The Hand of Oberon, chapter 8

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. I recommend you support your local bookseller or public library, and read the book first.

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Corwin, along with his brother Random and general Ganelon, discovered the primal Amber and Pattern, the latter of which had been damaged by the spilt blood of Martin, Random's son. Upon returning to their own realm, Random and his brother Benedict travelled through Shadow to find clues as to the whereabouts of Martin, if indeed he survived. Corwin went to speak to Dworkin, the architect of the Pattern, but was forced to escape when Dworkin's madness came upon him, and found himself transported accidentally to the surreal Courts of Chaos.

Returning to Amber, Corwin met with his brother Brand, who admitted to stabbing Martin; the resulting damage to the Pattern created the black road, which gaves his allies from the Courts of Chaos access to Shadow and to Amber itself. He also revealed that Bleys and Fiona were still organizing another attack on Amber, and suggested a plan to assassinate them, which Corwin rejected.

With Ganelon, Corwin rides down to the encampment of his Shadow soldiers, below Mt. Kolvir. Here, he meets with Benedict, who has returned to Amber after parting ways with Random, who continues to follow leads concerning Martin. Benedict is now wearing the mechanical arm Corwin brought from Tir-na Nog'th.

Relations between Benedict and Corwin have warmed: since Random corroborated Corwin's story about seeing Dara walk the Pattern, Benedict now believes she exists. Corwin recaps the vision he saw in Tir-na Nog'th. Benedict resolves to find her.

The discussion then turns on the pending attack on Amber from the Courts of Chaos. Benedict is contemplating taking the fight to the enemy, using the black road to march on Chaos. Corwin gives him the Trump he took from Dworkin. He also tells Benedict of his own plan to destroy the black road by repairing the primal Pattern. They both agree not to undertake anything final without consulting the other first.

Then, Gérard contacts Benedict and trumps in. He says that Brand has disappeared; there are blood and signs of a struggle in his room. Once again, Corwin, as the last person to talk to him, is implicated.

Random is following Martin to a Shadow city named Heerat. There is an ancient Persian city called Herat, now the third-largest city in Afghanistan. Benedict describes Heerat as "A place of adobe and stone—a commercial center at the junction of several trade routes." The description befits an ancient Middle Eastern city on the Silk Road.

Ganelon now has a pack of Trumps, and knows how to use them, though he would prefer not to try to teleport people through them. This is interesting, as it suggests that at least part of the Amberites' power isn't inherent. Of course, I was also under the impression that Dworkin had simply reverse-engineered their powers, until his true identity came to light. Perhaps there is more to Ganelon than we know.

Once again, Corwin is being framed for something that has happened to one of his brothers. (It's good, at least, that Benedict no longer blames him for the murders of his servants.) We know differently, because we've been following Corwin all along and there's no reason at this point to believe he's an unreliable narrator. Since the chapter ends on a cliffhanger with Corwin and Gérard fighting, my guess is the situation is somewhat resolved in chapter 9.