She said nothing, but kissed him lightly on the mouth, grasped his hand for a moment and then watched him as he strode down the quay and clambered into the boat which Moonglum and Rargan were steadying for him.
The oars splashed and bore the captains towards the flagship, Timber-tearer, Elric standing in the bow staring ahead, looking back only once when the boat drew alongside the ship and he began to climb the rope ladder up to the deck, his black helm bobbing,
Bracing himself on the deck, Brie watched the backs of the warrior-rowers as they bent to the oars, supplementing the light wind which filled the great purple sail, making it curve out in a graceful billow.
The Isle of the Purple Towns was now out of sight and green, glinting water was all that was visible around the fleet, which stretched behind the flagship, its furthest ships tiny shapes in the distance.
Already the fleet was re-forming into the five squadrons which would comprise its final battle-order. Each squadron was under the command of an experienced Sealord, from the Purple Towns, for most of the other captains were landsmen who, though quick to learn, had little experience of sea tactics.
Moonglum came stumbling along the swaying deck to stand beside his friend.
«How did you sleep last night?» he asked Elric.
«Well enough, save for a few nightmares.»
«Ah, then you shared something with us all. Sleep was hard won for everyone, and when it came it was troubled. Visions of monsters and demons crowded my dreams.»
Elric nodded slightly, but paying little attention to Moonglum. The elements of chaos in their own beings were evidently awakening 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 Moonglum. «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 lookout's post. He climbed until he was high above the deck. The took-out swung out of his cradle, since there was room only for one.
«It's it the 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.
Smokey, hard to define, it crept gradually nearer, crawling over the sea towards them.
«It's the enemy, » said Elric quietly.
He remained for some while in the look-out's cradle, studying the chaos-stuff as it filing itself about in the distance like some amorphous monster in its death-agonies. But these were not death-agonies-not for Chaos at any rate.
From this vantage point, Elric also had a dear view of the fleet as it formed itself into its respective squadrons, making up a black wedge nearly a mile across at its longest point and nearly two miles deep. His own ship was a short distance in front of the rest, well in sight of the squadron commanders. Brie shouted down to Kargan, whom he saw passing the mast: «Stand by to move ahead, Kargan! »
The Sealord nodded without pausing in his stride. He was folly aware of the battle-plan, as they all were for they had discussed it long enough. The leading squadron, under the command of Elric, was comprised of their heaviest warships which would smash into the centre of the enemy fleet and seek to break its order, aiming particularly at the ship of Jagreen Lern. If Jagreen Lern could be slain or captured, their victory would be more likely.
Now the dark stuff was closer and Elric could just make out the sails of the first vessels, spread out one behind the other. Then, as they came even closer, he was aware not to each side of this leading formation were great glinting shapes that dwarfed even the huge battlecraft of Jagreen Lern.
«The Chaos Ships.»
Elric recognised them, now, from his own knowledge of occult lore.
These were the ships said normally to sail the deeps of the oceans, taking on drowned sailors as crews, captained by creatures that had never been human. It was a fleet from the deepest, gloomiest parts of the vast underwater domain which had, since the beginning of time, been disputed territory-disputed between water-elementals under their king Straasha and the Lords of Chaos, who claimed the sea-depths as their main territory on Earth by right Legends said that at one tithe Chaos had ruled the sea and Law the land. This, perhaps, explained the fear of the sea that many human beings had, and the pull the sea had for others.
But the fact was that, although the elementals had succeeded. In winning the shallower portions of the sea, the Chaos Lords had retained the deeper parts by means of this, their fleet of the dead. The ships themselves were not of earthly manufacture, neither were their captains originally from earth, but their crews had once been human, and were now indestructible in any ordinary sense.
As they approached, Elric was soon in no doubt that they were, indeed, those ships.
The Sign of Chaos flashed on their sails, eight amber arrows radiating from a central hub-signifying the boast of Chaos, that it contained all possibilities whereas Law was supposed, in time, to destroy possibility and result in eternal stagnation. The sign of Law was a single arrow pointing upwards, symbolising direction and control.
Elric knew that in reality. Chaos was the real harbinger of stagnation, for though it changed constantly, it never progressed. But, in his heart, he felt a yearning for this state, for he had many loyalties to the Lords of Chaos in the past and his own folk of Melnibone had worked, since their inception, to further the aims of Chaos.
But now Chaos must make war on Chaos; Elric must turn against those he had once been loyal to, using weapons forged by chaotic forces to defeat those selfsame forces in this time of change.
He clambered from the cradle and began to ship down the mast, leaping the last few feet to land on the deck as Dyvim Slorm came up. Quickly he told his kinsman what he had seen.
Dyvim Slorm was astounded. «But the fleet of the dead never comes to the surface-save for...» his eyes widened.
Elric shrugged. «That's the legend-the fleet of the dead will rise from the depths when the final struggle comes, when Chaos shall be divided against itself, when Law shall be weak and mankind shall choose sides in the battle that will result in a new Earth dominated either by total Chaos or by almost-total Law. When Sepiriz told us this was the case, I felt a response. Since then, in studying my manuscripts, I have been fully reminded.»
«Is this, then, the final battler'
«It might be, » he said. «It is certain to be one of the last when it will be decided for all time whether Law or Chaos shall rule here.»
«If we're defeated, then Chaos will undoubtedly rule.»
«Perhaps-but remember that the struggle need not be decided by battles alone.»
«So Sepiriz said, but if we're defeated this day, well have little chance to discover the truth of that.» Dyvim Slorm gripped Mournblade's hilt. «Someone must wield these blades-these destiny swords-when the time conies for the deciding duel. Our allies dimmish, Elric.»
«Aye. But I've a hope that we can summon a few others. Straasha, King of the Water Elementals, has ever fought against the death fleet-and he is brother to Graoll and Misha, the Wind Lords. Perhaps through Straasha, I can summon his unearthly kin. In this way we will be better notched, at least»