In the beginning... all was Primordial Chaos. This Chaos was an entity but it had no direction or purpose. All manner of beings came into and out of existence in this Creation Soup. Some of these beings sought to establish a direction and purpose for their existence and thus establish some measure of Order. One of the most powerful of these beings was the Serpent.

This was an extremely powerful Chaos being who wished to set down an Order of his own and thus set a direction for those that sought it. To this end he delved into the very nature of creation and existence. He sent his mind forth and sought out an overlying Order to the Chaos. Finally, after countless eons, he received this vision which showed the very nature of existence. The vision, being so powerful, actually inscribed itself upon his eyes.

The Serpent knew that with this power and knowledge that HE could create and manipulate anything that was or would be...  He was, in effect, now more powerful than the Primordial Chaos because he had a direction, purpose, and the means to bring that which he desired into effect.  There were others who had sought this vision along with the Serpent. The Serpent and the other beings who wished for direction, purpose, and order had made a Pact that they would share the knowledge should anyone of them gain it. The Serpent
had other ideas though.  He decided that now he could re-create all in his own image and likeness and that time itself would begin anew. The Serpent lay there with his knowledge and pondered the universe that he would soon re-make.

The Unicorn was another of the powerful Chaos beings who shared the Pact with the Serpent and had sought for the knowledge of existence. Upon discovering that the Serpent had received his vision and did not wish to share it with those he had promised the Unicorn attacked the Serpent. Gouging the Serpent's Left Eye from his head the Unicorn fled with half of the Serpent's vision dangling from its horn.

The Serpent was greatly angered by this and sought after the Unicorn but to no avail. After a short time the Serpent created the Logrus, the pattern consisting of one-half the vision of
existence which his Right Eye still held. This allowed the Courts of Chaos to form and some measure of order and direction to prevail. The Serpent felt that even though he had had only one-half of the vision he was still able to do what he had originally wanted to; Shape the Universe and its events and beings in his likeness.

Time passed and some grew discontented with the Courts and the Serpent's rule. They knew of the Unicorn and sought her out to set things right. One of these beings was Dworkin. He travelled to the very rim of the known Universe looking for the Unicorn.
Finally, thinking that all hope was lost and that the Unicorn must have been destroyed, the white and shining horned being of Chaos appeared with the Jewel of Judgement about its neck.

The Unicorn told Dworkin that she had been waiting for someone to seek her out for this purpose, for only one who would truly abandon life to seek Order was worthy of this vision. The Unicorn had spent much time enchanting the Eye and putting her essence into the object. She told Dworkin that she could not scribe the Pattern because the Serpent had cursed her to be unable to do so... He had thought that would render her plans useless
and that she would return it when she learned that she herself could not utilize its power. The Unicorn, however, waited for another to seek her out for this very purpose. During the wait she had cursed the Serpent to ALSO be unable to use the Jewel.

The Unicorn instructed Dworkin in what she knew of the Eye and how it could be used. It was then that Dworkin forged the Pattern from the Serpent's Left Eye which was theretofore known as the Jewel of Judgement. After the Pattern had been created the
Unicorn then mated with Dworkin thus mixing their blood. It was through this means that she bypassed the Serpent's curse and allowed her descendants to be able to use the Pattern.

Dworkin inscribed the Pattern high upon a mountain above the Sea of Mirrors. This place both he and the Unicorn had enchanted to spread out the power of the Pattern. It was through this placement and the additional enchantments laid upon the Jewel that caused the shadow/reflection effect and caused Chaos to be pushed back.

After the Day Of The Pattern the Unicorn's power increased dramatically and she became equal to the Serpent. Both of them share one-half of the knowledge of creation. Neither knows what happened to the Primordial Chaos Being or whether it still exists
at all...

The Logrus and Pattern-

The Logrus and the Pattern are like mathematical formulae which represent the Universe in a compact fashion. Power flows from them into those who walk it and in return they draw power from all of their creation and bestow it upon their Masters. In the case of the Pattern this backflow of power extends to the line of Dworkin as well as the Unicorn, while the Logrus feeds its power only to the Serpent. This splitting of power makes the Unicorn slightly less powerful than the Serpent and the line of Dworkin more powerful than that of Chaos. It is this slight inequality which has led to countless one-up-manship battles between the two forces. While both know that any attempt to destroy the other will end in the destruction of all the battle for most powerful continues to this day.

The Unicorn and Serpent-

The Serpent and the Unicorn are beings created in much the same manner but with strikingly different outlooks and beliefs.  The Serpent's alignment is Lawful with Evil tendencies while the Unicorn's alignment is Chaotic with Good tendencies. The Logrus
is THE symbol of Chaos and spreads its influence to the environment of the Courts while the Serpent insinuates his Lawfulness in the people of the area. The Pattern is THE symbol of Order and spreads its influence to the environment of Amber and all its reflections while the Unicorn's Chaotic spirit and individualism is spread to the people of Amber.

When the Unicorn stole the Serpent's Left Eye and forged her version of reality with it she stole the eye which represented Order and left the Right Eye which represented Chaos with the Serpent. As I stated before these two components represent the totality of all creation and when they were utilized the Creation Soup being disappeared. One-half of this being is contained within the Logrus and one-half within the Pattern and this gives those ICONS an overriding sentience. The unleashing of this power on the Universe, ie. the forging of the Pattern and Logrus, irrevocably linked the Serpent with the Logrus and the Unicorn with the Pattern joining the two disparate beings and their goals into an overall theme. Although the actions of the Pattern or Logrus may sometimes be working to obtain its own goals its pervading efforts are linked to that of the Unicorn or Serpent.

The Paragon, Corwin's Pattern-

The Unicorn and Serpent are unaware of the Primordial Chaos' continued existence through these ICONS and believe that they are merely a self-aware extension of their own sentience. When Corwin forged the third Pattern both the Unicorn and Serpent were
completely occupied as was the Pattern and Logrus. While he used the Jewel of Judgement as a guide to do this act it, in essence, ONLY functioned as a focus and what he in reality did was receive the vision of "That which is beyond all things" in a similar manner to the original "vision" received by the Serpent. This new vision incorporated bits of energy from both the Pattern and Logrus forming a Neutral gateway beyond the known Universe into a
newly created one which bears a Neutral outlook.

Both the Pattern and Logrus immediately felt this rift between them and their normal reverberations and sought control of this barrier. Neither could do this and so one small part of this Universe slipped from their grip and all their normal exchange of conflicting energies, near the point where Order ends and Chaos begins, were being absorbed into this new ICON which will heretofore be referred to as the Paragon, ICON of Balance. The Paragon inscribed itself upon Corwin as he likewise did to it. A new Universe formed to join the other "two" of Order and Chaos. Whether the Serpent had not really received the TOTAL vision in the beginning and this being was part of the actual Creation Soup is unknown, ie. GM's discretion. What is clear is that both the Pattern and Logrus wish to control and utilize this third force to strengthen themselves against the other. This is one of their current and primary goals since the Paragon's introduction into the scenario.

Followers of the Unicorn/Serpent-

There are few formalized churches for the Unicorn and the Serpent in existence. The Unicorn churches are primarily in and around Amber and the shadows of the Golden Circle while the churches of the Serpent are spread out within the Courts.  Neither the Unicorn nor the Serpent actively pursue worship and really gain nothing from it (in the since of a typical God). They do, however, want those who are "on their side" to carry out actions
which will further their ultimate goals, ie. gain a substantial advantage over the other or increase the power/range of their domain. This is also true of the Pattern/Logrus but with the goals described above.

Both Gods can and will aid those acting toward their ends if it is their desire. They may be called upon verbally/mentally as this can and will draw their attention to the event. They do not compare the being's outlook/reasoning with their own for this is not their concern. Only if they believe that this being can/will aid them do they offer/give their aid. They also do not look at things on a situation by situation basis but as an overall scheme and this is the gauge they look at to determine if aid is to be given. They do not impose quests/ultimatums for they believe that only willing participants strive to the utmost to achieve their goals and those whose goals are imposed upon them will half-heartedly pursue them.

Followers of the Pattern/Logrus-

The ICONS are somewhat different in that they can be used by an appropriate individual at that individual's discretion. Their power merely need be drawn upon and knowledge of it's use be utilized for them to aid an individual. They, however, do seek to push/prod those who utilize them to seek out and accomplish their goals. They attempt not to set ultimatums but rather channel the being into situations in which the outcome will most favor them.  They also tend not to be too heavy handed in this regard as they wish their sentience and the object of their goals to remain a mystery to the Unicorn/Serpent.