A jest and a vengeance

In Short

Set in the declining oriental city of Angor-lana, Sultan Schamas ad Din faces external rebellions, internal assassins, and a restrictive British Resident who forbids proper royal executions. Seeking an ingenious retribution against his incompetent would-be usurper, Maksoud, the sultan journeys with a crafty darvish into the pre-Adamic ruins of Atlânaat. There, beneath a mesmerizing maiden and a dreaming Lord of the World, the sultan discovers a cosmic, ironic twist that transforms his petty political grievances into a profound, terrifying meditation on reality, illusion, and power.

The Story

Sultan Schamas ad Din survives a clumsy rifle shot fired from a neighboring mosque by his relative Maksoud, casually reflecting on his precarious grip on power. Frustrated by tribal revolts in the mountains, internal assassins, and the persistent, civilizing interference of the British Resident—who forbids public dismemberments, impalings, and proper royal hangings—the sultan resolves to find a unique way to handle his traitorous kinsman. He summons Ismeddin, an old darvish and bandit, who advises that true retribution can only be found within Atlânaat, a monstrous, fiend-haunted citadel hidden deep in the jungle. Escaping the palace by night, the sultan, Ismeddin, and a captured Maksoud travel to the cyclopean ruins.

Passing through a massive breach in the rose-granite walls, they reach a silent courtyard ringed by columns and eleven life-sized stone statues of bearded men sitting cross-legged like sleeping kings. Leaving Maksoud guarded by black mamelukes, the sultan descends a spiraling runway into a deep subterranean pit filled with sweet, intoxicating perfumes and the thrum of distant drums. At the bottom, he encounters a magnificent maiden who guards the vault of the Lord of the World. She reveals that she has cast an eternal spell over the sleeping creator, whose dreams sustain reality itself, and that she manipulates his visions. Although she warns that she could easily turn the sultan into stone like the eleven kings, she finds his bold and unconventional spirit appealing and allows him audience.

Entering the inner vault strewn with powdered cinnabar, the sultan gazes upon the ancient Master of Illusion sleeping on a green basalt couch. He bargains with the mesmerizing girl, deciding upon a vengeance far more profound than standard bloodshed. Ascending back to the courtyard, he confronts the terrified Maksoud. Rather than throwing him into the abysmal pit or subjecting him to physical torture, the sultan inflicts a far crueler doom. He sentences Maksoud to the very fate he fears most: becoming a real monarch who must endure an interfering Resident, unfulfilled power, botched palace plots, and constant public mockery.

As this sentence is pronounced, a strange presence emerges from the pit—an ancient, bearded king who calmly walks across the courtyard and takes the twelfth and final pedestal, seating himself cross-legged in eternal stillness. Maksoud is untied and sent off to assume his hollow, troubled throne. With a final wry joke about adding a second British Resident, Ismeddin departs into the ruins, leaving the sultan master of a surreal, illusion-bound domain.

How It Unfolds

• The botched assassination: Sultan Schamas ad Din calmly plucks a flattened bullet from the wall after an incompetent relative misses his target. He immediately begins plotting a quiet, effective method to eliminate his enemies despite the restrictions imposed by the British Resident.
• The call to the darvish: Summoned by midnight palace drums, Ismeddin slips out of his mountain cave and travels past revolting tribesmen to answer the sultan's urgent summons. The ragged old wanderer understands that conventional royal power is crumbling and that desperate measures are required.
• The suspended sentence: In the hall of audience, the sultan abruptly halts the planned execution of captured rebels and Ismeddin's kin at the insistence of the British Resident. Enraged by this civilized meddling, the ruler retreats in fury, determined to seek ancient, unmanageable powers.
• The descent into Atlânaat: Traveling past the jungle border, the sultan and Ismeddin enter the cyclopean ruins of a pre-Adamic citadel. The sultan courageously steps down a dark, spiraling runway into an abysmal pit while leaving Maksoud bound in the courtyard above.
• The guardian of dreams: At the bottom of the pit, a stunning maiden explains that she keeps the Lord of the World in an eternal sleep, shaping reality through his unconscious visions. She tests the sultan's resolve before granting him passage into the inner sanctuary of the master dreamer.
• The final pedestal: Returning to the surface, the sultan spares Maksoud physical death and instead curses him with the grueling reality of actual kingship. As a mysterious phantom figure rises from the depths to occupy the final empty pedestal, Maksoud is freed to claim his hollow throne.

The People

• Schamas ad Din: The aging sultan of Angor-lana, seasoned by decades of violent rule alongside the Old Tiger, wants a quiet and absolute vengeance against his traitorous relative. He faces rebellious tribes, a weak domestic guard, and a frustrating British Resident who outlaws traditional punishments. Ultimately, he finds a philosophical clarity that transcends ordinary brutality.
• Ismeddin: A ragged, greasy-garmented darvish and mountain bandit who moves easily between rebel camps and the sultan's private chambers. He serves as a loyal, worldly-wise confidant who knows the hidden depths of ancient ruins, facilitating the journey to Atlânaat without losing his grim sense of humor.
• Maksoud: A wretched marksman and the sultan's ambitious relative who attempts to usurp the throne. He expects a common, brutal execution by sword or fire, but instead receives the ironic, crushing punishment of actually ruling under the thumb of the British Resident.
• The unnamed maiden: A mesmerizing, Babylonic entity residing in the nethermost depths of Atlânaat. She has mastered the sleeping Lord of the World, wielding the power to turn men into stone or shape their destinies, and she delights in the sultan's audacious intellect.

In Its Own Voice

Reflecting on his precarious position in a troubled city, the sultan dryly acknowledges the incompetence of his would-be killer:

"Maksoud is a notoriously wretched marksman," observed the sultan as he fingered the leaden slug which Amru, his white-haired wazir, had retrieved from the tiled floor.

Contemplating the strange nature of reality within the cyclopean ruins, the enigmatic maiden explains the foundation of existence to the visiting monarch:

"He sleeps, and sleeping, dreams; and all things that seem to be are but the figments of his dream; and those things whereof he ceases to dream at that moment cease to be."

Offering a parting piece of advice after witnessing the final transformation in the courtyard, the resourceful darvish leaves the sultan with a wry jest:

"A moment, saidi! Let your first whisper in the girl's ear ask for two British Residents in Angor-lana."

What It's Really About

The narrative explores the friction between raw, unbridled sovereignty and the bureaucratic constraints of modern imperial governance represented by the British Resident. Beneath this political satire lies a deeper metaphysical inquiry into reality, perception, and power. Drawing on classic weird fiction tropes, the story questions whether rulers and subjects alike are merely puppets trapped inside a grand, dreaming consciousness. Vengeance ceases to be a simple matter of blood and steel, evolving instead into an exercise in psychological irony. Power is shown to be an illusion, and true freedom involves recognizing that reality itself is a pliable construct shaped by those who master the underlying myths.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate atmospheric weird fiction, rich orientalist fantasy, and sharp philosophical wit will find much to admire in this 1929 pulp classic. Reading it feels like stepping into a heavily perfumed, candle-lit chamber where ancient folklore collides with existential dread, all rendered in polished, confident prose. Modern readers must navigate period tropes and archaic phrasing typical of early pulp magazines, but the reward is a uniquely textured narrative that values psychological nuance and dark humor over mere action. What stays with the reader long after the final page is the striking image of the silent stone statues, the haunting subterranean melody, and the brilliant, biting irony of a sultan who discovers that ruling an empire is the cruelest punishment of all. It offers a rare blend of grand adventure and quiet philosophical subversion that rewards close, attentive reading.