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Mapping the Palace: Part IV

"This was home, this was what I wanted."

-- Lord Corwin

<< Go back to: Mapping the Palace: Part III

The 2nd Floor

The 2nd Floor of the palace is defined by a few key locations: the Library, the Upper Dining Room (already discussed), and the Royal Apartments of a number of Amber royals. It is by far the most detailed floor of the palace, in terms of descriptions given (especially by Merlin).

The Library

One of the more memorable locations in the palace, the palace Library in Amber is the setting for five different scenes across the ten Amber books:

Corwin and Eric's duel (NPIA).
The "rescue Brand" family gathering (SOTU).
The opening scene of book 5 (TCOC).
Merlin's first visit to Amber in the Merlin books (TOD).
The drumming scene (KOS).

To start with, looking at the scene from NPIA, the Library is clearly located on the 3rd floor (accessed by Corwin from the vertical hiding place).

[NPIA, Ch. 5]. I transferred myself to a hiding place I knew of within the palace. ... Then I began to negotiate the series of pegs which laddered their way up into the palace.

I knew where it was, the third floor, by the markings on the walls.

I swung myself over to a small landing and searched for the peephole. I found it and gazed through. Nothing. The library was empty. So I slid back the panel and entered.

In the scene in SOTU, things change, and we get a strong indication that the Library is on the 2nd floor:

[SOTU, Ch. 6] We were in the library ...
[Brand returned and stabbed]
"Get me clean water to bathe him," he [Gerard] said. "And towels. Get me saline solution and glucose and something to hang them from. Get me a whole medical kit."
Deirdre and Flora moved toward the door.
"My quarters are closest," said Random. "One of you will find a medical kit there. But the only IV stuff is in the lab on the third floor."

The above is somewhat confusing. By saying "the lab on the third floor" the strong implication is that they are not, in fact, on the third floor presently. And that Random's quarters are closest is also confusing, since we know his rooms are on the 3rd floor. (This is not overly problematic, however; it merely suggests that Random's rooms are very near the Library, if one story up.)

In the third Library scene of the series, we learn nothing new about the Library:

[TCOC, Ch. 1] ... Me: cursing, pacing and occasionally reading in the library of the palace in Amber. The door to

that library: closed and barred.

The mad prince of Amber seated himself at the desk ...

We left the room. We headed for the stairway.

The fourth Library scene comes in Merlin's first visit to Amber in the books, when he brings Bill Roth through to meet with Random:

[TOD, Ch. 7] Random looked startled as the two of us came through into the library.

We don't learn anything new about the layout in TOD, other than the fact that the Library is upstairs from the dinner he attends (though which dining room is used for that dinner is not specified).

Finally, the Library makes its final appearance in KOS, and it is again described as being on the 2nd floor. Merlin leaves his rooms (which we know are 2nd floor), passes the stairway (without taking it), and ends up at the Library:

[KOS, Ch. 9] [from Merlin's rooms] I stepped into the corridor. I had not gone more than a few paces before I heard the sound ... I continued, past the stairway, the sound growing steadily in volume as I advanced. By the time I reached the long corridor which ran past the library I knew that Random was back because I didn't know of anyone else around here who could drum like that-or would dare to use the King's drums if he could.

I continued on past the half opened door to the corner, where I turned right ... I continued to the far entrance to the dining room ... Inside and to the right, as I recalled; there was a sliding panel which would get me into a hollow section of wall beside the library, furnished with pegs or a ladder that would take me up to a hidden entrance to the library's balcony. It could also take me down through the spiral stair's shaft and into the caverns below, if memory served. I hoped I never had reason to check that part out, but I was sufficiently into family tradition these days that I wanted to do a little spying, as several muttered exchanges as I'd passed the opened door led me to believe that Random was not alone in there. If knowledge really is power, then I needed all I could get my hands on, as I'd felt especially vulnerable for some time now.

Yes, the panel slid, and I was through it in a trice, sending my spirit-light on ahead. I hand-over-handed my way quickly to the top and opened the panel there slowly and quietly, feeling grateful to whoever had thought to conceal its space with a wide chair. I was able to see around the chair's right arm with comparative safety from detection-a good view of the room's north end.

And with this sequence, Zelazny neatly resolves the conflict between the Corwin chronicles 3rd floor placement, and the Merlin chronicles 2nd floor placement, by explaining that there is a 3rd floor "balcony".

The Music Room

In Chapter 3 of Blood of Amber, there is a single mention of this room: "I passed through into the music room in Amber." Since Merlin trumps into it, and then does not describe leaving it, we have no indication of where this room might be in the palace, so I have left it off my maps. It is interesting that later, in KOS, we'll find Martin and Random playing music in the Library.

The Royal Apartments

While we get a few fleeting insights into the living arrangements of the children of Oberon in SOTU, it is really in SOC and KOS where we learn the most about the royal residences. In these two books, Merlin visits his own apartments frequently, his father's apartment twice, and he gives us a detailed description of where many additional Amberites -- namely Benedict, Gerard, Brand, Fiona, Bleys -- have their apartments.

Corwin's and Random's Rooms

In the first five books, we can only really glean any specifics about three apartments inside the palace: Corwin's, Random's, and the Royal Suite. What follows is the entirety of the material we have to work with from the Corwin chronicles:

[SOTU, Ch. 1] I crossed the garden ... I swung up the wide, curving stair. A guard snapped to attention as I entered the palace. I made for the rear stairway, then up to the second floor. Then the third.

From the right, my brother Random stepped out of his suite and into the hallway.

"Corwin!" he said, studying my face. "What's the matter? I saw you from the balcony and - "

"Inside," I said, gesturing with my eyes. "We are going to have a private conference." ...

"Let's make it two rooms up," he said. "Okay? Vialle's in here." ... He led the way, opened the door. I entered the small sitting room, sought a likely spot, dropped the body.

[SOTU, Ch. 3] I rose and accompanied him into the hall. ... He did that and gave me the key. I walked with him as far as the first landing and saw him on his way.

From my safe, I removed the Jewel of Judgment ...

I put the notes back into the safe, the jewel in my pocket. I left then and headed downstairs ...

From these excerpts, we learn the following:

Random's suite is on the third floor; this is clearly indicated.
There is a sitting room down the hall from Random's suite, suggesting that there are likely more "public" rooms integrated amongst the royal residences. (This is reinforced in KOS.)
Corwin's rooms are implied to be on the second floor.
- Random is headed off to find Flora, going downstairs, presumably to the ground floor. Corwin sees him to the "first landing" (i.e., the 2nd floor, since they were previously on the 3rd), and says goodbye, then heads to his rooms. There, he gets the Jewel, and then heads downstairs again. Though it is not explicitly stated that Corwin's rooms are on the 2nd floor, that is the implication.

Then, later in SOTU:

[SOTU, Ch. 7] "Supposing it was not a single individual," he said as we mounted the stair. ...

"Hey! Wait up!"

"Sorry." I paused at the landing. "Don't know what got into me. Finishing spurt, I guess."

"Nervous energy," he said, coming abreast of me once more. We continued on up, and I made an effort to match his pace, fighting down a desire to hurry. ... "Good night. Random."

He continued on up the stair and I headed off along the corridor toward my quarters.

In this sequence, Corwin and Random are leaving the sitting room on the ground floor. They pause at a landing, then "continue up", after which Corwin gets off on one floor (presumably the 2nd), while Random continues up to his rooms (presumably on the 3rd floor). This corroborates the scene from Chapter 3, but is not, again, exactly explicit about the 2nd and 3rd floors, saying only that Random is higher than Corwin. And again, since we know Random is on the 3rd floor, and we know Corwin is not on the ground floor, we must assume he is on the 2nd floor.

Now, in THOO, things get a bit more confusing:

[THOO, Ch. 4] ... talking with Vialle was the first pleasant thing which had happened to me in some time ... I mounted the stairs and walked the corridor to my room.

[THOO. Ch. 4] I locked my room behind me and headed for the stairs ... The stairs and down. No sounds from below. Late, then. Good. Vialle... I wish I could have spoken with you for a few moments in those days ... Stillness on the second floor. A few noises from below. Sleep well, lady.

Around, and down again. ... The ground floor.

In this chapter, Corwin has been talking with Vialle in what is presumably her and Random's apartment (Corwin knocks on her door, she orders food, her sculpture studio is there, etc.). Upon leaving, he "mounted the stairs" to get to his own room. We know by now that Random's rooms are 3rd floor, and Corwin's are 2nd floor. So this is highly problematic, and would suggest the opposite.

I see four possibilities:

Zelazny got confused.
We interpret "mount" as meaning he takes the stairs down, not up. In this scenario, we confirm the prior understanding: Random on 3, Corwin on 2.
Random has moved to 2, and Corwin has moved to 3.
Random is still on 3, but Corwin is actually now on 4.

Option 1 is the most likely. Option 2 is the most helpful for this exercise, as it helps us maintain consistency. However, Options 3 and 4 are interesting, considering the possibility that Corwin has, by this time, moved into the Royal Suite. We will come back to this idea shortly.

Meantime, there is additional information from the Merlin chronicles about Corwin's apartments:

[SOC, Ch. 11] I hurried off up the hall [from Merlin's rooms] ... When I reached the door, I stood outside it for a moment, my eyes closed, visualizing the interior as last I had seen it. It was my father's apartment ... I unlocked the door and pushed it open ... I drew the door closed behind me and moved forward ... I crossed to my left and entered the next room. Immediately, on opening the door, I saw that there was no need to have brought the candle ... I set the candle upon a nearby table and crossed to the bed ... Then I departed the room ... I passed no one on the walk back.

These sequences confirm that Corwin's rooms are on the 2nd floor.

The SOC scene also tells us that Corwin's apartment is made up of two rooms, separated by a door. This confirmation is helpful, as it justifies the various usage of the terms "rooms", "apartment", and "suite". And it led the Neil Randall team to, fairly, speculate that most of the princes and princesses have two-room apartments in the palace. (Also, in Ch. 6 of SOC, Merlin says: "I moved on toward my nearest door, which was not that much farther up the hall" confirming that there are two separate entrances to his apartment from the hallway. This is also likely the case with other apartments.)

Merlin's Rooms

Merlin's apartment is on the 2nd floor of the palace, and located generally at the rear. This is well established, and very helpful to understanding the location of other palace rooms, since Merlin frequents his apartment often throughout the second Amber series. His first stay occurs in TOD:

[TOD, Ch. 7] Random decided to bid us good night and rang for a servant to show me to my room... I asked Dik, who had led me to my quarters, to find me some drawing materials.

This is a fun nod to Dik, the ashtray-emptying servant that Corwin encounters in the library in NPIA. (Anecdotally, It is not clear why Merlin needs to be shown to his room; has he been away from Amber so long that he does not have a permanent apartment in the palace? Is this the very moment, here in TOD, where Merlin gets assigned his rooms? This seems unlikely, since he will soon be talking about how he had remodeling ambitions.)

Then, in Chapter 8. we learn that Merlin's rooms are not on the ground floor, when he says "I hiked down to the designated room", and meets Random in a ground floor sitting room. From there, he briefly returns to his rooms to change, then to the kitchen, and then he leaves Amber. He returns to Amber in Chapter 4 of Blood of Amber, and after talking with Random, goes to his room to sleep.

From here, we get a number of additional references to Merlin's apartment:

[BOA, Ch. 4] I departed my quarters ... I made my way downstairs, then cut through a few chambers and a big hall ...

[BOA, Ch. 11] I took the back stairs up a flight, lurked a bit and made it to my rooms without being spotted.

[SOC, Ch. 10] When my door opened after a long while, Mandor looked in both directions. He raised his hand when I began to move toward him. I halted, and he stepped outside and came toward me. He continued to glance about as he advanced.

"This is Amber palace?" he inquired.

"Yes. Not the most fashionable wing, perhaps, but I call it home."

We learn nothing particularly new, and confirm the 2nd floor rear location.

Benedict, Gerard, Brand, Fiona

After Random, Corwin, and Merlin, we get into the "next tier" of family members whose royal apartments get mentioned only the context of Knight of Shadows: notably Benedict, Gerard, Brand, and Fiona. The placement of these rooms is best explained by reviewing the "walking tour" of the palace's 2nd floor that Merlin undertakes in Chapter 9 of KOS. The key passages are:

[KOS, Ch. 9] [from Merlin's rooms]
I stepped into the corridor. I had not gone more than a few paces before I heard the sound ... I continued, past the stairway, the sound growing steadily in volume as I advanced. By the time I reached the long corridor which ran past the library I knew that Random was back ...

[watches Random and Martin]
... After I'd climbed down and let myself out, I decided to cut through the dining room rather than pass the library entrance again.

[KOS, Ch. 9] I was planning on walking up the east corridor to the point where it intersected with the north one in the vicinity of my apartment, turning left there, and taking the stairs up to the royal suite, knocking on the door, and returning the Jewel ... But then I was going right past my father's rooms ... I unlocked the door, opened it, and stepped inside.
[stays in Corwin's rooms; hears footsteps]

[KOS, Ch. 9] [leaving Corwin's apartment] I turned and walked quickly away. As I neared the corner, I slowed ... When I reached the cross corridor where a left would take me to the stairway or a right back to my rooms, I hesitated. There was a sitting room diagonally across the way, to the left, across from Benedict's seldom used rooms. I headed for it, entered, sank into a heavy chair in the corner.

[KOS, Ch. 9] The footsteps had halted, and I'd heard a knocking on a nearby door. After a time I heard a door being opened, then closer ... In that it had been nearby and that the two nearest apartments were Benedict's and my own, I began to wonder. I was fairly certain that Benedict was not in his, and I recalled not having locked my own door when I had stepped out.

Therefore . . .

Picking up the Jewel of Judgment, I crossed the room and stepped out into the hall. I checked Benedict's door. Locked. I looked down the north-south hallway and walked back to the stairway and checked around in that area. There was no one in sight. I strode up to my own place then and stood listening for a time outside each of my doors. No sounds from within. The only alternatives I could think of were Gerard's rooms, back down the side corridor, and Brand's, which lay behind my own. I had thought of knocking out a wall -- in keeping with the recent spirit of remodeling and redecorating Random had gotten into -- adding Brand's rooms to my own, for a very good-size apartment ...

I took a quick walk then, knocking on and finally trying both Brand's and Gerard's doors. No response ...

Frakir had given a quick pulse when I'd touched Brand's door . ... I beheld the hallway around the corner, my two doors, and intervening artwork on the wall in plain view. The doorway to the left-the one that let upon my bedroom-seemed to be outlined in red and pulsing ...

In this very detailed and important section, we learn the following:

Benedict's rooms are on the 2nd floor, and near to Merlin's.
There is a north-south hallway in the vicinity of Benedict's rooms, but this is some distance from the rear stairway.
Gerard's rooms are not far, "back down the side corridor"; we cannot be certain what this "side corridor" refers to, it is possibly the same as the north-south hallway.
Brand's rooms are "behind" Merlin's, and share a wall with his.
We get confirmation that Merlin's apartment is made up of two rooms, with two separate doors; one door into the living area, one door into the bedroom. The other princes and princesses likely have similar configurations.

A two additional descriptions reinforce these points:

[KOS, Ch 11] ... back past Fiona's door to my dad's rooms....

[Goes into Corwin's rooms, then leaves]

I walked back, past Fiona's rooms. I reentered Brand's rooms through the door I had left ajar.

[KOS, Ch 11] I turned and found my way through one of the day's many broken walls and on into my room ... The far wall had also been blasted, I noticed, creating a large opening into Brand's dusty chambers.

From these we can conclude:

Fiona's apartment is between Corwin's and Brand's, on the 2nd floor. I have placed her room between these two, but across the hall.
Brand's apartment butts up against Merlin's, which we already knew.

Next up: Mapping the Palace: Part V >>

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