Chapter 5 of “The Guns of Avalon” introduces Dara.
In retrospect, having read the later books, she’s simply phenomenal.
How is she phenomenal?
Why is she phenomenal?
She’s an incredible and accomplished liar and manipulator.
She comes at Corwin all sweet guile. She’s just seventeen! She doesn’t know anything! She’s an adult, dammit, and Grandfather keeps her hidden away when she deserves freedom! She fences and laughs and puts flowers in Corwin’s hair and teases him. She knows enough about Amber-related stuff to be a danger to herself – and thus to need rescuing.
Grandfather has these funny cards with pictures on them! They have SOME sort of purpose!! But he won’t tell her what! He’s only told her what NOT to do.
Ahem.
She knows perfectly well what they are.
Dara knows what Trumps are because she’s of a noble house of Chaos, Amber’s counterpart. People in Chaos can create Trumps, too – including her eventual son Merlin. Perhaps she can as well! Merlin learns the art of Trump creation before he traverses the Pattern; it’s a skill that can be done using the Logrus (a chaotic magic-enhancer that is that Realm’s counter to the Pattern).
Did you ever dream that you were running and running and not going anyplace? That is sort of what it was like-with the burning spider web. Only it wasn’t really a spider web, there was no spider and it wasn’t burning. But I was caught in this thing, going around it and through it. But I wasn’t really moving. That is not completely right, but I do not know how else to put it. And I had to keep trying– actually, I wanted to-to move about it. When I woke up I was tired, as if I had actually been exerting myself all night long. This went on for many nights, and each night it seemed stronger and longer and more real.
I really do wonder if she experienced this or not! Corwin makes a lofty statement about the Pattern being “a thing that is inscribed in your very genes.” I’m fairly certain this made it into the role playing book as a mechanic. However let’s face it, it’s also possible that she lied! Because she’s good at that!
She knows who the Tecys are because she’s encountered Random’s son Martin and pumped him for information while also turning him into a firm ally (plus he’s got a huge crush on her). (Benedict took Martin from Rebma and hosted him on land and taught him to walk through Shadow and showed him some of his fave places. Benedict is a family guy.) She knows what it’s like to Shadow Walk because Martin told her about it (and she could use the Black Road before that – although Chaosians have their own ways of traversing Shadow. Chaosites? Denizens of Chaos.) She knows what the Pattern is because Martin told her about it.
She very cleverly sets Corwin up to play the part of Wise Experienced Instructor (and Lover) Who Can Save Her From Her Own Ignorance While Also Getting The Upper Hand On Benedict By Knowing About His Offspring. She’s able to do this because of how she set up Corwin. She feeds him little bits of information – She knows Brand! He used to visit! Julian and Gerard come hang out sometimes! Now Corwin has EVEN MORE knowledge that Benedict doesn’t know that he has! And as she seemingly-guilelessly slips him that knowledge, all innocent oversharing, he has no reason to question it. She’s giving him what he wants to know which means he isn’t thinking about it.
“I am going to tell you something Benedict should have told you long ago,” I said. “Never trust a relative. It is far worse than trusting strangers. With a stranger there is a possibility that you might be safe.”
Corwin lectures his relative about never trusting relatives, meanwhile she’s running rings around him with plotting and scheming and lies. The irony is thick. I love it. “Relatives are super dangerous! Don’t trust them! You know. The way that I’m trusting you.”
“I am going to tell you something Benedict should have told you long ago,” I said. “Never trust a relative. It is far worse than trusting strangers. With a stranger there is a possibility that you might be safe.”
“You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Yourself included?” I smiled.
“Of course it does not apply to me. I am the soul of honor, kindness, mercy, and goodness. Trust me in all things.”
“I will,” she said, and I laughed.
“I will,” she insisted. “You would not hurt us. I know that.”
“Tell me about Gerard and Julian,” I said, feeling uncomfortable, as always, in the presence of unsolicited trust. “What was the reason for their visit?”
Corwin! He thinks he’s a bad guy undeserving of trust!! And this big-eyed girl looking at him adoringly knows this and is keeping him off balance! She dumps a bunch of information on him that she wants him to have, she encourages him to make some very specific connections and assumptions. She’s slick! She’s so slick!
Corwin even takes her on a brief Shadow Walk, giving her another first hand view of how it works – something later paralleled by Merlin taking Julia on a Shadow Walk then not telling her anything about what he did or how he did it or why he did it (he did it because he’s a colossal dumbfuck, like his father) (we stan a hot dumbfuck tho).
Dara also lays the groundwork for seducing Corwin and conceiving a child with him which Corwin justifiably feels weird about later – I mean, I can’t blame him for that! Merlin feels weird about it too. It was a breeding program! It’s weird! Corwin does NOT, however, feel weird for being a thousand (?) years old and sleeping with a 17 year old so boo to him. Creep. I mean, she says she’s 17 but there’s absolutely no indication that she actually IS 17, that could very well be a lie also. But he believes she’s 17 because he believes everything she’s said because he’s gullible as hell!! And he is, again, fine with sleeping with a 17 year old. He is a grown ass man.
This is where the series starts to really pick up, frankly, when it starts becoming more cohesive and planned. Dara’s motivations jump around quite a bit, Zelazny still does a lot of “wait what never mind it’s THIS now!” in his Amber books, but he’s planting some seeds that won’t sprout until much later and Chapter 5 of “Guns of Avalon” gives us some great character work, I love it.
