For centuries, the House of Amethyst ruled the other-dimensional Gemworld. Lord Amethyst wore a purple gem that was actually Pantagones, Lord of Order and protector of Gemworld from the Lords of Chaos. While in Lord Amethyst's body, he mated with Lady Amethyst and sired a daughter, Amethyst. Dark Opal, ruler of the House of Opal, fought Lord Amethyst as an agent of Vandaemeon, a Lord of Chaos. During the battle in which Vandaemeon attempted to take control of Gemworld, Lord Amethyst and Pantagones were slain. Not long afterwards, Dark Opal slew Lady Amethyst, but was unable to find the royal daughter.

To protect the infant daughter of the slain Lord and Lady, their faithful servant Citrina opened a rift in space-time and fled with the child to Earth, where she arranged for the little girl to be adopted by the Winstons. Amy Winston was unaware of her birthright until the eve of her thirteenth birthday, when she was brought back to Gemworld (where, because of the differences of the passage of time, she was twenty years old) to do battle with Dark Opal. Given a fanciful, fairy-tale version of the events leading to her parents' deaths, Amethyst fought Dark Opal.

Taking her rightful place as heir to the House of Amethyst, Amy found herself possessed of great magical power. Using this power, she spearheaded a revolt against the despotic Dark Opal, ultimately bringing about his apparent death. She now divides her time between Earth and the Gemworld. During the so-called crisis of infinite earths, Amethyst was blinded and brought back to Gemworld by Doctor Fate, himself a Lord of Order. Fate told Amethyst that she was the first Lord of Order born in human form and that her duty was to free Gemworld from the control of Dark Opal and the Lords of Chaos.

The Crisis on the Infinite Earths was a war of unparalleled death and destruction that violated all boundaries of time and space. Amethyst risked her life to save the universe (See Crisis on the Infinite Earths #11) but was left with severe injuries. Amethyst was also left blind from her battles with the Anti-monitors minions and Doctor Fate helped bring Amethyst home after the Crisis. Once in Gemworld, Doctor Fate explained the true origin of Amethyst. Her father was actually a Lord of Order that possessed Lord Amethyst through the purple jewel around his neck. The Lords of Order were godlike beings who carry on a never-ending struggle against their evil opposites, the Lords of Chaos.

The Lord of Order sent to Gemworld was weak because he fell in love with Amethyst's mother and used her fathers body to consummate the relationship. Doctor Fate explained to Amethyst that she was the first Lord of Order in human form and that they never fall in love or procreate yet her father did both. Amethyst had inherited his passion but none of her fathers weakness. As the new Lord of Order of Gemworld, it was Amethysts duty to rid the world of every last vestige of chaos where. Amethyst cried outrage at Fate's words but Fate knew that only time would help heal her wounds.

During the battle for control of Gemworld with Flaw and The Child, Amethyst was absorbed into Gemworld itself and has not been seen in human form since. Her earthly existence has been erased from the memories of the Winstons and everyone who knew her there.

UPDATE 98

• Amethyst eventually defeated chaos on Gemworld. (See Amethyst Princess of the Gemworld Special #1)
  
• Amethyst was also tied to Legion of Superheroes continuity, and was seen as recently as two years ago.
  
• From the Book of Fate came a different version of Amethyst that played havoc on the DCU. Amethyst has appeared to have been split from her early counterpart, Amy Winston. Whether or not this is DC cannon, remains to be seen.
  

SUMMARY

Notes by Sho

Amy knew herself as a relatively ordinary earth girl until her thirteenth birthday. She was kidnapped and brought to the Gemworld, where she had a twenty-year-old body and magical powers. Citrina revealed to her that she was the rightful ruler of the Gemworld and that Dark Opal had slain her real parents and conquered the other mystic houses. Feeling a sense of duty, Amethyst rallied the other houses and defeated Dark Opal. She encountered Superman once during this period. Soon thereafter, Amethyst and some of her allies dealt with a powerful cat-creature, which temporarily trapped the Princess Emerald on earth with Amy.

Fire Jade was Amethyst's next great challenge, though the machinations of ignoble nobles also kept her busy. Citrina passed away, but before she did she linked the Gemworld to Amy to protect it from the Ancient Ones, essentially Gemworld's unscrupulous landlords, and their servants. Amy received greater raw power and a method of communication with many of the Gemworld's beings (and more trouble) from this linkage.

Amy was blinded during the great Crisis, and Dr. Fate soon thereafter revealed to her that she was a Lord of Order in human form, with yet more abilities and responsibilities to come. Amy managed to overcome her blindness by forming a kind of "second sight." Child, a Lord of Chaos, and Flaw, his servant, quickly became a greater threat than the Ancient Ones, and to stop them Amy had to merge with the Gemworld, breaking ties with her life on earth.

Child and Flaw returned, and recruited a young, somewhat dark noble named Wrynn to assist them. He became Mordru and caused much devastation. Amethyst tried to turn Mordru from evil, but he refused. Amethyst managed to defeat the trio, and punished Mordru by burying him alive, able to hear the cries of his dead brother. It was revealed during this conflict that Amethyst had had a daughter, and Amethyst left her on earth with Princess Emerald as her guardian. Flaw and Child survived, and caused Hawk and Dove some trouble in another realm, but after a defeat left them alone.

Sometime between the twentieth and thirtieth centuries, the Gemworld was moved from its own mystic plane into the DC Universe Proper and became known as Zerox, the Sorcerer's World. Mordru confronted the Legion of Super-Heroes many times, and Mysa became a student of Amethyst's magic. The Gemworld was destroyed during the Magic Wars but Amethyst survived. Eventually, Amethyst merged with Mysa. She typically kept to the background in the Legion, but gave Mysa advice, warnings, and power to use against cosmic and near-cosmic menaces. Zero Hour, a sort of aftershock of the Crisis, restarted history in the thirtieth century and perhaps tweaked it elsewhere, which may have eliminated much of Amy's history.

Amethyst's "next" adventure was back in the twentieth century, where she emerged as a villainess, out to end chaos through her own order. Flaw and Child joined her as servants and she conquered the Gemworld. She had a plan to take control of a very powerful group of magic-using beings called the Conclave, but the actions of Topaz and a variety of other heroes stopped her larger plans, though she remained in control of the Gemworld. She kept an eye on Jared, the new, nearly neutral Fate, and was prepared to turn him to her side before his death.

Mordru made an appearance in the twentieth century, was defeated by the JSA, and the rest is yet to come...

Amethyst's life has had many of the elements of a fairy tale, but with generally unpleasant doses of reality thrown in. She did not want the responsibilities thrust upon her at the age of thirteen, but took them up nonetheless. If the meaner and more evil versions of her are she not a reflection of something else influencing her, (such as, perhaps, the Gemworld's collective spirit) then she may have been worn down by her hard, tragic life.

POWERS