Law and Chaos are the dominant metaphysical forces in the fantasy stories of Michael Moorcock. 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 to fight for Law, or perhaps for the Balance. In order that he can oppose Chaos and serve the interests of Law throughout the Multiverse, he is reincarnated in the virtually infinite planes of existence. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... // For other meanings see Fantasy (disambiguation) Fantasy is a genre of art, literature, film, television, games and music that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of either plot, theme, setting, or all three. ... Michael John Moorcock (born December 18, 1939) is a prolific British writer of both science fiction and science fantasy. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Eternal Champion is a fictional creation of the author Michael Moorcock and is a recurrent feature in many of his novels. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Multiverse is the setting in which Michael Moorcocks Elric Saga takes place. ...

The Elric series contains the most information about Law, Chaos, and the Balance, as well as the beings called the Lords of the Higher Worlds: the deities who serve and represent Chaos or Law. This may be explained by three reasons. (1) Moorcock has written more about Elric than any other character. (2) Elric spends more time interacting with deities and cosmic forces because he is a powerful sorcerer. (3) The Lords of the Higher Worlds are more numerous in Elric’s world or interact with it more frequently. In an episode mirrored in The Vanishing Tower and The King of the Swords, Elric meets another incarnation of the Eternal Champion, Corum Jhaelen Irsei, who explains to him: Stormbringer (Lancer, 1967) Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock. ... Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A sorcerer (from Old French sorcier; fem. ... Corum Jhaelen Irsei is the name of a fantasy hero in a series of books written by Michael Moorcock. ...

There are many planes of existence. In some the Lords of Chaos are strong. In some they are weak. In some, I have heard, they do not exist at all.

In the world of Hawkmoon, for example, Chaos is powerful but is seldom personified. The Lords of the Higher Worlds appear mainly in the series about Elric and Corum. One of the fictional characters created by Michael Moorcock. ...

Variations exist in the allegiance of intelligent races to Law or Chaos. In Elric’s world, humans are naturally inclined towards Law and must pervert themselves in order to gain the assistance of Chaos, while the inhuman Melnibonéans feel a natural sympathy with Chaos. But in Corum’s world, the humanoid Vadhagh are Lawful while the Mabden (humans) are creations of Chaos. Melniboné is an imaginary country, an island featured in the writings of Michael Moorcock. ...

Chaos

Chaos (disorder, entropy) expresses the principle of possibility unfettered by rules. In general, magic and sorcery draw on the powers of Chaos because they break the laws of nature. The effects of Chaos can be beautiful, but left unchecked, they become too disruptive for life. Ice melting - a classic example of entropy increasing In thermodynamics, thermodynamic entropy (or simply entropy) is an important state function of a thermodynamic system: that is, a property depending only on the current state of the system, independent of how that state came to be achieved. ... MAGIC may refer to Magic (cryptography) The MAGIC telescope Magic: The Gathering, a card game This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Magic (also called magick to distinguish it from stage magic) is a supposed way of influencing the world through supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. ... The Laws of Nature are claimed in the United States Declaration of Independence to be the work of the Creator of unalienable rights identified as Natures God. ...

Symbol of Chaos

Pure Chaos stuff manifests in Stormbringer and "The Dream of Earl Aubec". It is swirling, constantly changing, multicolored matter with the power to melt and twist anything with which it comes in contact, including living flesh. Mortals find the sight of pure Chaos disturbing. Ironically, a realm controlled by Chaos becomes stagnant: the state of constant change lacks meaning, and eventually all possibilities are exhausted. Corum encounters a similar state of nature when he visits the realm of Xiombarg in The Queen of the Swords. In Stormbringer, when Chaos takes over much of the world, Elric and his companions observe that the sun is motionless and time seems to stand still. Image File history File links Created by Ant Allan, based on the w:symbol of Chaos devised by w:Michael Moorcock. ... Image File history File links Created by Ant Allan, based on the w:symbol of Chaos devised by w:Michael Moorcock. ...

Just as the Eternal Champion is a servant of Law, so does Chaos have its own champions. The most formidable is Prince Gaynor the Damned, formerly a servant of the Law but condemned by the Balance to aid Chaos after an unspeakable betrayal. He is completely hidden in armor that constantly changes hues from gold to silver to blue, emblazoned with the symbol of Chaos. This is an image of eight arrows, radiating in all directions from a central point, to represent the many possibilities Chaos offers. Symbol of Chaos Symbol of Chaos – asymmetrical variant In Michael Moorcocks Eternal Champion stories, the symbol of Chaos comprises eight arrows in a radial pattern. ...

Elric’s sword Stormbringer is a Chaotic being but not a god; it is powerful enough to slay Chaos Lords and apparently feels no bond of sympathy with them. It is typical of Chaos to be at war with itself. Stormbringer (Lancer, 1967) Stormbringer is the name of the infamous black sword featured in a number of fantasy stories by the author Michael Moorcock. ...

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. Mortals who ally with Disorder gradually become misshapen or corrupt. The demon Satan In folklore, mythology, and religion, a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as an evil spirit, but is also depicted to be good in some instances. ... Arioch originally appears in the Book of Genesis chap. ... According to Christian tradition on witchcraft the diabolical pact is a pact between a person and Satan or any other demon (or demons) in which the person offers (or sells) his/her soul in exchange for favours. ...

Chaos Lords are sometimes restricted from acting directly against humans (in The Queen of the Swords, for instance, Xiombarg must strike against the main characters through intermediaries) but at other times may act without prohibition (as for example when Elric calls upon the aid of Arioch; the god may attack mortals without hesitation). Similar limitations are probably placed upon the Lords of Law. They are also restricted in their ability to move between planes. For instance, Arioch must be summoned by Elric before he can manifest on Earth.

In the Elric series, there are many Chaos Lords, some more powerful than others, but the relationships between them is not always clear. In Corum’s world, by contrast, there is a well-developed hierarchy of Chaos. The Fifteen Planes are divided into three groups of five planes, each governed by one of the three Sword Rulers, the “Great Old Gods”: Arioch, Xiombarg, and Mabelrode the Faceless. These gods also appear in the Elric series, but their character is slightly different. Arioch, the Knight of the Swords, is the weakest of the three. He is crude and direct (in contrast to his sophisticated, subtle nature as Elric’s patron) and perhaps less intelligent. Xiombarg, the Queen of the Swords, prefers to appear as a beautiful woman. She is more powerful and is more active in controlling and manipulating the planes under her control. Mabelrode, the King of the Swords, is most powerful of all. Much of his realm is constantly changing chaos-stuff. He appears as a literally faceless (and hairless) man bearing a golden sword.

The Sword Rulers have vassals; it is possible that similar relationships exist between the deities in Elric’s world though this is not made explicit. Arioch’s vassals include Urleh, a minor god of Chaos serving the sophisticated Mabden (humans) of Lwyn-am-Esh; and the Dog and the Horned Bear, the savage beast-gods of the barbarians. A former priest of Urleh tells Corum that these gods are omnipotent and omniscient only over their spheres of influence; the Dog and the Bear are knowledgeable chiefly about Mabden affairs. Mabelrode has a host of Dukes of Hell under him, but the only one named is Duke Teer. He has a vaguely piglike head and takes great pride in his Castle Built of Blood.

Law

Law provides order, structure, and justice to the world. Without it nothing material could exist. Law appears friendly to life, but a realm controlled by Law alone becomes just as stagnant as one stifled by Chaos. In "To Rescue Tanelorn", the Realm of Law is a barren wasteland; without wrongs to right and injustice to correct, Law becomes meaningless. In The Dreamthief’s Daughter, Law goes mad and tries to overrun the world. Ordinarily, however, Law is benevolent and beautiful in its perfect regularity.

During the time when most of the Eternal Champion cycle is set, Law is weak and is in fact banished from most mortal planes of existence. Elric must summon the White Lords to his plane by blowing the Horn of Fate. Corum restores Law to his realm simply by killing the Chaos Lords or driving them away, leaving a cosmic vacancy.

Besides the Eternal Champion, Law has servants who aid Law by advising the Champion or in other ways. Myshella the Dark Lady of Kaneloon, Empress of the Dawn, is a servant of Law in Elric’s world. She serves Law by tempting or guiding heroes to pit their wills against pure Chaos, by which process the lands of Earth are extended. In The Quest for Tanelorn, Hawkmoon comes upon a unique "Gathering of the Wise," messengers of Law brought together from many planes. Present at the gathering are Sepiriz of Nihrain, who advises Elric in Stormbringer; Abaris of the Magi; Lamsar the Hermit, who guides Rackhir to the Grey Lords in "To Rescue Tanelorn"; the Warrior in Jet and Gold (who also appears in The Dragon in the Sword); Aleryon-a-Nyvish of the Temple of Law, a priest of Ilah in The Queen of the Swords; and the Silver Queen from Phoenix in Obsidian. One of the fictional characters created by Michael Moorcock. ...

The Symbol of Law is a single Arrow of Law.

Lords of Law

The White Lords of Law are much less developed than the Lords of Chaos. Most of the stories are set in a cosmic cycle when Chaos is most powerful. 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. However, mortals who meet with the Lords of Law are wise to remember that what benefits the gods does not always suit the aims of mortals.

In Corum’s world, there are three chief Lords of Law corresponding to the three Sword Rulers. The first is Arkyn, counterpart to Arioch. He has difficulty manifesting in Corum’s plane and appears as an indistinct but tall figure. He is the creator of the Vadhagh, who are his favorite race. The second is Donblas, the counterpart to Xiombarg. Like the Chaos Lords, the Lords of Law have their vassals. The only vassal deity of Law named is Ilah, a servant of Arkyn.

The Cosmic Balance

The Cosmic Balance maintains the balance of power between Law and Chaos by keeping both sides from overstepping the rules of war. It rarely manifests directly, but when it does (as in Stormbringer and The Quest for Tanelorn) it appears as a great pair of scales suspended in the sky. In The Queen of the Swords, it manifests to pass judgment between two Lords of the Higher Worlds. The Balance is the power most beneficial to life, which needs a mixture of Law and Chaos to exist. It is also the agent of Fate. In Greek mythology, the white-robed Moirae or Moerae (Greek Μοίραι – the Apportioners, often called the Fates) were the personifications of destiny (Roman equivalent: Parcae, sparing ones, or Fatae; also equivalent to the Germanic Norns). ...

The Runestaff is a sentient object associated with the Balance, as Stormbringer is associated with Chaos.

The Grey Lords 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 Tanelorn, the city of the Balance. Tanelorn is a fictional city set in the Multiverse of Michael Moorcocks fantasy novels. ...

Eternal Tanelorn exists in all planes of the Multiverse. It is neutral in the war between Law and Chaos, so it serves as a place of rest and retreat for tired heroes. As a general rule, they can only find the city after a long and difficult search. Its inhabitants are happy and productive because they are free to pursue their own interests instead of the desires of gods. People in Tanelorn feel intense peace.

The fate of Law, Chaos, and the Balance is revealed in The Quest for Tanelorn, in which the history of one cycle of the Multiverse is concluded during the Conjunction of the Million Spheres. After defeating the sorcerers Agak and Gagak, Hawkmoon and Erekose reach Tanelorn where they meet the Runestaff and Stormbringer in humanoid forms. Hawkmoon learns that the Black Sword and the Black Jewel are two aspects of the same creature. At the beginning of the Great Cycle, powerful smiths created the Sword, the Jewel, the Runestaff, and finally the Balance to preserve Order between Law and Chaos, especially to limit the power of Stormbringer.

Erekose takes up the Black Sword and destroys the Balance; then Hawkmoon smashes the Jewel with the Runestaff, which breaks. Thus, the last symbols of Authority are destroyed, leaving humanity free to make its own fate, but Erekose is also killed by the release of power. Hawkmoon is the last surviving incarnation of the Eternal Champion, and with all gods dead his function as Champion is ended.

Cultural Influences

Law and Chaos in Michael Moorcock’s fiction inspired the alignment system in Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games. In Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Law and Chaos are combined with Good and Evil to create a total of nine alignments. An alignment refers to adjustment of an object in relation with other objects. ... The original Dungeons & Dragons set Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) published by Gary Gygax and David Arneson in January 1974. ... This article is about traditional role-playing games. ... For other uses, see Dungeons & Dragons (disambiguation). ...

The eight-rayed arrow is widely recognized as the Symbol of Chaos. It has been adopted as an informal logo by Chaos magicians.

See also

• Deities in the Elric series
• Chaos (Warhammer)