The Mummy

## **The Mummy of the Dry Valley**

The creature now known only as “The Mummy of the Dry Valley” is a mummified carcass of a flesh golem created by spectre archmage Koh’aim-uvm, with the archmage’s soul trapped inside. The Mummy is cursed to “never feel the cold again” and unwillingly causes all living things around itself to dry and wither. This effect gets stronger the closer the Mummy is, with direct touch leading to instant necrosis. Due to being a golem, the Mummy’s magical capabilities are very limited. The soul sealed inside has only access to a very short-ranged energy and gravity manipulation.

Spectre soul who lives inside the Mummy became insane thousands years ago, mostly due to corrupting influence of Nyarlathotep. Koh’aim-uvm has lost most of his memories, ability to speak and process thought clearly and became completely numb to pain. The only thing he still somewhat clearly understands is, that he must protect his Vault by any means necessary to prevent anyone else from possibly contacting the inter-dimensional threat of The One Above Directions.

## **Story**

8000 years ago, before the cave-dwelling monkeys from the south even learned how to write, the spectres thrived. Among the sands and oases their towers reached the clouds and the rules of the world were less and less unbreakable with every passing century. Spectres could live for thousands of years and were extremely well adapted to magic, resulting in experiments on all forms of matter and energy imaginable.

Back then, a humble spectre golemancer named Koh’aim-uvm was nobody special. He constructed the flesh golems used to build the towers, and in his free time experimented with the newly discovered thing, commonly called “the dust sea”. All living creatures on Greavesoyl, spectres included, can only move in three directions. Spectre mages and mathematicians managed to figure out a way to move into an additional direction which cannot be properly perceived by normal senses, with movement in this direction leading into a different layer of reality, and endless sea of dust and tunnels denying any laws of geometry and logic. Over time the machines able to move the user into the 4th direction became commercially available, and out of sheer curiosity Koh’aim-uvm bought one for himself.

In the depths of the dust sea Koh found a perfect place to test his magic. In the sea, there was nothing he could accidentality destroy, so he felt free to play with all kinds of magic. He conjured a storms of fire and acid, thrown his golems into the pits and crashed the bolts of energy into explosions which would ruin half of the town if he did it in the normal world. His greatest and most terrifying discovery was when he tried to bend gravity in the dust sea. Gravity in the 4-dimensional abyss worked so differently, that even his spectre mind could not grasp it fully. All of his calculations resulted in nothing, just like there was a factor he didn't knew about.

Shortly after the dreams began. Koh’aim-uvm dreamed about shapeless chambers somewhere unimaginably deep in the dust sea, echoing with the maddening beat of drums and something watching him. With each dream he reached deeper and deeper. Chambers. Lights in the distance. Endless caverns at the bottom of bottomless ocean. Deep there in his nightmares, under a pulsating aberration surrounded by nothingness for the first time he encountered…. Him.

He was friendly. Welcoming. Eerie, but beautiful. He handed Koh what he was missing in his calculations on a silver platter, revealing that, in fact, the reality did not end at the 4 directions. And remarking that, at the time being, they were separated by too much direction to count them before Koh would die out of old age.

With the assistance of his abyssal friend, Koh’aim-uvm made progress in his research infinitely faster. He even hired others to support him in his experiments, introducing the especially talented to his unknown benefactor. Not too long after, there was an entire community of spectres working together to bend the directions of the world in the dust sea for The One Above Directions.

With his followers, Koh moved to an oasis valley in the eastern part of the continent, where he has build a small village. Their community was growing, and Koh haven’t paid much attention to the fact that they were called a cult by the outsiders. He was still selling golems to sustain his operations, and in the moments when he was not building a new golem, or actively breaching the layers of the dust sea, he relaxed in the waters of the oasis. At this point, his friend could contact him freely, promising knowledge and power once Koh lets him enter Greavesoyl. The work began to take toll on Koh’s mental health. With every vision and promise from the unimaginable entity above he was slowly losing the grip on reality. The closer he was to inviting Him in, the more terrifying the dreams were. Only the cold embrace of the waters could calm Koh’s wounded mind.

The day finally came. The golemancer who became a prophet for an entity beyond his mortal understanding descended with his followers into the dust sea to bend the last directions separating them from wherever He was, and from there, they would work on allowing him to enter Greavesoyl. There, so far away, Koh saw Him for the first time as He truly looked like.

A creature of thousand faces, standing below a pulsating infinity looked him straight in the eyes and laughed with every one of His infinite mouths. Koh’s followers ran away in a violent bout of madness, lost in the dust forever. There were no more promises and no more lies. Only the maddening chaos Above The Directions. Only then Koh truly understood the consequences of letting an entity so hideous and powerful visit his world. It was too late for him now, but his world could still be saved.

Koh’aim-uvm paid a horrific price for betraying The One Above The Directions. Before he destroyed the direction-bending machine, and abhorrent servant of his former friend managed to slip by and carried out the will of the alien entity. The matter and energy of Koh’s body was blasted away, and his screaming soul bound to an unfinished golem. His mind was split to pieces, and the pleasure the cold water would bring taken away forever. He would never feel the cold nor peace again and all life around him would die and wither. His former followers either died or went insane, and the terrified authorities buried his village deep underground. All plants in the valley died, and not even weeds would ever grow in the Dry Valley again.

…

Thousands years have passed before the ruins of Koh’s village, revealed by a random landslide, found use again as a pregnant human exile was seeking a shelter from the deadly sunlight of the desert. After she left with her newborn daughter, Koh, now as a mummified abomination, let her go. All these years, he waited down there in the darkness.

If anyone would attempt to fix the portal, he would stop them. For all these years he guarded the ruined Vault, tortured by the thought that The One Above Direction is still out there. The only thought that terrified him more was the possibility that He could contact someone again.

## **In-game**

The Mummy is a teamfight-oriented drain tank who heavily counters all healing-reliant characters (such as Ranhart or Slime Core). While his lack of damage can be deterring for some players, his ability to heal half of his health bar with one spellcast might be interesting to others.

Abilities
 Winds of Withering
Every second all enemies in range are poisoned, taking 3 damage over time while the mummy heals for 3 health
 Arid Embrace

## **Trivia**

* The Mummy was teased for the first time in 2022 roadmap, as "the ancient monster who dries vitality from any living creature".
* Despite having strong ties to The Void, Mummy doesn't use black smoke particles for any of his abilities.