Mamun

Statue of Mamun in Jeru, Phrygia

**Mamun** (sometimes written as **Mammon**) was the second king of the Kingdom of Themyscria. Mamun was a eunuch and slave from Jeru who was brought to *Pramidia*. He became known for interpreting dreams and was well-versed in the oral tradition of Melakesh. He rose in notoriety, especially after killing the Salamander at Themyscrius as well as becoming a vizier and magus for the King of Lateria, Erud. Mamun received visions of Melakesh and instituted the complex legal code of the cult, and would refuse sleep in order to continue the work. Mamun was tormented by these dreams, and once the tablets were completed, he was named the successor to Erud. Once he became King, Mamun united Arborea and Bastria under his rule.

Mamun succumbed to madness later in his life, is reported to have dressed in the gowns of women and spoke in an effeminate voice, as well as obsessing over money and becoming a notorious miser, among other eccentricities. He was killed by Tarazar of Lateria, his most trusted general, who ruled for a mere two months before being assassinated by his guard captains. Erud's son, Solomon, became King thereafter.

He is considered an important figure in the Cult of Melakesh, as he is responsible for carving the Ten Thousand Tablets and recording the lost teachings and codes of living of Melakesh after they were destroyed by Caine.

## Early life

Mamun was a son of a shepherd in Jeru, outside of Urjin. He was sold into slavery as a young boy after bandits razed Jeru and took the women and children as captives.

At about age ten by his own accounts, he was castrated and sold into the service of a wealthy Perthic merchant, Ernabal the Gluttonous. Mamun describes his primary role during these years as being a *bazi*, or boy slave, to Ernabal the Gluttonous on long journeys overseas, to trade with Tyrrhos and even the Baerisian Islands.

### Servitude in *Pramidia*

Once he was in his twenties, Mamun was sold to a shipwright in Lebe, a city of *Pramidia.* The shipwright, Lucius Suturus, was far kinder to Mamun than Ernabal the Gluttonous, and the responsibilities were largely to be a common companion. He was comparatively poor in contrast to his previous master, and rarely traveled. Mamun was given a small dagger to carry in the event that Suturus was assaulted, and most of his duties were simple homekeeping.

After serving Suturus for five years, Mamun began to receive vivid dreams of an angelic figure dictating to him commands, telling him to sleep at the Shrine of Melakesh outside of town, and to return in the mornings as not to disturb Suturus. Mamun obeyed, and for the period of several months, snuck out of his quarters and slept at the Shrine. Here, he received visions of the future, with *Pramidia* being burned to cinders by a massive beast called a Salamander the following summer.

### Lord Jeboa and Mamun's imprisonment

Mamun, after one such dream where he learned when the Salamander would immolate *Pramidia* within the year, traveled for two days to meet with the lord of Lebe, Jeboa. Mamun explained that he received dreams while sleeping near the shrine of Melakesh, and that they needed to build an army to defend against the beast. Jeboa quickly dismissed Mamun, noting that not only was he a slave unaccompanied, but he too was illiterate and knew nothing of Melakesh nor such a mythical creature. He was imprisoned in the dungeon, and Suturus was fetched to retrieve him.

To the horror of the lord's messenger, Suturus had perished some days earlier, presumably on the night of Mamun's journey to Jeboa. The circumstances of his death were unclear, as he had no wounds or signs of poison. Nevertheless, there was enough evidence for Lord Jeboa to accuse Mamun and imprison him. Mamun was to be kept locked away in the dungeon until the high judge of *Pramidia* could arrive and decide on a punishment.

While imprisoned, other inmates of the dungeon became acquainted with Mamun. It became clear after mere days of imprisonment that Mamun had the ability to interpret dreams with surprising accuracy. Some days before the judge was to arrive decide on Mamun's fate, Mamun was summoned to see Lord Jeboa, who had a dream of his own that would recur. Though the Lord initially distrusted the slave, his dreams were becoming worse every night. In it, he had a dream that he would give his wife his scepter, a rod topped with a coiled eel. She would go to sleep, and when he would go to join her in bed, the scepter had come to life and had swallowed her whole. In the dream, Jeboa would try to scuffle with the eel, only for it to constrict him and squeeze the life from him.

Mamun informed him that he had given something to his wife that was actually harming her, and when would learn of it, it would likely kill him if he sought a violent retribution. An eel swallowing a woman appeared to imply that someone bearing the eel - a soldier or guard, perhaps - was "swallowing," or sexually abusing, his wife.

Armed with this portent Lord Jeboa immediately returned home, as he had a close friend and loyal guardsman named Jude stationed to protect his wife from harm. Jeboa believed that Jude was the eel described in Mamun's interpretation. The elite of his house would bear the eel on their breastplate, fitting with this vision.

Lord Jeboa demanded to know his wife's troubles, and she confessed to him that Jude was forcing himself on her, and threatened to kill her if she refused him. Jeboa found Jude, and without hesitation, engaged him in a fight. The more youthful and athletic Jude was able to gain the upper hand and strangled Jeboa to death, fulfilling the vision.

Jude was quickly captured and thrown into the dungeon with Mamun, and Jude learned it was Mamun who had outed him by reading the lord's dreams. Instead of rage, however, he bowed to Mamun, believing him to be a messenger or saint delivered by Melakesh, and begged for mercy.

### Judgement of Belshar

When the judge of Pramidia, Belshar, arrived in Lord Jeboa's palace, he found that this coastal city was in disarray. Without a lord nor a suitable heir, it was unclear who would inherit its rule. In addition, the man he had come to prosecute, Mamun, was apparently responsible for uncovering indiscretion of massive order, and he was now there to prosecute the guard who killed Jeboa. Quickly ordering for Jude to be defenestrated from the highest tower of the palace, the final words of Jude were to spare Mamun, who was in his eyes a saint sent by Melakesh to unite the *judgedoms*.

The judge Belshar had Mamun brought to him, and Mamun interpreted his dream: Belshar had dreams of a three-headed eagle with an object dangling from each beak. The first was an ear of wheat; the second, a myrtle branch; and in the third beak, a peacock feather. Belshar is frozen in place, and can do nothing as the eagle tears at his gut with its talons, until it grasps at his loins and the dream ends. The dream occurs every night, right before dawn.

Mamun interpreted his dream as thus: the three-headed eagle represents the three kingdoms of *Madelia*, as their symbols are each an eagle, which represents their griffin riders. The single body indicates that they will unite into a single kingdom. The three objects represent what the three kingdoms will take from *Pramidia*: first, their food, which is obvious. Second, the myrtle branch is a symbol of Venus, so they will also take their women. Finally, the peacock feather is a symbol that they will also take from them their right to rule, as a peacock is the symbol of both Melakesh and of power. Because the dream happens every seven nights, Mamun believes it will happen in seven days after this is "dawned" on him.

A skeptical Belshar did not trust the reading, as an entire kingdom uniting in a mere week, as well as organizing an assault of an entire *judgedom*, is far and away unlikely and perhaps impossible. However, he does not neglect the possibility based on Mamun's earlier readings, and sends a military force to preemptively make headway into mainland to protect Pramidian interests.

This decision proves to be Belshar's downfall. Indeed, King Erud had invaded and reunited all of *Madelia* under the crown of Lateria. He sent a his general Tarazar of Lateria and one thousand men to visit Belshar and ask for an alliance, to allow Erud to take *Velusia* without stirring the *judgedoms* of Arborea. However, Belshar misinterpreted the army as an invading force, and before Tarazar spoke, dispatched a messenger to him declaring the island's surrender. Not willing to pass on this opportunity, Tarazar quickly returned to Erud with the news that *Pramidia* was now under Laterian dominion.

### Audience with Erud

Belshar, when meeting with a somewhat surprised Erud some weeks later, confessed that the slave Mamun had predicted his arrival with unbelievable accuracy. Erud summoned Mamun from the dungeons of Lebe to Lateria's capitol of Matriba, and appointed him as one of his magi.

## Vizier and heir to Erud

### Slaying of the Salamander

Mamun instructs Erud that the Salamander of Themyscrius was to scorch all of *Pramidia*, and thereafter the world, by summer's end. Erud, having seen the extent of Mamun's divination powers, began to fortify the Ivies, especially Mount Themyscrus where the Salamander was believed to erupt from. Mamun then asks for three items: an overcoat made of multicolored linens; a sling; and a contingent to protect him until he arrived at the volcano.

Mount Themyscrius erupted that summer, seven weeks after the initial dream was interpreted and covering northwestern *Pramidia* in ash and cinders, completely engulfing the cities of Sodum and Gam. Mamun, who was in the Ivies at the time, quickly traveled to the volcano to witness the Salamander emerge: a dragon-like creature whose body was fire and had eyes that could freeze a man in place. Mamun, a eunuch of inconsiderable height, challenged the Salamander to do battle, and the beast charged forth.

The Salamander found that the multi-colored linen to be dazzling and confusing, and the creature had to avert its eyes. Mamun slung his stone and struck the creature in its temple, killing it instantly. Those who witnessed the event said the stone traveled "in a radiant arc" of glowing blue-green light. The Salamander was dead before it had slithered fully from the mountain.

### Founding of Themyscria

Thus, with the surrender of Belshar and the defeat of the Salamander, Erud established a new collective in which he intended to circumvent the oaths of Psar in *The Madelian.* He saw a chance to further expand into Arborea from their advantageous positions.

   The motif of the coiled body of the dead Salamander was first inscribed in Lateria as the "Star of Mamun" shortly after the kingdom was formed. In a somewhat tongue-in-cheek recognition of the oaths to Psar, the kingdom was named after the mountain in which "founded" the kingdom, as opposed to any one man and especially not one of *Madelia*. This became the foundation for Erud's reign and expansion of the Kingdom of Themyscria.

### The Ten Thousand Tablets

#### Origins

After slaying the Salamander, Mamun received dreams from Melakesh once again to carve tablets from a special mixture of lime and volcanic ash. His work as a vizier was limited, as Erud was a self-sufficient king with little need for wisdom; however, Mamun was not discouraged and encouraged the king to fund his creation of the impossible: to recreate the Ten Thousand Tablets that were believed to have been given to Serenity as a reward for the reverence of Melakesh.

Though disparaged by his fellow court advisers for being both illiterate and having little knowledge of the cult's mysteries, Mamun triumphantly produced Dwarvish writing that fit perfectly into what was understood to be the laws of Melakesh. As a result, Erud agreed to support Mamun's vision to reconstruct the Ten Thousand Tablets.

#### Process

Mamun, despite not being able to speak Dwarvish, write at all, or recall any specifics known about Serenity, would work in his sleep every night to produce the Ten Thousand Tablets. These tablets were made of a type of cement that has yet to be recreated; the process to produce the cement from lime and volcanic ash remains a mystery. Large batches of the stone were produced, and during the night, Mamun would fall asleep next to the tablet and dream of the next Tablet; though the sounds of etching and carving could be heard throughout the night, no one could enter the room as it was locked and barred from within his quarters.

The procedure was arduous and time-consuming, and required a heavy tax to be levied on newly conquered regions by Erud in order to support. The Erudition also recorded each tablet for posterity in their writings, lest they be forgotten a second time. Mamun was able to create one new tablet every night, averaging seven of every eleven nights due to constraints on moving materials and complications with their storage.

Once a tablet was completed, it was recreated in a variety of mediums, first in the Erudition, then in temples across *Madelia*. After Mamun took power, many of these were copied and etched into what were called "guidestones," which were gazebo-like monuments scattered throughout Bastria and Arborea that were carved with four consecutive tablets, and adorned with a fifth stone on top with the cardinal directions. These were both useful for navigation throughout the provinces, as well as common sites for worship of Melakesh. Mamun also dispensed ledgers containing passages from different tablets for everyday life.

#### Conclusion and canonization

Mamun worked primarily in solitude for thirty years. Erud passed away from old age shortly after the process began, having conquered multiple regions encompassing *Cantabria*, *Eragonia*, and parts of *Corrivalia*. On his death-bed, Erud named Mamun as heir to the throne, resulting in an ensuing controversy and conspiracy to murder Mamun for the throne. However, to settle affairs and ensure that the kingdom would prosper, Mamun named the general Tarazar of Lateria as regent until his Tablets were finished.

The kingdom under Tarazar slowed to a halt and struggled, as Tarazar's inexperience led to him relying on his advisers heavily for support. He was also easily swayed by his magi, who had Tarazar pour vast amounts of wealth into reforming temples across their territories into temples to Melakesh. This inevitably resulted in frequent revolts, further hindering the kingdom's expansion. Local judges struggled to maintain order, and Tarazar instructed them that if they could not snub a revolt, that they would be executed; for this reason, many judges simply did not ask for assistance or report revolts, leading to frequent exchanges of power until about 490 NCE.

Once all Ten Thousand Tablets were finished, and texts were transcribed for distribution among the temples in the kingdom, Mamun assumed his position as King of Themyscria and replaced his regent, who returned to his position as general. The kingdom was poorly managed and there was very little respect for the crown, to the point that any semblance of authority that Lateria held over the rest of the kingdom was laughable. Mamun was canonized as a saint of Melakesh shortly thereafter.

## The 30,000 Days

### Consolidating power in Themyscria

Mamun's vision for the Kingdom of Themyscria was a cohesive, reverent, and constantly expanding polity, and despite his limited experience as a person of power, his carving of the Ten Thousand Tablets made him uniquely educated in matters of rule and moral living.

First appointing Erud's son Solomon, a former rival, as successor, Mamun vested all military authority into Tarazar of Lateria, who was named "Caepsar," literally "Like Psar."