Stormbringer - Michael Moorcock [43]
"Unless Jagreen Lern's halted now," Kargan said, "it will not be long before the rest of the world falls to his hordes."
Dyvim Slorm came on deck and smiled with relief when he saw Elric. "I see you live, cousin—though barely. Do you feel ready to continue the fight?"
Elric nodded. "Stormbringer will supply the strength I need." He was thinking more clearly, now, thinking back to something he remembered Jagreen Lern saying about 'other allies.' What kind of allies? Perhaps the boast had been empty, perhaps not. Well, if they struck now, there might be time to defeat him before those allies could be called.
Behind Kargan's flagship he saw the rest of the fleet, its furthest ships tiny shapes in the distance. Already the fleet was moving into battle-order, forming into five squadrons, each under the command of an experienced Sealord from the Purple Towns.
"What of Zarozinia?" he asked.
Dyvim Slorm smiled. "She's safe, at least. I sent her on to Karlaak with a strong escort. She'll be at her father's court by now."
"Good." He sighed. There had been so little time spent with her. Not enough. Yet, if the Theocrat could be beaten now, perhaps there would be more.
Dyvim Slorm was saying: "We have all slept badly these past nights. It was hard won for everyone, and when it came it was troubled. Visions of pits, of monsters and demons, of horrifying shapes, of unearthly powers, they crowded our dreams."
Elric nodded, paying little attention to his friend. The elements of Chaos in their own beings were evidently awaking in response to the approach of the Chaos Horde itself. He hoped they would be strong enough to withstand the actuality as they had survived their dreams.
"Disturbance to forward!"
It was the look-out's cry, baffled and perturbed. Elric cupped his hands around his mouth and tilted his head back.
"What sort of disturbance?"
"It's like nothing I've ever seen, my lord—I can't describe it!"
Elric turned to Kargan. "Relay the order through the fleet—slow the pace to one drum-beat in four, squadron commanders stand by to receive final battle orders." He strode towards the mast and began to climb up it towards the look-out's post. He climbed until he was high above the deck. The look-out swung from his cradle, relinquishing his position to Elric since there was only room for one.
"Is it an enemy, my lord?" he said as Elric clambered into his place. Elric stared hard towards the horizon, making out a kind of dazzling blackness that from time to time sent up sprawling gouts of stuff into the air where it hung for some moments before sinking back into the main mass. Smoky, hard to define, it crept gradually nearer towards Jagreen Lern's fleet.
"It's an enemy," said Elric quietly. He recognised the vast black mass as some manifestation of Chaos. Evidently Jagreen Lern's boast had not been empty. His allies were coming to join him.
He remained for some while in the look-out's cradle, studying the chaos stuff as it flung itself about in the distance, like some amorphous monster in its death-agonies. But these were not death-agonies. Chaos was far from dead.
The remnants of the Theocrat's fleet had now turned about and were rowing swiftly towards the weird blackness which, as yet, still had no true definition, though dim shapes could be made out. What was it? Elric felt hopelessness come upon him. They could only fight, now—but they were already doomed.
From his vantage point, Elric also had a clear view of the fleet as it formed itself into its respective squadrons, making up a black wedge nearly at mile across at its longest point and nearly two miles deep. Kargan's ship was a short distance in front of the rest, well in sight of the squadron commanders. Elric shouted down to Kargan whom he saw passing the mast: "Stand by to move ahead, Kargan!"
The sealord nodded without pausing in his stride.