The Weaver in the Vault

Last updated
"The Weaver in the Vault"
by Clark Ashton Smith
The Weaver in the Vault Title Page.jpg
Title page of "The Weaver in the Vault" as it appeared in Weird Tales , January 1934. Illustration by Clark Ashton Smith.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Zothique
Genre(s) Fantasy
Published in Weird Tales
Publication type Pulp magazine
PublisherPopular Fiction Publishing Co.
Media typePrint
Publication dateJanuary 1934

"The Weaver in the Vault" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the January 1934 issue of Weird Tales .

Contents

Plot

The king of Tasuun, Famorgh, sends three henchmen (Yanur, Grotara, Thirlain Ludoch) from Miraab to Chaon Gacca to deliver the remains of King Tnepreez. As they journey from the city in a caravan of camels, they note that a similar task had occurred in the past; Yanur notes two centuries ago King Mandis asked two of his men for the golden mirror of Queen Avaina as a gift for his favorite leman. However, those two never returned and the king offered a different gift instead. The three remark that Chaon Gacca is occupied by shadows from the desert Dloth. Thirlain Ludoch points out that the shadows would appear in palaces and, when touched, would wither the skin upon contact - King Ameni had injured his hand due to these same shadows. Additionally, Yanur remarks that Chaon Gacca was also besieged by earthquakes. The three find their task before them arduous as Famorgh is requested by his queen Lunalia, a princess of the desert Xylac; when other mummies would do [ non sequitur ]. One night they camp within the shrine of Yuckla, the god of laughter. Later, as they approach the tomb, they drink a vintage which renders them unafraid amid the gloom. In the tombs, they find that the mummies are missing while, concurrently, the tomb is wreaked by earthquakes. One tremor kills Yanur and Thirlain Ludoch. Despite surviving the tremors, Grotara's condition rapidly deteriorates. Weak and unable to escape, he discovers an orb that draws power from the dead floating from the chasms. It waits for Grotara to die as it weaves a web before death befalls him.

Reception

In the 1981 book Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers , Will Murray noted the story as "the weird doom of two individuals who desecrate the tomb." [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark Ashton Smith</span> American author (1893–1961)

Clark Ashton Smith was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne. As a poet, Smith is grouped with the West Coast Romantics alongside Joaquin Miller, Sterling, and Nora May French and remembered as "The Last of the Great Romantics" and "The Bard of Auburn". Smith's work was praised by his contemporaries. H. P. Lovecraft stated that "in sheer daemonic strangeness and fertility of conception, Clark Ashton Smith is perhaps unexcelled", and Ray Bradbury said that Smith "filled my mind with incredible worlds, impossibly beautiful cities, and still more fantastic creatures".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Averoigne</span> Fictional province in Clark Ashton Smith stories

Averoigne is a fictional counterpart of a historical province in France, detailed in a series of short stories by the American writer Clark Ashton Smith. Smith may have based Averoigne on the actual province of Auvergne, but its name was probably influenced by the French department of Aveyron, immediately south of Auvergne, due to the similarity in pronunciation. Sixteen of Smith's stories take place in Averoigne. In Smith's fiction, the Southern French province is considered "the most witch-ridden in the entire country." The most well-known citizen is Gaspard du Nord of Vyones, a wizard who translated The Book of Eibon into Norman French.

Donald Sidney-Fryer is a poet and entertainer principally influenced by Edmund Spenser and Clark Ashton Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Nails</span> Conan novella by Robert E. Howard

"Red Nails" is the last of the stories featuring Conan the Cimmerian written by American author Robert E. Howard. A novella, it was originally serialized in Weird Tales magazine from July to October 1936, the months after Howard's suicide. It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan entering a lost city whose degenerate inhabitants are entangled in a murderous blood feud. Due to its dark themes of decay and death, the story is considered a classic of Conan lore while also cited by Howard scholars as one of his best tales.

<i>The Emperor of Dreams</i>

The Emperor of Dreams is a collection of American fantasy author and poet Clark Ashton Smith's short tales arranged in chronological order. It was published by Gollancz in 2002 as the 26th volume of their Fantasy Masterworks series. The collection contains stories from Smith's major story cycles of Averoigne, Hyperborea, Poseidonis, and Zothique. Most of the stories originally appeared in the magazines The Fantasy Fan, Weird Tales, Overland Monthly, Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror, The Magic Carpet/Oriental Stories, The Auburn Journal, Stirring Science Stories, The Arkham Sampler, Saturn and Fantastic Universe.

<i>The Mummys Hand</i> 1940 film by Christy Cabanne

The Mummy's Hand is a 1940 American black-and-white horror film directed by Christy Cabanne and produced by Ben Pivar for Universal Studios. The film is about the ancient Egyptian mummy of Kharis, who is kept alive with a brew of tana leaves by The High Priest and his successor Andoheb. Meanwhile, archeologists Steve Banning and Babe Jenson persuade magician Solvani to finance an expedition in search of the tomb of Princess Ananka. They are joined by Solvani's daughter Marta, and followed by Andoheb who is also the professor of Egyptology at the Cairo Museum. Kharis is ordered to kill off expedition members Dr. Petrie and Ali, while Andoheb becomes attracted to Marta who he plans to kidnap and make immortal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Hoffmann Price</span> American novelist (1898–1988)

Edgar Hoffmann Trooper Price was an American writer of popular fiction for the pulp magazine marketplace. He collaborated with H. P. Lovecraft on "Through the Gates of the Silver Key".

<i>Out of Space and Time</i> Book by Clark Ashton Smith

Out of Space and Time is a collection of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories by American writer Clark Ashton Smith. It was released in 1942 and was the third book published by Arkham House. 1,054 copies were printed. A British hardcover appeared from Neville Spearman in 1971, with a two-volume paperback reprint following from Panther Books in 1974. Bison Books issued a trade paperback edition in 2006.

<i>Zothique</i> (collection)

Zothique is a collection of fantasy short stories by Clark Ashton Smith, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books as the sixteenth volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in June 1970. It was the first themed collection of Smith's works assembled by Carter for the series. The stories were originally published in various fantasy magazines in the 1930s, notably Weird Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Dark Eidolon</span> Short story by Clark Ashton Smith

"The Dark Eidolon" is a sword and sorcery short story by American writer Clark Ashton Smith, forming part of his Zothique cycle of stories. It was first published in Weird Tales in 1935 and has been variously republished, notably in the anthology The Spell of Seven, edited by L. Sprague de Camp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curse of the pharaohs</span> Alleged curse on people who disturb the mummy of a pharaoh

The curse of the pharaohs or the mummy's curse is a curse alleged to be cast upon anyone who disturbs the mummy of an ancient Egyptian, especially a pharaoh. This curse, which does not differentiate between thieves and archaeologists, is claimed to cause bad luck, illness, or death. Since the mid-20th century, many authors and documentaries have argued that the curse is 'real' in the sense of having scientifically explicable causes such as bacteria or radiation. However, the modern origins of Egyptian mummy curse tales, their development primarily in European cultures, the shift from magic to science to explain curses, and their changing uses—from condemning disturbance of the dead to entertaining horror film audiences—suggest that Egyptian curses are primarily a cultural, not scientific, phenomenon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mummy (undead)</span> Undead monster

Mummies are commonly featured in horror genres as undead creatures wrapped in bandages. Similar undead include skeletons and zombies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xeethra</span> Short story by Clark Ashton Smith

"Xeethra" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the December 1934 issue of Weird Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Death of Ilalotha</span> Short story by Clark Ashton Smith

"The Death of Ilalotha" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the September 1937 issue of Weird Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Witchcraft of Ulua</span> Short story by Clark Ashton Smith

"The Witchcraft of Ulua" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the February 1934 issue of Weird Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Black Abbot of Puthuum</span> Short story by Clark Ashton Smith

"The Black Abbot of Puthuum" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the March 1936 issue of Weird Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last Hieroglyph</span> Short story by Clark Ashton Smith

"The Last Hieroglyph " is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the April 1935 issue of Weird Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Isle of the Torturers</span> Short story by Clark Ashton Smith

"The Isle of the Torturers" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the March 1933 issue of Weird Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Voyage of King Euvoran</span> Short story by Clark Ashton Smith

"The Voyage of King Euvoran" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle. It was first published as "The Voyage of King Euvoran" in the 1933 book The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies. It was republished as "Quest of the Gazolba" in the September 1947 issue of Weird Tales where it was the cover story with art by Boris Dolgov.

References

  1. Smith, Curtis (1981). Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. p. 506. ISBN   0-312-82420-3.