Upriver

Upriver is the title of chapter 9 of The Amber Spyglass

Epigram

"A shade upon the mind there passes
 As when on Noon
 A Cloud the mighty Sun encloses"

Source: "A Shade upon the mind there passes" by Emily Dickinson

Title Reference and Icon

The icon is a drawing of a ship. The chapter title refers to Will and the Armored Bears travelling upriver to the Himalayas.

Chapter Summary

Iorek Byrnison and Will are learning more about each other as they voyage upriver. Iorek asks to examine the knife as he has never seen a metal like it. Will answers Iorek's question about how he acquired the knife and tells Iorek that he is going to use the knife on Lord Asriel's side but his first goal is to rescue Lyra. Iorek says he will help. Will learns that the bears are travelling because of the explosion that destroyed the climate where they lived. They are looking for snow and ice and plan to live in the mountains. They sail upriver as far as they can and then debark. Iorek tells the other bears to make their homes in the mountains, and then he and Will set off to find Lyra. They travel for three days and are getting close to her location. Lord Asriel's forces under the command of King Ogunwe and the churches forces are also closing on the location. The Chevalier Tialys and the Lady Salmakia, along with their dragonfly larvae, are hidden on the Zeppelin that carries the president of the Consistorial Court of Discipline.