Unlike most others of his race, Elric possesses something of a conscience he sees the decadence of his culture, and worries about the rise of the Young Kingdoms, populated by humans (as Melniboneans do not consider themselves such) and the threat they pose to his empire. In addition to herb lore, his character becomes an accomplished sorcerer and summoner, able to summon powerful, supernatural allies by dint of his royal Melnibonéan bloodline. Physically weak and frail, the albino Elric must take drugs-later retconned to mean special herbs-to maintain his health. The novels have been continuously in print since the 1970s.Įlric was the last emperor of the stagnating island civilisation of Melniboné. Moorcock's albino character is one of the better known in fantasy literature, having crossed over into multimedia, such as comics and film, though efforts towards the latter stalled over the years. 47, June 1961) subsequent novellas were reformatted as the novel Stormbringer (1965), but his first appearance in an original novel wasn't until 1973 in Elric of Melniboné. Later novels by Moorcock mark Elric as a facet of The Eternal Champion.Įlric first appeared in print in Moorcock's novella, 'The Dreaming City' ( Science Fantasy No. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, and the antihero of a series of sword and sorcery stories centring in an alternate Earth.

Elric of melnibone