Editing The Chronicles of Amber (section)

===Magical powers and objects===
====The Pattern and the Logrus====
At the two poles of existence are the symbols of Order and Chaos—[[The Pattern (The Chronicles of Amber)|The Pattern]] and [[The Logrus]], respectively. Each, when negotiated, gives a person the ability to walk in shadow—across the different possible universes. The Pattern is a single, intertwined curve, laid out in a twisting labyrinth-like design, in size larger than a football field. The Logrus is described as a shifting, three-dimensional obstacle course. Amber's Pattern is located in caverns deep underneath the royal palace.

Initially, readers learn there is the Pattern in Amber, and copies in Rebma and Tir-na Nog'th. Later, more become evident: e.g., there are imperfect or "broken" copies in other Shadows, and that Amber's Pattern itself is a close shadow of a hidden Primal Pattern. These imperfect copies exist in shadows close to Amber, with the first three being the least dangerous to use, but with the danger increasing the further one is from the original. Navigating Broken Patterns can give an individual some access to magical energies, but it is "foolish" to attempt to use for such purposes any Broken Pattern further than the ninth one from Amber.

The Logrus is not introduced until the sixth book of the Amber series (''The Trumps of Doom'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lindskold |first=Jane M. |author-link=Jane Lindskold |date=1992 |title=The Pervasive Influence of Poetry in the Works of Roger Zelazny |journal=[[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]] |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=41–58 |doi=10.3828/extr.1992.33.1.41}}</ref> Merlin's walking of the Logrus appears in a prologue to the initial hardcover edition of the book.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prologue to Trumps of Doom |url=http://www.e-reading.link/bookreader.php/73090/Zelazny_-_Prologue_to_Trumps_Of_Doom.html}}</ref> We do not see any other instances of a character negotiating the Logrus. The Prologue has Merlin bleeding and experiencing odd sensory inputs. Later we learn that walking the Logrus can leave one mentally unstable for a while afterwards, but this "usually" passes. The Logrus is also described as containing the skeletal remains of those who tried to walk it, but failed.

====The Trumps====
In the Amber universe, the word "trump" is used as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it properly refers to a specialized type of hand-drawn [[tarot]] card depicting a person or a place. As a verb, it refers to using such a card for teleportation.

The original tarot decks used by Amberites had some or all of their [[Major Arcana]] cards replaced (or possibly augmented) with images of the royal family, and of at least one location, Castle Amber. These original decks were created by Dworkin, and a deck was given to each family member after they first walked the Pattern. Physically, these cards are cool to the touch. The decks may be used like normal tarots for divination, as Corwin does shortly after meeting one of his brothers.

The Trumps have the magical attribute of facilitating a psychic link to the person or place depicted on the card, enabling instant communication, travel, and even attack. If the card depicts a location, the user is able to teleport to that location. If the card depicts a person, the user concentrates on the image and attempts to reach out to the person to initiate contact. The recipient of a Trump contact does not need to have a card in their possession. An attempted contact may be blocked or declined by the receiving party, by an act of concentration. A variety of other circumstances can also impede or prevent Trump contact from being made, including distance and time-flow differences across Shadows, as well as unconsciousness, amnesia, and magical characteristics of a particular location.

If contact through a Trump is successful, both parties are able to talk to each other, and even see some of each other's surroundings. Either party may end a Trump communication, either by passing their hand over the card, or by an effort of will. During the contact, each person has the option of reaching through the link to make physical contact, generally for the purpose of pulling the other person voluntarily to their own physical location. This is sometimes called "trumping" a person to the other location. In some cases, one can also travel via Trump to the other person's location without the other's consent or assistance, as long as the contact remains open (e.g., Dalt's attempt in ''Blood of Amber'' to come through a Trump held by Merlin, which failed only after Merlin summoned the Logrus to sever the contact). A Trump contact also creates a potential opening for an attack by either party on the other, either with a weapon, or by using the link in an attempt to dominate the other by sheer force of ego and will. This can result in immobilization or worse for the victim of the attack.

To an observer who witnesses a person trumping to another location, the person becomes two-dimensional before disappearing, and there is a prismatic aftereffect. In ''Trumps of Doom'', Merlin also mentions sensing a kind of electrical charge as Jasra trumps into a room where he waits.

Further details about the nature of Trumps were revealed as the tale progressed; for example, Trumps are not limited to playing cards, but can be drawn on any surface. Corwin escaped from his dungeon cell after Dworkin materialized in it, by persuading Dworkin, who was mentally unbalanced at the time, to draw him a picture of the lighthouse at Cabra, a location on the edge of Amber.  After Dworkin draws another picture to return to his hideout, Corwin uses the lighthouse picture to escape.  In ''The Hand of Oberon'' Corwin returns to his cell and uses the other picture to follow Dworkin to his lair, finding that it is located near the Primal Pattern that created Amber and all its Shadows.

Dworkin taught several of his descendants to create Trumps, and other initiates of the Pattern or Logrus can be trained in that skill. If one looks "closely enough" at a Trump, one can see parts of the Pattern or Logrus within its design, which may provide a source of power.

Anyone may use a Trump – the user does not need to be an Amberite, a Pattern initiate, or of royal blood.{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}} Similarly, no special characteristics are required in the person depicted on a Trump – for example, in ''Blood of Amber'', several initiates of the Logrus were depicted on Trump cards drawn by Brand or Rinaldo, and Merlin considered drawing a Trump depicting Bill Roth, a trusted advisor with no apparent magical aptitude. Provided the artist is sufficiently familiar with the subject, a Trump can be drawn for any person or place desired, unless the place is in constant motion and change (such as portions of Chaos). Under certain circumstances and extreme conditions, the technique for creating a Trump can be used to make contact without drawing on any surface at all. Indeed, Corwin's brother Brand is described as becoming a "Living Trump", who can move through Shadow by will alone.

====The Jewel of Judgment====
A large red gem in a pendant, this is initially thought to be one of Oberon's tools that can be used to control the weather in Amber. In ''The Guns of Avalon'', Eric uses it to summon storms against the dark forces attacking Amber, but is mortally injured. After Corwin's forces annihilate the attackers, Eric reveals that he became attuned to the Jewel by walking the Pattern in Amber and then projecting himself into its core. Corwin does this, and discovers other effects, such as a sapping of his energies and a tendency for time to slow down. The Jewel saves his life when he is stabbed in Amber, projecting him back to his old home on Earth where he lived as Carl Corey. Dworkin finally reveals that the Jewel contains within it the original Pattern from which he created Amber. Corwin, fearing that Amber has been destroyed in ''The Courts of Chaos'', repeats this process in Shadow to create his own Pattern, using its power to project him to the Courts where he witnesses the final battle against Chaos and Brand, who took the Jewel while he was incapacitated after creating his Pattern. Apparently lost during the battle when Brand falls into the abyss, the Jewel is returned by the Unicorn and given to Random, making him the new King in Amber.

====Spikards and Weapons====
In the fictional Amber multiverse a ''spikard'' is a type of magical object with hyperdimensional "lines of power" which connect it to sorcerous power caches in various universes. In the Amber novels and short stories two shapes of spikards are explicitly cited: rings and swords. Benedict's metal arm is never explicitly listed as a spikard, but it does share with Corwin's spikard sword Grayswandir the rare magical ability to bypass an existential barrier of intangibility.

Corwin's sword, ''Grayswandir'', contains a part of the Pattern like the Trumps. The sword appears in ''The Guns of Avalon'', in which Corwin, having escaped from his imprisonment, draws it from the trunk of a tree, noting that while it was previously in Amber, it was now with him, suggesting that it can be manifested wherever he needs it. ''Grayswandir'' has power against dark forces such as those besieging Lorraine in ''The Guns of Avalon''.

In the Merlin cycle, ''Grayswandir'' has a counterpart in ''Werewindle'', formerly Brand's sword. Like Grayswandir, Werewindle also bears a portion of the Pattern upon its blade. In ''The Salesman's Tale'' the golden-colored spikard sword Werewindle possesses sentient intelligence. Werewindle is also labelled as the Day Sword, compared to [[Ferdinand Holthausen]]'s translation of the name ''[[Aurvandil|Aurvandill/Auriwandal]]'' as "''daybreak sword''".

Corwin's brother Benedict is introduced in ''The Guns of Avalon'' as having lost his right arm in battle with the same dark forces menacing all of Shadow. In ''Sign of the Unicorn'' Corwin encounters Benedict's ghost in Tir na Nog'th. The ghost is wearing a remarkable prosthetic metal arm that can reach through unreality and attack him, even as Grayswandir can reach Benedict's ghost. Corwin strikes the arm from the ghost and returns to Amber with it. Later it is given to Benedict by Random, who performs the surgery to attach it. In the next novel this proves invaluable as the arm can overcome Brand's magic, allowing Benedict to strangle him despite being paralyzed, forcing Brand to vanish leaving the Jewel of Judgement behind. In ''The Courts of Chaos'' the arm is returned whence it came in a ghostly re-enactment of Corwin's fight with Benedict's ghost, occurring in the halls of Amber itself. These events are suspected to be caused by Oberon himself.