Corwin and his ships manage to ride out the storms. Once over Rebman waters, Corwin pulls out Random’s Trump and has a chat with him. Random drops some pretty important knowledge – namely, that Eric can control the weather, hence the storms. He also passes on tactical advice from Llewella. You know how much the women all suck and are bitches who may or may not deserve death? Llewella apparently has good advice. Random agrees with it. He also states that he could tell what Corwin (and Bleys) was doing, due to “a wavering of Shadow,” which is just cool. This first book has Amber casting much great influence on the Shadows around it than later books do.
Random also tosses out a bit more info that never comes up again, but fits within the context of Rebma-as-currently established: namely, that there’s a second Jewel of Judgement.
“Then you must think you have a chance upon the waters. But listen, Eric has figured a way to control the Jewel of Judgment, I gather, from court gossip about its double.”
Maybe it’s a copy, a minor artifact, a piece of jewelry, a talisman. There’s no way it can come close to matching the actual Jewel of Judgement in terms of power or of history. The idea of there being a duplicate of it, just as there’s a duplicate Pattern, is so interesting though… and also raises the question of there being a ghostly Jewel up in Tir-na Nog’th.
Eric Trumped Random so he could drop some info on him about his plans and what he could do, knowing it would get back to Corwin. The whole “controlling the weather thing” is big. Random, like Llewella, advises Corwin to sit this one out and attack Eric later. It’s a sensible plan. Corwin is not, however, a sensible person and sticks with Bleys’ plan. He improvises a bit, though, and summons up a blizzard, a “Shadow offering.” Eric manages to turn it aside, though.
As his namesake did before him, Caine betrays Corwin. Ok, ok. Not exactly like. Caine didn’t murder Corwin as Cain did Abel, but he absolutely reneges on their deal now that he sees Corwin has no chance of winning. Corwin asks Gerard for help and Gerard declines to take part in killing a sibling, leaving Corwin on his own. Gerard and Benedict are two of the best of the brothers.
I decided then that my centuries on the Shadow Earth had changed me, softened me perhaps, had done something to me which made me unlike my brothers.
One of the things Corwin grapples with throughout the series is how living so long in Shadow, unaware of who and what he is, changed him. But honestly, maybe I’m just too much of a Gerard fan, but I cannot see him acting so coldly toward others, so quick to lead people to their death.
While Corwin is trying to figure out his next step Eric contacts him via Trump in one of my favorite Trump abilities – he captures Corwin mentally and they engage in a dual of wills. They exchange some witty banter and it seems like Eric doesn’t hate Corwin as much as Corwin hates Eric.
“I more than half wish you had stood by me,” he said. “I could have used you more than any of the others. Julian I spit upon. Caine is a coward. Gerard is strong, but stupid.”
Corwin is a potential asset to Eric – or at least that’s the story that Corwin is telling himself/us/his unseen audience. Eric holds Corwin in higher esteem than he holds Caine, Julian, or Gerard… again, according to Corwin. I, for one, reject this base Gerard slander. Corwin also takes the chance to tell a little lie on Random’s behalf:
“Listen,” I said. “I conned Random into coming here with me. He wasn’t hot on the idea. I think he would have supported you, had you asked him.”
The Random we have seen in this book absolutely would not have supported Eric in any way, shape, or form.
Eric, however, knows this:
“That bastard!” he said. “I wouldn’t trust him to empty chamber pots. One day I’d find a piranha in mine.”
I mean… yeah. But it’s interesting to see Corwin trying to intervene on behalf of others – he asks Random to be kind to Vialle, he tries to sweet talk Eric into not claiming some kind of vendetta against Random.
Now, it’s very valid to ask just how unreliable of a narrator Corwin is. Like, is this actually the default state of Amberites – to be cold hearted selfish dicks? To be basically self-centered sociopaths? To be obsessed with ruling over all of reality? Or is Corwin trying to justify his own actions? Is being vaguely decent towards others truly that rare a thing for them? I keep coming back to this point but sometimes it’s hard to tease apart the bits that are “Corwin is an unreliable narrator” and the bits that are “Zelazny changed his mind about stuff.” There’s also the question of just how much the incredible trauma that Corwin goes through changes him.
But even as Corwin grapples with the morality of sending a bunch of big red and small furry creatures to their violent deaths, he still has the mental space for grim observations like:
We slew everyone aboard both boarding ships and opened their hatches and sent them down to Rebma where Random would be amused by the carnage.
Ew. I mean, ew. “amused by the carnage”? He does not have a great opinion of Random, or else “great opinion” means “wow what a dangerous psychopath!”
Anyway, as soon as the battle turns fully against him and Caine comes to take him prisoner personally Corwin nopes out, leaving his men behind. He feels kind of bad about it, though.
As I stood on a hilltop and the evening began around me, it seemed as if I looked out over every camp I had ever stood within, stretching on and on over the miles and the centuries without end. I suddenly felt tears come into my eyes, for the men who are not like the lords of Amber, living but a brief span and passing into dust, that so many of them must meet their ends upon the battlefields of the world.
“It sure sucks that so many mortal men are doomed to die fighting on battlefields.” Look, buddy, this is on you. This is entirely on you. You could change this, directly, absolutely.
References:
“Then you’re crazy, Charlie.” This is a phrase I heard someone stumbling over on a podcast. Why call him Charlie? What does that mean? Eh, “Charlie” is a way of saying “buddy” or “guy” or similar. “You’re crazy, pal.” It can also mean “fool.”
