The Hand of Oberon, chapter 3

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, Random, and Ganelon discovered the primal Amber, where no Mt. Kolvir or palace existed: just a mesa with a Pattern embedded in it. This proto-Pattern was damaged by the spilling of Amberite blood, the source of the black road running through Shadow. They discovered a Trump of Random's son Martin at the centre of the Pattern, impaled by a dagger. Corwin recognized the Trump's art style as Brand's. He kept this knowledge from Random. They called on Benedict to return to their Amber, and brought him up to sped on what they had been doing.

Benedict had suspected that the proto-Amber had existed, and that Oberon and Dworkin had created their Amber close by to draw on its power. Learning of Martin's apparent death, he reports that Martin had spent nearly a year living with him, learning about moving through Shadow and using the Trump's (of which he gifted him a spare deck), before leaving again. The last time Benedict had heard from Martin, he turned up at the home of a family Benedict knew in Shadow, the Tecys, with a knife wound. He had left a note saying not to worry. Random and Benedict leave to visit the Tecys (with Random riding Corwin's horse, Star), while Corwin and Ganelon return to the palace.

This is another talky chapter. As they travel, Corwin and Ganelon discuss several subjects: the mechanical arm, Benedict and Dara, Benedict's loyalties, and what happened to Martin.

Corwin likely believed he had the mystery of the stabbings figured out. But Ganelon again raises the question of whether the Trumps could be "bugged"—and also reminds him that they have just learned a new Amber family member is in play, with a deck of Trumps (though no Trump of his own) and the knowledge to use them. Is Martin, seemingly ignored by the Amberites, directly involved in all the family drama?

Ganelon is basically the reader's proxy in this story. He is non-magical, so he has an outsider's perspective, and Corwin lets him ask whatever questions he wants. Frequently, I find him saying what I was already thinking. (Though not in this particular instance.)

Case in point: From our perspective, Benedict's battle with the hellmaids from the black road in The Guns of Avalon happened only recently. The stump of the arm he lost had just been bandaged when Corwin and Ganelon arrived. Corwin learned from a deserter from the final battle that Benedict had had a meeting with Lintra, the leader of the hellmaids, though he didn't know if it was for "dalliance or parley." Later, Benedict told Corwin that he had slain her, making no mention of the prior meeting.

Benedict claims no knowledge of Dara, but the vision Corwin had of Dara in Tir-na Nog'th said she was the great-granddaughter of Benedict and Lintra. Dara also dropped the Tecys' name, when she told Corwyn about her first experiences moving through Shadow with Benedict. His denials aside, what she says has the ring of truth.

Tecy, incidentally, is an English surname (rhyming with "fleecy"). I don't know that it's got any historical or literary significance. I suspect Zelazny just pulled it out because it looks interesting in print.

Ganelon reminds us that time runs differently in different Shadows. Maybe Benedict's meeting with Lintra was "dalliance" rather than "parley." Is it possible she retreated to a Shadow where time ran much faster than in Avalon, had a daughter, and then two generations later—but still only a short time in Avalon—Dara appears on the scene? Perhaps both she and Benedict are actually telling the truth, as they know it.

How much of this is Benedict aware of? And how does it affect his loyalty, with respect to Corwin and Amber?

Finally, Benedict's mechanical arm. The party had presumed that Random's horse Iago was carrying the surprisingly solid arm that tried to kill Corwin in Tir-na Nog'th. But Iago was carried off the proto-Pattern by a violent whirlwind, and Corwin assumed the arm went with him. However, Ganelon informed him Random still had it. Now he's travelling with Benedict. Well, this is a twist. How much do you want to bet Benedict comes back from the Tecys with a new, custom-made killer-robot arm?