The Hand of Oberon, chapter 6

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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After returning from the primal Amber, Corwin went to see the mad hunchback Dworkin in the palace dungeon. Dworkin mistook him for Oberon using Corwin's likeness. They argued over Dworkin's plan to destroy the world. Dworkin wanted to sacrifice himself on the primal Pattern to obliterate it, and thus destroy Amber and all Shadow. Oberon would then use the Pattern stored in the Jewel of Judgment to recreate the Pattern anew. Corwin, on the other hand, wanted to try to repair the damage to the proto-Pattern (as would Oberon) caused by Martin's blood. Dworkin was revealed to be Oberon's father. He realized he was speaking to the real Corwin, not a disguised Oberon. As his madness came over him again, Dworkin transformed into a beastly, clawed creature and tried to attack Corwin, but Corwin used a random Trump to escape, and teleported himself to the Courts of Chaos.

Corwin realizes he has been to this place before, though he does not remember who brought him. The Courts of Chaos are a misty, surreal landscape: one-half of the sky is as dark as night with rapidly moving stars, while the other half is a mad swirl of colours, and the whole thing rotates rapidly around a point overhead. Corwin stands at the edge of a cliff, and looking downward, he can see more sky. Far in the distance is a black mountain with an indistinct edifice upon it.

A pale figure on a pale horse, wielding a white sword, challenges Corwin. He dispatches the rider easily with his sword Grayswandir, but not before being recognized. A second figure, this time normally coloured, astride a sorrel horse, and wielding a crossbow, also approaches. He, too, recognizes Corwin, but lets him go with a warning. Corwin finds a higher vantage point to survey the scenery, and sees the other end of the black road. He sees no troops assembling, however. He Trumps back to Amber with Gérard's help, where he learns that Brand had tried to contact him for some reason. Also, Benedict and Random have returned from Shadow with several leads on Martin—and Benedict is wearing the artificial arm.

Corwin has at last reached the much-ballyhooed Courts of Chaos, and all he does is talk to a couple of mutants and climb a hill. Rather disappointing, Roger.

Chaos is described as a very surreal place, with a bizarrely coloured sky and seemingly near-infinite cliffs. As Random said when he found Brand's prison, Shadows get more bizarre the farther you get from Amber. I wonder whether that Shadow, with its giant snake creatures and floating boulders, is close to where Corwin was. And there is an extreme time differential as well: in the (apparently) short time he was there, eight days passed in Amber.

The two riders Corwin encounters remind me of nothing as much as this:

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.…

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. (Revelation 3-4, 7-8)

Only the rider of the red horse was carrying a crossbow. But I do wonder whether we'll be encountering riders on white and black horses in the future.

I predicted Benedict getting fitted with the Tir-na Nog'th artificial arm. We'll see how that turns out. As a general rule, I question the wisdom of accepting gifts given to you by mysterious ghostly figures from floating cities that vanish at daybreak.

What clues did Random and Benedict uncover concerning Martin? And what does Brand want to tell Corwin? These are questions that will have to wait for a future installment. Chapter 7 will drop on Thursday.