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Benedict (Willem Dafoe)
Prince of Amber, Protector of Avalon
General and swordsman without peer, your eldest surviving uncle has helped to defend Amber against many invasions, including the recent Black Road incursions. He commanded Amber's forces at the Abyss on Oberon's orders. Since Random's coronation, he advised his children and other descendants on various threats but rarely intervening himself. Instead he remains in Avalon, guarding the Pattern there and policing the Tomb of Lir, with help from his daughter Lilly and his long-lost son Fletcher.
Why did you do all these things?
Someone had to. It was me that he came to, so it was mine to do. It was not as if I were not very fond of the boy, though.
-- Random and Benedict, discussing Martin, The Hand of Oberon
He too is old, powerful, and isolated, though the walls surrounding him are not quite as solid as the ones before us.
-- Lilly
Bleys (Kenneth Branagh)
Prince of Amber, Wielder of Werewindle
One of the members of your Uncle Brand's conspiracy and a one-time invader of Amber (with your Uncle Corwin), your Uncle Bleys has repented his past involvement with Chaos. He was an advanced student of Dworkin and used his extensive talents with shadow to gather Shadow auxiliaries against the forces of Chaos. These days he seems to serve as an independent agent of Amber, wielding his Pattern blade Werewindle in some swashbuckling pursuit or other across Shadow. He can be found by Trump, and is often willing to offer advice on metaphysics to his students, particularly his son Edan and his daughter Paige.
Whatever else you might say of Bleys, on that day he acquitted himself as became his rank.
-- Corwin, Nine Princes in Amber
I ascribe to my Uncle Bleys's philosophy that one should be awesome at all times.
-- Conner
Brand (Jeremy Irons)
Late Prince of Amber, Smoking Mirror of Uxmal
Your Uncle Brand was the ringleader of the conspiracy that bargained with the Courts of Chaos to dispose of Oberon and destroy the Pattern with your cousin Martin's blood, creating a new Amber in his own image. Even when killed by your Uncle Caine, Brand managed to drag your Aunt Deirdre over the edge of the Abyss. Since his death, his sons Brennan and Ambrose have managed to decipher some of his papers, leading them to believe that Brand originally sought to solve some imbalance in Order related to Tir. Brand's papers also revealed that his ward Ossian was his grandson through Brennan.
I wish that you had never been born and, failing that, that you had died sooner. Enough! It diminishes me to reflect so. Be dead and trouble my thinking no more.
-- Corwin, The Courts of Chaos
He really keeps f*cking with your life even after he's dead.
-- Ossian
Caine (Pedro Pascal)
Prince and Regent of Amber, Admiral of the Northern Fleet
Your Uncle Caine faked his death in the runup to the Battle of the Abyss, reappearing at the crucial moment to save the day by killing Brand. Since Random's coronation and the remove to Xanadu, he has served as Regent in Amber, consolidating his own power base. Pieces of his long-forgotten history, such as his involvement in religious movements in Amber and his time wielding the blade now called Werewindle, have begun to emerge, complicating your sense of one of your more mysterious uncles.
On the other hand, I thought I was right.
-- Caine, The Courts of Chaos
[I]t's easy to be the good cop when the bad cop is Caine.
-- Martin
Corwin (Timothy Dalton)
Prince of Amber, King of Paris, Wielder of Grayswandir
Your Uncle Corwin's exploits in the late war are too well known to bear repeating. He swore to Random at Random's coronation, but retreated to his city of Paris to guard the Pattern there and spends most of his time ruling Paris now. He still appears with his blade Grayswandir when the family needs him: usually Random or his children Celina and Merlin.
I am the soul of honor, kindness, mercy and goodness. Trust me in all things.
-- Corwin, The Guns of Avalon
Corwin always wore black and silver, indicating that he was dark and rich or something.
-- Random
Deirdre (Lynda Carter)
Late Princess of Amber
Your Aunt Deirdre was the youngest of the children of Faiella; her mother perished at her birth. She was dragged into the Abyss by a dying Brand at the end of the war, leaving her son Marius injured and shattered by grief. Since her death, the family has learned of her liaison with Weyland Smith, who made her axe, and her daughter Signy, who was raised by Weyland. To much of the younger generation, including her own children, she remains an enigma to be deciphered.
Deirdre did spot an interesting possibility, however. Namely, that Gerard could have done the stabbing himself while we were all crowded around, and that his heroic efforts were not prompted by any desire to save Brand's neck, but rather to achieve a position where he could stop his tongue -- in which case Brand would never make it through the night.
-- Corwin, Sign of the Unicorn
I would not say I knew her well. She had a certain ruthlessness that kept her from being kind to Eric's daughter. I admired the skill with which she kept both Eric and Corwin balanced. It was a centuries long dance of manipulation. I have often wondered if she didn't help push them into their conflict. And I completely understand why all of her sisters hated her.
-- Cambina
Eric (Jonathan Frakes}
Late King of Amber
Your uncle Eric died after a five-year reign as King of Amber. Long believed to be a fratricide, he claimed the throne with the support of your uncles Caine and Julian after Oberon's mysterious disappearance. Eric's reign was marked by strife and invasions. The last of these invasions, by the minions of Chaos, claimed his life. He died for the good of Amber, cursing the invaders on the Black Road as he perished. Although his body was never examined after his death, your aunt Fiona suggested that his injuries were insufficient to kill him, and that his use of the Jewel of Judgement may have hastened his death.
Acquit yourself as well as I have -- bastard!
-- Eric's last words, The Guns of Avalon
I'm a lot like him...only less driven.
-- Jerod to Martin
Finndo (Jean Reno)
Late Prince of Amber, First Warden of Arden
Your Uncle Finndo was the second acknowledged child of your grandfather through his marriage to Cymnea. He travelled extensively in Shadow and sired at least one child there who led to the line of the Aesir, making him Brita's distant ancestor. He was also the first Warden of Arden and father of five goddesses by the Dragon of Arcadia. Along with his older brother Osric, he died in battle with the Tritons for the good of Amber so long ago that only Benedict, his younger brother, remembers him well.
We are both too young to remember Osric and Finndo, who died for the good of Amber. But the impression I get from talking to Benedict --
Yes -- that they had done more than wishful thinking about the throne, and it became necessary that they die bravely for Amber. I've heard that too. Maybe so, maybe not.
-- Random and Corwin, Sign of the Unicorn
Finndo was before my time, of course, but, somehow it doesn't surprise me that he shares my grandfather's reputed taste for exotics.
-- Bleys
Fiona (Diana Rigg)
Princess of Amber
Your Aunt Fiona was the third member of Brand's triumvirate, but repented early of her former involvement. An advanced student of Dworkin, she fought at the Battle of the Abyss. She serves as a metaphysical adviser to Randoma and more recently, his defender against the power of the Queen of Air and Darkness as she possessed Vialle. When she has time, she also teaches the metaphysical arts to her son Conner and her daughter Brita, as well as her many nieces and nephews.
I, of course, am innocent of all but malice.
-- Fiona, Sign of the Unicorn
You may correctly assume that Bleys and I know the difficulties that you have with your Uncles and have long vowed not to be as difficult as ours were.
-- Fiona
Florimel (Michelle Pfeiffer)
Princess of Amber, Chatelaine of Castle Paris
Your Aunt Flora was a long-time supporter of your Uncle Eric, serving as your Uncle Corwin's warder on Shadow Earth. Since the war and the coronation, Florimel has accepted Corwin's patronage. She now lives in Paris with her widowed daughter-in-law Solace and her grandchildren Hope and Philippe. Since her son Lucas' murder, apparently at the hands of Moire, Florimel has pursued a vendetta against the former Queen of Rebma, most recently involving Silhouette, who claims to be Florimel's long-dead daughter, in her campaign.
She had very lovely hair. Blue eyes too, and tons of vanity to keep things in her favorite perspective. At times she seemed to behave quite stupidly, but then at other times I have wondered.
-- Corwin, Sign of the Unicorn
And when you place your money on the table, you have something to lose, which you inevitably will.
-- Florimel, to Lucas
Gerard (Gerard Depardieu)
Prince of Amber, Admiral of the Southern Fleet
The strongest of your uncles, Gerard is considered a bit slow by his siblings. He is the most honest of your uncles and is generally considered to have the best interest of Amber at heart. He was left as Regent of Amber in Oberon's absence, and was was crippled in the collapse of one wing of Castle Amber during the Sundering. Despite his injuries, he served Amber from his wheelchair for more than six years as Regent. following a disastrous stint as Regent of Xanadu during which he exiled his foster-daughter Solange, he has turned his attention to recovering the use of his legs with the help of your cousin Hannah and his son Vere.
Gerard possesses the will but not the wit ...
-- Dworkin, The Hand of Oberon
That's a stubborn man.
-- Hannah
Huon (Marlon Brando)
Lord of the Horn
A bastard son of Oberon, your uncle Huon was exiled from Amber not long after Corwin's disappearance and apparent death. He was forgotten until a Trump of him by Brand surfaced recently. Having gathered armies from many shadows, including Meg's home Abford and Hannah's home Mahkato, Huon struck against Rebma. He was barely defeated by Rebma's military and Khela's rebel forces. Huon ultimately accepted responsibility for the terrible damage done to Rebma and surrendered through his agent Silhouette. Now he serves under Celina to rebuild the city while getting to know his daughter Folly. Whether he has truly given over his vendetta against Bleys for exiling him on Oberon's orders is unclear.
... I, too, am a victim of emotion and circumstance.
-- Brand, The Hand of Oberon
Our meeting rapidly became heated, and little information of import was exchanged. Other than establishing that he professes a cavalier attitude towards death, and is not given to attempts to placate angry family members.
-- Vere
His father set his brother to kill him for disobedience, and he nearly died, but survived and went to ground. His father had died and he could bring about great progress to Renady and other places, but his brother, still blinded by their father's lies, must be removed first.
-- Quinn Carper, Meg's stepson
Julian (Paul Darrow)
Prince of Amber, Warden of Arden
As the Warden of Arden, your uncle Julian commands a formidable array of hawks, hounds, forest beasts, and rangers. Your aunts and uncles admire his wit and savoir-faire even as they dislike the cold barbs he plants in them. Since his return from Chaos, Julian has dealt with rising troubles in Arden, mostly stemming from the situation in Arcadia and the actions of the Dragon and her five goddess-daughters. His branch of the family has been marred by tragedy in the war: the crippling of his brother Gerard, the deaths of Dione and Daeon, and the madness of Jovian. Only his foster-daughter Robin remains to aid him in the advance of the dragonkin in Arden.
Arden's green magic must have softened that old vanity during my long absence, leaving a juster pride and something I would fain call fairness -- a thing apart from mercy, to be sure, but an addition to your armory of traits I'll not disparage.
-- Corwin, The Courts of Chaos
But since Daeon died? I saw the light in Dad's eyes. He's openly declared war.
-- Robin
Llewella (Cate Blanchett)
Princess of Amber and Rebma, Regent of Rebma
Half-sister to Moire, your Aunt Llewella has spent much of her time in Amber's underwater counterpart. Her removal from Amber was partially due to the dislike of your Uncle Eric's partisans, who resented her legitimation by your grandfather. After the coronation, Llewella took the reopened way to Rebma, where she now sits as Regent for Celina after the death of Khela on the Pattern.
Whether her withdrawal involved animus, self-conscious in her alienation, or simple caution, I could never tell. Probably something of all of these. Hers was not that familiar a presence in Amber.
-- Corwin, Sign of the Unicorn
As the saying goes, I am from a large family of only children. My nearest peers disliked me because my mother came between their mother and the King, Eric's lot disliked me because my existence complicated his wife's Rebman ambitions, and there were other factors at play as well.
-- Llewella
Mirelle (Kristy Thirsk)
Late Princess of Amber
Mirelle was the youngest of your aunts, a full sister to your Uncle Random. Family legend has it that she perished attempting to walk the Pattern. Her death drove her mother, Paulette, to suicide. You may have heard her tale as you prepared for your first Patternwalk.
There had been eight sisters, and two were dead, possibly four.
-- Corwin, Nine Princes in Amber
Mirelle [walked the Pattern] and died, which the rest of the family seems to have taken to mean that she was the result of an affair by Paulette and not Grandfather's at all.
-- Martin
Osric (Jean-Paul Belmondo)
Late Prince of Amber
Your Uncle Osric was the eldest of your grandfather's acknowledged children and none now living except your Uncle Benedict remember him. Although the dissolution of your grandfather's marriage to his mother never explicitly threatened his status as heir to Amber, it seems to have thwarted Osric's ambition, causing your grandfather to dispose of Osric and Finndo in battle with the Tritons. Osric married and had a single son, Reid. His illegitimate offspring apparently include Cneve, who wielded the great Pattern blade of Rebma in the Triton war that ultimately killed his father and uncle.
She bore Dad two other sons also -- Osric and Finndo. Then -- how does one put these things? -- Faiella bore Eric. After that, Dad found some defect in his marriage with Cymnea and had it dissolved ... from the beginning ...
Didn't that make all of them illegitimate?
Well, it left their status less certain. Osric and Finndo were more than irritated, as I understand it, but they died shortly thereafter.
-- Corwin and Ganelon, Sign of the Unicorn
I actually think that Uncle Benedict became as strong as he did because he had to put up with Osric and Finndo as older brothers.
-- Reid
Random (Ewan McGregor)
King of Amber and Xanadu, Wielder of the Jewel of Judgement
The youngest of your uncles, Random was primarily known as a wastrel. During the war, Random stepped up alongside Corwin, and was ultimately acknowledged as the new King by the Unicorn. He accepted the family's oaths at his coronation and leads the family with a light hand from his new kingdom of Xanadu, where he inscribed his own Pattern and welcomed his sons, Martin and Garrett. Now Random faces subtle probes from the Courts of Chaos and the rise of ancient enemies emboldened by his father's passing.
... there were lines upon his face which I had never noticed before, signs of some depth to which I had paid no heed.
-- Corwin, The Courts of Chaos
Yeah, but this isn't about who Brand was. It's about who I am.
-- Random, to Brennan
Ysabeau (Courtney Love)
Late Princess of Amber
Daughter of Oberon and Rilga, Ysabeau quarreled with her father and spent most of her life in exile. She bore three daughters in Shadow--Hannah, Solange, and Robin--abandoning each of them to one of her brothers or to the child's father. After her death, Ysabeau was buried in a secret tomb under the altar of the great temple in the City of the Lady in the Isles of the Dannan.
How to put simply that which is not a simple thing ..? Solipsism, I suppose, is where we have to begin--the notion that nothing exists but the self, or, at least, that we cannot truly be aware of anything but our own existence and experience. I can find, somewhere, off in Shadow, anything I can visualize. Any of us can. This, in good faith, does not transcend the limits of the ego. It may be argued, and in fact has, by most of us, that we create the shadows we visit out of the stuff of our own psyches, that we alone truly exist, that the shadows we traverse are but projections of our own desires.... Whatever the merits of this argument, and there are several, it does go far toward explaining much of the family's attitude toward people, places, and things outside of Amber. Namely, we are toymakers and they, our playthings--sometimes dangerously animated, to be sure; but this, too, is part of the game.
-- Corwin, Sign of the Unicorn
[S]he was a wild girl, preferring Arden and Garnath to Amber and the Castle.
-- Julian
[I]t appears that your mother's social skills were far less well developed than your own.
-- Vere, to Robin
Eventually you do what the godhead wants.
-- Ysabeau's ghost