The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune

Infobox short story
name = The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune
title_orig =
translator =
author = Robert E. Howard
country = United States
language = English
series = Kull
genre = Sword and sorcery
published_in = Weird Tales
publication_type =
publisher =
media_type =
pub_date = September 1929
english_pub_date =

"The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune" is one of the original short stories about Kull of Atlantis, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in "Weird Tales" magazine circa 1929.

Set in the fictional Pre-Historic Thurian Age, it deals with an aging and disillusioned King Kull questioning the meaning of existence, leading him to seek the council of a two-faced wizard.

Plot

Kull, King of Valusia, suffers from severe depression. Even his friend and ally Brule the Spear-slayer cannot rouse him with talk of sailing abroad and exploring. Kull claims that nothing interests him anymore, nothing seems alive. Reality itself seems false to him

After Brule leaves, a woman whispers to Kull that he should visit Tuzun Thune, a wizard of the Elder Race, who supposedly knows the secrets of life. Kull is intrigued, and set off at once.

Kull arrives at the wizard’s home, known as the House of a Thousand Mirrors. Thune greets the king, and the two begin to talk. To Kull’s questions regarding the legitimacy of his powers, Tuzun Thune seems to offer evasive answer. Disappointed, Kull says that clearly Thune is just an ordinary man. But Thune points out that all men, from kings to wizards, are just ordinary men.

Tuzun Thune leads the king deeper into his house and shows Kull his mirrors. The first one Kull looks into shows his reflection in all the other mirrors, making him appear small and meaningless. Tuzun Thune claims the second mirror shows the past, with scenes out of pre-history and the time of dinosaurs. The third mirror shows the future, after the fall of Kull’s empire, and the entire world looks different. Kull points out how sad it is that their world will eventually fade and be forgotten like this. Tuzun Thune says that it is no matter, as civilizations have come and gone, and will continue to do so forever.

The fourth mirror, the wizard claims, is that of the Deepest Magic. But when Kull looks in it, all he sees is his own reflection. As he ponders his own image for a time, Kull begins to wonder where his mirror self goes when he himself is not before a mirror. He then begins to wonder if he himself is truly the mirror image, and the man in the mirror the true Kull.

Kull leaves, but returns day after day to stare into this mirror. Affairs of the State are being neglected, and the people are beginning to worry about the king. But Kull doesn’t care. The more he stares into the mirror, the more questions he has. He begins to wonder if there are, in fact, worlds beyond his own. Perhaps this king in the mirror only looks like him, but exists in a world very different from his own. Kull longs to visit this other world and discover its secrets. Tuzun Thune says that this is possible, if one only believes it so. Kull’s grip on reality becomes even looser.

One day, Kull finally begins to feel the veil between worlds lifting, and he can feel himself slipping into this mirror realm. But then someone shouts his name, and the mirror shatters. Brule has arrived and killed Tuzun Thune. It seems Thune was involved in a plot to kill the king, as was the girl who first suggested Kull visit the wizard. Kull asks why a wizard with power over dimensions would be involved in a play for political power. Brule points out that all men, from kings to wizards, are just ordinary men.

Brule says that when he arrived, he could see Kull actually dissolving into the mirror. Kull wonders if Thune actually did place a powerful spell over him, or if he managed to break the bonds of reality all on his own.

Kull and Brule leave Thune’s dead body where it lay, and go. But for the rest of his life, Kull wonders about what really happened to him in Thune’s mirror. The only thing Kull knows for sure is that now he is even less certain about the nature of reality.

External links

* [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Robert_E_Howard.htm Robert E. Howard bibliography at "Fantasticfiction.co.uk"]