Questers for Kuranes: Two Tales of Hero and Eldin

by Brian Lumley

  the gaunt gray peaks. Mountains located between Leng and Inquanok. The range forms an aerie for Shantak birds. Definitely not Hero and Eldin’s favorite vacation spot.

  halflings. Products of forced breeding between men of Dreamland and less human creatures (such as female tick-men).

  The “iceman.” An old carver who sculpts figures in the ice of Mount Aran . . . very lifelike figures indeed!

  Lengites. Non-human inhabitants of Leng.

  Luz. Uppermost level of the underworld in this part of the Dreamlands, Luz is inhabited (so Augeren tells) by the “elite” of those sunless regions.

  Luz, Lords of. They guard the fissure that leads to the Downs of D’haz. They train gaunts to kidnap men for sinister purposes.

  muth. Also known as muth-dew. A strong drink (a muth hangover can last two days or more).

  Naraxa. A river that flows into the Southern Sea that flows into the Cerenerian Sea.

  Nees, Tatter. A wandering balladeer from Nir.

  Nort, Heger. A burly bearded trader; a leader among the Inquanok insurgents who had requested aid from King Kuranes.

  Palace of the Seventy Delights. King Kuranes’s first dwelling in Dreamland. Tired of pomp, and homesick for the waking world, he moved into his Cornish manorhouse.

  Pits of the Unknown Things. The nethermost level. It lies beneath the dinosaur boneyard (the dhole ossuary), which lies beneath the Downs of D’haz, which lie beneath Luz, which lies beneath the gaunt gray peaks near Inquanok.

  Regulators. The Bahama city police.

  scabfish. Eel-like fish that frequent wrecks. Touching one produces a scab at the contact point. In Bahama it is best to obey any “No Swimming” signs.

  s.w.i.e. An amusing acronym for the Seer With Invisible Eyes, a kind of guru for Eldin (and later, Hero).

  tick-men (includes females). Parasites who live on dholes; possibly they were once human, but no longer.

  Tyrhhia. Legendary city once ruled by Yath-Lhi.

  Url. Worms which live in D’haz. They are as large as men.

  Veiled King. The Kings of Inquanok always go veiled, as do their priests. These beings are mysteries not only to the outside world but even to their own subjects.

  Veiled Priests. Their word is law in Inquanok; they serve the Veiled King.

  Voorpin, Geez. Presumably a master of the dingaphon, a musical instrument of some kind.

  War of the Mad Moon. A desperate battle to save all of Dreamland from destruction; see Mad Moon of Dreams.

  Yath. An inland lake in Bahama. There are many weird tales associated with ancient ruins near Yath. Could this possibly be the site of Tyrhhia?

  Yath-Lhi. Also known as the “Black Princess”—“black” as in “black magic.” Long, long ago she ruled in Tyrhhia, building a huge underground maze, reputedly to store all the treasures of her city. After she died (if it was true death!), her nation died also . . . for no one could find the treasure.

  The Primal Land Series

  An A to Z Concordance

  BY W. PAUL GANLEY

  The House of Cthulhu and Other Tales of the Primal Land was first published by Weirdbook Press as a limited edition. Later it was reprinted as a British paperback. However, there are important differences between the two editions. (1) The two “Tarra Khash” novelettes were removed, since they are more properly part of The Compleat Khash, Volume I, in which they also appeared. (2) Another story was inserted, which had not appeared in the Weirdbook Press books. This was reprinted from a magazine publication, The Weirdbook Sampler, and is entitled “To Kill a Wizard.” It is a short story about the wizard Mylakhrion of Tharamoon. The version employed in the British paperbacks is followed here.

  Arlyeh. Island of nameless ruins located in mid-ocean between the Frostlands and Klühn. Here was to be found the forbidden and forbidding House of Cthulhu. Presumably identical with the sunken isle of R’lyeh reported by H.P. Lovecraft in his monograph, “The Call of Cthulhu.”

  Atht, Teh. A sorcerer who lived in Klühn, a city of primal Theem’hdra. He specialized in white magic as opposed to black. Or, anyway, pretty nearly white. Teh Atht was a remote descendant of the famed Mylakhrion of Tharamoon.

  Atlantis. Supposedly a continent, or an island-continent, which was submerged by the Atlantic Ocean thousands of years ago. Plato reports in his dialogues Kritias and Timaios that certain Egyptian priests had recorded the catastrophe in their historical annals; from them the knowledge passed to Solon and ultimately to Plato.

  Azathoth. The Daemon-Sultan. A blind idiot-god who rules at the center of chaos and whose name no lips dare speak aloud. One of the Cthulhu Cycle Deities.

  Baroom. God of the Avalanche, often invoked by the savage Northmen.

  Bay of Klühn. The River Lohr flows into the southern part of this bay, just where the city of Klühn is situated.

  Bay of Monsters. Located in the Southern Ocean, near where it becomes the Eastern Ocean.

  Black Isle. A place of mystery in the northeastern portion of Theem’hdra.

  Bhur-esh. A city that was destroyed by one of the two active volcanoes in Theem’hdra. It is located on the west coast of Theem’hdra, south of the River Thand.

  Byakhee. An eldritch bird which can be used as a steed by one who knows how to summon it. (This technique involves the use of a silver whistle, a potion, and an invocation to Hastur.) It can be the key to travel between Earth and other-dimensional spaces—or perhaps to utter doom.

  The Chill Sea. Probably actually an ocean, it lies north of the Reef of Great Whales.

  Chlangi. Known as the Shunned City. When the Lamia Orbiquita built her castle nine miles away in the Desert of Sheb, honest men abandoned their homes and moved far away.

  Cthon. God of the underworld who, every dusk, catches the sun in his net.

  Cthulhu. One of the Great Old Ones who seeped down from the stars to occupy the Earth, not millions but billions of years ago, long before the existence of mankind. The Elder Gods imprisoned Cthulhu and the other Great Old Ones in various places in the multiverse, even in Dreamland. And even today, Cthulhu waits dreaming in his undersea city, R’lyeh, until that day when he and the others will be free of their prisons.

  Desert of Sheb. Located to the north between the Mountains of Lohmi and the Great Eastern Peaks.

  Elder Gods. Mysterious powerful beings who at some distant time, even before Theem’hdra existed, imprisoned the immortal Great Old Ones in various submarine places (Cthulhu is in R’lyeh, for instance), within the Earth, within Dreamland, in various places in outer space, and in other space-time continua.

  Ell, Ardatha. A traveller in time and space, who came from another world. He lived for a while in the Great Circle Mountains.

  Eyphra. City on the Lesser Marl, near the Mountains of Lohmi.

  The Frostlands. This region lies in the far northeastern part of Theem’hdra, near the Great Ice Barrier.

  Ghatanothoa. One of the Great Old Ones, a dark and doomful god. There is a temple to him in Eyphra.

  Gleeth. A god of the moon, said to be blind and deaf; a benevolent god but often asleep. To the Suhm-yi Gleeth was especially important, for he was adviser to their gods and Elder of their heavenly council. Gleeth is sometimes confused with another god of the moon, Mnomquah.

  Great Circle Mountains. In the central portion of Theem’hdra, the Great Circle Mountains surround the Crater Sea.

  Great Crater Sea. This large sea lies within the Great Circle Mountains; it was once the throat of a vast volcano, now extinct.

  The Greater Marl. A river located about 400 miles east of the mammoth plains. It flows northward from the Great Crater Sea toward the Reef of Whales and the Chill Sea. The city of Khrissa is located on the Greater Marl.

  Great Ice Barrier. A region of glaciers located far to the north of Theem’hdra.

  Great Old Ones. The Cthulhu Cycle Deities. They seeped down to Earth from other galaxies long before life appeared on the newly-formed planet. But they were imprisoned by the Elder Gods (o
r Gods of Eld) in various places, since they could not be killed. Beware: the shortened appellation Old Ones may not always refer to these beings.

  Grypha. A massive-walled city at the mouth of the Lohr.

  Gustau, Thelred. A dedicated scholar, archaeologist, geologist, and student of the Earth’s vast, almost unknowable prehistory. It was he who unveiled the mysteries of Theem’hdra, the primal continent. (Oddly, or perhaps not, the letters in Gustau’s name are anagrammatical of August Derleth’s.)

  Hastur. One of the Old Ones, i.e., one of the Cthulhu Cycle Deities, but somewhat inimical to Cthulhu himself.

  Hjarpon Settlement. Located near the fjords and lochs to the northwest, near the Teeth of Yib.

  Hounds of Tindalos. Not real hounds, because they too are among the Cthulhu Cycle Deities, but they behave much like hounds. They were trapped, not in some far-flung portion of space, but within time itself. They are capable of breaking through into our normal portion of space-time only if there are appropriate sharp angles to help effect an entrance.

  Hrossa, the Steppes of. These lie between the River Lohr and the Great Eastern Peaks, north of the Bay of Monsters.

  Hrossaks. Skilled riders of fearsome lizards, the Hrossaks dwell in Hrossa, intermittently feuding with the armies of Grypha and the Yhemni. Tarra Khash was a Hrossak.

  Ice-Gods. Their names are held secret by the priests of cold Khrissa, except for Baroom.

  Inner Isles. Located in the Great Crater Sea, they were inhabited by Suhm-yi, a race of silver-gray beings who were not entirely human.

  Ithaqua. One of the Cthulhu Cycle Deities. Known as the Wind-Walker, he was confined to walk the winds of space and the far northern part of the Earth. Perhaps the same as the Wendigo of primitive myth.

  Keeps of the First Ones. Massive stone cubes hundreds of feet across, fabled to be the long-vacated houses of the world’s first race (not human).

  Klühn. A city in eastern Theem’hdra; Klühn was the home of the sorcerer Teh Atht.

  Khrissa. City of basalt slabs located at the mouth of the Greater Marl, east of the Mammoth Plains.

  Legends of the Olden Runes. A prehistoric document written by Teh Atht, preserved for uncountable eons and finally discovered by Thelred Gustau.

  Lamia. A supernatural creature formed by the alliance of a wizard and a demon. She could take the form of a beautiful maiden to lure men to their deaths. Her demonic form was rather unpleasant to behold.

  Lohr. A mighty river near Klühn.

  Mam. Mother of Gods.

  Mammoth plains. Located to the North of the Great Circle Mountains.

  Marsh of Slugs. A boggy nightmare of a region located to the east of the Great Crater Sea, within the Great Circle Mountains.

  Mnomquah. God of the Moon and of Madness, commonly known as Gleeth. Scholars suggest, however, that some folk of Theem’hdra have confused two different moon gods, and that Gleeth is entirely different from Mnomquah, although both are worshipped as lunar deities. Indeed, we know that Mnomquah is one of the Cthulhu Cycle Deities, imprisoned in the moon of Earth’s Dreamland, whereas Gleeth is a more benevolent deity.

  Mountains of Lohmi. Located to the north, between the Great Eastern Peaks and the Great Circle Mountains.

  Mu. This lost continent, which presumably sank in the Pacific Ocean long ago, is described elsewhere in the voluminous writings of James Churchward. Some say it is another name for Lemuria, but others say that Lemuria was a smaller continent (whence the lemurs originated) which sank in the Indian Ocean.

  Mylakhrion. Probably the greatest Theem’hdran wizard of all time; a white wizard (or maybe gray) who sought immortality from the wrong source.

  Northmen. White-skinned barbarians from the northwestern part of Theem’hdra.

  Pangaea. A name given by Alfred Wegener (who publicized the idea of continental drift, once thought a crackpot theory, but now—since the 1950s—well established by geologists) to a single continent from which the modern continents of Earth have broken off and drifted away. Pangaea existed about two hundred million years ago. Theem’hdra’s age has been variously estimated as from twenty million years (younger than Pangaea) to a dozen times that number or more (older than Pangaea).

  Paps of Mam. Undulations in the coast of Theem’hdra, by the Southern Ocean, which resemble a pair of female breasts.

  Pnakotic Manuscripts. A pre-human book of arcane truths, thought to be lost to modern man, though one copy does exist in Dreamland, safely stored in the archives of the Temple of the Elder Gods in Ulthar.

  The Primal Land. See Theem’hdra.

  Shadarabar. A jungle island, home (like Yhemnis) to the Yhemni tribes. Located off the southeastern coast of Theem’hdra.

  Shad. Capital city of Shadarabar.

  shewstone. A magic crystal which can display scenes distant in space or time.

  Shoosh. Goddess of the Still Slumbers.

  Shrewsbury, Dr. Laban. An expert on the Cthulhu mythos. His exploits are recorded in August Derleth’s historical treatise, The Trail of Cthulhu.

  Shub-Niggurath. One of the Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Cycle Deities. Known as the ram with a thousand ewes (but sometimes, oddly, as the goat with a thousand young).

  Straits of Yhem. Narrow passage between the southeastern coast of Theem’hdra and the island of Shadarabar.

  Suhm-yi. Not quite human folk who once lived peacefully among the Inner Isles of the Crater Sea. Their name means “rarely seen.”

  Teeth of Yibb. An odd formation at the western part of Theem’hdra, near the fjords, where the coastline looks like an open mouth showing great teeth. Yibb is sometimes spelled Yib.

  Thand. A river which flows from the Great Crater Sea to the Unknown Ocean.

  Thandopolis. A city on the river Thand, it is located between the Great Circle Mountains and the Unknown Ocean.

  Tharamoon. Mountain island which rises up, a needle peak, about ten miles out in the Chill Sea. There, in a massive castle of gray stone, lived the fabled wizard Mylakhrion the Elder.

  Theem’hdra. A continent which existed perhaps twenty million years ago (perhaps a hundred million, or perhaps it was even older than that). There, nature experimented with various life forms, including mankind. Even then, Great Cthulhu waited, dreaming in R’lyeh. Was Theem’hdra that single continent known to geologists as Pangaea, when all the land masses of the earth were one? Was it the even older version which broke up originally, eventually to reform itself as Pangaea? Or did it come even before that . . . ?

  Tsathoggua. The Toad Thing, imprisoned in an abyss in Hyperborea. One of the Cthulhu Cycle Deities.

  The Unknown Ocean. It lies to the west of Bhur-Esh and indeed to the west of Theem’hdra.

  Ubbo-Sathla. The Unbegotten Source. A mass without head or members. One of the Cthulhu Cycle Deities.

  Uithar. A renowned city in Earth’s Dreamland, where no man may kill a cat. The site of the Temple of the Elder Ones where the elderly priest Atal still abides.

  Uthmal. A lost land similar to Mu, Atlantis, Hyperborea, Lemuria, etc. Not to be confused with Uxmal, a lost city of the ancient Mayans.

  weirdlings. Beings of strange aspect, or with strange powers, unknown to us today. Some of nature’s experiments when the earth was young.

  Yaht-Haal. The Silver City. The only city outside of the continent of Theem’hdra, located in the Frostlands. When destroyed by Zar-Thule the Conqueror, it was soon covered with ice, since there were no wizardly priests to keep the glaciers at bay.

  Yhemni. The dark-skinned inhabitants of Yhemnis and Shadarabar.

  Yhemnis. Home to dark-skinned Yhemni slavers and pirates. A splendidly barbaric city of gold, ivory, and ironwood.

  Yibb-Tstll. An Old One; one of the Cthulhu Cycle Deities. Also known as the Soul Eater, the Soul Stealer, the Dark Deity, and the Master of Gaunts. Barred by the Elder Gods from entering Earth’s universe, he could nevertheless make appearances through various simulacra (or idols) worshipped by foolish sects . . . as indeed could other deit
ies, such as Ahorra Izz.

  Yog-Sothoth. Occasionally spelled Yogg-Sothoth. The Lurker at the Threshold, imprisoned Outside in chaos with Azathoth. One of the Cthulhu Cycle Deities.

  Zar-Thule. An unwise reaver who sought the priceless treasure of the House of Cthulhu.

  Volume One: The House of Cthulhu and Other Tales of the Primal Land.

  Ank, Humbuss. A maddened Northman, a berserker, who lives only to kill wizards.

  Ank, Gubba. Mother of Humbus Ank. Slain by Khrissan ice-priests.

  Ank, Guz. Brother of Humbuss Ank. Slain by Khrissan ice-priests.

  Ank, Thull. Father of Humbuss Ank. Slain by Khrissan ice-priests.

  An’noona. Chief of the N’dola pygmies.

  Arborass. A Yhemni magus, a fire-wizard, with evil intentions toward the folk of New Bhur-Esh.

  Atmaas (The Knowing One). Also known as Atmaas of the Ugly Head. Pygmy youth with a head of almost acromegalic proportions. He spoke the common language of Theem’hdra, unlike the rest of the N’dola tribe.

  Ayniss. An orphan lad of New Bhur-Esh . . . the only one to divine Arborass’s purpose in going to the volcanic isle of Ashtah.

  Cush-had. One of Zar-thule’s reavers, who made the error of touching Hath Vehm, whom it was forbidden to touch.

  Demogorgnn. An infernal deity (from the Greek daimon, deity, and Gorgos, terrible).

  Dreen, Eythor. Known throughout Theem’hdra as a great goldsmith. Earlier he had been an adventurer, prospecting for gold, and a bit of a prestidigitator as well.

  Druth of Thandopolis. A wizard, formerly an apprentice to Imhlat the Great.

  Fregg. Robber-king of Chlangi, the Shunned City.

  gaunts. Shortened form of night-gaunts. Faceless, with rubbery skin and leathery wings, these unpleasant beings are usually considered evil, as they indubitably are when obeying Yibb-Tstll. They haunted H. P. Lovecraft’s dreams and are generally believed to exist in Dreamland.

  Geph. Its broken columns are graven with cipherless hieroglpyhs.

  Ghost Cliffs of Shildakor. Located to the extreme west of Theem’hdra, at the edge of the Unknown Ocean, near Bhur-Esh. A mile high, sheer and stark, they are supposedly unclimbable . . . and they are literally haunted.