The Chronicles of Amber, chapter 14: The conclusion

This is it. The final chapter of The Courts of Chaos and of the Chronicles of Amber. It's been a fun trip.

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

This last chapter is more of an epilogue. Random, appointed the king of Amber by the Unicorn and attuned to the Jewel of Judgment by Corwin, successfully turns away the Chaos storm. He, too, is now gone, and only Corwin and his son Merlin remain on the field of battle where Amber conquered Chaos.

The Chronicles of Amber, chapter 13

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

With the defeat of the Chaosians and the death of Brand, the Amberites won the day. But they lost their father Oberon, as well as their sister Dierdre and the Jewel of Judgment. Corwin collapsed and rested by the black road after Oberon's funeral procession passed. When he came to, Dara was riding past and berated him for killing her swordmaster, Borel, then left him to return to her own people. Corwin's son Merlin met him briefly, and they began to talk, but they were suddenly interrupted by the appearance of the Unicorn of Amber.

The Unicorn has the Jewel of Judgment around her neck. She gives it to Random, indicating that he has been chosen as the heir to the Amber throne. Though surprised, he accepts, and the other Amberites lay their swords at his feet.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 12

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

Using the new primal Pattern he had created before Brand stole the Jewel of Judgment, Corwin teleported himself to the battleground at the Courts of Chaos. There, Brand took Dierdre hostage as a bargaining chip to force Corwin to help him with his own plans. However, he was shot by a mysterious green-clad archer, causing him, Dierdre, and the Jewel fell into the Chaosian abyss. The archer revealed himself as Caine, who had faked his own murder to get to the bottom of the intrigue in Amber secretly. As they spoke, they were interrupted by three trumpeters on horseback emerging from the black road.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 11

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

Corwin was riding from Amber to the Courts of Chaos, to bring the Jewel of Judgment to Benedict's battle there and give them an advantage against the Chaosians. However, he was overtaken by the oncoming Chaos storm of Shadow being torn apart after Oberon's possibly failed attempt to repair the primal Pattern at Amber. To protect himself from the storm, Corwin used the Jewel to create a new Pattern where he was. He was successful, but when he was finished, Brand appeared and stole the Jewel from him.

Corwin then used the new Pattern to transport himself to the battlefield in Chaos. He found Brand at a vantage point overlooking the scene, using his partial attunement with the Jewel to fight the Amberite forces with lightning. As the Amberites reached Brand, he took Dierdre hostage.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 10

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

Corwin hellrode most of the way from Amber to the Courts of Chaos, facing opposition from Brand and others all the way, only to find that he would not be able to complete the journey, as he could not outrun the oncoming storm of Shadow being undone by Oberon's failure to repair the Pattern in primal Amber. Instead, Corwin decided to create a new Pattern where he was to hold back the destruction. Where Oberon failed, he succeeded—but immediately he was attacked by Brand, who materialized, stole the Jewel of Judgment, and disappeared.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 9

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

While Oberon attempted to repair the primal Pattern, he tasked Corwin with riding from Amber to Chaos, delivering to him the Jewel of Judgment by messenger bird along the way. Corwin was hindered in that mission: by his brother Brand who attempted to steal the Jewel and shot his horse, by the seductive Lady, by murderous leprechauns, and by a ponderous crow, and last by a murderous jackal. Finally Corwin reached a vast plateau he could not hope to cross before the storm of Shadow undoing itself caught up with him. On the plateau he sees the black road, proving that Oberon had failed. He realized his only choice was to use the Jewel to create a pattern where he was.

He plants the staff he cut from the tree, Ygg, in the ground. Staring into the Jewel, which contains the template of the Pattern, Corwin begins to walk its shape on the ground. He meets no resistance as he goes, unlike walking an established Pattern like the one in Amber. The act brings up pleasant memories of his past life on Earth, especially of Paris in the early 20th century. However, around the periphery of the Pattern, images of faces mock him. The advancing storm finally catches up with and overtakes him, but it does not obliterate the ground where he is working.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 8

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

On his hellride to the Courts of Chaos, Corwin has been hindered multiple times: by Brand, who attempted to trap him in Shadow and shot his horse in an attempt to take the Jewel of Judgment; by Lady, a woman who tried to seduce him away from his mission; by a party of little people who stole his horse, tried to get him drunk and set upon him; by a giant trapped in a swamp who told him his quest was pointless; and, finally, by a phiosophical crow named Hugi who tried to convince him that it was just his ego striving against illusion and hindering his oneness with the Absolute. He finally stumped Hugi, and he flew away. As Corwin approached Chaos, the terrain became more difficult and misty. Out of the fog emerged the form of a large animal.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 7

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

As part of Oberon's plan to repair the primal Pattern in Amber, he tasked Corwin with riding as quickly as possible through Shadow from Amber to Chaos. As he did so, he was waylaid twice by Brand trying to persuade him to surrender the Jewel of Judgment. He then narrowly escaped a group of little people who tricked him into drinking with him in their underground hall, and then a third confrontation with Brand in which he tried to kill Corwin with a crossbow, but mortally wounded his horse, Star, instead. Corwin was then rescued by his bloodbird, who pecked out Brand's eye before they both disappeared.

Chapter 7 is heavy on dialogue and philosophical ruminations, so I'm going to approach it a bit differently, by interleaving my own commentary with the plot summary.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 6

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

Riding through Shadow from Amber to Chaos, Corwin was twice confronted by Brand, claiming that Oberon had failed in his attempt to repair the primal Pattern, and is now dead. Corwin did not believe Brand and escaped his traps. Spending the night in a cave, he met another man taking shelter from an approaching storm, who believed him to be the "Archangel Corwin" described in his holy scriptures. Corwin recognized the storm as Shadow undoing itself because of the change to the Pattern. He also discovered that his horse, Star, had been abducted and taken underground by a group of little people. He and Star barely escaped from them.

Corwin continues his hellride toward Chaos. As he does, the storm continues to bear down upon him, and Shadow appears to be coming apart around him, becoming more bizarre. He uses the Jewel of Judgment an area of stability.

As he rests, he is approached by a woman who calls herself simply "Lady." She has a picnic basket, and they share a meal. She also offers the hospitality of her pavilion to wait out their final hours; however, Corwin declines.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 5

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

To counter the threat of Brand and the Chaosians destroying Amber, Oberon attempted to repair the primal Pattern, marred by the spilled blood of Random's son Martin, giving the denizens of Chaos access to Amber via the black road running through all Shadow. Oberon's cryptic orders to Corwin were to ride through Shadow all the way from Amber to Chaos. While en route, Corwin received the Jewel of Judgment from a messenger bird, indicating that Oberon's work was finished, successfully or unsuccessfully. Then, he was met by Brand, who attempted to take the Jewel of Judgment from him: first by trying to trap him in a pocket of Shadow, then by claiming Oberon had failed and was now dead. Corwin did not give up the Jewel, fled from Brand, and took shelter in a cave.

He is awakened by another presence in the cave: a man who has come in to take shelter from a coming storm. They note that the storm is "no natural storm": notably, it advances slowly and in a straight line, distorting what lies in its path. Using the Jewel, Corwin orders the storm away. In the process, he notices that his horse, Star, is missing. Because of his control of the weather, the stranger seems to think he is the Archangel Corwin described in his "Holy Book."

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 4

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

While Oberon attempted to repair the primal Pattern using the Jewel of Judgment, he instructed Corwin to hellride from Amber to Chaos. Partway there, a red bird created from Corwin's blood gave the Jewel to Corwin. Successfully or unsuccessfully, Oberon's work on the Pattern was finished. Then, Corwin was confronted by Brand, who tried to trap him in a small Shadow, but Corwin escaped, with the help of the Jewel.

Brand again appears and faces Corwin. He says that he has the ability to see across Shadow, and has seen Oberon fail and die in his attempt to repair the Pattern. Shadow is now being destroyed as well. Brand wants Corwin's help to use the Jewel to create a new Pattern—and a new Amber, with him as ruler—where they are. A new, unmarred Pattern would destroy the black road, denying the Chaosians access to Amber.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 3

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

Oberon, the missing king of Amber, returned with a plan to repair the Pattern. However, Dara also returned to Amber, apparently allied with Oberon and issuing orders to the family in his name, but Corwin wasn't sure if she could be trusted. And it turns out he has also had a son by her, Merlin, whose loyalties, whether to Amber or Chaos, are unknown. With Chaos attempting to dominate Shadow and Brand wanting to destroy and remake Amber in his own image, Dara has chosen to restore a balance between the two realms.

Corwin went to the primal Amber to get Oberon to vouch for Dara, which he did. However, Corwin also discovered that Oberon's plan to restore the Pattern would likely cost him his own life as well. He grabs the Jewel of Judgment and attempts to carry the plan out himself, but is stopped.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 2

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

Oberon, the long-missing king of Amber, has returned, having been disguised as Corwin's friend Ganelon. He reclaimed the Jewel of Judgment, and began to formulate a secret plan to counter the plot against Amber by Brand and the Courts of Chaos.

In the Amber throne room, Corwin witnessed Dara and Benedict enacting their side of the vision he saw in Tir-na Nog'th, in which he and Benedict fought and Corwin stole Benedict's strange and elaborate mechanical arm. Martin looked on, and Corwin was angered to find out he brought Dara, a professed enemy of Amber, there. He also learned that he had a son by her, Merlin. But before he threw her into the dungeon, he agreed to meet with her privately and hear her side of things.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 1

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

---

This is it. The home stretch. The final novel in the original five Chronicles of Amber.

My plot summary is starting to rebel against my desire to be concise. Nonetheless—

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 13

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.

---

Brand disappeared from Amber and made a play to steal the Jewel of Judgment from Corwin, beating him to Earth and retrieving it from the compost pile where it had been stashed. Knowing that Brand wanted to attune himself to the Jewel and access its powers, Corwin warned the Amberites to guard the Patterns in Amber and Rebma. Brand went directly to the primal Pattern instead. Corwin pursued him there and prevented him from completing the Pattern, but he escaped, taking the Jewel with him.

Meanwhile, Random found his son Martin, who confirmed that Brand had stabbed him and marred the primal Pattern with his blood. Brand's plan is to destroy the primal Pattern, and thereby the entire universe (multiverse?) of Shadow, in order to remake it to his own whims.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 12

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.

Late with this one. Sorry! Forgot to publish.

---

Corwin travelled to New York in our Shadow Earth to retrieve the Jewel of Judgment, which he had hidden on his property there, only to find his brother Brand had beaten him to it. With the help of his sister Fiona, Brand's erstwhile ally, he travelled to the primal Amber, where he narrowly prevented him from attuning himself to the Jewel on the proto-Pattern. Brand completed the Pattern and escaped with the Jewel, however.

In this chapter, Corwin finally meets his nephew Martin, who has been brought to Amber by Random. Martin tells his own version of his story, which is consistent with the other Amberites' speculations about what happened to him. After walking the Pattern in Rebma, he used it to transport himself to Avalon, where Benedict taught him to use his new powers. He wandered in Shadow for years. Then, en route to visit his friends, the Tecys, he was contacted out of the blue by Brand, and stabbed. Before Brand could finish the job, Martin managed to break contact. After recovering somewhat at the Tecys', he again disappeared into Shadow, where he encountered the black road. He also met Dara, who pressed him for information about Amber, particularly about Benedict. Later, Random found him and brought him back to Amber.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 11

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. If you don't want me ruining the experience for you, put this post down and go read The Hand of Oberon now. I promise I won't be offended.

---

With his mad brother Brand trying to reach the Jewel of Judgment before him, Corwin hellrode to his house on Earth to retrieve it from the compost heap where he had hidden it for safekeeping. He discovered that the compost was gone, because his friend Bill (who was trying to sell the house for him) had hired Ed Wellan, a local contractor, to clean up the property. Fortunately, Bill told Corwin that Ed had kept the compost for himself and taken it to his own place.

Corwin meets Bill at Ed's property, but discovers that someone has already been digging through the compost. The Jewel isn't there. Then Gérard contacts him, to tell him that Brand had tried to access the Pattern, but was scared off by his standing guard. Immediately afterward, he is also contacted by Fiona to warn him Brand already has the Jewel. Corwin has the Patterns in Amber and Rebma under guard, but Brand is aiming for the primal Pattern.

Fiona trumps to Corwin (to Bill's amazement) and they depart together for primal Amber. En route, Fiona tells her side of the story. It was Brand who wanted to maintain the alliance with Chaos, and Fiona and Bleys who broke with them. Brand used Corwin's commitment in the asylum and his subsequent "accident" to keep his memories suppressed, rather than restore them, as he had earlier claimed; Fiona and Bleys were the ones trying to save him.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 10

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.

---

Learning that Brand had again disappeared, Corwin began a hellride to Earth to retrieve the Jewel of Judgment, which he had hidden in the compost pile at his New York house, before Brand could find it. He encountered Julian on a hunt in the forest of Arden. Julian warned him that Brand had become more powerful than the rest of them in the ways of Shadow, calling him a "living Trump."

When Corwin arrives at the house, he discovers that the compost pile—and with it, the Jewel—is gone. Remembering that his lawyer friend, Bill Roth, had offered to try to sell the house, he pays Bill a visit to try and track down his compost. Bill hired a local contractor, Ed Wellan, to clean up the yard and renovate the house. Ed kept the compost for himself, however, and took it to his own farm. Bill also tells Corwin that there has been buyer interest in the house: a redheaded, bearded man visited the property. It is Brand, obviously. Corwin contacts Gérard to warn him that Brand is still alive and must be kept away from the Pattern at all costs. The same goes for the mirror Pattern in Rebma. He then rides to Ed's farm to search for the Jewel.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 9

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.

---

Brand again disappeared, and there were blood and other signs of a struggle in his room. Gérard, who had suspected Corwin previously of murdering Caine and Benedict's retainers, was again enraged and tried to fight him.

Ganelon intervenes and pummels Gérard unconscious, allowing Corwin to escape so he can hellride to Earth and retrieve the Jewel of Judgment, which he concealed in a compost heap at his New York house (after being stabbed, supposedly by Fiona, in Sign of the Unicorn). As he pssses through the forest of Arden, he is spotted by one of Julian's hunting birds. He believes Julian is hunting for him. However, when he is pursued by a manticora that is taken down by Julian's hounds, he realizes it was his prey, not him.

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.

---

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.