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TRISTAN


Played by Keith Grainge.


Description

Tristan stands at just over six foot in height and has a well muscled physique. He has a handsome, angular face with deep, ice-blue eyes and bronzed, clean-shaven skin. His hair is straight and blonde, reaching down to his shoulders. Tristan's normal mode of dress is closely cut grey trousers tucked into black leather riding boots, and an elegant white shirt.


Background And History

Tristan is the youngest of Oberon's sons. Oberon had been married to Justine (who replaced Pauletta, Random's mother, once he'd became tired of her) for 3 years when she bore him Tristan. The marriage lasted for a long time - 32 years or so - with the result that Tristan got quite a great deal of attention from his father, causing quite a bit of jealousy in some of his siblings. Eventually of course Oberon went back to his wandering ways and dissolved his marriage to Justine. Tristan was now treated like his other brothers. Tristan was hurt and angered by this change in events and spent much of the next decade off in shadow. By this time Oberon had changed wife yet again, and no longer seeing him with the woman that had usurped his mother's position made it easier for Tristan to return to Amber.

Relations between the Tristan and his father never returned to their former state but they got on without any major problems, and Tristan rarely received the full weight of his father's displeasure which would occasionally fall on his siblings. When Tristan was sixty or so Oberon married Isabel, a woman of astounding beauty from out of shadow - Tristan was instantly smitten. It was soon clear to everyone that there was no love from Isabel's side of the marriage. Because of strange disturbances out in shadow Oberon started to spend long periods of time out of Amber (using the opportunity to barb first Corwin and then Eric by appointing the other regent during this time). Tristan and Isabel started to spend increasing lengths of time together (he was in charge of her safety after all) and they fell in love. As soon as Tristan saw the opportunity they fled Amber and were fortunate that Oberon was a fortnight before he returned, by which time the trail had gone cold. Tristan risked contacting Bleys by trump and was warned that Oberon's fury at his son's betrayal had eclipsed any seen before (Bleys may have been exaggerating) and that he should stay safely hidden well away from Amber.

He stayed with Isabel and didn't do the Amberite thing of just dumping her after a few years. In subjective time they fled Amber about 100 years before Patternfall, so Isabel is now dead of old age. As she got older, Tristan desperately searched shadow for some means to reverse the ageing process, but any "cures" seemed only to slow nature down a little, not stop it, and he resigned himself to the inevitable and tried to enjoy their last few years together. After her death Tristan became withdrawn from the world for a good six years, and went into virtual seclusion within his own castle, forbidding any of his friends or servants from disturbing him. This was on the shadow that he and Isabel had ruled happily and peacefully for decades (more on his home later) until his advisors broke his order to be left alone to bring him word of a strange black road which had appeared from nowhere...

After the huge shadow storm which occurred after the Primal Pattern was repaired, he saw the message in the sky from Oberon as depicted in the Corwin saga, did subtle research to check that Oberon really was dead, and then sent a message to Random requesting that the sentence of exile be revoked in return for his oath of loyalty... This is described in more detail on a separate page.

As elder Amberites go he is still quite young, due to his hiding out in slow time shadows to escape from Oberon.


Tristan's mother Justine married Lord Cedric, head of House Clemens (one of the noble houses of Amber), a few years after Oberon dumped her. Their noble status was stripped from them after Tristan absconded from Amber with Isabel, and both were kept imprisoned for many months despite the fact that it quickly became apparent that they hadn't a clue as to any of Tristan' plans before or after the event.

After they were finally released they found that many of their possessions and lands had been seized and that they were close to bankrupt. Fortunately they were both resourceful people and still had many friends and loyal retainers, and gradually they managed to rebuild their fortunes, founding a profitable spice trade with Golden Circle shadows, but taking care that it did not become too wealthy for fear of attracting Oberon's attention again. They had a son Corelius and a daughter Sasha. By the time of Patternfall, Justine, Cedric and Sasha had all passed away, with Corelius nominally head of the house, but since being rather aged leaving most of the actual running to his son Kail, daughters Lara and Judith and nephew Ambrose. All these have no doubt had children too...


For anyone who wasn't around at the time but did some research, there are no records on the subject at all. Those who were around at the time remember that the reason for the sentence of exile was listed as "High Treason" - Oberon tried as much as possible to ensure that the actual reason did not become known - too bad for his image. All kinds of rumours as to what he actually did could have grown up at the time.

Anyone consulting the castle library will find all the histories strangely silent about the episode and indeed about Tristan's very existence. It appears that the books have all been replaced with near-exact duplicates, with no sign that they have ever been changed, and having been re-written to the extent that there is no evidence there that Tristan ever in fact existed, let alone what he did.

Those of the other elders who claim to remember say that Tristan was accused of 'High Treason', and exiled. But of course, given Isabel's mysterious disappearance from Amber at the same time tongues did wag, though not where there was any danger Oberon might hear...


As he fled from Oberon through shadow, Tristan became highly adept at using the Pattern, much more so than any of the other members of the family in Amber in 103 PPF. As such, he is much more sensitive to the properties of shadow than anyone else, can control the emanations of his Pattern imprint better, and move through shadow faster, further, and closer to Amber than any other members of the family currently in Amber.


Since he came back from exile Tristan was appointed Lord Legislator of Amber, responsible for reforming Amber's legal system. He gets a lot more respect from his siblings these days. After all, he has done something none of them ever did - stood up to Oberon, offended him in a major way, and, more importantly, lived to tell of it.

He has also bought himself a vineyard which is a couple of hours ride outside of Amber city, and has been trying his hand at viticulture. Although many of his first attempts were disappointing, he is producing some reasonably nice wines by now.


Castle Corvallin

Tristan's flying castle, which he acquired in his years wandering shadow with Isabel. In addition to the people and other creatures who inhabit it, the castle itself is alive and sentient, with a female personality. Corvallin is aware of all within her walls and can do various things without human assistance. She is warm, kind and gentle most of the time, but feels deeply protective of those who live within her walls - threaten them at your peril. High Psyche types can feel her watchful presence when inside the castle. She can talk to other people from the command room in the central tower of the castle: an image of a young lady appears in a full length mirror there and appears to talk from it.

An absolutely huge place (not up to Castle Amber standards but still vast), Corvallin bears many resemblances to a traditional medieval castle. The walls seem to be made from expertly shaped blocks which fit together perfectly, apparently without need for mortar, and have a silvered surface with the result that the castle gleams in the sunlight. There is one heavily fortified Barbican which provides the only gate to the outside world (apart from pesky flying creatures landing on the battlements); the castle can extends a ramp to allow people down to the ground from the gates. Strong towers reinforce the outer walls. Inside the outer wall the towers are far more slender and graceful, but these too are mounted with ballistae and catapults to ward against aerial attack. The central keep has at its centre the tallest tower, and it is from here that the castles defences are co-ordinated. It sits on a slab of flat, very thick bedrock.

The rest of the castle is designed to be a pleasant home, with several suites of lushly appointed apartments, courtyards and even gardens scattered around connected by winding corridors. Accommodation blocks house the guards, servants and their families. Close to the gate house there are stables and "roosts" for the griffins which would engage any airborne enemy.

Over the years, Tristan was constantly playing with this castle by manipulating shadow, and his presence there for 80 (subjective) years has made the thing reasonably "real". Since it is not fixed in shadow Tristan can find it just about anywhere (within reason) just like any other artefact. The castle itself can move through shadow under Tristan's control, or when he's not there just head towards him. He has spent a lot of time improving all the defences and training a small army to man it. Its amazing how spurred on you can get by the thought of Oberon hunting you down...

As part of this, the castle is of course continually patrolled, but Tristan has ordered that the squads should never have fewer than five guards in them - he's a great believer in safety through numbers.


PEOPLE OF NOTE IN CORVALLIN:

Rhys

The castle's steward, a short wiry man with red hair and beard. He is a wise manager and has no trouble with seeing to the day-to-day running of the castle. He is very outspoken, and has a slightly off-colour sense of humour.

Miranda

The commander of the castle guard. She is now in her late forties, a woman of elegant beauty with short cropped, dark hair, now going grey. She is a charismatic and resourceful leader.


Skills


Contributions


Go to the Altair, Beltaine, Damien,Ibrahim, Owen, Phoenix or Tamarind pages.

Or go back to The Last Enemy Page.