Stories of H Merrill

Amontekh did take Selfa to those far outer reaches, and he did bring with him his magics and the wit of his tongue. And they did travel far and see those villages with their simple people. Those of the reaches had been contented for they had not known of the magics of Thafa. But Amontekh did show them the ways of the Weavers and they grew to be envious of the Weavers and sought to destroy them. And so, those of the reaches did submit to Amontekh and abandoned their villages and simple lives to follow his will and the will of Kulm Orthon Nevim, who they called Death.¹

 And Amontekh did bring his followers to the gates of Thafa and did call unto them with a great voice, saying: Those of Thafa, who do look down upon us from your thrones, I say now unto you, the will of Death is greater than your will. Open these gates unto me and prostrate yourself before me for I have power beyond yours, and come to bring the will of Death. 

The gates had a seal upon them and would not be opened unto them. And so, Amontekh, being knowledgeable in all magics,² called upon his power and struck the gate.

Those Weavers which stood on high did not fear for the seal did hold.

And so, Amontekh struck the seal thrice more, and on the third, it did break and shatter. With this, the way was open to him and those that followed.

The Weavers, having little magics of war, did cast illusions to hide themselves and trick those who followed Amontekh with visions of terror. And those that followed Amontekh did writhe upon the ground and many did flee.

But Amontekh cast those illusions aside, revealing all those that hid behind them, and he spoke to his multitude of followers with a voice of thunder, saying: Suffer not those that have held fast to their secret sorceries. Scourge this place of all that do hide within it, and take all that I now grant unto you.

And those that had fled did rally once more to ravage the city.

His followers went from house to house, seeking all manner of riches that to them were unknown. Many of those Weavers who had hid in their homes were taken into the streets and had their arms and tongues cut, so they could cast illusions no more. And they were left there to bleed and rot.³

When the streets of Thafa ran with the blood of the Weavers, Amontekh whispered magics unto the blood and called forth life. And those that had been cut and bled did rise once more to serve Amontekh in the name of Death. 

And so, he did lead his followers and those that he had called forth up to those Weavers on high, and he found them upon their thrones. And he said unto them: you have no magics to shed blood, only petty illusions and healing magics. And so, I, having sorcery beyond your power, do claim this city and its throne. And I do these things in the name of Kulm Orthon Nevim, who in name is Death, who has tasked me with their Will.

And the Weavers, having heard the name of Death, did have great fear in their hearts and minds. But there were those among them who would defy the heresy of Amontekh. And called to him, saying: You will have no rule over us, nor will you use your tainted magics within these walls. We will oppose you and seal you beyond the Living Universe so that you will trouble us no more.⁴

So, those Weavers that would stand against Amontekh did stand and begin to work their spell. 

But Selfa did stand between them and did speak to the Weavers, saying: The power of Amontekh is beyond all that which you know. And he does not fear Kulm Orthon Nevim. Should you use your magics against him, he will cast them aside and destroy you. Hear me speak unto you, I have witnessed the villages of those beyond the high wall. And what we Weavers have kept in secret should go to all those in the land, such that they may prosper as we have. 

But the Weavers did rebuke the words of Selfa and Amontekh, saying: Our magics are our own to do with as we please, and those beyond the wall will not be put to our status. The Heretic will have no power within these walls. He will plague us with the curses of Kulm Orthon Nevim no more.

And they did cast Selfa aside to continue their sealing ritual. 

Those Weavers on high did call to them a great orb of light that cast away shadow and all of Thafa could see it as the midday sun. And it did envelope the whole of the peak of Mount Eyrea. 

The light seized Amontekh with gnashing tendrils of prismatic colour, but he did stand firm. And with his magics, he cast away the light and shadow returned. 

Then he did speak unto the Weavers, saying: I will not be bound by your magics, nor can they bind me for I am powerful beyond that which you understand. And I will call death upon you for you have refused to kneel. But in death you will serve me until the flesh of your body is rent from the bone by the buzzards.

And so, Amontekh struck them down with the word of Death.⁵ He came to each of the dead and did bid them to rise and serve in his name, and they rose as corpses. And with those of the Weavers on high having new life in death, it was that Amontekh did take his throne and did rule over the Nubem of Thafa as their Heresiarch.⁶ 

1. We are unsure as to how long Amontekh travelled through the Nubem; however, we can estimate that it took at least a year given the size of Nubem territory that is recorded in the Book of Theem. ↩︎
2. Amontekh was most definitely not familiar with nor adept at all magics, but this phrasing can be attributed to a limited knowledge of the various magics that we know about now.  ↩︎
3. Based on mass graves found in and around Thafa, it is estimated that around 800 people were killed in the sacking of Thafa; however, this only accounts for bodies so far desecrated that they could not be used as reanimates. Estimates for the full death toll place it at around 2500 (about 1000 times less than the death toll of Amontekh’s continental campaign.) ↩︎
4. While Amontekh does say that the Weavers only possess healing and illusion magics, this—among other evidence—shows that they did have powerful magics. Most scholars of ancient magics believe that, like other post-Ila proto-civilizations, the Nubem were just as fearful of powerful magics as their contemporaries.  ↩︎
5. In earlier Sanctiforms, before collecting them into a single written work, this was almost always translated as “words of death,” but the older records of oral histories generally posit that Amontekh made a single utterance. This is corroborated in the Book of Theem when describing the conquest of the Gar, so due to what we know of Amontekh’s power, it is reasonable to assume that he could use a single utterance to kill many people. ↩︎
6. Records indicate that the Siege of Thafa was over rather quick, lasting a little over three hours, with much of it being the enraged Nubem of the outer reaches ransacking Thafa; while, Amontekh ascending to the throne took under an hour. ↩︎