List of characters in the Chronicles of Amber

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The English language fantasy series The Chronicles of Amber feature a great variety of characters from both our universe and other possible universes. Most, however, are from either Amber itself or the Courts of Chaos.

Contents 1 Amberites 1.1 The Royal Family 1.2 Other Amberites 2 The Courts of Chaos 3 Shadow dwellers 4 Links

[edit] Amberites

Characters from Amber are referred to as Amberites.

[edit] The Royal Family

(approximate order of age excepting offspring indents)

• Dworkin Barimen, mad sorcerer, author of the Pattern and father of Oberon
• Oberon, lord liege of Amber, and his children:
• by Cymnea:
  • Benedict, The master tactician of the family and a man who seldom smiles. He chose to remove himself from the struggle for the crown, leaving Eric and Corwin as the eldest surviving heirs. Moreover, Oberon declared his marriage with Cymnea null and void, rendering all his children by her illegitimate.
  • Osric and Finndo, long-dead brothers of whom we learn little. It is suggested that they conspired to take the throne from their father, after which they were sent to the front lines of a war from which they did not return.
• by Faiella:
  • Eric, Corwin's illegitimate elder full-brother. An arrogant yet competent would-be king of Amber; he commands the loyalty of Julian, Caine and Gérard. Corwin and Eric's rivalry for the throne drives much of the plot of the first three books.
  • Corwin, the narrator of the first five books. He is the first legitimate living child of Oberon who desires the throne. His years on Earth seem to have softened him somewhat from his earlier arrogant beliefs.
    • Merlin, son of Corwin and Dara. He was raised in the Courts of Chaos, and Corwin is unaware of his son's existence until he is informed by Dara late in the series.
  • Deirdre, Corwin's sister. Corwin's feelings for Deirdre are decidedly un-brotherly, and she appears to return his affection, though it appears nothing came of it. She is a minor character in the Corwin cycle, but the Visual Guide to Amber says that she was the best-loved of the royals, due to her beauty and compassion. She used an ax in battle.
• mother unknown (may be Faiella or Rilga):
  • Caine, a calculating, realistic manipulator with naval talents and lifestyle.
• by Clarissa:
  • Fiona, a deft mind and stunning beauty. Sorceress of the family.
  • Bleys, a dashing and charming extrovert who partners with Corwin in the effort to retake Amber from Eric. He is also a sorceror, though of lesser skill than his two full siblings, and favors the sword.
  • Brand, a manic depressive megalomaniac sorceror. He is later assumed insane by his family.
    • Rinaldo, also known as Luke, son of Brand. He and Merlin both studied at Berkeley and then worked with a computer company Grand Design. Luke does not tell much about himself, but shows he is strong, intelligent and has a salesman's ability to convince people and make them do things he wants.
• by Moins:
  • Llewella, who has removed herself from the presence of her family and usually resides in Rebma, the underwater reflection of Amber.
• by Rilga:
  • Julian, a sinister hunter with calm manner and biting tongue. He is usually found guarding the Forest of Arden in Amber. He has incestuous feelings for Fiona.
  • Gérard, a trusted brother, the strongest man in the multiverse and called "the best" of the lot.
• by Harla/Lora, introduced in the Merlin Cycle:
  • Delwin and Sand, twin brother and sister. They only lived a short time in Amber, preferring to live in the Shadow worlds and keep themselves removed from the affairs of their siblings.
• by Dybele
  • Florimel, regarded as shallow or a dumb blonde by her siblings, yet she often is on the winning side. Her beauty is legendary in many Shadows and also in Amber itself.
• by Paulette
  • Random, a sneaky rascal, often irritating and called a 'punk' by older siblings.
    • Martin, son of Random
• by Deela, introduced in the Merlin Cycle:
  • Dalt, Oberon's illegitimate son, a mercenary and enemy of Amber - his symbol is a lion rending a unicorn. Dalt was Luke's friend from childhood. Dalt is very strong, and recovered from being impaled on a sword by Benedict.
• by Kinta, introduced in the Merlin Cycle:
  • Coral, a princess from a nearby shadow called Begma, a result of Oberon's secret short liaison with the wife of the Begman diplomat.

The names of Florimel's and Random's parents are not given in the novels; the names here are taken from the Visual Guide to Amber and the Complete Amber Sourcebook. The Visual Guide adds a younger daughter of Paulette, Mirelle, but she does not appear in any of the novels.

Caine's parentage varies from book to book. Corwin places him above Bleys in the succession, but Merlin says he is a full brother of Julian and Gérard. The Visual Guide to Amber and the Complete Amber Sourcebook, both authorised works, contradict each other. For more details, see section A7 of the Amber FAQ. Corwin also ignores the sisters in the succession.

In the Merlin Cycle, a Pattern-ghost of Oberon claims that there were a total of 47 children, though only 20 are mentioned in the books.

[edit] Other Amberites

• Lord Rein, a minstrel who was once knighted by Corwin
• Roger, a guard in Castle Amber, and amateur author. Likely this is Roger Zelazny writing himself into his novel.
• Droppa MaPantz, the court jester in the Merlin Cycle
• Bloody Bill, Bloody Andy, Bloody Eddie, restauranteurs in Amber
• Vinta Bayle, Caine's mistress and daughter to Baron Bayle, Amber's vintner.

[edit] The Courts of Chaos

Perhaps fittingly, there isn't a specific name for characters from the Courts of Chaos. Both "Chaosites" and "Chaosians" are popular choices; through the first series, they are referred to only as the Courts, or as "the forces of Chaos".

• Dara, great-granddaughter of Benedict, Corwin's lover and wife of the Chaosite nobleman Gramble Sawall
• Duke Borel, master of arms
• Gilva, a warrior-maiden of house Hendrake
• Jurt and Despil, Merlin's half brothers - sons of Dara (Merlin's mother) and Gramble Sawall. Jurt hates Merlin, while Despil tries to avoid conflicts
• Merlin, son of Dara and Corwin, narrator of the second cycle of books
• Mandor, Merlin's step-brother, a son of Gramble Sawall from a previous marriage. He is a machiavellian manipulator, but Merlin likes him. His name may be derived from the Latin mandare, to trust.
• Suhuy, keeper of the Logrus

[edit] Shadow dwellers

• Ganelon, an exile from Avalon
• Hugi, a fatalist talking raven, who seems to represent Hugin, one of the two ravens who perched on Odin's shoulders in Norse mythology.
• Jasra, a powerful sorceress, mother of Luke, tutor of Julia, and former handmaid to Dara. She has venomous fangs and a thirst for power.
• Julia, Merlin's ex-girlfriend, who becomes a powerful sorceress and ally of Jurt. She remains a mysterious antagonist for much of the Merlin cycle, with her true identity only being revealed late in the story. The series ends leaving their relationship ambiguous.
• Lancelot, one of Ganelon's knights who was rescued by Corwin.
• Lorraine, a camp follower with second sight in a shadow of the same name.
• Moire, queen of Rebma, maternal grandmother of Random's son Martin
• Rhanda, a vampire-like being called a shroudling. Merlin knows her from a childhood. They liked playing together.
• Bill Roth, a lawyer from Earth, who aids Corwin and ends up being something of a confidant for Merlin.
• Sharu Garrul, Jasra's former tutor and previous occupant of the Keep of the Four Worlds
• The Sphinx, a trickster.
• The Ty'iga, a bodyless demon who inhabits the bodies of others. She is female, or at least feminine, though she is able to possess male bodies as well. When she leaves one's body the possessed parson feels like waking up from a sleep and has no memory of the intervening time. She appears as Dan Martinez, George Hansen, Meg Devlin, Vinta Bayle and it is revealed that she was also Gail Lampron, a former girlfriend of Luke. She is finally bound in the body of Nayda, Coral's sister.
• Vialle, a blind noblewoman from Rebma whom Random is forced to marry. This was intended as a punishment for Random for a past indiscretion involving Rebma. Random would be bound to stay in Rebma for a year, and Vaille would gain status as a noble of Amber. To everyone's surprise, the marriage worked out well.
• Ygg, a talking tree planted by Oberon to mark the border of Order and Chaos. Based on the mythological tree who holds the sky up in its place, in northern Germanic and Icelandic myths.

[edit] Links

[1] Amber Dictionary Page