“"When he took me in after my father died, I spent most of my life being afraid of him because he was tall and powerful, and that voice..."
- – Galen speaking to Alwyn of Elric, 2267
Elric was a techno-mage and Galen was his apprentice. Elric was well-acquainted with most of the techno-mage order, but was particularly close to Galen's father and mother and—despite the fact they disagreed on almost everything—was close to Alwyn as well. As one of the senior techno-mages, he served as a member of the Circle, the techno-mage leadership. He served for many years until his demise in late November 2260.
History[]
Nothing is known of Elric's youth, other than by his late twenties, he had already proved himself a formidable techno-mage and by 2227 established his place of power in the village of Lok, on the planet Soom.[2]
In 2237 Elric was assigned by The Circle to monitor the growth and development of Galen, the very young child of two techno-mages.[3][4] After Galen's parents killed each other in a heated argument, Elric adopted the boy and took him as an apprentice.[5] For the next two decades on Soom, Elric devoted his life to training Galen for his eventual initiation into full magehood as well performing his many duties as part of the the techno-mage leadership.
Amidst all this, Elric served as a guardian to Soom, using his formidable powers and myriad devices to monitor activities throughout the planet. He mediated local disputes to keep the peace and did as much good as he could for the planet's inhabitants. Both Elric and Galen found comfort and peace in the brisk moss-covered cliffside steppes of Lok that overlooked one of Soom's vast oceans. Elric's place of power bonded him to Soom in a very special, very primal way: He was part of Soom and Soom was part of him.
Despite his considerable power and the advanced technology at his disposal, Elric did not believe in vainly showing off his abilities or using them to dominate Soom's citizens. He favored a role of guidance and support for the locals, consciously choosing not to rule over them and offering counsel instead.
By December of 2258, the time for Galen's initiation arrived. Elric and Galen both spent weeks preparing to host a special, large convocation of techno-mages on Soom. All the techno-mages, including the rest of the Circle, Alwyn, and all their apprentices, arrived in spectacular fashion, with their colorful illusions blazing through the skies of Soom.
Unfortunately, the convocation attracted Morden and other agents of the Shadows. Elric carefully monitored Morden's activities, correctly deducing Morden's true purpose at the convocation: to quietly sow seeds of discord among the mages, and asses the mages' overall disposition for a possible alliance.
During a training exercise at the convocation, Galen accidentally discovered his devastating Spell of Destruction. This incident did not go unnoticed by the Shadows or the Vorlons. Kosh, who had remotely observed the events on Soom through a series of carefully hidden probes, knew that Galen now wielded immense power, commanding energies as great as the Vorlons. Kosh also correctly surmised that Galen's new ability placed the mages in terrible peril as the Shadows would never allow anyone who could potentially alter the balance of power in the coming war to roam free of their control.
Shortly afterwards, Elric and the rest of the Circle met to discuss how to handle Galen and his Spell of Destruction. Apart from Kell, the Circle remained unaware of how closely the Shadows were monitoring the mages' activities. Keeping his knowledge of the Shadow involvement a secret, Kell voted with the other Circle members to send new initiates Galen and Isabelle to Zafran VIII to quietly probe for the Shadows' presence and intentions—all over Elric's objections.
Elric anxiously waited for Galen and Isabelle to return. Tragedy struck on Zafran VIII, with both Isabelle and her mother Burell falling to the Shadows and their allies. Rescued by fellow initiate Carvin, Galen returned to Soom grief-stricken by Isabelle's death but could still present enough evidence to the Circle that the Shadows did truly return, that they were arming for a galactic war, and had delivered the mages an ultimatum: to join with the Shadows or they would all die.
Galen also revealed Kell's knowledge of the Shadows' return, and indicated that his apprentices Elizar and Razeel had in fact joined with the Shadows. Kell admitted that he had allowed Elizar and Razeel to gain information on the Shadows on the hopes the two apprentices could infiltrate them and provide the mages with valuable intelligence. He never believed though that his own apprentices could turn on their order but quickly realized the truth of Galen's claims. Elric and the other Circle members deplored Kell's folly, correctly indicating that his actions violated their Code. Kell immediately resigned from the Circle, deeply regretful of his actions and their tragic consequences.
Despite the Shadows' ultimatum, Elric deeply believed in the techno-mage Code, and part of their Code commanded their order to do good wherever they could. Elric voted to fight the Shadows, even proposing to ally themselves with the Vorlons. Ing-Radi and the other remaining Circle members scoffed at the idea, citing that the Vorlons have disdained the techno-mages repeatedly in the past. Elric then proposed to ally with any other races of goodwill to fight the Shadows. The remaining Circle members overruled him again. Blaylock believed that the mages weren't soldiers and weren't destined for war while Herazade and Ing-Radi believed that victory against the Shadows was impossible. Despite Elric's objections, the other Circle members believed they had only one realistic option: Exile. Though thoroughly unhappy with this decision, Elric chose to honor their vote.
Elric and numerous other senior mages then destroyed their places of power, in preparation for a mass exodus. Severing his deep connection to Soom harshly debilitated Elric, weakening him to the brink of total physical and emotional collapse. Despite his malaise, Elric steeled himself for the journey ahead, knowing that no matter the cost, the mages needed him and his leadership to reach their hiding place and ride out the coming war.
Elric traveled to Babylon 5 in early 2259 along with other techno-mages on their way into self-imposed exile near the Rim before the outbreak of the Shadow War. There, Elric was approached by Vir Cotto on behalf of Centauri Ambassador Londo Mollari, who was hoping for an endorsement to advance his own prestige (though Cotto didn't say as much).
Elric was also questioned by Captain John Sheridan about who and what they were, since Sheridan insisted that the Earth Alliance learn something about where Elric's group was going and why. Mollari also attended the meeting, angering Elric when it was apparent he was trying to set up a false photo op.
Afterward, Elric placed a series of spells on Mollari that caused him several hours of annoying problems related to his finances, files, and his quarters in general. After Mollari apologized, Elric withdrew the spells and warned Mollari that he is touched by darkness. He gave Londo a prophecy:
- "When I look at you, Ambassador, I see a great hand, reaching out of a star. The hand is your hand, and all around I hear millions of voices crying your name."
- "My followers?"
- "Your victims."
- – Elric, to Londo
Elric lived for nearly two years with the Techno-mages in hiding, after which he was killed while preventing the Techno-mage Circe and her confederates from escaping to serve the Shadows.[7]
Behind the Scenes[]
In the episode "The Geometry of Shadows", the Technomage is named Elric in what author Michael Moorcock called "clearly straight homage" to his Elric of Melniboné novels.