Anasûrimbor Moënghus is a Cishaurim Priest and former Dûnyain monk. He is the father of Anasûrimbor Kellhus and the main instigator of the First Holy War.
Appearance[]
Moënghus has white skin and blonde hair. He once had blue eyes, but by the time of his appearance in The Thousandfold Thought they have been put out and he has empty sockets.[1]
He bears scars on his arms, which he himself carved so as to disguise himself as a Scylvendi while crossing the Jiünati Steppe.[2]
Personality[]
As a Dûnyain, Moënghus is entirely devoted to the pure logic and reason of the Logos, and so lacks any traits that might be considered as a personality.
Skills[]
Like all Dûnyain, Moënghus has speed, strength, stamina, and intelligence superior to a normal human. He is capable of effortlessly reading and manipulating the emotions of world-born Men, and can use the probability trance to see all possible outcomes of his actions and so find the Shortest Way.
Moënghus blinded himself to became a Cishaurim and gain the powers of the Psûkhe. However, because the Psûkhe is based on the passions which the Dûnyain have long bred themselves to eliminate, Moënghus’s abilities are far inferior to those of other Cishaurim. Most notable among his limited powers is the ability to send messages through dreams using the Cants of Calling.
Though Moënghus’s Dûnyain abilities were lessened by his blinding, he is still able to identify skin-spies based on discrepancies in their voices.[3]
Story[]
What Came Before[]
Like all Dûnyain, Moënghus was born and raised in the fortress of Ishuäl. In the year 4079, Ishuäl was discovered by a band of Sranc. Moënghus was sent out into the world to determine the degree to which their secrecy had been compromised. Afterwards, it was decided that he had been too contaminated by the external world to return, and was exiled to die.[2]
However, Moënghus survived. He was captured by the Utemot and given to the mother of Scylvendi Cnaiür urs Skiötha as a slave, but used his skill at manipulation to survive. He seduced Cnaiür’s mother, convinced Cnaiür to kill his father, and disguised himself as a Scylvendi to cross the Jiünati Steppe. Afterwards, he headed south, into Fanim lands.
Once more sold into slavery by the Fanim, Moënghus used the same tactics to rise to a position of power. He travelled to Shimeh to learn the Psûkhe from the Cishaurim, believing he would master it quickly and gain god-like power. However, because of his lack of passion, he ended up blind with very little power in compensation.
In 4100, Moënghus discovered a Consult skin-spy. After years of experimentation, he was able to find a method to effectively torture the creatures using neuropuncture, and learned of the Consult’s plans to bring about the Second Apocalypse.
Though determined to prevent the Second Apocalypse, Moënghus lacked the power to oppose the Consult on his own. So he used one of the few aspects of the Psûkhe he could master, the Cants of Calling, to send sorcerous dreams to Ishuäl and ask that his son Anasûrimbor Kellhus be sent to him. He then instigated the Holy War so that Kellhus would have a means of passage to Shimeh.[3]
Moënghus had a number of children by world-born women during this time; however, he killed most of them when they demonstrated the defects that commonly result from human-Dûnyain interbreeding. Only Maithanet was allowed to live.[4]
The Darkness That Comes Before[]
Moënghus meets with Ikurei Xerius III under the assumed name of Mallahet, and uses sorcery to allow the Emperor to speak with Skauras ab Nalajan.
The Thousandfold Thought[]
Kellhus meets Moënghus in an ancient Nonman Mansion beneath Kyudea. Moënghus explains how he called for Kellhus and orchestrated the Holy War to place a Dûnyain in the position of being able to oppose the resurrection of the No-God; however, now that Kellhus is before him, he believes his son has become deranged from his contact with the outside world. Kellhus stabs Moënghus and teleports away. Cnaiür then arrives, having followed Kellhus. The two speak; then Cnaiür kills Moënghus with a Chorae.
References[]
- ↑ The Thousandfold Thought, Chapter 15
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Darkness That Comes Before, Chapter 12
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Thousandfold Thought, Chapter 16
- ↑ The White-Luck Warrior, Chapter 8