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| Earl Aubec (1993), Art: Yoshitaka Amano |
The first grand sequence documenting the Eternal Champion's struggle for Balance between Law and Chaos comes to a perfect, blow-the-lid-off conclusion in Stormbringer, at least for Elric's sphere of the Multiverse. However the earlier short story "To Rescue Tanelorn...", featuring not Elric but Rackhir the Red Archer, introduces another important facet of the Moorcock myth-verse: the elusive city of Tanelorn. Published in the December 1962 issue of Science Fantasy (two months after “The Flame Bringers” but half a year prior to the opening episode of Stormbringer), it describes Rackhir's quest for allies to help defend the refuge of Tanelorn from a Chaos invasion force. The city of Tanelorn is also an odd kind of quest object, in that it appears in multiple story lines featuring many different characters, but also manifests in different ways. In a sense it is simply a multiverse-wide urban representation of a state of perfect Balance between Law and Chaos, and a kind of Valhalla for the many incarnations of the Eternal Champion.
“…that mysterious, malleable city of peace…represents one’s coherent inner self, that core of silence and understanding most of us eventually find, a place to which we can return when we need to, and take stock of ourselves and our world — a place, if you like, where the soul can rest and recover. It is one of the few stories I ever wrote under the influence of William Morris (another of my heroes) and Lord Dunsany.”In this, its first named appearance, Tanelorn appears to be simply a nice place to live, a little bit semi-mythical, but not especially hard to reach if one knows which direction in which it lies. It’s possible that a version of Tanelorn had also appeared in The Golden Barge as the extra-dimensional realm of the strange Guardians there (who themselves seem to resurface here as the original architects of Tanelorn). Over the years Tanelorn will become more elusive, more abstract and more of a narrative endpoint (finally being replaced in Moorcock's multiverse by the multi-dimensional European city of Mirenburg).
- Introduction to The Eternal Champion, White Wolf 1994
In any case, in “To Rescue Tanelorn…”, the titular city is about to be attacked by a horde of Chaos forces (a situation which will be magnified many times over when Jagreen Lern's Chaos horde later envelopes the entirety of the Young Kingdoms in Stormbringer). A former Warrior Priest of Chaos named Rackhir and his wizardly companion Lamsar the Seer travel through several spheres of reality (the multiverse, in other words) in their quest. Ultimately Tanelorn is saved, but Chaos of course will soon surge forth once again under Jagreen Lern’s banner.
Rackhir the Red Archer
Rackhir is a somewhat less complex character than most Moorcock protagonists – simply because he’s not particularly hung up on anything (such as genocide, for example). I suppose Rackhir is kind of what Elric could have been if the doomed Melnibonéan had not been caught up in all of those kinslaying, people-betraying episodes. Like Elric, Rackhir had been brought up as a follower of Chaos, but later disavowed both Law and Chaos allegiances in order to find peace and balance. More sophisticated than Howard's "Conan", but less psychologically-tortured than Elric (or John Daker for that matter), Rackhir will not have a particularly substantial arc in the Tale of the Eternal Champion. Being killed by Elric in Stormbringer also probably made it a bit difficult to form a sequence of book-length adventures around him and still maintain tension.
The Grey Lords, another "elder race" encountered here (and mentioned in a few other places) act as an "oracular" device in this story. They will be seen again in The War Hound and the World's Pain (1981).
“Was not Elric there—he knows Tanelorn?”
On an academic note, Elric's eventual activities in Stormbringer were probably still somewhat unformed at the time of "To Rescue Tanelorn..."'s writing, since the original published version of the story does not specifically tie in to Stormbringer's events:
“There are rumours that he was killed in a great sea-battle between the Trader-princes of the Purple Ports and the Lormyrian Confederation, that the fleets met off Sorcerer’s Isle near the Yellow Coasts and that the Trader-princes smashed the strength of Lormyr, slaying Elric in the process. There is another rumour which said that he was badly wounded and now lies dying among the ruins of Imrryr, his own city which he, himself, destroyed. But all I know is that Zarozinia, his princess, mourns him for dead and we’ll get no help from Elric or from Kaarlak in Elric’s name.”However, revised versions have this section updated to more closely reflect events occurring in "Dead God's Homecoming":
“There is a rumour which says that he himself fights Chaos now, for the minions of Chaos captured his wife Zarozinia and he rides in pursuit of them. Chaos, it seems, gains strength everywhere in our realm.”
Resentful of Tanelorn (a peaceful city mostly populated by warriors formerly pledged to Chaos), the Chaos Lords order Narjhan (one of their number) to gather an invasion army of Nadsokor beggars to destroy it. The Warrior Priest Rackhir the Red Archer hears of the approaching Chaos forces and decides to try to contact the Grey Lords for advice (the warriors of Tanelorn also send a messenger to Karlaak seeking Elric’s help, but the albino is abroad trying to rescue his wife Zarozinia from the forces of Chaos in “Dead Gods’ Homecoming”).
Rackhir contacts a seer in the Sighing Desert named Lamsar, who tells him that in order to find the Grey Lords, he must pass through the Five Gates. Lamsar and Rackhir pass through the First Gate to arrive before a circular city where they are faced with a dancing mob who try to force them to join their dance. Lamsar uses sorcery to freeze them into stone, and they move through the 2nd Gate, leading to a dimension ruled by Chaos (Rackhir sees his old Chaos master Vezhan in the distance). Rackhir’s weapons are charmed by Lamsar and hold off the Chaos Lord Hionhurn long enough so that they can pass through the 3rd Gate and arrive at a womb-like domed building, where they meet the inhuman Guardians (possibly from The Golden Barge):
“You spend your lives chasing that which is within you and that which you can find in any other human being—but you will not look for it there—you must follow more glamorous paths—to waste your time in order to discover that you wasted your time.”The Guardians claim that they are the original builders of Tanelorn, and lead them to the 4th Gate which leads to the Realm of Law, dominated by a grey plain. There, they encounter a being who questions his own existence. After Rackhir dispatches him from his troubles (kills him), he and Lamsar find the 5th gate, leading to the land of the Grey Lords. There they find Sorana, a former love of Rackhir’s, but still pledged to Lord Eeqor of Chaos. The Grey Lords suggest to Rackhir that the Boatmen of Xerlerenes can save Tanelorn. Eeqor orders Sorana to inform Narjhan of Rackhir’s progress. On the way to seek out the Boatmen, Rackhir and Lamsar are attacked by Eeqor’s giant owls (also seen in “Dead Gods’ Homecoming”) and shark-sized flying-fish, but Lamsar repels them with fire elementals. Rackhir and his friends eventually find the Boatmen of Xerlerenes, who sail in airships.
Lord Narjhan and his beggar army reaches and attacks Tanelorn, but just as Tanelorn’s defenses crumble Rackhir returns with the Boatmen of Xerlerenes. Narjhan summons the Kyrenee, a lethal cloud-like entity, but Lamsar counters it with fire elementals which cause the gas to explode and burn Narjhan’s own beggar army. The Chaos army is soon defeated, but when Lord Narjhan is captured his armor is found to be empty. Rackhir takes the captured Sorana back to Tanelorn as his prisoner.
"To Rescue Tanelorn..." Wikiverse Entry
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| Fantastic v13 #5, May 1964, Art: Virgil Finlay |
With the “Matter of the Young Kingdoms” settled quite conclusively in Stormbringer, Moorcock also experimented with reaching back into the past, establishing a "creation myth" for Elric’s world. In “Earl Aubec and the Golem” (published in Fantastic magazine as “Master of Chaos”), Moorcock presents the chivalric knight Earl Aubec, a devotee to his Queen Eloarde of Kant. After resisting her temptations, he nonetheless still follows through with the Law seductress Myshella's intentions and creates new territories out of unformed Chaos, simply by sheer force of will. Aubec, like Rackhir, does not seem to have any real apprehensions or doubts about his loyalties or his purpose, and this goes towards explaining how he is able to seemingly form Order out of Chaos. However, as an unwitting servant of Law (represented by Myshella), this story sets Aubec up as being another pawn. Thus, the strength borne from his resolute belief also becomes a liability to some extent. This continues a Moorcock thematic thread which warns against the pitfalls of dogmatic thought.
Kaneloon's Dark Lady Myshella will reappear with much more to do in the Elric story "The Sleeping Sorceress" ("The Vanishing Tower").
Synopsis
Sent by his Queen Eloarde of Kant to conquer Kaneloon in her name, Earl Aubec of Malador stands at the edge of the world, looking on Castle Kaneloon. An unformed sea of Chaos stretches beyond the castle cliffs. He enters Kaneloon and explores a labyrinthine corridor. After fighting his way through various dark visions and illusions, he is attacked by a mechanical creature - a “golem”. Over-matched in strength, Aubec uses a mirror to scare away the behemoth with its own reflection. He ascends a staircase to find Myshella, the Dark Lady, who attempts to seduce him, but he defers out of loyalty to his Queen (and consort). Myshella convinces Aubec to go against the Chaos sea and create new territories in the name of his Queen Eloarde. Aubec proceeds down a causeway created by Myshella, unwittingly manipulated by the forces of Law to do their bidding (previous warriors had done similar expansions of territories in the name of Law as a reward for Myshella’s affections). With Aubec’s efforts, the territories of the Young Kingdoms and Melniboné come into being, with Kaneloon eventually being relocated to the edge of the newly-created territories.
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| Art: James Cawthorn, 1993 |
The Earl Aubec Story Proposal (1966)
Perhaps inspired by the new questions that “Earl Aubec”/"Master of Chaos" had raised, Moorcock began playing with the idea of writing a new sequence of Aubec stories leading to the rise of the first of the Young Kingdoms. This sequence would also be able to portray Melniboné at its height (as opposed to its more decadent depiction in the Elric saga). A story proposal was written up in 1966 for submission to publishers, but ultimately led to no new stories. The proposal itself was eventually published in Elric: In the Dream Realms (2009), and provides a fascinating look at what "could have been". I suspect that, although Earl Aubec’s adventures never materialized in novel form, his spirit lived on as Count Brass in Hawkmoon's sequences.
Synopsis of the Proposal
Gadric the 11th, son of Terhali (the Green Empress), rules Melniboné during the the Age of the Bright Empire (after which the Age of the Young Kingdoms will eventually come). Earl Aubec of Malador, a Lormyr knight serving Queen Eloarde, is forced to become an outlaw when the Queen is assassinated by her half-brother Aradard. While eluding Aradard’s assassins, Aubec travels the Young Kingdoms in the hopes of raising an army in order to defeat the usurper and place Eloarde's son Haminak on the throne (although Haminak is missing).
Aubec decides to join the Argimiliar army, which is mountaing an attack on Lormyr. The mysterious Dark Lady Micella warns Aubec that the two kingdoms are being pitted against each other by the Melnibonéans, in order that they weaken each other in conflict. Aubec visits the island of Melniboné and after a brief audience with Emperor Gadric and the Chaos Lord Balan, suspects that Micella is right. Aubec later learns that King Ronon is holding Haminak hostage to ensure Aubec’s loyalty. At Ronon’s palace in Hikach, Aubec is captured by Ronan’s Pan Tang sorceror. The Pan Tang sorceror forces Aubec to go on a quest for the Treasure of the Pikaraydians, with which the sorceror hopes to gain control over both Argimiliar and neighboring Pikarayd.
Aubec reluctantly travels to the Shivering Cliffs and after battling various creatures gains the Treasure. On the way back to Nieve, Aubec narrowly escapes being killed by Lormyrian assassins led by Count Palag Fhak (under orders from Aradard). The Lormyrians trail Aubec back to Nieve and the Pan Tang sorceror is forced to use sorcery to fight off Palag Fhak’s Lormyrian forces. Aubec learns that Ronon’s hostage is a fake and kills the Pan Tang sorceror, while Palag Fhak’s forces are destroyed by the sorceror’s remaining creatures. Aubec returns to Hikach and with the help of the Pikaraydian mercenaries destroys the city. Micella appears and congratulates Aubec on destroying Ronon, whom Chaos had been counting on to foment the war with Lormyr. Aubec departs, embittered at Micella for using him as a pawn in the battle between Law and Chaos.
Earl Aubec’s later adventures help to further weaken the presence of the Lords of Chaos on Earth, and thus weaken the power of Melniboné over the Young Kingdoms. The Lormyrian Confederacy eventually rises as an independent faction, no longer subservient to Melniboné.
Master of Chaos Wikiverse Entry
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| Art: Tom Canty |
Another “outlier” champion among Moorcock’s "Warriors On The Edge Of Time" might have been Alexander the Great, although his fate seems to have been cut short by mysterious forces. Originally conceived as a story intended to accompany a Gerard Quinn cover for Science Fantasy 58 (but ironically not used for that issue), it posits a story in which Alexander and his mother Olympias are “possessed” by the evil entity Ahriman, and despite his innately heroic nature, Alexander eventually becomes a force for "Satan". The skeptic Simon of Thebes, allied with the Light-worshipping Priests of Ormuzd, eventually defeat Alexander and Ahriman, although Ahriman promises to return (perhaps as a Chaos Duke, or even Stormbringer himself?). It’s not an essential story to the Tale of the Eternal Champion, but tellingly it is often included in collections focusing on the Eternal Champion.
If the Alexander of this story is an incarnation of the Eternal Champion, this incarnation is an especially poignant one, as he is possessed by the evil Ahriman and commits many acts of cruelty before he is stopped by the mercenary Simon. It's possible that Simon is also an incarnation of the Eternal Champion, but since he does not have the "hypnagogic" dreams that Alexander suffers, I doubt it. One of the unusual aspects of this story is that it uses famous creatures out of history and mythology (Furies, for example), which would seem more appropriate in this context than Clakars or Dead Gods I guess. Ahriman (Angra Mainyu) and Ormuzd (Ahura Mazda) come from Zoroastrianism, a belief system which also influenced Moorcock's development of his Law and Chaos mythology.
Synopsis
One
A sick Alexander the Great writhes in bed, caught in a dream where he exists as hundreds of different beings. Outside, a mercenary named Simon arrives in Babylon in the hopes of joining Alexander’s army. He asks his old friend Hano to help make this possible. Hano, a friend of Olympias (Alexander’s cultish mother), tells Simon that iron seems to be Alexander’s secret weakness. Alexander is also known to heal amazingly quickly and sometimes speak in unknown languages.
Two
Simon obtains an audience with Alexander and at first impresses the sickly dictator. However, when Alexander abruptly reveals himself to be a cruel and evil man, Simon curses him and is forced to flee for his life. Pursued by Alexander’s soldiers, he finds refuge with some dark-robed priests. Their leader, Abaris, tells Simon that Alexander and his mother Olympias are allied with the evil Ahriman, and that Abaris serves Ahriman’s opposite, Ormuzd. Abaris hints that he is a thousand years old, and then asks Simon to bring a secret message to his fellow Magi in Pela (Macedonia).
Three
On the way to Pela, Simon is pursued by Furies (female demons), but Massiva, the Magi of Pela, counters the creatures. After delivering the message to Massiva, Simon saves a girl named Camilla from four of Olympias’ creatures who intend to give her to Olympias for rites worshipping Cotys. Meanwhile, Alexander sends word to his commanders across his realm to gather for a new campaign in the name of Ahriman.
Four
Simon falls in love with Camilla. When Camilla is kidnapped by Olympias’ servants, Simon obtains advice and herbs from Massiva and then infiltrates a Cotys ritual sacrifice. He frees Camilla and fends off the evil spirit of Ahriman with race-memory fortitude and Massiva’s special herbs. They escape into the night but Ahriman promises that Alexander will eventually capture them.
Five
Simon and Camilla are harried by Ahriman’s demons and creatures, but eventually arrive at the ruined city of Nineveh, the last bastion of Ormuzd’s followers of Light. Abaris brings them into the city where they are protected from Olympias and Ahriman’s creatures.
Six
After learning of Alexander’s gathering war machine, Simon infiltrates Babylon using the Cloak of the Magi as a disguise. After Alexander addresses his massive army, Simon confronts him atop the Temple of Baal and using special weapons given to him by Abaris, manages to temporarily drive Ahriman out of Alexander’s body. Simon attacks Alexander, who remembers nothing since his first meeting with Simon (before the evil spirit of Ahriman had possessed him completely). Alexander is impressed with Simon’s ability and orders his soldiers to allow the duel. After Simon eventually scores a mortal wound on Alexander (still weak from sickness), Abaris and the other Magi appear and hold off Ahriman’s malevolent spirit until Alexander breathes his last. Ahriman departs, but promises to return one day. Simon and Abaris agree to claim that Alexander died from sickness, therefore preserving his legacy of unity.
The original publication of "The Greater Conqueror" in Science Fantasy also includes a list of "bibliographic" references:
- Arrian’s Life Of Alexander The Great (translated by Aubrey de Selincourt, Penguin).
- Outline Of History by H. G. Wells.
- Bulfinch’s Mythology (Modern Library).
- The White Goddess by Robert Graves (Faber and Faber).
- Various other general works on Classical History, Mythology etc.
Next Chapter: The Multiverse: The Sundered Worlds, The Blood Red Game
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