The Testament of Athammaus

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The Testament of Athmmaus is a short story by Clark Ashton Smith that is part of his Hyperborean cycle. It was published in the October 1932 issue of Weird Tales.

[edit] Synopsis

The story is written from the recollection of the now aged Headsman Athmmaus on the events which lead to the abandonment Commoriom the once great capital of Hyperborea for its present capital of Uzuldaroum, of whose circumstances he considers to be in dire need of being recorded to combat the now emerging myths on why the city was abandoned. Athmmaus then proceeds to relate how in his lifelong career as a headsman he has failed to successfully carry out his duty but once, this one failure causing Commoriom's downfall. He tells of how news had come from the settlements near the Eiglophian Mountains of murderous band of Voormi with their vile and bizarre hairless hybrid being named Knygathin Zhaum who it was rumored was the product of union of a Voormi and being related to the deity Tsathoggua, furthermore it was rumored that this being as being invulnerable to any weapon and capable of escaping any form of imprisonment, this of which at the time Athmmaus dismissed as only vulgar superstition. Then one day it thus that Knygathin Zhaum was successfully ambushed while alone, of whom to the surprise of his captors show no resistance and with a sardonic expression on his face was lead back to Commoriom where he was thus convicted and sentenced to death by eight judges and Loquamethros King of Commoriom, being held in a chamber below Commoriom's dungeons to await his fate. According to Athmmaus, Knygathin Zhaum's beheading went proceeded seemingly successfully although as Athmmaus had suspected Knygathin Zhaum did not bleed following decapitation but only produced a trickle of black ichor.

Following his execution Knygathin Zhaum was buried that very day and everything went as normal, however on the morning of the next day the citizens of Commoriom held witness with horror to a resurrected Knygathin Zhaum devouring one of its inhabitants. Upon arrest Knygathin Zhaum following a necessary law change to allow for someone to be executed twice, Knygathin Zhaum was sentenced again to die. His rising from the dead being rationalized Athmmaus as due to his preternatural heritage and thus alien physiology. Following his second beheading (during which Athmaus noticed disturbing distortions in Knygathin Zhaum's features, despite it only being the day after the first beheading), Knygathin Zhaum was thus buried beneath heavy boulders in hope that if he were to come back to life that he would not be able to escape. Yet alas the next morning Knygathin Zhaum is witnessed a second time by the citizens devouring one of the eight judges. Thus Knygathin Zhaum was arrested yet another time (along with the many of the superstitious citizens leaving) and executed the same day. This time no chances were taken, with the body Knygathin Zhaum was buried in a bronze sarcophagus under heavy guard, while on the other side of the city his being left in a small bronze sarcophagus and placed under guard by Athmmaus and his remaining men. For the first hours even proceeded as normal but then the men heard a banging from within each sarcophagi which thus as from some incredible force burst open revealing masses of strange liquid which thus proceeded towards each other thus merging and to once again form Knygathin Zhaum. This was all too much for Commoriom's citizens who immediately began to depart in a mass exodus. Leaving behind Athmmaus and his men to do battle with fiend, however it is soon realized that the rumours of Knygathin Zhaum being both immortal and uncontainable and thus they to leave the city.