Glimpses of the Eternal Champion - Stormbringer 1

"You said there was more work for me and my sword, Sepiriz," Elric said. "What's its nature?"

"You have already learned that Jagreen Lern has summoned some of the Dukes of Hell to captain his men and keep his conquered lands under control?"

"Yes."

"You understand the import of this? Jagreen Lern has succeeded in making a sizeable breach in the Law-constructed barrier which once kept the creatures of Chaos from wholly ruling the planet. He is forever widening this breach as his power increases. This explains how he could summon such a mighty assembly of Hell's nobility where, in the past, it was hard to bring one to our plane. Arioch is among them..."

"Arioch!" Arioch had always been Elric's patron demon, the principal god worshipped by his ancestors. That matters had reached such a stage conveyed to him, deeper than anything else, the fact that he was now a total outcast, unprotected either by Law or Chaos.

"Your only close supernatural ally is your sword," Sepiriz said grimly, "And, perhaps, its brothers."

"Brothers? Brothers? What brothers? There is only the sister-sword Mournblade, which Dyvim Slorm has."

Do you remember that I told you how the twin swords were actually only an earthly manifestation of their supernatural selves?" Sepiriz said calmly.

"I do."

"Well, I can tell you now that Stormbringer's 'real' being is related to other supernatural forces on another plane. I know how to summon them, but these entities are also creatures of Chaos and therefore, as far as you're concerned, somewhat hard to control. They could well get out of hand - perhaps even turn against you. Stormbringer, as you have discovered in the past, is bound to you by ties even stronger than those which bind it to its brothers, who are lesser beings altogether, but its brothers outnumber it, and Stormbringer might not be able to protect you against them."

"Why have I never known this?" 

"You have known it, in a way. Do you remember times when you have called to the Dark Ones  and help has come?"

"Yes. You mean that this help has been supplied by Stormbringer's brethren?"

"Much of the time, yes. Already they are used to coming to your help. They are not what you and I would call intelligent, though sentient, and therefore not so strongly bound to Chaos as its reasoning servants. They can be controlled, to a degree by anyone who has power such as you have over one of their brothers. If you need their help, you will need to remember a rune which I shall tell you later."

"And what is my task?"

"To destroy the Dukes of Hell!"

"Destroy the--? Sepiriz, that's impossible! They are Lords of Chaos, one of the most powerful groups in the whole Realm of Chance. Seperiz, I could not do it!"

"True. But you control one of the mightiest weapons..."

-Michael Moorcock, Stormbringer, 75-76