Elric in the Dream Realms - Michael Moorcock [32]
“You fear Chaos?”
“What rational being does not? I fear the dreams of those who serve her.” Alnac Kreb looked away towards the desert. “Elwher and what you call ‘the Unmapped East’ have in the main less complicated inhabitants, Melniboné’s influence was never so strong. Nor was it, of course, in the Sighing Desert.”
“So it is my folk whom you fear?”
“I fear any race which gives itself over to Chaos, which makes pacts with the most powerful of supernaturals, with the very Dukes of Chaos, with the Sword Rulers themselves! I do not regard such dealings as wholesome or sane. I am opposed to Chaos.”
“You serve Law?”
“I serve myself. I serve, I suppose, the Balance. I believe that one can live and let live and celebrate the world’s variety.”
“Such philosophy is enviable, Master Alnac. I aspire to it myself, though I suppose you do not believe me.”
“Aye, I believe you, Prince Elric. I am party to many dreams and you occur in some of them. And dreams are reality and vice versa in other realms.” The dreamthief glanced sympathetically at the albino. “It must be hard for one who has known millennia of power to attempt a relinquishing of such power.”
“You understand me well, Sir Dreamthief.”
“Oh, my understanding is only ever of the broadest kind in such matters.” Alnac Kreb shrugged and made a self-deprecating gesture.
“I have spent much time in seeking the meaning of justice, in visiting lands where it is said to exist, in trying to discover how best it may be accomplished, how it may be established so that all the world shall benefit. Have you heard of Tanelorn, Alnac Kreb? There justice is said to rule. There the Grey Lords, those who keep charge of the world’s equilibrium, are said to have their greatest influence.”
“Tanelorn exists,” said the dreamthief quietly. “And it has many names. Yet in some realms, I fear, it is no more than an idea of perfection. Such ideas are what maintain us in hope and fuel our urge to make reality of dreams. Sometimes we are successful.”
“Justice exists?”
“Of course it does. But it is not an abstraction. It must be worked for. Justice is your demon, I think, Prince Elric, more than any Lord of Chaos. You have chosen a cruel and an unhappy road.” He smiled delicately as he stared ahead of them at the long, red trail stretching out to the horizon. “Crueler, I think, than the Red Road to the Silver Flower Oasis.”
“You’re not encouraging, Master Alnac.”
“You must know yourself that there’s precious little justice in the world that is not hard fought for, hard won and hard held. It is in our mortal nature to give that responsibility to others. Yet poor creatures like yourself continue to try to relinquish power while acquiring more and more responsibility. Some would say that it is admirable to do as you do, that it builds character and strength of purpose, that it reaches towards a higher form of sanity …”
“Aye. And some would say it is the purest form of madness, at odds with all natural impulses. I do not know what it is I long for, Sir Dreamthief, but I know I hope for a world where the strong do not prey on the weak like mindless insects, where mortal creatures may attain their greatest possible fulfillment, where all are dignified and healthy, never victims of a few stronger than themselves …”
“Then you serve the wrong masters in Chaos, prince. For the only justice recognized by the Dukes of Hell is the justice of their own unchallenged existence. They are like fresh-born babes in this. They are opposed to your every ideal.”
Elric grew disturbed and spoke softly when he replied. “But can one not use such forces to defeat them—or at least challenge their power and adjust the Balance?”
“Only the Balance gives you the power you desire. And it is a subtle, sometimes exceptionally delicate power.”
“Not strong enough in my world, I fear.”
“Strong only when sufficient numbers believe in it. Then it is stronger than Chaos and Law combined.”
“Well, I shall work for that day when the power of the Balance holds sway, Master Alnac Kreb,