Exploring Titan 14: The Crown of Kings

The final book of the Sorcery! epic - The Crown of Kings - deals with the end of the Analander's journey to stop the Archmage.  It covers his trek through the regions of Low Xamen and High Xamen in the Zanzunu Peaks, and his infiltration of Mampang Fortress, the Archmage's stronghold.

THE ZANZUNU PEAKS, LOW XAMEN and HIGH XAMEN

The high mountains that border Kakhabad to the north and west are known as the Zanzunu Peaks, a craggy range whose upper reaches are shrouded in billowing clouds.  Low Xamen and High Xamen are regions in the Zanzunu Peaks.  It may be that these are the only two regions of the Zanzunus, or simply that these are the regions most associated with the Archmage's territory.

Low Xamen begins at the foothills of the Zanzunus.  Its indistinct paths are not often traversed by creatures on foot, although the She-Satyrs sometimes come down this way.  The region has plenty of vegetation, and presumably has a high amount of rainfall; the Analander has to seek shelter from a storm while travelling through Low Xamen.  Among the creatures known to inhabit Low Xamen are Skunkbears and Jib-Jibs, although in general there is little wildlife to be found.

High Xamen covers the upper reaches of the mountains where the Archmage's fortress of Mampang is located.  The vegetation seems to thin out here, making way for steep rocky paths and crags, and the air is thinner as well.  Aside from the denizens of Mampang, High Xamen is home to two notable tribes of creatures: the Birdmen and the She-Satyrs.

Birdmen

The Birdmen make their nests in High Xamen, and are highly protective of their territory.  They are humanoid, held in the air by large feathery wings.  Their beaks are sharp and hooked, they have wild black manes of hair, and all four of their limbs end in sharp talons.

The Birdmen nesting in High Xamen are aggressive, and don't really show much in the way of intelligence, but those who serve the Archmage appear to have the same average intelligence as a human.  I'll discuss those more in detail below.

In the Old World, Bird Men are native to the Zanzunus, but there are Bird Men in the Moonstone Hills of Allansia as well.  One of them was encountered by the protagonist of Caverns of the Snow Witch.

She-Satyrs

The She-Satyrs are a tribe of bestial, goat-legged females who live in High Xamen.  Their goat-legs make them particularly nimble on the rocky paths.  They are said to be unruly, and prone to violent outbursts, but they are not truly evil, and are not aligned with the forces of Mampang.  Although they have a strong desire to visit other lands, this is impossible, as they can only breathe the rarefied air of the upper mountain regions.

The She-Satyrs live in a village that consists of caves on a wide ledge in the side of a mountain. Their current leader is named Sh'houri, and is older than the others of her race.  They are currently at the mercy of a highly contagious trembling disease that spreads through their people like a plague, but they are receiving healing from Colletus the Holy Man.  It is a custom of the She-Satyrs to go off alone and find a cave to die in peace; one of their number - Sh'himbli - recently contracted the trembling disease and left to die alone.

It's not clear if this tribe represents the entirety of the She-Satyr race, or just a part of it.  It's also curious that their race is completely female, and it's not clear how they reproduce without males, but I'm sure they manage. It's far from the oddest thing that goes unexplained in these books.

Colletus the Holy Man

Colletus is a holy man who dwells somewhere in High Xamen, around the approach to Mampang Fortress.  He appears as an old, bald man in a dirty brown robe, and his eyes are painted black to represent the fact that he is blind.  He is difficult to find, but can be summoned at the right location by whistling through cupped hands.  He claims to be the only lawful priest for many days' travel.  (The closest lawful priest in the books is probably the priest of Throff from the ruined temple in The Seven Serpents. It's possible that Colletus once served in that same temple.)  He worships Throff, the goddess of the earth, but also swears by the luck god Cheelah.

As a younger man, it was Colletus's mission in life to destroy the evil within Mampang, but the evil gods of Mampang struck him blind.  Now he roams the passes of High Xamen, and will excitedly tell anyone planning to go to Mampang that they should repent of its evil.  He is currently using his healing powers to help the She-Satyrs with their trembling sickness, in exchange for their protection.

The Traps Protecting Mampang Fortress

There are a number of traps protecting the approaches to Mampang Fortress from intruders.  The simplest of these is a swinging rope that appears to be a way across a narrow crevasse.  When the rope is used to swing across, it stretches so as to dash the person swinging against the crevasse's far wall.

Further along, the path to Mampang leads through a crevasse, and if the Analander tries to pass this way he is caught in a sudden landslide.  This could be a natural hazard, but the inconvenient timing suggests that it could also be a trap.

The most notorious trap protecting the entrance of Mampang, however, is the Groaning Bridge, a wooden bridge with a rope handrail which appears to span the crevasse that borders the fortress.  When the bridge is stepped on, it emits a series of unnerving moans and groans.  The bridge is an illusion, and when the person crossing is halfway across it disappears and sends them plunging into the crevasse as its moans turn to mocking laughter.  The real bridge, which is much stronger-looking, is beside it, hidden with a spell of invisibility.

MAMPANG FORTRESS

Mampang Fortress lies in High Xamen, nestled in a plateau inside an extinct volcano.  It is surrounded by rocky walls, and there is only one pass through that gains entrance to the fortress.

The fortress is imposing, with sharp angles and jagged points protruding on every surface, and gnarled spires twisting upwards toward the sky.  Demonic gargoyles line the outside walls.  The parapets are patrolled by Birdmen, and the front gate is guarded by Beastmen (more on them below).  The entrance to the fortress is a huge wooden gate with a smaller door set into its base.  This door is locked with magic that is too strong to be opened by the Analander's spells.

The fortress is split into five distinct areas.  The first is a small guard post, patrolled by Beastmen and Black Elves.  Beyond that is a courtyard, where the chaotic denizens of the fortress mingle.  Past the courtyard is the inner keep, which among other things houses the barracks of the Archmage's guards and Birdmen servants, the kitchens, and the torture chambers.  Beyond that is a gauntlet of traps, and the office of the captain of the guards. And finally, the Archmage's tower.  All of these areas are separated and protected by the Throben Doors, a series of doors that are magically locked and trapped.  More on those below.  Outside of the fortress is the Archmage's prison tower, hidden with a spell of invisibility, where he keeps his most valuable prisoners.

Very little is said about the origins of the fortress, but what is certain is that it is a place of palpable evil.  In several instances its evil is described as a living thing, and it is watched over by dark powers and Netherworld gods.

The Throben Doors

These four sets of heavy double doors each protect an area of the fortress, and reaching the Archmage's tower requires passing through all four doors.  They were enchanted by the Throben Necromancers' Guild, and each one is wizard-locked and protected with a deadly trap.  Each one requires a specific key or password to open safely.

The first Throben Door lies between the outer guard post and the courtyard. Its door handle is trapped with needles tipped with poison that is fast-acting and deadly.  It's opened by a simple key held by Beastman guards.

The second Throben Doors lies between the courtyard and the inner keep.  Anyone who tries to open it will be struck with complete memory loss.  It requires a password to open, which is kept by Valignya, the first assistant to the Archmage's treasurer.

The third Throben Door lies between the inner keep and the area where the guard captain has his quarters. Beyond the door is the illusion of a fiery inferno, and anyone who steps through will be burned alive unless they are certain that what they are seeing is not real. Naggamanteh the torture-master is one who knows the secret of this door.

The fourth Throben Door protects the Archmage's tower.  It has no special traps, but it is guarded by the Sleepless Ram, and can only be opened by a key held by Cartoum, the captain of the guards.

Other Traps of Mampang Fortress

There is a magnetic post, as tall as two men, embedded in the ground in the courtyard just outside of the second Throben Door.  It is covered in ornate markings, with all manner of faces and symbols cast into it.  The Analander surmises that it might be used by the guards to search prisoners, particularly those with magic powers who may be able to disguise their weapons. It's also used by the guards as a form of amusement, where they hold their weapons towards the pole and try their best to wrench them away.

Beyond the third Throben Door is a room known as the Chamber if Night.  It is completely dark inside.  The floor is made from wooden boards, and sharp blades protrude through them at irregular intervals.  Picking one's way through requires perfect balance, but is not too difficult for someone using a regular candle.  If someone uses a blood candle, however, they will be doomed, as the candle itself has a lust for the life-blood of its victims, and will flicker treacherously.

The final guardian before the fourth Throben Door is the Sleepless Ram, said by some to be the Archmage's deadliest servant.  It is also known as the Marbled Ram. It appears as a marble statue of a ram, and is about the size of a sheep or a large dog.  It attacks by charging with sufficient force to kill an armoured troll.  It seems to be impervious to physical attacks, and none of the spells in the Analander's arsenal are powerful enough to stop it (although a MUD spell can slow it down).  The only thing that can defeat it is a vial of liquid given to the Analander by the sorceress Dintainta, also known as the Sham.  The liquid is pungent and acidic, and when thrown against the Sleepless Ram it causes it to topple over. This effect is temporary, though, and the Ram will recover quickly.

Evidence suggests that the Ram is older than the Archmage.  It is spoken of in a couplet that was told to the Analander by Shinva, the Fifth Noble of Khare.  Shinva has been dead for an unspecified amount of time, but he says that the couplet dates back to ancient days.  So the Ram is very old indeed, and must have been found - or enslaved/recruited if it's actually sentient - by the Archmage in more recent times.

The Archmage

The ruler of Mampang is the Archmage, a powerful figure who has no other name that is known of.  In his most recognisable form, he appears as scrawny fellow with spiky black hair, wearing half-moon glasses and a sinister smile.  He seems to rely more on trickery and cunning than raw power.  When dealing with the Analander, he uses disguises to trick him, and never confronts him by choice unless he has the upper hand.

Even by the end of this book little has been learned of the Archmage's history.  We know already that he rose to power is Mampang some time ago, gathering allies such as the Birdmen of Xamen.  From The Seven Serpents we learned that - about twelve years ago - the Archmage battled and killed a hydra that lived in the caves of High Xamen. Taking all seven of the hydra's heads, he consecrated them to his netherworld gods and created the Seven Serpents, his most trusted messengers and allies.  More recently, with ambitions of uniting the whole of Kakhabad, the Archmage had his Birdmen allies steal the Crown of Kings from Analand.  What the Archmage's ambitions are beyond becoming the ruler of Kakhabad are never made clear.

The Archmage's true nature is ambiguous.  He appears to the Analander in the form described above, but he is also said to be in disguise as the imprisoned weapons specialist Farren Whyde.  When confronted as Whyde, the Archmage takes the form of a Netherworld Demon, and Whyde's body is discarded as a corpse.  After this demon is destroyed, the Analander is certain that the Archmage is dead.  This raises the question of whether the Archmage was ever human to begin with, and whether the version described above and depicted on the cover of the book is some some kind of impostor or stand-in.

As far as the book is concerned, it seems to treat the human Archmage and the demon possessing Farren Whyde as one and the same.  At least, there's no explicit confirmation that the human Archmage is not the real deal.  He certainly acts like he's the real deal.  Perhaps the Archmage was once human, and became possessed by a demonic entity due to his trafficking with netherworld gods.  It's possible that he now has the power to possess multiple bodies, and switch his essence between them, or to control multiple bodies at once.  It's all speculation, of course.  The only other explanation is that the human Archmage is a fake, which I'm not particularly thrilled with.

Farren Whyde

At the time of The Crown of Kings, Farren Whyde is dead, and his body is possessed by the Archmage of Mampang.  When he was alive, he was a scientist from Ruddlestone specialising in weapons. He invented gunpowder, which attracted the attention of the Archmage, who sent his Birdmen to carry Farren Whyde away to Mampang.  Whyde must have remained alive in Mampang for at least a little while, as he had long enough to befriend Peewit Croo and the Samaritans of Schinn.

The Samaritans of Schinn

Although the Birdmen of Xamen are the Archmage's most trusted allies, there is a faction from Schinn, east of the Nagomanti River, that fears his growing power.  They believe him to be a power-crazed madman, and have infiltrated the fortress to plot his overthrow.  Somehow the Archmage has learned of this, and has launched an inquisition, but because it's impossible to tell which of the Birdmen is from Schinn, many wrongful accusations have been made and loyal Birdmen tortured and executed.  The only way to tell if a Birdman is from Schinn is to inquire after their parents; loyalist Birdmen will talk only of their fathers, but those from Schinn worship their mothers.  (The way the Samaritans are spoken of it seems like they are quite numerous, but going back over the books it appears that there are only three of them.  Good luck with that overthrow, lads!)

Valignya

Valignya is the first assistant to the Lord Treasurer of Mampang.  He has his chambers near Mampang's courtyard, and part of his job is to collect taxes.  He is very fat, with brown skin and a turban perched on top of large bulbous ears.  (Possibly this kind of turban is worn by all of those in Mampang who deal with finances; there's a merchant in the inner keep who wears one as well.)

Valignya knows the password to the second Throben Door, but getting it out of him can be a dangerous affair.  Although not much of a physical threat (aside from his pet jaguar, Hashi) Valignya has a murderous passion for gold, and will do anything for the possibility to gain more of it.  Anyone who shows as much as one gold piece in Valignya's presence is almost guaranteed to die by poison, and to have his corpse stripped and dumped in a ditch outside the fortress.

Valignya appears to have at least some resistance to magic.  The only one of the Analander's spells that works on him is NAP, and that is only because he thinks the brass pendulum used for the spell is made of gold.  It's possible that even that spell may not have worked on him if his greed hadn't caused him to let his guard down.

Throg

Throg is a hobgoblin who serves as the head of the kitchens in Mampang, bossing her minions around by barking orders and whacking them on the head with a branch. Her menu is somewhat dubious, consisting of swine offal and lizard entrails, but it is her job to keep the guards fed.  She is very respectful towards the Archmage, and will allow guard officers to eat from her "special larder".  Refusal to eat is considered a grave insult, and she will attack anyone who so refuses her hospitality.  One of the delicacies in her larder are mutant meatballs, which while cause anyone who eats one to mutate in a manner that may be beneficial, detrimental, or outright fatal.

Naggamanteh

Naggamanteh is an ogre who serves as the Archmage's torture-master. He is brutally ugly, with a patch over one eye, and he wields a whip.  A particularly cruel torturer, he will reflect nostalgically on the time he gruesomely tortured a thieving Klattaman if prompted.  Despite his cruelty, he's particularly proud of his torture chamber, and immensely grateful for any praise it receives.  Under normal circumstances, this is the only thing that will get him to reveal the secret of the third Throben Door.  It seems, however, that he has a particularly sensitive nose, and creating a stink with the NIF spell  will also get him to reveal his secrets.

Cartoum

Cartoum is the captain of Mampang's guards, a tall, slim human with long hair down to his shoulders.  He is said to be a renegade from the lands east of Kakhabad.  (This is a detail that got missed by whoever designed the maps for Titan: The Fighting Fantasy World, because there really aren't any lands to the east of Kakhabad.)  Cartoum is loyal to his job, and incredibly difficult to bribe, as he realises that he can just take whatever he wants from his prisoners anyway.  He's not above treachery, and will kill the Analander with a poison dart if he lets his guard down.  At some point in his past Cartoum fell in love with a beautiful woman, and still keeps a portrait of her on his wall.  Whether the woman returned his feelings is unknown, and if she did  there must have been some reason that the two are now apart.  The Analander can find a locket with her portrait inside in The Shamutanti Hills.  How it got there is anyone's guess; presumably the pilfer grass in that area nicked it from someone passing through.  Regardless, the sight of this locket is enough to bring a tear to the captain's eye, and make him give up the key to the fourth Throben Door,

Jann the Minimite

Jann is currently being held in the Archmage's prison tower, where he deserves to be.  Apparently he thought he and the Analander were friends, and that he could be helpful. He followed the Analander across Kakhabad, avoiding Khare, and seeking guidance from the sorceress Fenestra, who he is good friends with.  The Analander crossed Lake Ilklala before Jann arrived, so he was forced to skirt the lake.  At some point he was captured by Red Eyes, had his wings cut off, and was imprisoned in the Archmage's tower.

Jann is eager to help - though not eager enough to kill himself so you can cast spells again - even though he can't escape himself.  He knows all about the Archmage's disguise, and the true nature of the ZED spell.  Casting the ZED spell in his presence makes him die in agony, although it's possible that - due to the time travel nature of ZED - he doesn't actually die at all.

The Beastmen Guards

The guards at Mampang are a race of bestial humanoids, They hail from Tinpang Valley in the Zanzunu foothills, and are described as hairy, black-skinned chaotics.  Otherwise they seem much like humans in terms of intelligence and behaviour.

The Sightmasters

Among the denizens of Mampang is a group of Sightmasters.  A race of spindly humanoids with enormous eyes, they possess the power of "ultravision" and are closely allied to the Analand crown.  A Sightmaster sergeant was one of those who saw the Analander off at the Cantopani Gate, at the beginning of his quest.  These particular Sightmasters are traitors, and may have been exiled from their homeland.  The Archmage has offered them large expanses of Analand in return for their service.

Javinne

Javinne is an old blind beggar who dwells in the courtyard of Mampang. In her youth she was a skilled healer. Her master, an old healer-priest from Daddu-Yadu who had been shipwrecked and washed up on the Earthend beaches, had wanted her to go south and use her skills to aid the lawful nations, but instead she went to live in prosperity at Mampang. Her undoing came when the Archmage recruited the Mucalytics, and she was unable to restore their voices or improve their hearing.  Her punishment was an "accident" that resulted in the loss of her sight.  (There really are a lot of blind characters in this series.) Now she is a beggar, constantly tormented by the Sightmasters, to the point that she will reward the Analander should he kill them for her.  She knows about the Samaritans of Schinn, but is afraid to seek them out for help.

THE ZED SPELL

The ZED spell has long been shrouded in mystery. It is believed to have only ever been cast once, by a Necromancer from Throben, who was never seen again, but whose notes were found later.  In actual fact, the spell was created in Mampang by sorcerer-priests of Chronada, god of time.  A Minimite stole the secret, and later on sold it to the Throben Necromancer for unspecified favours.

The spell grants its caster the secret of travel through space and time, but unless the caster concentrates intensely upon their desired destination, the place they end up will be random.  It is even possible to end up in the far future or the distant past.  The Analander (assuming he was a wizard) used the spell to circle back in time to confront the Archmage a second time, and uncover his disguise as Farren Whyde.

THE NECROMANCERS OF THROBEN

The Necromancers of Throben are mentioned in relation to a number of things in Mampang Fortress.  The first and most notable of these is obviously the Throben Doors, which they helped to enchant.  It was a Throben Necromancer who was said to have first cast the ZED spell.  And the mutant meatballs were created by an apothecary from Throben, for a rebellious prince from the nation of Brice who wanted to create mutants to bolster his army.  Where Throben is, and who the necromancers are exactly, is never made clear, but it seems likely that it's a region that is close to Mampang, and may be ruled by magic-users.  It's even possible that the Archmage originated from there, assuming that he was ever human.

THE GODS OF MAMPANG

These seven gods are worshipped by the Archmage, and hold great sway over Mampang Fortress.  Such is their power that the goddess Libra is unable to influence events within Mampang.  When the Archmage slew the seven-headed hydra, it was these gods who imbued the heads with their powers to create the Seven Serpents.  They are as follows:

• Chronada, god of time
• Pangara, god of the air, whose bearded, stark-white face has puffy cheeks
• Glantanka, goddess of the sun, who has sharp features, bright orange hair, and burning red fireballs for eyes
• Hydana, god of water, whose face is green and scaly, with a pointed nose and gills in its neck
• Lunara, goddess of the moon, who has a black face with large yellow eyes

Those are the ones specifically named in this book (although I may have missed a reference).  The other two would be gods of fire and earth.  The first of those would be Filash.  As for the latter, the only god or goddess of earth named in the books is Throff, who is a force for good (or neutrality, at the very least).  It seems very unlikely that she would have been involved in the creation of the Seven Serpents, or that she would ever be classified as a "netherworld god".

In later books all of these entities are treated like gods that are worshipped the world over, and were involved in the creation of Titan.  That doesn't really fit with their depiction here, where they seem to much more demonic in nature, and very much localised to Mampang.

CREATURES OF THE ZANZUNUS AND MAMPANG FORTRESS

There are a few creatures returning here from other books: the skunkbear, red-eyes, and black-elves all appeared earlier in the series.  Genies have appeared in the main Fighting Fantasy series, as have wolves.  I'm not sure about whether we've seen a jaguar elsewhere, but I'm not about to bother doing a write-up on a real-world creature.

These are the creatures that are new in this book.  I've already covered the She-Satyrs further up.

Jib-Jib

Appearing as a small,ball of fur on two legs, about the size of a cabbage, Jib-Jibs are harmless creatures, possessing neither teeth nor claws.  Their only defense mechanism is their horrendous voice, which they can use to make themselves sound like dangerous beasts.  They are known to the scholars of Analand.

Mucalytics

Mucalytics are hideous creatures, having bulky, blubbery bodies and elephant-like heads with a short snout.  With their inaudible voices and inability to hear, they can come across as quite pathetic, but their breath is instantly fatal, and it seems that they glean some amusement from using this breath on others.  Javinne mentions that they were cursed by the gods, which might be literal or just a figure of speech, it's difficult to tell.  Their status in Mampang appears to be incredibly lowly; it seems as though many of the other denizens enjoy taunting them.

Spiny Ones

The mysterious "spiny ones" live in a room in Mampang where no light penetrates.  They are never seen, only describes as a dark, bulky shape, and when they move it's said to sound like sticks scraping along the ground.  They kill by firing spines at their victims, like those of a porcupine, with a distinctive ping sound.  Whatever they are, they're incredibly deadly.

Minions

These small goblin-like creatures serve in the kitchens of Mampang, under Throg.  They are introduced as "Servant Minions", which could just be their job description but could also indicate that they were created or bred to be servants.

Goblin Mutants

There's a room in Mampang's inner keep that's filled with mutated goblins.  They seem to be locked in, and at one point the guard captain Cartoum is called away to deal with them, as they are getting agitated.  It seems likely that these goblins are the result of experimentation with the mutant meatballs from Throg's larder.

OTHER NOTES

• The boatman from The Seven Serpents is given the name Tek Kramin, and is said to have been a notorious character; he must be if even the She-Satyrs, who can't leave the mountains, have heard of him.
• Apparently the holy man of Slangg, from Khare, has never revealed his true identity to anybody, and only Slangg knows who he is.
• Shadrack the Hermit, from The Seven Serpents, makes a cameo.  Two days ago the Archmage's servants went to his cave, tortured him for information, and staked him on a cross.  He sends his spirit for to tell the Analander about the Throben Doors, and presumably dies not too long afterwards.
• There's a bald goblin-like creature, who is incredibly muscular but goes down to a single punch.  He's probably just a goblin, but what he is exactly is never specified.
• While the Analander is fighting the illusory hydra, the battlemasters at the Academy at Chawberry are mentioned.

NEXT: At last, I'm done with Sorcery!  I love it, but I'm glad to be moving on.  I was going to read "The Dark Usurper" from White Dwarf, but I might save that one.  I want to get back to the main series, so my next entry will be on Freeway Fighter.