Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worke ...
and the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of a series of
sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the ...
stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Later stories by Moorcock marked Elric as a facet of the
Eternal Champion
The Eternal Champion is a fictional character created by British author Michael Moorcock and is a recurrent feature in many of his speculative fiction works.
General overview
Many of Moorcock's novels and short stories take place in a shared M ...
.
Elric first appeared in print in Moorcock's
novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) fact ...
"
The Dreaming City
"The Dreaming City" is a novella written by Michael Moorcock, which first appeared in ''Science Fantasy'' issue 47, in June 1961. It was the first story to feature the character Elric of Melniboné.
"The Dreaming City" has been reprinted in se ...
" (''
Science Fantasy
Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scient ...
'' No. 47, June 1961). Moorcock's doomed
albino
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino.
Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
antihero
An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...
is one of the better known characters in fantasy literature, having crossed over into a wide variety of media, such as
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
s, comics, music, and film. The stories have been continuously in print since the 1970s.
Description
Elric is described in 1972's ''Elric of Melniboné'':
Elric is the last emperor of the stagnating island civilization of Melniboné. Physically weak, the anemic Elric must use drugs (special herbs) to maintain his health and vitality. From childhood, he read freely in the immense royal library and learned of the world outside the Dreaming Isle. Perhaps due to this in-depth study, unlike other members of his race, Elric has a conscience. He witnesses the decadence of his culture, which once ruled the known world, and worries about the rise of the Young Kingdoms populated by humans (Melnibonéans consider themselves separate from humanity), along with the threat they pose to his empire. Because of Elric's introspective self-loathing and hatred of Melnibonéan traditions, his subjects find him odd and unfathomable. However, his cousin Yyrkoon (next in the line of succession, as Elric has no heirs) interprets this behaviour as weakness and plots Elric's death. Complicating matters is Yyrkoon's sister Cymoril, who is deeply in love with Elric; Yyrkoon covets her, and part of his plan for usurpation is to marry Cymoril himself.
In addition to his skill with herbs, Elric is an accomplished sorcerer and summoner. As emperor of Melniboné, Elric is able to call for aid upon the traditional patron of the Melniboné emperors, Arioch, a Lord of Chaos and Duke of Hell. From the first story, Elric uses ancient pacts and agreements with not only Arioch, but various other beings—some gods, some demons—to help him accomplish his tasks.
Elric's discovery of the sword
Stormbringer
Stormbringer is a magic sword featured in a number of fantasy stories by the author Michael Moorcock. It is described as a huge, black sword covered with strange runes, created by the forces of Chaos with its own will. It is wielded by the doo ...
serves as both his greatest asset and disadvantage. The sword confers upon Elric strength, health, and fighting prowess, allowing him to do away with his dependence on drugs, but it must be fed by the souls of intelligent beings. In the end, the blade takes everyone close to Elric and eventually Elric's own soul as well. Most of Moorcock's stories about Elric feature this relationship with Stormbringer, and how it—despite Elric's best intentions—brings doom to everything he holds dear.
Influences
Moorcock acknowledges the work of
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...
, particularly ''
Threepenny Novel'' and ''
The Threepenny Opera
''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...
'', as "one of the chief influences" on the initial Elric sequence; he dedicated 1972's ''Elric of Melniboné'' to Brecht. In the same dedication, he cited
Poul Anderson's ''
Three Hearts and Three Lions
''Three Hearts and Three Lions'' is a 1961 fantasy novel by American writer Poul Anderson, expanded from a 1953 novella by Anderson which appeared in '' Fantasy & Science Fiction'' magazine.
Plot
Holger Carlsen is an American-trained Danish engi ...
'' and
Fletcher Pratt
Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp.
...
's ''
The Well of the Unicorn
''The Well of the Unicorn'' is a fantasy novel by the American writer Fletcher Pratt. It was first published in 1948, under the pseudonym George U. Fletcher, in hardcover by William Sloane Associates. All later editions have appeared under the aut ...
'' as similarly influential texts. Moorcock has referred to Elric as a type of the "doomed hero", one of the oldest character-types in literature, akin to such hero-villains as
Mervyn Peake's Steerpike in the ''
Titus Groan'' trilogy, Poul Anderson's Scafloc in ''
The Broken Sword
''The Broken Sword'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Poul Anderson, originally published on 5 November 1954. It was issued in a revised edition by Ballantine Books as the twenty-fourth volume of their Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in Ja ...
'',
T. H. White's Lancelot in ''
The Once and Future King
''The Once and Future King'' is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is loosely based upon the 1485 work ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory. It was first published in 1958 as a collection o ...
'',
J. R. R. Tolkien's cursed hero
Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar (pronounced ) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. "''Turambar and the Foalókë''", begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. Túrin was a Man of the First Age of Middle-earth, ...
, and Jane Gaskell's Zerd in ''
The Serpent''.
The story of
Kullervo
Kullervo () is an ill-fated character in the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot.
Growing up in the aftermath of the massacre of his entire tribe, he comes to realise that the same people who had brought him up, t ...
from Finnish mythology contains elements similar to Elric's story, such as a talking magic sword and fatal alienation of the hero from his family. Besides Elric, Kullervo has been proposed as having influence on Poul Anderson's 1954 novel ''
The Broken Sword
''The Broken Sword'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Poul Anderson, originally published on 5 November 1954. It was issued in a revised edition by Ballantine Books as the twenty-fourth volume of their Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in Ja ...
'', and
J.R.R. Tolkien's
Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar (pronounced ) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. "''Turambar and the Foalókë''", begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. Túrin was a Man of the First Age of Middle-earth, ...
. Moorcock has stated that "Anderson's a definite influence
n Elric
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
as stated. But oddly, the
Kalevala
The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...
was read to us at my boarding school when I was about seven", and "from a very early age I was reading Norse legends and any books I could find about Norse stories".
[Elric/Turambar](_blank)
– Moorcock's Miscellany. Moorcock in the same posting stated that "one thing I'm pretty sure of, I was not in any way directly influenced by Prof. T
lkien.
Elric's albinism appears influenced by
Monsieur Zenith
Monsieur Zenith the Albino is an ambiguous villain created by writer Anthony Skene for the "Sexton Blake" series of detective pulp fiction.
Zenith is an albino, world-weary gentleman thief, originally Romanian nobility but in exile for undetermine ...
, an albino
Sexton Blake
Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels and dramatic productions since 1893. Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications ...
villain whom Moorcock appreciated enough to write into later multiverse stories. Moorcock read Zenith stories in his youth and has contributed to their later reprinting, remarking that it "took me forty years to find another copy of Zenith the Albino! In fact it was a friend who found it under lock and key and got a copy of it to Savoy who are, at last, about to reprint it! Why I have spent so much energy making public the evidence of my vast theft from Anthony Skene, I'm not entirely sure... ". Moorcock later said: "As I've said in my introduction to ''Monsieur Zenith: The Albino'', the Anthony Skenes character was a huge influence. For the rest of the character, his ambiguities in particular, I based him on myself at the age I was when I created Elric, which was 20". The influence of Zenith on Elric is often cited in discussions of Zenith.
Publishing history
Elric first appeared in print in a series of six
novelettes
Novelette may also refer to:
* ''Novelette'' (ballet), a solo modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham
* Novelette (music), a short piece of lyrical music
* Novelette (literature), a work of narrative prose fiction that is longer than a ...
published in ''
Science Fantasy
Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scient ...
'' magazine:
* "
The Dreaming City
"The Dreaming City" is a novella written by Michael Moorcock, which first appeared in ''Science Fantasy'' issue 47, in June 1961. It was the first story to feature the character Elric of Melniboné.
"The Dreaming City" has been reprinted in se ...
" (''Science Fantasy'' No. 47, June 1961)
* "While the Gods Laugh" (''Science Fantasy'' No. 49, October 1961)
* "The Stealer of Souls" (''Science Fantasy'' No. 51, February 1962)
* "
Kings in Darkness
"Kings in Darkness" is a sword and sorcery short story by English writer Michael Moorcock. It was first published in ''Science Fantasy'' No. 54 in 1962. It has been reprinted as part of the Elric sagas and also reprinted in the anthology ''The Spe ...
" (''Science Fantasy'' No. 54, August 1962)
* "The Flame Bringers" (''Science Fantasy'' No. 55, October 1962); retitled "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams" in some later collections.
* "To Rescue Tanelorn ..." (''Science Fantasy'' No. 56, December 1962)
After this came four novellas:
* "Dead God's Homecoming" (''Science Fantasy'' No. 59, June 1963)
* "Black Sword's Brothers" (''Science Fantasy'' No. 61, October 1963)
* "Sad Giant's Shield" (''Science Fantasy'' No. 63, February 1964)
* "Doomed Lord's Passing" (''Science Fantasy'' No. 64, April 1964)
The last of these terminated the sequence with the close of Elric's life.
After these initial Elric tales, Moorcock periodically published short tales throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, such as 1967's "The Singing Citadel" and 1973's "The Jade Man's Eyes". Meant to be placed in between the initial stories but before the conclusion of "Doomed Lord's Passing", these later stories would frequently be edited, retitled, and combined together with other material to form
fix-up
A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame s ...
s as part of later republication campaigns.
The first original Elric novel, 1972's ''
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VII ...
'', is a prequel detailing Elric's origin and how he came to possess
Stormbringer
Stormbringer is a magic sword featured in a number of fantasy stories by the author Michael Moorcock. It is described as a huge, black sword covered with strange runes, created by the forces of Chaos with its own will. It is wielded by the doo ...
. In 1989 came the second original Elric novel, ''The Fortress of the Pearl'', followed in 1991 with ''The Revenge of the Rose''. A decade later Moorcock began an original Elric trilogy, beginning with ''The Dreamthief's Daughter'' (2001), followed by ''The Skrayling Tree'' (2003) and ''The White Wolf's Son'' (2005). In 2022, Moorcock published ''The Citadel of Forgotten Myths'', a new Elric novel set between "Kings in Darkness" and "The Flame Bringers".
Internal chronology
The main sequence, according to the saga's internal chronology, comprises the following books. Bold roman numerals indicate the six-book sequence of the 1977 DAW paperbacks. The dates following each story refer to the date of original publication. In those cases where a book was assembled from several pre-existing stories, each story is given along with its original date; when an original novel is subdivided into parts, the parts are named but not given individual dates.
* (I) ''
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VII ...
'' (1972)
* ''The Fortress of the Pearl'' (1989)
* "The Black Blade's Song" (1994) (AKA "The White Wolf's Song") (AKA "The Black Blade's Summoning")
* (II) ''
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
''The Sailor on the Seas of Fate'' is the second Elric book by Michael Moorcock. It is chronologically the third in the series (the events of ''The Fortress of the Pearl'' occur between ''Elric of Melniboné'' and ''Sailor on the Seas of Fate).'' ...
'' (1976)
** Book One: "Sailing To the Future"
** Book Two: "Sailing To the Present" (revision of "The Lands Beyond the World")
** Book Three: "Sailing To the Past" (revision of "The Jade Man's Eyes")
* ''
Elric at the End of Time
''The Dancers at the End of Time'' is a series of science fiction novels and short stories written by Michael Moorcock, the setting of which is the End of Time, an era "where entropy is king and the universe has begun collapsing upon itself" ...
'' (1981)
* (III) ''The Weird of the White Wolf''
** Prologue: "The Dream of Earl Aubec" (original title: "Master of Chaos") (May 1964)
** Book One: "
The Dreaming City
"The Dreaming City" is a novella written by Michael Moorcock, which first appeared in ''Science Fantasy'' issue 47, in June 1961. It was the first story to feature the character Elric of Melniboné.
"The Dreaming City" has been reprinted in se ...
" (June 1961)
* "A Portrait in Ivory" (2003)
** Book Two: "While the Gods Laugh" (October 1961)
** Book Three: "The Singing Citadel" (May 1967)
* (IV) ''The Vanishing Tower'' (original title: ''The Sleeping Sorceress'') (1971)
** Book One: "The Torment of the Last Lord"
** Book Two: "To Snare the Pale Prince"
** Book Three: "Three Heroes With a Single Aim"
* ''The Revenge of the Rose'' (1991)
* (V) ''The Bane of the Black Sword''
** Book One: "The Stealer of Souls" (February 1962)
** Book Two: "
Kings in Darkness
"Kings in Darkness" is a sword and sorcery short story by English writer Michael Moorcock. It was first published in ''Science Fantasy'' No. 54 in 1962. It has been reprinted as part of the Elric sagas and also reprinted in the anthology ''The Spe ...
" (August 1962)
* ''The Citadel of Forgotten Myths'' (revision of ''Red Pearls'', ''Black Petals'', and an unreleased novella ''White Steel'') (2022)
** Book Three: "The Flame Bringers" (alternative title: "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams") (October 1962)
* "The Last Enchantment" (1978) (AKA Jesting With Chaos)
** Epilogue: "To Rescue Tanelorn" (December 1962)
* (VI) ''
Stormbringer
Stormbringer is a magic sword featured in a number of fantasy stories by the author Michael Moorcock. It is described as a huge, black sword covered with strange runes, created by the forces of Chaos with its own will. It is wielded by the doo ...
''
** Book One: "Dead God's Homecoming" (June 1963)
** Book Two: "Black Sword's Brothers" (October 1963)
** Book Three: "Sad Giant's Shield" (February 1964)
** Book Four: "Doomed Lord's Passing" (April 1964)
Chronology uncertain:
* "Elric: Return to Melniboné" (1973)
* ''The Dreamthief's Daughter'' (2001)
* ''The Skrayling Tree'' (2003)
* ''The White Wolf's Son'' (2005) (takes place while Elric is dreaming in the middle of "Doomed Lord's Passing" in ''Stormbringer'')
Not part of canonical continuity:
* "The Jade Man's Eyes" (1973) (revised as "Sailing To the Past")
* "The Lands Beyond the World" (1977) (revised as "Sailing To the Present")
* "Black Petals" (2008) (revised as Book 2 in ''The Citadel of Forgotten Myths'')
* "Red Pearls" (2010) (revised as Book 1 in ''The Citadel of Forgotten Myths'')
* "White Steel" (unreleased) (revised as Book 3 in ''The Citadel of Forgotten Myths'')
Collections
The first five novelettes were originally collected in ''The Stealer of Souls'' (1963) and the later four novellas were first published as a novel in an edited version called ''Stormbringer'' (1965). The 1965 novel had about a quarter of the text removed for reasons of length (mostly in the second and third novellas) and the remaining text rearranged with new bridging material added to make sense of the restructuring.
In 1977,
DAW Books republished Elric's saga in six books that collected the tales according to their internal chronology. These paperbacks all featured cover art work by the same artist,
Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan (born 29 June 1950) is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has pursued a fine art career ...
, and helped define the look of Elric and his sword Stormbringer. The DAW edition of ''Stormbringer'' restored some of the original structure and text compared to the 1965 release, but other revisions were performed and other material excised. A few oddments were collected in ''Elric at the End of Time'' (1984), which became the seventh book in the DAW line when DAW released it in the US in 1985. It includes two Elric-related tales: the title story and 1962's "The Last Enchantment", originally intended as the final Elric story but put aside in favour of those that eventually made up ''Stormbringer''; it was not published until 1978. Both would appear in later collections (with "The Last Enchantment" occasionally retitled "Jesting with Chaos").
In the 1990s,
Orion Publishing
Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...
/Millennium released a two-book collection – ''Elric of Melniboné'' and ''Stormbringer'' – containing the Elric material then available.
White Wolf Publishing
White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant released a similar two-volume compilation – ''
Elric: Song of the Black Sword'' (1998) and ''Elric: The Stealer of Souls'' (2001). These two-volume compilations are arranged according to the internal chronology of the saga. The White Wolf text has minor revisions when compared to the Millennium release.
The first nine short stories – with "The Flame Bringers" using the later title of "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams" and the full text of ''Stormbringer'' as it appeared in ''Science Fantasy'' – were republished in a single volume as ''Elric'' (Orion/Gollancz 2001), volume 17 in the
Fantasy Masterworks series.
Beginning in 2008,
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn, by Penguin Random House. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It ...
reprinted the Elric material as a series of six illustrated books: ''The Stealer of Souls'', ''To Rescue Tanelorn'', ''The Sleeping Sorceress'', ''Duke Elric'', ''Elric in the Dream Realms'', and ''Elric: Swords and Roses''. This series arranged the stories in the sequence they were originally published, along with related fiction and nonfiction material. The version of ''Stormbringer'' featured in this collection restored all the original material missing since the 1977 DAW edition – which had formed the basis for all later editions – as well as Moorcock's preferred versions of all the revised material in an attempt to produce a definitive text. These volumes present the evolution of the character through early juvenile stories, early fanzine musings by Moorcock, some Elric stories, some others introducing the reader to the wider "Eternal Champion" theme, stories of other heroes who coexist with Elric in the realm of Melniboné, unpublished prologues, installments of Moorcock's essay "Aspects of Fantasy", a 1970s screenplay, a reader's guide, notes from an Elric series that never developed, contemporary reviews, and appreciation essays by other writers.
In August 2012,
Victor Gollancz Ltd. announced their intention to republish all of Michael Moorcock's back catalogue, including all the Elric stories, presented in internal chronological order along with previously unpublished material, in both print and e-book formats. The Elric stories were published in seven volumes in 2014–15: ''Elric of Melniboné and Other Stories'', ''Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl'', ''Elric: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate'', ''Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress'', ''Elric: The Revenge of the Rose'', ''Elric: Stormbringer!'', and ''Elric: The Moonbeam Roads''.
Characters in the Elric series
* Arioch: Lord of Chaos.
* Cymoril: A Melnibonéan, Elric's cousin, consort and first great love. He hopes to one day make her his wife and empress. She tries to understand and help Elric, but like his subjects, she has difficulty understanding Elric's motivations and would have him rule as the emperors of old. Despite that she stands by Elric in his weakest state before his acquiring of Stormbringer and she supports his dreams and wishes even when she is put in danger by them.
* Dyvim Slorm: A Melnibonéan, Elric's cousin, son of Dyvim Tvar. He fights alongside Elric in the final war against Chaos, wielding the black sword
Mournblade.
* Dyvim Tvar: A Melnibonéan, one of Elric's few friends. He is one of the Dragon Masters, a group of Melnibonéans who can speak to the Dragons of Melniboné. Dyvim Tvar stays loyal to Elric even after he destroys Imrryr. Dyvim Tvar also has more of a moral compass than most Melnibonéans.
* Ernest Wheldrake: An amiable poet and bard who involuntarily travels across the Multiverse. Amorous and good-natured, he is given to sudden expulsions of verse and song. He is writing an epic poem about Elric during their shared adventures.
* Jagreen Lern: The cruel ruler of Pan Tang, skilled with both magic and the use of a battleaxe.
* Moonglum of Elwher: A short, red-haired human with a cheerfully ugly face, adventuring companion to Elric. He and Elric share many dangers and rewards together. The most steadfast and loyal companion of all the Young Kingdom humans Elric encounters. He helps Elric in completing his fated purpose.
* Myshella of Law: Colloquially referred to as the Empress of the Dawn and The Dark Lady of Kaneloon, the powerful sorceress Myshella has acted as a guide and consort to Eternal Champions and adventurers alike down through the ages in the ineffable pursuit of Law. Immortal, ageless, and indescribably powerful. She sometimes rides a metal bird with emerald eyes, and more than once lends this mount to Elric.
* Oone: A Dreamthief by trade, at the Silver Flower Oasis in the Sighing Desert, Lady Oone helps Elric locate The Fortress of the Pearl when another of her order dies in a previous attempt. Her fleeting romance with the albino has considerable significance during the later 'Moonbeam Roads' trilogy.
* Prince Gaynor The Damned: A fallen knight of the Balance, doomed to suffer without release by the forces of Chaos. He inhabits a formless existence, imprisoned in a black-and-gold suit of armor emblazoned with the 8-pointed symbol of Chaos.
* Rackhir, the Red Archer: A human, once a Warrior Priest of Phum but cast out of his order. He and Elric travel and adventure together several times throughout the series. Unlike other characters who serve either Law or Chaos, Rackhir devotes himself to the Balance exclusively.
* Sepiriz: One of the ten remaining Nihrain, this dark-skinned servant of the Balance guides Elric through the final phases of his quest. He is also sometimes called 'The Knight in Black and Yellow'.
* Shaarilla of Myyrrhn: The daughter of a dead necromancer, Shaarilla of the Dancing Mist was born a mutant and an outcast among her people. Unlike her fellows of Myyrrhn, Shaarilla was born without wings. She enlists Elric to locate The Dead Gods' Book in the hopes it might contain a spell to reverse her deformity.
* Smiorgan Baldhead: A Count of the Isle of the Purple Towns, and an affable adventurer who accompanies Elric on his adventures on the Nameless Continent. His fleets aid in the Sacking of Imrryr.
* Theleb K'aarna: A human sorcerer of the Pan Tang isles. After being displaced as Queen Yishana's advisor and chief sorcerer by Elric, he seeks revenge and uses sorcery to hinder several of Elric's plans.
* The Rose: A beautiful, scarlet-haired warrior Elric encounters on his journeys through the Multiverse. She wields a Lawful counterpart to Elric's Chaos-forged demonblade 'Stormbringer' named 'Swift Thorn'. Serving neither Law nor Chaos, she has sworn an oath of revenge against Gaynor The Damned for the eradication of a universe that was precious to her.
* Yishana of Jharkor: A human, ruler of Jharkor. She presents Elric with several problems/adventures and openly covets his company and power. Her selfish desires are the root of several of Elric's problems, but she also aids him from time to time and ultimately becomes an important ally in his fight against Chaos.
* Yyrkoon: Prince of Melniboné, Elric's cousin. He is next in line for the throne, as Elric has no male heir. He worries about Elric's behaviour and takes all of Elric's brooding and philosophical talk as a sign of weakness. He yearns for a return to more traditional emperors and secretly plots Elric's demise. Yyrkoon is a great sorcerer who has made many pacts with unholy forces to obtain his sorcerous strength. As further evidence of his decadent ways, he openly desires his sister Cymoril and intends to make her his wife and Empress if his plans ever reach fruition.
* Zarozinia: A human of the Young Kingdoms. She falls in love with Elric and eventually marries him, for a time allowing him to experience true love and companionship. For her sake, Elric also gives up his blade Stormbringer and reverts to taking sorcerous herbs to sustain his life.
Appearances in other media
Comics
* In 1968, the French artist
Philippe Druillet
Philippe Druillet (; born 28 June 1944) is a French comics artist and creator, and an innovator in visual design.
Biography
Philippe Druillet was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France, but spent his youth in Spain, returning to France in 1952 ...
drew the first comics version of ''Elric'' in ''Spirits #1'', written by
Michel Demuth, which was published as a book the same year.
* In the early 70s
James Cawthorn published his oversized graphic novel ''Stormbringer'' with Savoy Books.
* Elric first appeared in large-circulation comics in America in ''
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Conan the Destroyer''), ...
'' issues 14–15 (1972), in an adventure in two parts entitled "A Sword Called Stormbringer!" and "The Green Empress of Melniboné". The comic was written by
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly ...
and illustrated by
Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith (born Barry Smith, 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' ''Conan the Barbarian'' from 1970 to 197 ...
, based on a story plotted by Michael Moorcock and James Cawthorn.
*
Star Reach
''Star Reach'' (also spelled ''Star*Reach'') was an American science fiction and fantasy comics anthology published from 1974 to 1979 by Mike Friedrich.
Publication history
One of the first American mainstream independent comic books, ''Star*R ...
comics published Elric stories in the late 1970s.
First Comics
First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', ''Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comics ...
published several ''Elric'' mini-series in the 1980s as well.
*
P. Craig Russell has drawn comics adaptations of three Moorcock novels: ''Elric of Melniboné'' (with
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly ...
and
Michael T. Gilbert
Michael Terry Gilbert (born May 7, 1951) is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked for both mainstream and underground comic book companies.
Education
Gilbert attended the State University of New York at New Paltz, graduating ...
;
Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics (PC) was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1981 to 1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began at a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes. Alo ...
), ''The Dreaming City'' and ''While the Gods Laugh'' (representing the first two-thirds of ''Weird of the White Wolf'';
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
* ...
/
Epic Comics
Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of Marvel Comics from 1982 to 1996. A spin-off of the publisher's ...
), and ''Stormbringer'' (
Dark Horse
A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might.
Origin
Th ...
). The character has also been adapted by Walter Simonson, Frank Brunner,
George Freeman, and others in the long-running Elric series at Pacific which Russell had co-created (reportedly tensions between him and Thomas were the reason for his departure).
* Elric also appeared in a number of original stories published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...
.
Helix
A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helic ...
, a short-lived science-fiction and fantasy
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
of DC, published the 12-issue ''
Michael Moorcock's Multiverse
''Michael Moorcock's Multiverse'' is an American twelve-issue comic book limited series published in 1997 as a part of the short-lived DC Comics imprint Helix. It was later collected as a single edition graphic novel. Written by Michael Moorcoc ...
'' from 1997. In 2004,
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...
published the four-issue ''Elric: Making of a Sorcerer'', with art by
Walter Simonson
Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' '' Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...
, a story about Elric's magical training before the events of the novel ''Elric of Melniboné''.
* 2011 marked the launch of another Elric-based comic, ''Elric: The Balance Lost'' by
BOOM! Studios
Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States.
History
Origins
In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in ...
. The series, written by
Chris Roberson and drawn by Francesco Biagini, is available in both traditional hard copy and for digital download.
* In 2014, ''The Ruby Throne'', the first volume of a new four-volume adaptation of ''Elric of Melniboné'' written by Julien Blondel and illustrated by Didier Poli, Jean Bastide, and Robin Recht, was published by Glenat in France and titan in UK. ''Stormbringer'', the second volume was published in March 2015 by the same team and publisher. The third volume, entitled ''The White Wolf'', was released in September 2017.
The final volume, ''The Dreaming City'', was released in August 2021.
Music
* ''
The Chronicle of the Black Sword'' is a 1985 album by UK
space rock
Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...
band
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
. Moorcock and Hawkwind had, at this stage, collaborated a number of times. An expanded live album, ''
Live Chronicles'', was released in 1986. This included several
spoken-word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
interludes by author Moorcock in his capacity as on-stage narrator. The live show also included a
mime
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Message ...
artist portraying Elric himself. A video
concert film
A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian.
Early history
The ...
entitled ''The Chronicle of the Black Sword'' appeared on VHS and later on DVD.
* The song "
Black Blade" was recorded for the album ''
Cultösaurus Erectus
''Cultösaurus Erectus'' is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 14, 1980. Following an experiment with a more-polished sound on the album '' Mirrors'' (released the previous year), this record ...
'' (1980) by
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...
, written by singer/guitarist Eric Bloom with lyrics by Moorcock. Moorcock also collaborated on the songs "The Great Sun Jester" (''
Mirrors'' (1979)) and "
Veteran of the Psychic Wars
"Veteran of the Psychic Wars" is a song by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was written by Eric Bloom and British author Michael Moorcock (creator of Elric of Melniboné). The song first appeared on the 1981 album ''Fire of Unk ...
" (''
Fire of Unknown Origin
''Fire of Unknown Origin'' is the eighth studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 22, 1981. It was produced by Martin Birch.
The album, which included the Top 40 hit "Burnin' for You" (#1 on Billboard's Al ...
'' (1981)).
* The
heavy metal band
Tygers of Pan Tang
Tygers of Pan Tang are an English heavy metal band who are part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. They formed in 1978 in Whitley Bay, England, and were active until 1987. The band reformed in 1999 and continue to record and perf ...
take their name from the fictional islands of Pan Tang in the Elric series, where the ruling wizards keep pet tigers.
* The UK space rock (later heavy metal) band
Mournblade take their name from the sister-sword of Elric's blade Stormbringer.
*
New wave of British heavy metal
The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
band
Diamond Head made Elric one of the primary lyrical subjects of their 1982 release ''
Borrowed Time'' and featured the character on the cover art. Songs from this release were re-recorded by
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
.
Film
*
Wendy Pini published a book documenting her attempt to make an animated film project of the ''Stormbringer'' series, ''Law and Chaos: The "Stormbringer" Animated Film Project''.
* In May 2007, in an interview with
''Empire'' magazine, directors
Chris
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common.
People with the given name
*Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...
and
Paul Weitz stated that they were in the process of adapting a trilogy of films based on Elric for
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
.
Chris grew up reading the material
and has met with Moorcock, who trusted them with the project.
Universal dropped the project and it is now in the hands of
New Republic Pictures
New Republic Pictures is an American production company and independent financier of feature films founded by Brian Oliver in 2017.
History
Through partnerships with major studios and foreign sales companies, New Republic brings outstanding ...
.
Television
* In November 2019,
New Republic announced the development of a television series based on the Elric novels, to be adapted by Glen Mazzara and Vaun Wilmott.
Role-playing games
* Elric (along with Stormbringer) was listed in the first printing of
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) ''
Deities & Demigods
''Deities & Demigods'' (abbreviated ''DDG''), alternatively known as ''Legends & Lore'' (abbreviated ''L&L'' or ''LL''), is a reference book for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game (D&D). The book provides descriptions and game ...
'' rule book. However,
Chaosium
Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include '' Call of Cthulhu'', based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft'', RuneQuest Glorantha'', ''Pendragon ...
already had a role playing series in the works based on Elric and Stormbringer, and the initial AD&D printing was not fully authorised. A mutually beneficial deal was worked out between Chaosium and
TSR, yet TSR chose to remove Elric from later printings of ''Deities & Demigods''.
[See the RPGnet brief history of Chaosiu]
for more details.
/ref>
* The world of Elric's Young Kingdoms was the setting of the ''Stormbringer
Stormbringer is a magic sword featured in a number of fantasy stories by the author Michael Moorcock. It is described as a huge, black sword covered with strange runes, created by the forces of Chaos with its own will. It is wielded by the doo ...
'' role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
by the publisher Chaosium ( Hawkmoon has also been so treated, as has Corum). In 1993 Chaosium released ''Elric!'' which still used their BRP system.
* After a disagreement between Moorcock and Chaosium, the ''Stormbringer'' line was discontinued. Subsequently, a new version called "Elric of Melniboné" was published by Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, publishing material since 2001. Its licenses include products based on the science fiction properties ''Traveller'', '' Judge Dredd'', and ''Parano ...
under their ''Runequest
''RuneQuest'' (commonly abbreviated as RQ) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. It was first publis ...
'' system in 2007.
Video game
A video game based on ''Elric'' was in development by Haiku Studios and to be published by Psygnosis
Psygnosis Limited (known as SCE Studio Liverpool or simply Studio Liverpool from 1999) was a British video game developer and publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Hetherington, Jonathan Ell ...
for the PlayStation during the late 1990s.
Critical response
Writing for NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, Jason Sheehan calls Elric "far and away the coolest, grimmest, moodiest, most elegant, degenerate, drug-addicted, cursed, twisted and emotionally weird mass murderer of them all".
References in popular culture
Footnotes
External links
Moorcock's Miscellany
(formerly Tanelorn, Multiverse.org & Moorcock's Weekly Miscellany)
Michael Moorcock's Comics Compendium
incl. Elric adaptations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elric Of Melnibone
Eternal Champion (character)
Michael Moorcock characters
Novels by Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock's Multiverse
Fantasy books by series
Fictional characters with albinism
Fictional emperors and empresses
Fictional swordfighters
Fictional mercenaries
Fictional characters who use magic
Characters in fantasy literature
Dark fantasy
Literary characters introduced in 1961
Characters in American novels of the 20th century
Sword and sorcery