It is easiest to begin by considering not the Lord High Papal, but by considering individually his three offspring, and in particular their individual searches for understanding of an often bewildering universe.

1. Rac Amblerash

Very possibly the most adept shapeshifting in the modern age of Chaos, Rac can be viewed by the student of this family as the Scientist archetype; it is clear that his goal is to come to a complete understanding of his surroundings through a thorough understanding of its physical nature; fundamentally, this means a thorough understanding of the basic raw Chaos, which has led him to his astounding discoveries in manipulating matter. It has been said by some that Rac ultimately desires and intends to make himself one with reality once he has established its nature, but that is beyond the realm of fact and into speculation; what is important is Rac's consideration of reality in its material sense.

2. Ryder Amblerash

Rac's full brother, Ryder, is rather different in a number of ways. Often seemingly random in his behavior, it is often easy to think that he does not seek to understand reality in any form. This is, however, either a deception or simply a misunderstanding; Ryder's behavior is perfectly in order with the Artist that he is. To this type of individual, the only important nature of the universe is in how he himself reacts to it; it is perhaps the ultimate solipsism, the belief that oneself is real, and without is less so. Doubtless in the case of Ryder Amblerash, he believes that existence has a defined reality, but not the importance that he gives to the mental states brought on by this defined reality. While art, in its usual definitions, is significant, one should not be fooled: anything can be investigated to explore ones thoughts and feelings.

3. Senusia Amblerash

The half-sister of the two brothers is, of course, yet a third type, and in the mind of this author, a perfect complement completing a three-pronged definition of the universe. Senusia is, obviously, the Priestess; her world is that of the Serpent, of the divine being and the celestial modes of existence; reality is studied through scripture, prophecy, miracles, and the like. It is worth note that considers such as history and sociology and the like are also of high importance to those like her, and one should not be fooled into underrating the validity or depth of her understanding.

4. Bances Amblerash

That said, we can now move to a brief consideration of the Lord High Papal Bances, himself. The first thing it is vital to understand is that Bances Amblerash is nothing if not secretive; any study of his mindset is a purely speculative one, and yet, I believe that an educated guess can be made from observations. That guess is this: While the children of Bances each operate on their specific path as described above, Bances views the universe in all three ways at once; material, solipsistic, and religious alike. While on one side this serves to give him a large and powerful perspective and understanding, on the other side it also makes his ways seem strange and elusive to the student. Therefore, it is vital to remember that while some of his actions and decisions may be based on one of the above, many -- particularly those of great moment -- are likely to be made on all three levels, and thus impenetrable by study of just one.

It is an interesting afterthought that the great heretic, Dworkin Barimen, was almost certainly another man capable of thinking on all three levels, and it is fairly easy to understand his acceptance of the role of the Amber Creator in this light: he created new material reality to investigate outside of Chaos; he altered his own mind and heart into something new as he drew the Pattern; he also created a new spiritual order apart from the Serpent -- that of the Unicorn. If, as I suspect, Dworkin's project was to create a new reality on all the levels I believe he perceived, then it is easy to conclude that he succeeded in this.