The City of Dignity

This forest settlement, despite its name, probably has no more than a few hundred inhabitants. It was founded by a group of young people from Karsh led by a man known as Uncle, which he uses as both name and title.

The 'city' is extremely secretive. Although it has few buildings, with most people sleeping in tents, it has a defensive wall that would be the envy of any great city. Some who have escaped say that there are hidden caches of weapons which are likewise of the highest quality.

The inhabitants of the city consist of the original founders, their children, and some of the local tribespeople, who entered the place due to starvation. Some say that the inhabitants of the city deliberately drove off game and poisoned water supplies to achieve this end, and that children were outright kidnapped.

It seems that everyone is effectively a slave of Uncle. It is said that sexual intercourse can only take place with Uncle's blessing, and that even talking without permission is a crime. Uncle is said to force the inhabitants to ingest various substances which render them more docile.

The stories of some escapees who made their way back to Karsh caused even the wicked people of Karsh to become outraged. Karsh thus sent an expedition to capture Uncle. However, true to their nature, the Karhsians accepted a deal which kept Uncle in power. The Karshians received a number of slaves, none of whom were the original colonists (although some may have been their children). It is also whispered that political prisoners of Karsh are sent to the City of Dignity, where they are tortured and subject to medical experimentation.

The Planets of the Celestial Realm

The planets of the Celestial Realm differ from the world of Teleleli (and from our own Earth), in that almost all of them contain only one climate each. Not all of these climates have parallels in the world below: there are jungle planets and ice planets, but also planets made of diamond, living flesh, or pure sadness for example.

The Isle of Letters

The animals and plants of this isle all have the form of letters. Many valuable T trees grow there, but it is also home to dangerous Killer Bs, and the surrounding waters are filled with C Monsters.

The Soul-Sun

I have heard that in the Celestial Realm there is a certain sun, all of whose planets were inhabited. When a creature of one planet died  it was reborn on the next planet in, until at last it died on the innermost planet and became one with the sun. But the inhabitants of one planet invaded one nearer to the sun than themselves, and killed all the creatures thereof. Thus when they died there was no vessel for their rebirth, so they were reborn as rocks, and must stay in this form forever.

The Phantom Time Hypothesis

The Phantom Time hypothesis is the theory that the Dark Ages, the period in Europe immediately after the collapse of the Roman Empire, did not in fact occur. It is stated that the 'missing' years are a result of the change from the Julian to the current Gregorian calendar, made worse by medieval reliance on oral history (such as the legends of Charlemagne, King Arthur and Robin Hood). Another factor is the desire of many medieval rulers to present the history of their families or kingdoms as being longer than in reality. The theory is said to explain the almost complete lack of invention and progress in Europe over a period of 500 years.

When I mentioned this theory to a certain Telelelene mystic, she told me that the years had not been misplaced, but stolen, and taken to lands within the world of Teleleli. Her meaning, like most pronouncements by such people, is unclear to me, and I present her words to the reader without judgement as to their value.

The Lake of the Moon

It is said that this lake may be played as a musical instrument, if the secret is known.

The Iron Ones and other talking bears

The Iron Ones regard any talking bear that does not wear armour as a bearbarian.

The Land of the Father-Eaters

The people of this far land have the custom of eating their old people, and those who are sick unto death. Those who are consumed do not object to the practice. In fact, no one in this land fears dying in this manner. This is all the more remarkable since they have no religious beliefs about the fate of one so eaten.

Their fear of all other forms of death is the same as that shown by people of other lands.

The Land of Candy

A vast jungle of treacle swamps, candy-cane trees, and mountains as dangerous as they are delicious. It is ruled over by the jungle lord Tarzipan.

The Poles

It seems likely that either the North or South Pole once held an entrance to the world where Teleleli lies.

My suspicions were first aroused by reading of the secret world or city of Agartha, which is said to reside at the Earth's core and be accessible by entrances in both poles. It is described by some sources as being a place of great wealth and knowledge. Others describe a complex of dismal caves inhabited by evil demons. This contradiction might be explained as originating with the accounts of two or more travelers who had made their way to different parts of the same world.

The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World, published in 1668 by Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, describes a world, filled with talking animals, that is likewise entered via the North Pole.

It seems to me that some groups of the 19th and early 20th centuries, perhaps even in various governments, may have believed that this portal still existed. This could explain the otherwise disproportionate efforts expended in attempting to reach the North Pole. Indeed United States President John Quincy Adams gave his approval for an official expedition to the North Pole for the purpose of entering the supposed hollow Earth, but left office before it could be organised.
 
Perhaps when it was discovered that no portal existed at the North Pole, they concluded that it could be found at the South Pole, and put their efforts there only to be disappointed again. Of course this assumes that they were in fact disappointed. I note the desperate efforts of various governments, extending even to the present day, to extend their claims over Antarctica. Obviously there are more prosaic explanations for this phenomenon, for example that they are motivated by the large number of frozen cavemen there that could be thawed out to form an army.

Sky-Tyrants

These creatures have, thankfully, never been seen in Teleleli. They are only known there through descriptions given by refugees from Barsoom, who say that they came into conflict with them in the distant past.

The original appearance of the creatures is not known, although they may have resembled Barsoomians, or even been a branch of that species. The prevailing philosophy of their society seemed to be based on a belief that the mind was separate to the body, even to the brain, and a hatred of the body combined with an idealisation of the mind. Possessing advanced science, they were able to alter their bodies. Perhaps this led to a vicious cycle where they found themselves in bodies instinctively alien to them, which caused their hatred of the body to grow, and led in turn to more extreme modifications.

Whether this is the reason, it is undisputed that they altered their bodies more and more. At one period in Barsoomian history they are reported as having soft, oversized, but otherwise human- or Barsoomian-like heads, but lacking any other body. Instead, they grew headless bodies, on which they 'rode', controlling them by unknown means.

After many centuries their bodies were huge, and resembled machines more than biological creatures, having a metal-like skin and weapons of great power, including poisonous black smoke and a 'Tenth Ray', which is described as a special form of light which incinerated whatever it fell upon. They are said to have had many tentacles instead of arms and legs, and to have been able to travel land and sea with equal ease, though not to fly (the name Sky-Tyrants derives from the fact that they towered over the Barsoomians).

It strikes me as a peculiar coincidence that the loa of Haitian voodoo are said to 'ride' the worshippers whom they possess, and perhaps this provides some clue as to the Sky-Tyrants' eventual fate. It may be that they managed to become altogether incorporeal. In any case, after a destructive war they are heard of no more in the history of Barsoom.

The Flying City of the Night

As the name would imply, this structure is a flying city. Its appearance is feared by many, since it appears only with the intention of destroying and looting. However it seems to choose its targets carefully, on political grounds. The inhabitants of the city appear to have similar views to the Conspiracy of Equals. When asked who led them, they are said to have replied "Prince Nobody" or "Captain No-one."

As well as flight, the city seems to be capable of submerging itself under the sea, which it does to avoid pursuit. At other times it has flown away over mountain ranges or forests, slowing down land-based pursuit. It does not appear to be able to fly as high as cloud level, or to remain in the air indefinitely.

It is often said that the City will free political prisoners, debtors or slaves, and that some have gone with the city when it escaped. This has led to speculation that the inhabitants of the city may no longer be its original builders. Thus it is not known whether the inhabitants understand how the city flies.

Drapetomania

Drapetomania is a form of delerium suffered by the slaves of Karsh and its allied nations.

Its symptoms include irritability, aggression, and finally and most tellingly absconding from service.

Treatments include aversion therapy, and in severe cases amputation of the toes.

Hassan-i-Sabah and the Assassins

The original Assassins, also known by many variants such as Hashishin or Hashashiyyin, were an Islamic sect or cult at the time of the Crusades. Their practice of stealthy murder has given us the modern meaning of 'assassin'.

It is widely believed that their leader, Hassan-i-Sabah, known also as The Grand Master or The Old Man of the Mountain, controlled his followers by means of hashish or another drug, thereby tricking them into believing he could show them Paradise. There is, however, reason to suppose that this is is false. Firstly it arises from the unreliable tales of Marco Polo. Secondly, scholars say their name is most likely to derive from Asasiyun, meaning 'those who are faithful to the foundations [of the faith]'. And finally, while hashishim does indeed literally mean 'hashish-smokers', it was more usually used as a general-purpose shorthand for wickedness than as a specific accusation.

It seems more likely that the Assassin's headquarters in what is now Iran, Alamut or 'Eagles Nest', contained yet another entry-way into the world in which Teleleli lies, or instructions on creating one. This would explain both the story of 'showing Paradise', and the Assassin's otherwise inexplicable ability to appear as if from thin air. The fact that the library of Alamut was burned after its capture by the invading mongols suggests that it may have held books on travelling between worlds.

Custard Croms

These barbarian treats are common in Panelvania, but in Teleleli are only sold at Sonja's.

Gods' Tongues

In certain seas, though not the Wine-Faced Sea which breaks on Teleleli, there wash ashore objects that are popularly known as Gods' Tongues. Skeptical scholars insist that they are the corpses of some unknown sea creature. However it must be admitted that they bear a great resemblance to gigantic human tongues (they are about three feet long) and thus it is widely believed that there is an undiscovered country in the depths of the sea, peopled by at least giants if not gods.

The Tongues themselves are said to be useful in magic, especially when freshly pulled from the sea and still wet. They dry and curl up very quickly. Popular belief holds that the hypothesized sea-dwelling giants do not die naturally, but only by murder, and that their tongues therefore contain poisons of a strength beyond any known on land.

Long Weight

The Long Weight is a mysterious object that lies within a mountain monastery. All outsiders who come to the monastery and ask to see it, or ask its nature, have been told that the time is not yet right, and to return in a year.

Affairs of the Heart in Karsh

In Karsh an aristocratic woman is much more likely to engage in an affair with a slave than with a man of her own class. This may be partly because in most public gatherings people are seated according to social status, with free men at the front and women and slaves at the back.

George Psalmanazar

In 1703 a man appeared in London who was believed to be a native of Formosa (now Taiwan), who had been kidnapped by Jesuit priests and brought to France, where he escaped.

The man, given the name George Psalmanazar, reported that Formosa was a prosperous country with a capital city called Xternetsa. Men walked naked except for a gold or silver plate to cover their genitals. Their main food was a serpent that they hunted with branches. Formosans were polygamous and husbands had a right to eat their wives for infidelity. They executed murderers by hanging them upside down and shooting them full of arrows. Annually they sacrificed the hearts of 18,000 young boys to gods and priests ate the bodies. They used horses and camels for mass transportation and dwelled underground in circular houses.

He had white skin like a European, which he explained by saying that the Formosan upper class lived entirely underground.

Many educated people believed him to be a fraud. Indeed he eventually 'admitted' that he was a European. Despite this, he was known in later life for his saintly aspect, "whereof he was so well known and esteemed, that scarce any person, even children, passed him without showing him signs of respect."

It seems likely to me that this person may have been a native of the world in which Teleleli lies. In particular his description of  mass sacrifice reminds one of the latter days of the city of the vile Anhotep. It is possible that he was unable to communicate the nature of his travel to his audience (or decided not to do so for fear that they would fail to understand). Perhaps he did not understand it himself. However I believe he had at least some inkling. He is recorded as worshipping the sun and moon with complicated rites. It may be that these were in fact magical or scientific attempts to discern his location, misunderstood by his ignorant hosts.

It is notable that Taiwan is roughly in the area occupied by the hypothesised continent of Lemuria which, as I have detailed in a previous passage, is likely to be connected to Teleleli and its environs.

Mu, or Lemuria

Mu, or Lemuria, refers to a continent which is hypothesised to have once existed in the Pacific Ocean. It is said to have been the origin of the civilisations of ancient India and Tibet, and of the Incas and Mayans, all of whom are said to have been colonies of Mu (indirectly in the case of Tibet, which is said to have been settled via India).

The moai, the carved stone heads of Easter Island, are said to be relics of this culture, just as the Pacific islands are the remains of the continent. Mu is said to have been destroyed by volcanic eruption and earthquake, followed by flooding. Rather implausibly, Mu is said to have been "completely obliterated in almost a single night." Some have suggested that Mu was more advanced than the modern world, and that the destruction was the result of some weapon or technological disaster, such as a nuclear war.

I would suggest that a more realistic theory is that Mu lay in the same land as Teleleli. Perhaps the city itself lay within the boundaries of Mu, perhaps not. It seems likely that Mu itself was not destroyed, but merely the 'bridge' between it and our world. Given my speculations about the link between Teleleli and the Biblical land of Sheba, it may be that this loss occured in pre-Biblical times, and the legend of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden arises from the experience of a distant colony suddenly finding itself cut off from home, trapped in a dismal frontier. Similarly, we might find it profitable to study the ancient Egyptian concept of the afterlife as a distant land, and the ancient Indian Uttarakuru, a fabled continent which is sometimes described as existing in our world, and sometimes in another.