Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee
"Tales from the Flat Earth" is a series of interconnected short stories that explore a fantastical universe where the world is depicted as flat and divided into realms governed by powerful entities. The narratives center around the "Lord of Darkness," a figure representing various disruptive forces such as wickedness and madness, and are marked by a mythic quality akin to ancient folklore. The first book, "Night's Master," introduces Azhrarn, the captivating "Lord of Demons," who interacts with humans, often leading them toward chaos or destruction based on their responses to his advances.
In "Death's Master," the character Uhlume oversees the transition of souls and engages in complex relationships with mortals, while "Delusion's Master" brings forth Chuz, who embodies madness and influences the creation of a Babel-like tower. Throughout the series, themes of love, self-destruction, and the interplay between divine beings and humanity are prevalent. The stories depict a struggle between the darker aspects of existence and the desire for purpose, showcasing the consequences of the characters' actions on both themselves and the world around them. This collection invites readers into a rich tapestry of myth and morality, challenging conventional notions of good and evil.
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Tales from the Flat Earth
First published:Tales from the Flat Earth: The Lords of Darkness (1987, as collection); previously published as Night’s Master (1978), Death’s Master (1979), and Delusion’s Master (1981)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—high fantasy
Time of work: Indeterminate, but before formation of current Earth
Locale: Various locations on flat “pre-Earth”
The Plot
Although the Tales from the Flat Earth were first published as separate novels, they comprise sets of interlocking short stories. Each book loosely focuses on the action of a “Lord of Darkness”—a personification of a disruptive force such as wickedness, death, or madness—but particular human characters rarely appear in more than one section of each of the books. The result is closer to a set of collected myths than a trilogy, although there is a clear chronological order to the stories. Like myths, they are set in a dream time, a prehistory when the world literally was flat.
Night’s Master introduces Azhrarn, the fantastically beautiful “Lord of Demons,” whose function is to spread wickedness (most often in the form of social chaos with erotic overtones) and whose realm is the Underearth, a netherworld populated by his demon subjects. He meddles in the lives of humans he finds interesting or attractive, giving them power if he thinks they have disruptive potential or destroying them if they spurn or neglect him. He rears and then loves Sivesh, a attractive youth whom he later lures to destruction for abandoning him. He grants unearthly beauty to Zorayas, a disfigured sorceress who conquers much of the world before being destroyed by her love for herself.
Holding humans in contempt, Azhrarn nevertheless is forced to realize that without them his life would have no purpose. When an indirect consequence of one of his actions gives rise to a disembodied spirit of hatred that threatens to destroy all life on Earth, he therefore takes action. He travels to the overworld to entreat the gods to aid humanity, only to find that they have no interest in it. Exposing himself to sunlight in an act of self-sacrifice, he then destroys the spirit but is almost destroyed himself.
Uhlume, the focus of Death’s Master, is responsible for seeing that people die, although he does not rule the dead. He performs his tasks with passionless competence. Unlike Azhrarn, he does not meddle with earthly matters unasked but can be entreated—with equally disruptive results. He bargains with Narasen, a warrior queen, allowing her to become pregnant by a dead youth but in return requiring her service after death. Her spirit serves with a kind of competitive spite, ruling Uhlume’s realm, the Innerearth, as if it were her own. Her child, Simmu, is abandoned and found by Azhrarn. Reared by demons, he has the power to change his sex.
Simmu encounters Zhirem, a youth who has been made invulnerable. The two fall in love but are separated and estranged by Azhrarn. Simmu has a profound fear of death, and by a rather complex plan hinging on his polymorphism, he manages to steal an elixir of immortality from the gods, which he uses to form a society of Immortals. Zhirem, having an equally intense longing for death, allies himself with Uhlume, whose authority is challenged by the Immortals. After learning sorcery from the inhabitants of the ocean, he contrives to open the city of the Immortals to Uhlume, who immures them for eternity.
Delusion’s Master introduces Chuz, who spreads madness and sometimes grants boons to the mad. Chuz’s actions result in the construction and fall of a Babel-like tower. Centuries later, nomads have erected a holy city on its ruins, which they visit yearly. Azhrarn, joining the pilgrimage to sow discord, learns that the story of his saving the world has been changed: The pilgrims claim that the gods saved the world from the hideous, bestial Azhrarn. He sets out to destroy the nomads’ faith, but in the process he is attracted to a half-celestial woman, Soveh, who agrees to bear his child.
Chuz, attracted to the scene by love’s connection with madness as well as by the insanity of the nomads’ reli-gion, is insulted by Azhrarn. Angry, he sets the nomads against Soveh and her newborn daughter, Azhriaz. Soveh, refusing to allow Azhriaz to become simply a tool for wickedness, refuses to flee to Azhrarn’s realm and is killed. Azhrarn swears enmity to Chuz, and Azhriaz, destined to rule the Flat Earth, is left alone in the ruined city.