Deities in the Elric series
Encyclopedia
Deities
and supernatural beings play an active part in Michael Moorcock
’s fantasy
series of books about the character Elric of Melniboné
. It is nearly certain that a god will be summoned
, or at least mentioned, in every story. There are three main classes of gods: the Lords of the Higher Worlds, the Beast-Lords, and the Elementals.
Other gods are sometimes mentioned, such as the Dead Gods who are not active through most of the series. The Swords Trilogy, set in the same “Multiverse
”, introduces the Lost Gods Kwll and Rhynn.
Long before the time when the stories take place, the royal family of Melniboné
established formal alliances with many of these deities, sometimes through a diabolical pact. As the Emperor of Melniboné, Elric enjoys the right to call on them for aid. The Ring of Kings, set with an Actorios
stone, demonstrates his right to summon these supernatural beings and supplies him with the mystic energy to do so.
, or with the Cosmic Balance. They include the most powerful gods who are active on Earth at the beginning of the series.
Other Chaos Lords are mentioned by name only; these include Aesma, Alastor, six-breasted Arnara, Haborym of the Fires Which Destroy, Malohin, Marthim (Balaan-Marthim), Nizilfkm, Saebos, Teshwan, Verdelet, and Zhortra.
Balo, the Jester to the Court of Chaos, is able to move at will between the realms of Chaos and Law because he is not exactly a Chaos Lord. His function at court is to amuse and baffle the Lords of the Higher Worlds. At one point, he tries to convert Earth into his own Realm of Paradox.
, the city of the Balance.
: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.
Individual (named) elementals include:
Some third-party role-playing material based on the series postulates an air-elemental ruler named Lassa, the mother of Misha and Graoll, but no reference to such a deity appears in the stories themselves. Similarly, Kakatal is sometimes listed in RPG materials as the ruler of the fire elementals, but the evidence for this in the series is ambiguous at best.
There are also several types of lesser air (wind) elementals mentioned:
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
and supernatural beings play an active part in Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
’s fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
series of books about the character Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, and the antihero of a series of sword and sorcery stories centering in an alternate Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné...
. It is nearly certain that a god will be summoned
Conjuration
Conjuration is used in many video games, mainly RPGs, where it is usually referred to as summoning.* A notable example is the Final Fantasy franchise which incorporates summoning of monsters to fight alongside the characters....
, or at least mentioned, in every story. There are three main classes of gods: the Lords of the Higher Worlds, the Beast-Lords, and the Elementals.
Other gods are sometimes mentioned, such as the Dead Gods who are not active through most of the series. The Swords Trilogy, set in the same “Multiverse
The Multiverse
The Multiverse is a series of parallel universes in many of the science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories written by Michael Moorcock. Central to these works is the concept of an Eternal Champion who has potentially multiple identities across multiple dimensions...
”, introduces the Lost Gods Kwll and Rhynn.
Long before the time when the stories take place, the royal family of Melniboné
Melniboné
Melniboné , also known as the Dragon Isle, is an imaginary country, an island featured in the writings of Michael Moorcock. It is the homeland of Elric, one of the incarnations of the Eternal Champion....
established formal alliances with many of these deities, sometimes through a diabolical pact. As the Emperor of Melniboné, Elric enjoys the right to call on them for aid. The Ring of Kings, set with an Actorios
Actorius
An lapis alectorius, alectoria or capon stone is a non-precious mineral stone found in the gizzard of capons . In magic it is believed to be an effective amulet, granting the wearer a heightened sense of courage and boldness. These properties are unproven.-References:*...
stone, demonstrates his right to summon these supernatural beings and supplies him with the mystic energy to do so.
The Lords of the Higher Worlds
The Lords of the Higher Worlds are the powerful gods associated with Law and ChaosLaw and Chaos
Law and Chaos are the dominant metaphysical forces in the fantasy stories of Michael Moorcock, which he derived from Poul Anderson . Law and Chaos are in constant struggle, but they are kept in check by the Cosmic Balance, an even more powerful force for neutrality. The Eternal Champion is doomed...
, or with the Cosmic Balance. They include the most powerful gods who are active on Earth at the beginning of the series.
Lords of Chaos
The Chaos Lords have the powers of gods but the behavior and appearance of demons. When they appear at their worst, they deliberately inflict pain and suffering on mortals for amusement; even at best, they are not concerned with the harmful effects of their creations. The Revenge of the Rose openly portrays Arioch as insane. Sorcerers often gain power by entering into diabolical pacts with Chaos Lords. The Chaos Lords must act under certain limitations. For instance, Arioch must be summoned by Elric before he can manifest on Earth.- Arioch, Lord of the Seven Darks, Knight of the Swords, Lord of the Higher Hell, et cetera, one of the most powerful Dukes of HellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. He is the patron of Melniboné and has a personal relationship with Elric, who was the first emperor to summon him to the plane of Earth in a long time. He is sophisticated and highly intelligent, and he usually appears in an amazingly beautiful form, usually with blond hair. - Balan the Grim or Balaan appears briefly as an ally of Arioch.
- Chardros the Reaper, one of the three oldest Chaos Lords, appears similar to the Grim Reaper. He is referred to as both the lord of destruction and beauty.
- Checkalakh the Burning God, a minor Chaos Lord made entirely of fire, was once summoned to Nadsokor to burn disease from the city. Like his essence, he is constantly hungry.
- Duke Teer in perpetual search for more blood for his castle ('can you not smell its delicious tang?')
- Eequor, a Lady of Chaos, dwelling in a half-world filled with shades of blue.
- Hionhurn the Executioner, a giant, green and gnarled like a tree.
- Mabelode the Faceless is one of the three oldest and most powerful Chaos Lords. He appears with his face in shadow.
- Malak appears briefly as an ally of Arioch.
- Mashabak is a rival to Arioch in The Revenge of the Rose. Count Mashabak is brutal and direct, less subtle than Arioch.
- Narjhan, a rider in black armor whose voice echoes hollowly in his helm, who leads a force of beggars from Nadsokor against TanelornTanelornTanelorn is a fictional city set in the Multiverse of Michael Moorcock's fantasy novels.Tanelorn shares some properties with the author's key character, the Eternal Champion, namely its existence in all dimensions, albeit not at the same time...
. - Orunlu the Keeper is a purple-scaled giant with a fiery aura. This good-humored Chaos Lord is charged with guarding the Dead Gods’ Book.
- Pyaray, the Tentacled Whisperer of Impossible Secrets, appears as a giant red octopus. His soul is kept in a blue crystal on his head. Sailors who drown at sea are taken into his Chaos Fleet. One portent of the end of the world is the ascent of the Chaos Fleet to the surface.
- Slortar the Old, the oldest Chaos Lord, appears ironically as a slim and beautiful youth.
- Vezhan appears as a smoky yellow, winged humanoid; at one time he was a patron of Rackhir, a Warrior Priest of Phum.
- Xiombarg prefers to appear as a beautiful young woman but is sometimes referred to with the male pronoun (making a pun of her title Queen of the Swords). She is prone to shapeshifting and carries a giant sword. In Stormbringer, she rides a creature with the head of a lion and the body of a bull (chimerasChimera (mythology)The Chimera or Chimaera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing female creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of multiple animals: upon the body of a lioness with a tail that ended in a snake's head, the head of a goat arose on her back at the center of her...
are typical creations of Chaos).
Other Chaos Lords are mentioned by name only; these include Aesma, Alastor, six-breasted Arnara, Haborym of the Fires Which Destroy, Malohin, Marthim (Balaan-Marthim), Nizilfkm, Saebos, Teshwan, Verdelet, and Zhortra.
Balo, the Jester to the Court of Chaos, is able to move at will between the realms of Chaos and Law because he is not exactly a Chaos Lord. His function at court is to amuse and baffle the Lords of the Higher Worlds. At one point, he tries to convert Earth into his own Realm of Paradox.
Lords of Law
The White Lords of Law are much less developed than the Lords of Chaos. The stories are set in a cosmic cycle when Chaos is most powerful. Furthermore, Elric’s alliance with Arioch means that he interacts chiefly with the Chaos Lords. When they appear, the Lords of Law are usually more benevolent than the Chaos Lords, who are seductive but also sinister and prone to losing their temper.- Donblas the Justice Maker is the spokesman and apparent leader of the White Lords.
- Miggea is a female Lord of Law who goes mad.
- Arkyn appears in the Corum cycle, but as the deities in the Elric and Corum cycles are essentially the same then it can be presumed that Arkyn is also a member of the White Lords. He assists Corum many times before the destruction of the Gods by Kwll.
- Shalod is mentioned (briefly) in the Corum cycle following the defeat of Queen Xiombarg. Just as Arkyn, he can be presumed to be a member of the White Lords.
The Lords Of The Inquisition
The Lords Of the Inquisition appear in the story "To Rescue Tanelorn," where it is said that they "are pledged neither to Law nor to Chaos but will sometimes help either side if the whim takes them." The Grey Lords take pride, ironically, in their humility. These purposefully neutral gods are gods of the Balance and caretakers of TanelornTanelorn
Tanelorn is a fictional city set in the Multiverse of Michael Moorcock's fantasy novels.Tanelorn shares some properties with the author's key character, the Eternal Champion, namely its existence in all dimensions, albeit not at the same time...
, the city of the Balance.
The Beast-Lords
The Beast-Lords are the patron deities of the different types of animals that live in Elric’s world. The Emperors of Melniboné entered into agreements with each of the Beast-Lords, though sometimes these gods mention that they have not been called upon for a long time. When Elric calls upon them for aid, some appear in person, while others help by influencing mortal creatures of their type.- Meerclar, Mistress of Cats.
- Fileet, Lady of Birds.
- Haashaastaak, Lord of Lizards.
- Nnuuurrrr'c'c' , Lord of Insects.
- Roofdrak, Lord of Dogs.
- Nuru-ah, Lord of CattleCattleCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
. - Tangled Woman, unique in the series in that she is a patron of plants rather than animals. Her domain is the roseRoseA rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
.
Elementals
The Elementals are the embodiments of the four elementsClassical element
Many philosophies and worldviews have a set of classical elements believed to reflect the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. Most frequently, classical elements refer to ancient beliefs...
: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.
Individual (named) elementals include:
- Grome, King of the Earth Elementals.
- Straasha, King of the Sea Elementals and Grome's brother. The two elementals once had a great battle.
- Misha and Graoll, the Lasshaar, powerful air elementals. Also called the Wind Giants, Lords of the Wind, or Kings of the Wind.
- Kakatal, the Fire Lord, one of the Lords of the Flame.
Some third-party role-playing material based on the series postulates an air-elemental ruler named Lassa, the mother of Misha and Graoll, but no reference to such a deity appears in the stories themselves. Similarly, Kakatal is sometimes listed in RPG materials as the ruler of the fire elementals, but the evidence for this in the series is ambiguous at best.
There are also several types of lesser air (wind) elementals mentioned:
- sylphs ("of the breeze")
- sharnahs ("makers of gales")
- h'Haarshanns ("builders of whirlwinds")