CymneaIndex | Time Under Chaos | Non-Player Characters | Non-Canonical NPCs | Cymnea
 Cymnea Helgram, Princess of ChaosMother of Osric, Finndo and Benedict. Oberon met and married Cymnea Helgram while still living in the Courts of Chaos. She had been a childhood infatuation, for she was older and colder than the Oberon of the time. Her three sons were all born before they moved to Amber to rule there, and the elder two shared Cymnea's intimate connection with and fondness for the place. Both devastatingly beautiful and possessed of a poise and class unrivalled among the ladies of Amber, Cymnea is regarded by some as Oberon's finest choice. She was a woman who fit well into a man's world, both because of her grace and intelligence and because of her subtle skill at manipulation. In fact, many believe that it was Cymnea's perfection that eventually soured her relationship with Oberon. He did not simply grow bored of her, she also grew bored of him. Bored of his arrogance, his lies and his condescension. She turned her attention to politics, overcoming her lack of popularity with the populace of Amber as a whole to become a force for new treaties and alliances, especially with Chaos. In order to become more popular at home, she also sponsored and started funds for widows, orphans and the homeless and embarked on a grand scheme for the beautification of Amber. While most of the city as it is today is exactly as Dworkin invisioned it, perhaps fifteen percent, and especially in Clifftop, is as Cymnea left it. Oberon, a passionate and lusty man, found it difficult to have his wife constantly out and about and cold as a statue when she was home. He appreciated most of her political moves and approved of the new foundations, but he was looking for a flesh and blood woman in his bed, not an ideal. His attentions switched to various women over the years, and it is unknown if Faiella Thorn would have been his favorite had things not turned out as they did, but Cymnea had grown increasingly cold, hostile to him when he was home, and acid-tongued about his infidelities. When little Eric was born to Faiella and she revealed to Oberon that he was the father, Oberon saw a way out of the trap that marriage to Cymnea had become. Knowing that Cymnea was an intelligent and influential woman, simply divorcing her would have left her with too many options in and around Amber. Knowing that she was also quite ruthless, Oberon may have feared for the lives of Faiella and her son. For whatever reason, he annulled the marriage to Cymnea, thereby stating that it had not been lawful under the Church of Amber, and that his children by her were illegitimate. While her older sons fumed and rebelled (and Benedict took a slightly more pragmatic approach), Cymnea returned to Chaos with her usual cool grace, seemingly happy to advise their King on how to rule. Those close to her know, however, that she never truly stopped wishing to be Queen of Amber. Her jealous remarks about Oberon's rule and his subsequent queens are public record. A force in Chaos for thousands of years, Cymnea Helgram was assassinated by political enemies just before the Black Road was created. It is rumored anti-Amber factions allied with Brand, knowing of her continued interest in the other pole of reality, decided to hedge their bets and take the old dragon out of the picture. |
