The Unicorn

[RPGPundit]

..WTF is it??!

RPGPundit

[flyingmice]

It's a kind of horse thing with a horn on it's forehead. Likes virgins.



-clash

[finarvyn]

First of all, I assume that the Unicorn has to be some sort of Shape Shifter. The fact that Dworkin can spawn younglings with the Unicorn as their mother would seem to point in this direction.

I tend to think of the Unicorn as some sort of rebel daughter of the Courts. She found out about Dworkin's plan to create the Pattern and used her wiles to encourage him in this endeavor. I believe that there is the potential for a fantastic epic and romantic storylilne here and maybe Roger would have told it had he lived.

My alternate notion would be that she is a goddess who is in continual battle with the Serpent, although where she came from would be even more of a mystery in this case. (As protector of the Pattern it would seem odd that she came before the Pattern, but if she somehow gave Dworkin a vision to help him make the Pattern perhaps this brings the goddess angle more to the forefront.)

I like to think that she assumes the form of a beautiful woman at times, yet prefers to run free as a Unicorn through Arden rather than feel trapped in a castle or urban setting. For whatever maternal reason, the Unicorn continues to serve as a protector of Amber but also declines to participate in most of the activites and plotting therein, yet she was willing to select Random as king when the situation demanded action to preserve the realm.

Is this at all the kind of answer you are looking for?

[Otha]

I don't see why the Unicorn has to be a shapeshifter, we already know that Dworkin is.

Personally, I think that "the unicorn is Oberon's mother" is quite possibly metaphorical.

[finarvyn]

I suppose my shapeshifter thought came from the aversion to Dworkin having children with a horse. If the "unicorn as mother" thing is a metaphor, then who is Oberon's actual birth mother and why is she not mentioned otherwise?

I guess the shapeshifter notion was just easier...

[Otha]

Woo, back to anthropology 101...

Okay, in some cultures, different clans within a particular tribe will not only claim an animal as their totem, but as an ancestor; the "Bear People" will say that one of their ancestors is the bear spirit.

It's a way of saying that the clan draws its power from the bear spirit.

Does that make more sense?

[RPGPundit]

It's a kind of horse thing with a horn on it's forehead. Likes virgins.



-clash

Ok, let's start with this: In most myth, the Unicorn is considered male.  Hell, that's a huge part of its theme, some would say.
Yet in Amber, the Unicorn appears to be a female.

Why???

RPGPundit

[Arref]

Most direct answer:
because most myths are imperfect reflections of what is Real in Amber.

Fun answer:
because men rewrote the myths to suit themselves.

[finarvyn]

Woo, back to anthropology 101...

Okay, in some cultures, different clans within a particular tribe will not only claim an animal as their totem, but as an ancestor; the "Bear People" will say that one of their ancestors is the bear spirit.

However, in this case keep in mind that the unicorn clearly is intelligent and maternal in some way -- she definitely had a hand in Random's crowning.

That seems a bit more personal than simply a clannish symbol, in my opinion.

[Otha]

Oh, true, true...

And the Bear Tribe shaman would point to the bear and tell you that he exists, too.

She definitely exists.  And she's definitely important to Amber, and Amber is important to her.

I'm just introducing some doubt as to whether Dworkin and Ms. Unicorn bumped uglies, that's all.

[Nihilistic Mind]

On the other hand, Dworkin being a shapeshifter, he may have been impregnated by the Unicorn's essence and given birth to Oberon himself.

Or Oberon's mother is a Hendrake and Dworkin wasn't too keen on admitting that so he made up the whole "child of the Unicorn" story. Conveniently, the Unicorn has never denied it.

In the campaign I'm currently running, one of the PCs is Oberon's brother. In this game it is assumed that Oberon and that character's mother are the same person... and not the Unicorn but a "real" woman.

[PGiverty]

The Unicorn is analogous to the Black Stag in Blue Rose. It represents the power and legitimacy of the rulers of Amber.

[finarvyn]

The Unicorn is analogous to the Black Stag in Blue Rose. It represents the power and legitimacy of the rulers of Amber.

I'm only slightly familiar with Blue Rose, so I can't say whether or not they are the same type of analogy.

However, I know that The Unicorn is more than just a symbol. This particular unicorn has a personality and is a specific being, not simply a representative of its race. Zelazny never says "a unicorn did this". Saying that the symbol of the rulers of Amber is a unicorn is a lot different than discussing The Unicorn.

[Otha]

Fin, you're looking at it from a different point of view.

In the worldview I'm talking about, there's little difference between "a unicorn" and "The Unicorn"... any individual unicorn is a symbol for and agent of The Unicorn; a shaman would say they are one and the same.  

A totem animal is more than just a badge or emblem.

I'm trying to untangle a strand from Zelazny's twisted imagination here; it doesn't have to be a perfect analogy for the thread to be worth considering.

Yes, the Unicorn retrieved the Jewel and bestowed it on Random.  Yes, it led Corwin to the Primal Pattern.

Does that mean that The Unicorn can't possibly be the mystic totem animal of the Barimen clan?  I don't see why.

[Nihilistic Mind]

I'm trying to untangle a strand from Zelazny's twisted imagination here; it doesn't have to be a perfect analogy for the thread to be worth considering.

Yes, the Unicorn retrieved the Jewel and bestowed it on Random.  Yes, it led Corwin to the Primal Pattern.

Does that mean that The Unicorn can't possibly be the mystic totem animal of the Barimen clan?  I don't see why.

Well, since this has been established, we can get back to the whole Mother of Oberon later and look at what The Unicorn has been known to have accomplished:

-Stole the Eye from the Serpent.
-Gave the Eye to Dworkin, inspiring him to create the Pattern.
-(Supposedly) bred with Dworkin and gave birth to Oberon.
-Influences Corwin's actions and adds to his overall knowledge of the Big Universe of Amber by leading him to the Primal Pattern, thus revealing that Amber is but The First Shadow, that the Pattern is damaged, etc...
-Entered the Abyss and returned the Jewel of Judgment to the Amber Royal Family.
-Chose Random as King of Amber, since her champion, Corwin, did not long for the position any longer.
-Appeared opposite to the Serpent of Chaos in Merlin's UnderShadow encounters.

(I'm sure I'm forgetting more but I feel too tired to look it up for right now)

From what we know, we must assume certain things:

-The Unicorn is the equal to the Great Serpent of Chaos (or lucky/forceful enough to let it part with its Eye).
-The Unicorn chose Dworkin Barimen as the seed for her legacy and domain.
-The Unicorn is unaffected by the destructive forces of entropy within the Abyss.
-The Unicorn can travel between shadows without the Pattern or Logrus (as far as we know).

The Unicorn is some sort of super-being and if Amber royals are considered demi-gods, then She certainly would be their Mother-Goddess if you will.
As suggested by Erick Wujcik, Amber and the Courts of Chaos and the worlds of Shadows and their inhabitants are mere pawns and battlefields for the "super-beings".

In essence, The Unicorn is simply Greater, Superior to anything else we know of in Zelazny's creation. The Pattern is just a tool, the Amber Royal Family are her champions and the rest are by-products.

-(As a sidenote: notice how no "super-being" is associated with Corwin's Pattern... Corwin's Pattern is therefore an anomally. A sentient tool without an entity to be influenced by...)-

Hope this helps somehow...