The Golden Circle is Amber’s trading base in the first ten Veils of Shadow. Not all the worlds in those Veils have Golden Circle status, but the ones that do have privileged access to markets and business deals in Amber, and in the other Golden Circle worlds. That said, they aren’t all one happy organisation, and tensions can arise between them, sometimes leading to actual wars.

Reactions to Amber moving up the tech level

In general, the people of the Golden Circle have been surprised, but not distressed by the change in the tech level in Greater Amber. After all, many of them are used to moving along the Royal Ways to do business and trade with other GC Shadows. So, for the most part, they think its odd, but they’re rolling with it. Some worlds have found their own tech levels increased because they’re all linked back to Amber, but in most cases, the curve is more in the 50-100 years range, rather than the much larger jump in Greater Amber itself.

Notable Golden Cicle Worlds

Garnath Gateway (Veil 1)

The only direct land access into Greater Amber is from the Garnath Gateway. Visitors then travel up the Vale of Garnath to Amber City. Known for its extensive reserves of precious and semi-precious gemstones.

Beighton (Veil 3)

Capital: Somerton
Magic rich, especially for that close in to Amber. The Somerton Mage College offers Masters and Doctorate programmes to graduates of the Amber University Faculty of Magic.

Garnet (Veil 4)

Capital: Ochanduri
Ruler: Queen Aingeal
Known as an early adopter of a more steam-based technology, even before the change in the tech level in Amber.

Begma (Veil 10)

Ruler: Prime Minister Orkuz
The nearest point in the Golden Circle to Kashfa. Sometimes they are on good terms, sometimes not so good. There are lots of state visits, both ways. Still late Renaissance/early-industrial.

Worlds in the Border Zone

Eregnor

Border world next to both Kashfa and Begma, and somewhat of disputed territory between the two. Home base of the late Deela the Desacratrix, who for reasons of her own hated the Church of the Unicorn, and burned a lot of Unicorn Shrines in the nearby worlds of the Golden Circle.

Kashfa

Prince Regent Arkans

Queen Jasra

Ruler: Queen Jasra, widow of former King Menillan, who died in 4,003 AP.
They had one son, Arkans, born in 4,390. In the decade or so after Menillan’s death, she was a hands-on ruler, but then she took up with a new, red-headed paramour in the mid-4,310s. She spent the next ten years training Arkans to act as Regent in her absences, since when she split her time between Kashfa and…somewhere. It’s not known what happened to her paramour, but he ceased to be seen around Kashfa in 4,433 AP.
According to Florimel: “An interesting little Shadow kingdom, a bit over the edge of the Golden Circle of those with which Amber has commerce. Shabby barbaric splendor and all that. It’s kind of a cultural backwater.”