The History of the Runestaff

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The History of the Runestaff is a series of four fantasy novels by Michael Moorcock, consisting of The Jewel In The Skull, The Mad God's Amulet, The Sword Of The Dawn, and The Runestaff. Charting the adventures of Dorian Hawkmoon, a version of the Eternal Champion, it takes place in a far future version of Europe in which the Evil Empire of Granbretan threatens the world. Written rapidly in the 1960s, it is considered a classic of the genre, and has proven highly influential in shaping subsequent authors' works. A subsequent trilogy, consisting of Count Brass, The Champions of Garathorm and The Quest for Tanelorn expand on the original saga, both deepening its characters (which in the original stories were a bit duo-dimensional) and furtherly linking them to the Moorcockian Multiverse. Dorian, in the final pages of the third book, happens to confront (along with other champions like Erekose) the malignant entity which used to reside in Elric's Stormbringer and which broke free at the tragic end of the albino prince's saga.