It is a very demoralizing thing to tramp along and be rained on, a cold rain at that. How I’ve always hated the mud, through which it seems I’ve spent centuries marching!
You knew who drew great mud, in the context of soldiers slogging through mud? Bil Mauldin. He drew comics during about the army experience during WWII. He also drew political cartoons later which generally dealt with politics, fascism, racism, sexism, and the poor treatment of veterans. My default “soldiers slogging through the mud” mental image is WWI, though. The interminable trenches, the often-poisonous fog, the feet rotting in wet boots (“trench foot”), etc.
There’s some good, succinct descriptions of the tribulations that Bleys and Corwin’s army marches through, of how much they’re struggling. Corwin doesn’t realize that the man leading the attack on them in the forest that Julian patrols, using Julian’s men, is Julian or else he’d have tried to pull a mental attack on him which is a shame as he most likely would have won. But after the fighting comes what I, personally, find one of the most horrific things in the series:
Someone had set fire to the Forest of Arden as a war tool.
To burn this ancient wood. as venerable as the Forest of Arden, seemed almost an act of sacrilege to me.
I really have to agree with that sentiment.
In part because it’s a place that Corwin loves, is emotionally invested in.
But more than that it’s destruction for the sake of power. An entire gorgeous ancient forest, a real forest that can’t be easily Shadow Shifted to be like it was, that will never be restored to what it once was, that will take centuries to heal and regrow, is gone because some dillweeds want power. All the creatures of the forest, the deer and rabbits and pheasant and bears and whatever, they’re all suffering and will die because a bunch of jaggoffs are in a political scrap.
I’ve never been in a wildfire but I have been around a lot of bonfires and campfires and was also in a house fire and his descriptions of being in a fire ring as pretty true.
Corwin and Bleys and some of their troops head for the river Oisen to escape the flames and heat. The pair manage to stay relatively close to each other and there’s a beautiful bit of description:
The interlocked branches of the trees overhead had become as the beams in a cathedral of fire.
That’s just so evocative.
The water is cold and while that might in theory be good for their burns it’s also physically difficult to be submerged in cold water. They shiver and cramp and swim and drift. Eventually, of course, there’s archers. Corwin gets injured and separated from the rest and Zelazny has him remove an arrow from his person in the way that arrows actually should be removed. I.E. he doesn’t just yank it out. You love to see it.
Bleys stood there and called things, like Robert E. Lee at Chancellorsville, and we took them.
This is an interesting comparison.
- Robert E. Lee was a great tactician.
- Robert E. Lee defeated a larger, healthier, better equipped force.
- Robert E. Lee and the confederacy were scrappy rebels.
And Also:
- Robert E. Lee and his scrappy rebels were fighting for the states’ right to literally own people as slaves.
Zelazny references various tactical geniuses throughout the Amber novels. Sometimes it’s a direct comparison of one Amberite to a specific guy, other times it’s casually mentioning one of them reading a book by a specific guy. It’s interesting that here he specifically picks Lee. There’s other generals that have vanquished larger forces but Lee and Stonewall Jackson, who received a mortal wound on the battlefield, were advocating for the right to own other people like they were property. As they lead big red guys and little furry guys who think they’re gods into battle. Is that intentional on Zelazny’s part, or is that just the first battle he thought of? Or did he want the vibe of “two great war guys, one of whom is killed”? 98% of the troops they dragged along with them died – they died of the cold and they drowned and they burned and they bled all so two dudes can gain a bit of political power. So much futile death.
They reach the foot of the mountain Kolvir and begin climbing the great stair that zigs and zags its way up. Corwin and Bleys stick a bunch of their men in front of them as they can only go single file, and Amber troops wind their way down as well. They’re basically reduced to single combat, one dude against another, the loser falling off the mountain and down, down, down to the rocks below.
The breeze was sharp and cool from off the sea, and birds were collecting at the foot of the mountain.
The carrion birds know what’s up and are feasting well.
The men fight and they die and they fight and they die and then Bleys is at the front of the line and he fights and others die and he fights and others die and Corwin wishes he could spell him for a bit but there’s no way for him to get in front of him, the passage is too narrow and things are moving too quickly. This is another long stretch of fighty bit that would look good and dramatic on screen, up to and including the dramatic falling-to-his-death of Bleys.
Corwin, acting on instinct, chucks his Trumps at Bleys on the slight chance that Bleys can 1) catch them 2) open the box 3) pull out a usable Trump 4) make contact with someone 5) get pulled through. That is a very slight chance, indeed! Minuscule, even. The rest of the book, the outcome of the book, hinges on this scene (aided by Corwin not being able to spell Bleys for a bit).
Now it’s Corwin’s turn to fight and kill and fight and kill and grind himself and his men down. It’s exhausting, physically and emotionally, and of COURSE he regrets tossing his chance at escape to Bleys. He’s reduced to just killing and killing and killing.
But there was no one to surrender to, no one asking for a surrender.
If he’d stuck his hands up and yelled for parlay would the opposing forces have listened to him? Probably not! He’s stuck in a hell he created for himself.
Eric’s people kill everyone but Corwin, and capture him then beat him. He wakes up in a dungeon and, because he’s INCREDIBLY dramatic, his first thought is suicide. He has a pretty good grasp on the situation – torture, suffering, etc. Once again, he’s alone, isolated.
I awakened, and still no one came to me. There was none to buy, none to torture.
Just leaving him alone is a powerful move against him. Even accounting for him talking himself up he still comes across as a pretty charismatic and manipulative man. If there had been guards there would he have been able to strike a deal? Would he have been able to talk Eric around? It doesn’t matter because that’s not the hand he’s been dealt… or dealt himself.
He lays himself down and sleeps.
References:
- “Oisen” is another Irish reference – a name more typically spelled “Oisín,” at least now. It’s male name meaning fawn or little deer. Oisín was a pretty important Irish poet, warrior, and of course demi-god. Like Corwin (who could also be described as a poet, warrior, and demi-god if not outright god) he narrates his epic cycles. It’s pronounced kind of like “USH-een.”
- “Valley/Vale of Garnath” has been picked up by some RPGs. For instance, “Warstone” uses Garnath as a location. A lot of nerds use Garnath as a handle, too. Bless those nerds.
- “Corps-à-corps” or “body to body” is when you’re fencing and a part of your body/hilt touches the other person’s body/hilt. This isn’t permitted in bouts. Bleys is fighting in a two hand sword-and-dagger style.
