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"Worms of the Earth" is a short story by American fantasy fiction writer Robert Ervin Howard. It was originally published in the magazine Weird Tales in November 1932, then again in 1975 in a collection of Howard's short stories, Worms of the Earth. [1]
Bran Mak Morn, King of the Picts, vows revenge on the Roman governor Titus Sulla after witnessing the crucifixion of a fellow Pict. He seeks forbidden aid from the Worms of the Earth, a race of creatures who were once men but after generations of living underground have become monstrous and semi-reptilian. He secures their help after stealing a religious item of theirs from a barrow, trading it back in return for them delivering Sulla to him for a battle to the death. However, Sulla's mind is broken from his contact with the horrific Worms of the Earth and Bran Mak Morn slays him in mercy rather than vengeance, realising that some weapons are too foul to use, even against Rome.
Twice in Worms of the Earth mention is made of the black gods of R'lyeh, resting place of Cthulhu, creation of H.P.Lovecraft, a friend and correspondent of Howard. Also mentioned is a water monster 'Dagon', which is a real world Philistine god mentioned in a fictional context in several stories by Lovecraft. Both these references strongly imply that Bran Mak Morn inhabits the universe of the Cthulhu Mythos. The titular Worms of the Earth also correspond with the Children of the Night mentioned in the Howard story of the same name, with the Worms seemingly the later development of the former.
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Works by Robert E. Howard |
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| El Borak |
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| Conan |
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| Sailor Steve Costigan |
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| Breckinridge Elkins |
The Apache Mountain War · The Conquerin' Hero of the Humbolts · Cupid from Bear Creek · The Curly Wolf of Sawtooth · Educate or Bust · Evil Deeds at Red Cougar · The Feud Buster · The Scalp Hunter · A Gent from Bear Creek · Guns of the Mountain · The Haunted Mountain · High Horse Rampage · Mayhem and Taxes · Meet Cap'n Kidd · Mountain Man · No Cowherders Wanted · The Peaceful Pilgrim · Pilgrims to the Pecos · Pistol Politics · The Riot at Cougar Paw · The Road to Bear Creek · Sharp's Gun Serenade · Striped Shirts and Busted Hearts · War on Bear Creek · When Bear Creek Came to Chawed Ear
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| Solomon Kane |
Blades of the Brotherhood · The Blue Flame of Vengeance · The Footfalls Within · The Hills of the Dead · The Moon of Skulls · The One Black Stain · Rattle of Bones · Red Shadows · The Return of Sir Richard Grenville · The Right Hand of Doom · Skulls in the Stars · Solomon Kane's Homecoming · Wings in the Night
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| John Kirowan |
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| Kull |
The Altar and the Scorpion · By This Axe, I Rule · The Black City · The Curse of the Golden Skull · Exile of Atlantis · Delcardes' Cat · Kings of the Night · The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune · The Shadow Kingdom · The Skull of Silence · The Striking of the Gong · Swords of the Purple Kingdom
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| Bran Mak Morn |
Bran Mak Morn · The Children of the Night · The Dark Man · The Drums of Pictdom · Kings of the Night · The Little People · Men of the Shadows · A Song of the Race · Worms of the Earth
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United States
