the fields and to turn the grain into flour.
There is not a lot of magic in Solance. Proximity to Amber and the pattern is part of that, but another part is certainly the attitude of the people of Solance themselves. Sorcery in Solance is a burning-at-the-stake offense. (There was apparently a major misunderstanding back in the mists of time involving a sorcerer, Claude IV, and the death of Claude III; the details are in dispute outside of Solance.) The use of pattern is accepted, especially since there is not much that can be done with it in Solance, and the discreet use of trumps is unlikely to ruffle feathers, but casting major spells is a definite faux pas.