Sadric the Eighty-Sixth is the father of Elric of Melniboné and former Emperor of Melniboné. He always resented Elric due to his wife's death in childbirth and Elric's albinism. He died bitter and alone, leaving the Ruby Throne to Elric.
Sadric is noted for having put an end to the Melnibonéan custom of sacrificing twelve brides and their bridegrooms to the Chaos Lords in order to ensure a good marriage for newlywed rulers of Melniboné. This is often regarded by the Melnibonéans, who are strongly attached to their customs and traditions, as the cause of his wife's death and Elric's poor health.[1]
Sadric was present during Elric's trials in the dream quests. When faced with the possibility of losing his son due to Yyrkoon's interferences in the dream realms, Sadric turns and leaves the room. Cymoril notes that there is perhaps a fraction of Sadric that still loves his son despite his cold exterior.
Sadric's ghost appeared to Elric in between his stays at Tanelorn. He told Elric he wanted passage into the Forest of Souls, the Imrryrian afterlife, so he could be reunited with Elric's mother, whom he loved. But he promised his soul to two Chaos Lords, Lord Arioch and Count Mashabak, who were now fighting over his fake soul, so Elric needed to retrieve his real soul from a rosewood box before they did, or he would haunt his son forever. He summoned a Phoorn jill-dragon, Lady Scarsnout, to bring him to the starting point of his quest. Since Elric was weak at the time, his father instructed him to mix a potion made of her venom and rainwater to temporarily revitalize himself in lieu of blood and souls. After going on a quest with The Rose and Ernest Wheldrake to stop Prince Gaynor the Damned and Mashabak, the Rose gave him the rose that was inside the box which contained Sadric's soul. He returned it to Sadric, allowing him to finally let go of his unjust hatred of Elric and return to his mother in the Forest of Souls.[2]
While Elric's astral form was trying to make contact with the White Lords, Sadric appeared to Elric one last time, saying that people were disappearing from the Forest of Souls, which would supposedly last as long as Imrryr did, and those that remained were taking it as a sign of impending doom. Elric didn't have time to explain what was happening to him, which he was grateful for, because the war he was fighting would bring about the end of the world.[3]
Trivia[]
- While not explicitly confirmed, it is possible and highly likely that Sadric would have continued to abolish more and more grueling Melnibonean rituals and customs had his wife not died and Elric been born in good health, perhaps even cutting ties with Chaos altogether.
- While he was cold and distant with his son, Sadric seemed to have shared his son's distain for their nation, as he never seemed to ban Elric from studying so much about morals and outside world, and was trying to put an end to one of their most brutal customs. It is also possible that Elric himself picked up some of his beliefs subtly from Sadric.
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