Do Amberites ever die?

The flippant answer is to say that, yes, of course they die. Several of them die in the course of the ten books. Perhaps, though, they only appear to die. Subterfuge, after all, is an art perfected by Amber, so let us consider the question more carefully.

1. Amberites do not age past maturity.
• Benedict is several millennia old, but looks no older than does Random, the youngest of the brood.
• Corwin, referring to the difference between his apparent age and his actual age in Nine Princes in Amber, says that "the shadows would lie for (him)." Since he can pass for thirty, one could even argue that, at the end of Prince of Chaos, he looks no older than Merlin, his son, who is centuries if not millennia younger.
• Oberon and Dworkin are visibly older than their children, but they are talented shapeshifters, so it is difficult to judge how old their "natural appearance" would look.
2. Amberites regenerate.
• They maintain a catalog of minor losses which have since been regenerated — ears, fingertips and so forth.
• Corwin is even able to regrow his eyes, after they had been burnt from his head, in under five years. Corwin also, despite having been beaten half to death by Eric, survives the Black Plague.
• Benedict loses most of his right arm in a battle. He questions Corwin about the recovery time of his sight that he might gauge the wait he has to endure to regrow his arm.
• Dalt is dealt a wound by Benedict that Random judges mortal, and having taken many lives himself he should be able to tell, but Dalt survives it.
• Martin is stabbed by Brand and badly wounded, but escapes into shadow and survives.

Between these two factors, it is easy to conclude that they probably cannot die of old age. It is not much of a stretch from there to question whether or not they can die at all. Let us now look, case by case, at those who are said to be, of have been said to be, dead:

• Osric and Finndo. They commit political faux pas that make their removal a thing to be desired by King Oberon. They are sent out into battle where they happen to die: a very convenient matter of timing on their part. Now perhaps this is the case, or perhaps Oberon uses his superior power over shadow to insure the fatality of their wounds. That sounds a bit odd after establishing precedent in Amber law on their behalf to defend their faux pas. Would it not make more sense for them to go off into shadow, either at Oberon's suggestion or their own, instead of dying? They could have supplied shadow-corpses and no outsider would know the difference. It could even be that the rest of the family does not know, either because Osric and Finndo keep the truth to themselves (or each to himself, as the case may be) or because Oberon has chosen to use their "deaths" as an example to his children.
• Eric. Eric dies a hero's death on the slopes of Kolvir, defending Amber. Fiona observes that none of his wounds appeared to have been mortal and speculates that the Jewel of Judgment drained his life energy, causing him to die from wounds that should not kill him. Still, when she seeks to perform an autopsy, Caine denies her, even though she might gather important information. Perhaps this is because he does not trust her after her role in the Fiona-Bleys-Brand cabal. Perhaps it is because Eric is not dead. Consider Eric's position at the end of that battle if he does not die: Benedict has returned to Amber, but Benedict will not acknowledge him as king. This creates strife, and possibly forces a confrontation. Why not go into shadow, assemble a strike force, and harry the armies of chaos, buying time for Amber to regroup? After all, considering the time differential, Chaos seems to take years to recover after that fateful battle. That seems quite a coincidence. Benedict is knowledgeable enough of the family powers to know or suspect that the Jewel would feed off of Eric and, more importantly, that Fiona would know that. For that matter, Oberon has spoken with more than one of them, perhaps this, or something similar, is his plan.
  Consider also that the Jewel of Judgment saved Corwin's life by transporting him from a place of harm to a place in shadow where he would be safe. Why would it not do the same for Eric?
  So why has he not returned? He and Random share a mutual hatred and Random is king. Sounds like a good reason to head into shadow for a few hundred years. . . .
• Brand. An arrow in the throat sure sounds fatal, especially when it is followed by a couple of others. But there's no corpse: Brand fell into the Pit of Chaos still alive. The Pit itself is not automatically fatal. In fact, in Merlin's saga he mentions professional Pit divers. Brand, being a "Living Trump" may well have trumped to safety. Another possibility: since the Unicorn recovered the Jewel, could it not have recovered Brand as well? Or if not the Unicorn, why not the Serpent? I confess, of these possibilities, I consider his trumping away the most likely. His stock with the powers was probably pretty low at that point. Besides, Bleys was able to trump away while falling. Brand may be off, plotting in shadow even now. . . .
• Deirdre. Deirdre, carried by Brand, falls into the abyss. The Jewel of Judgment, carried by Brand, falls into the abyss. The Unicorn saves the Jewel, why not Deirdre? Perhaps the Unicorn saves Deirdre, but takes her to the place of the Primal Pattern because she needs healing. After she recovers and hears that Corwin has gone missing, she might go looking for him.
• Caine. Caine faked his death once, why not twice? Maybe he suspects that a still-living Brand is his would-be assassin, and has gone off into shadow to find out for himself. This is a lot easier if everyone thinks he is dead. We do not even know that everyone thinks him dead. Merlin, as is oft demonstrated, is not very well-informed. Once it is revealed that Luke tried to kill him, he might start working towards his own vendetta, perhaps calling it off when Vialle gives Luke her protection. Perhaps he is now out in shadow, either relaxing or venting his frustration at being unable to respond to the attempt on his life.
• Oberon. At the beginning of Corwin's saga, Oberon is missing and presumed dead. At the end of Corwin's saga, he is pronounced dead. Oberon's corpse is never seen. Dworkin brings his casket and casts it into the abyss, but we have only Dworkin's word that the casket has an occupant. Oberon may simply have decided that he has ruled long enough and wants to retire into shadow. On the other hand, he may be working up some grander strategy for dealing with Corwin's Pattern and has gone into shadow to form his plans and set them in motion. For that matter, he may be off exploring the shadows cast by Corwin's Pattern.
• Bleys. Bleys "falls" off the stairway up the side of Kolvir and is presumed dead.
• Corwin. Corwin, carried off into shadow by Eric and abandoned, goes missing and presumed dead for a long time.
• Benedict. Several people tell Corwin that Benedict has been missing for years, though several of them know where he is and has been.
• Martin. After his stabbing, Martin lets people believe that he is dead, preferring to make his own way in shadow for a time.
• Dalt. Until Luke mentions him, Dalt is commonly believed to have been killed by Benedict.

Repeatedly in the series, Amberites use the pretense of death to hide, plan or simply get away from it all for a while. In the face of such a persistent theme, does it seem so unreasonable that the "confirmed" deaths should be viewed with suspicion?

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