Corum: The Swords Trilogy - The Knight of Swords
Where revenge costs you an arm and an... eye.
I’ve branched out from the Elric of Melnibone sequence to read some of the other Eternal Champion Tales. I decided to start with the story of Corum, the Prince in the Scarlet Robe, or Corum of the Silver Hand. Being one of the “Four who are One”, I did get a small exposure to this character in the early chapters of “Sailor on the Seas of Fate”. I had been given a set of the Corum Audiobooks produced by Graphic Audio (a Company I would absolutely suggest checking out) that contain not only multiple voice actors but music and sound effects as well. I’m a sucker for audio dramas, ever since I first heard the radio dramas of “The Shadow” and later the Big Finish Doctor Who series (Especially my favorite Doctor Paul Mcgann (a.k.a. The Eighth Doctor)).
I’ll preface that knowing a bit more about Moorcock's Cosmology, from my readings in the Elric Saga, and further research allowed me to slide into this text with a tad more context than just a blind reading.
Synopsis
Long ago there were two great races that lived in the world, the Vadagh and the Nadragh. Both with similar features, but with great disdain for each other. The two sides were sworn enemies for many years until at last, they reached a final clash against one another two centuries before the start of our tale. With their fights long since concluded, the Vadagh who were already predisposed to solitary living with only their immediate families, resigned themselves to dwell only in their own castles, dotted across the landscape. It is in one such castle we meet our protagonist Corum Jhalen Irsei, the Prince in the Scarlet Robe, along with his siblings, parents, and their five retainers. His family has lived undisturbed for countless generations, taking time to compose music, and poetry, consult and study the stars, and contemplate existence itself. Unfortunately, their fixation on these insular tasks had shifted their focus away from the world at large and thus set themselves up for extinction.
The Mabden (Humans) were quickly gaining strength and skill, changing from simple and primitive tribes to sophisticated military forces that began to strike out. The Mabden believed that the Vadagh were evil and a danger to their futures. To safeguard their own existence, they sought to rid the world of the Vadagh, one castle at a time.
Meanwhile, Corums father, nearing the end of his life, tasked his son to travel to his distant relatives to at least make some form of contact, after two centuries of near silence. Corum obliged his father, even fulfilling his father's strange request to bring weapons with him. For nearly two weeks, Corum traveled the countryside for any sights of his kin, often finding what seemed to be the remains of castles or the roaming hordes of the Mabden. In time, he found that all his kinsmen had been slain by the Mabden, and upon discovering that his ancient enemy the Nadragh had become slaves to the Mabden, he began to fear for his own clan.
He raced home only to find it already ablaze, with his family all but murdered. Completing his journey from Ignorance, to cognizance, Corum came to know Pain, Cruelty, Anger, frustration, and Revenge. Seeking to kill those responsible, Corum finds himself captured, and tortured, losing both an Eye and a Hand. When trying to use his ability to escape into other planes of existence, he is soon found by a benevolent creature that steels him away from his doom.
Book 2
Corum is brought to a Castle ruled by more civil Mabden, whose allegiance was not connected to the men that killed his family. The ruler of the castle, Margravine falls in love with Corum, and he her. The two spend a significant amount of time in peace, at least until the Mabden horde comes knocking.
In a time of great desperation, and amidst failing defenses, Corum finds himself less than capable of fending off the attackers and instead finds that it was only the supernatural aid provided by the ghost ship summoned by “that saved them all.
This came at a great cost, however, trapping Margravine on the Ghost Ship. Corum climbs aboard, and the entire retinue travels to the Island of Shool
While on the Island, Corum meets Shool and is given an offer that he decides is worth his while. The Lord of Chaos Arioch is the one who caused the rise of the Mabden and the subsequent sundering of his people. Corum now knows with whom he should take his revenge, but he still lacks a second hand and his other eye. Shool offers him the opportunity to seek his revenge, as stealing the heart of Arioch, the Knight of Swords, would give Shool more power. Upon agreeing, on the condition that Rhaleena is returned to him, Shool provides Corum with a pair of eldritch artifacts, the Eye of Rhunn, and the Hand of Kwill. Kwill and Rhunn were two ancient gods that existed before the Lords of Chaos and Order began their struggles. All that was left were their hand and eye respectively.
With much pain, these objects are bequeathed to the Vadagh Prince, replacing his missing appendages. The hand of Kwill has bejeweled and has 6 fingers, but a monstrous appearance. The eye of Rhunn is much larger than the normal eye of a Vadagh and has a nearly insectoid appearance. Vadagh has always had the ability to peer into other planes of existence, however, the power of the eye allows Corum to look even farther beyond, into the void. Soon, he would find that the eye has far more power than he anticipated. He is provided a patch to cover the eye and reduces his vision in such a way that he can see in an average manner.
Book 3
Corum takes a raft from Shool and begins his travels to the far reaches of the world. The route is soon disturbed by the appearance of a massive figure walking through the seas, whose footsteps cause a great deal of turbulence, leading to Corum being tossed overboard, and finding himself ashore in a new land. While not quite where he intended to go, Corum would soon find himself redirected to his destination by a series of wild events.
Approaching the nearest city, Corum is met by a race of individuals unfamiliar to him. These peoples are servants of Chaos, and just before he was to be captured and killed, the Hand of Kwill crushes the throat of their King. A bloody fight ensues, and Corum meets a prisoner of the people that tried to kill him. Together the pair make an escape on a glider that takes them far across the sea toward their ultimate destination. Corum and his companion then find themselves in a land ravaged by the power of chaos, and to Corum’s dismay, finds distant relatives still alive in this land. Unfortunately, they are less than friendly, and Corum is forced to call upon the power of his patch to save them. When using the Eye of Rhunn, Corum can call upon the souls of those whom he has slain, in exchange for taking the souls of their targets. The many soldiers slain in the city now came to his aid in slaughtering members of Corum’s own race, in an effort to survive. One remaining Vadagh, their blinded leader, leads Corum towards his goal, but partway his colleague begins succumbing to the Chaos. Again, the Hand of Kwill takes action, killing his companion. In the end, it was for the best and thus allowed his future success.
Corum begins traveling through what could possibly be the moonbeam roads of future Eternal Champion stories, finally reaching the wretched palace of Arioch. A true creature embodying indulgence, decadence, sloth, and gluttony, Arioch is feasting upon his worshipers, and a raucous orgy of sounds and pleasure abounds. Corum is discovered very quickly, and treated to a meal. Following this, Corum is drugged and left unconscious. After waking he is able to find his way to the room in which Arioch's heart is found. Other men had tried to do the same, as it seems Shool had tried this quest in the past. Corum is able to make his way through to the heart and grabs it.
Arioch is less than pleased, and attempts to kill Corum, only to have his heart crushed by the Hand of Kwill. For the first time in many centuries, 5 of the 15 plains have been freed from Chaos and returned to law. Corum discovers that the creature that freed him from his capture by the Mabden, was none other than the Lord of Law, Arkyn.
Returned to Shools Island, Corum now realizes that Shool's power actually came from Arioch and that in the end, he’d freed Rhalina by his actions. The pair returns to Moidel’s Mount, and settle into a brief peace; with Corum knowing he still has a score to settle with Earl Glandyth-a-Krae.
Review
I really loved this story, as I’m kind of a sucker for tales of revenge. As I stated before, I listened to the “Graphic Audio” adaptation of the novel, which certainly added to the whole experience. Corum will now forever have an Irish accent in my mind. Knowing that he is another aspect of the Eternal Champion laid some connections quite clear, and it was interesting to see the parallels between the characters.
The story itself was very fast-paced, even when explaining the many details of the world at this time. I’m sure if I’d read a physical copy, I would have finished it in a very short amount of time, but the added detail of the Audio story was well worth it. Even if I were to read the physical copies going forward, I now can truly get settled into the world as if I were there.
Corum has a wide emotional range, and you can truly feel the heartbreak he is experiencing. His journey from naive prince to courageous fighter is clearly seen as he broadens his experience. It is not unexpected for his nature to change so drastically. The action was great, and the description of the locations and the characters themselves were fantastic, dripping with detail… in the case of Arioch shudder quite literally.
Absolutely check this story out, whether you’re a Moorcock fan or a fan of Fantasy in general.
Next up is the tale of Corum vs Queen Xiombarg the Queen of Swords, and ruler of yet another 5 planes.