38 replies to this topic

[coryconan]

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So why did Thugra-Kotan change his name to Nahtok in Black colossus?

[Buxom Sorceress]

So why did Thugra-Kotan change his name to Nahtok in Black colossus?

maybe because *Nahtok* spelled backwards is
* Kothan * [ Kotan ].
[ and KoTHan also has the *TH* from *Th*ugra in the middle, too ? ] ,eh?

clever Howard.

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Welcome to the forums !

[Crom's bells]

Nice find Buxie, I didn't realize Natohk was Khotan spelt backwards.

[Almuric]

Because an easily-deciphered anagram is the perfect way to hide one's true identity!

[amster]

Because an easily-deciphered anagram is the perfect way to hide one's true identity!

What's really amazing is that the ancient Sygians apparently used the phoenetic alphabet.

[timeless]

Thugra Khotan =


A Rank Thought

[Kortoso]

In one of the Dracula movies - was Son of Dracula? - the Count called himself Alucard. I think that this was after REH, however.

[guilalah]

THEDA BARA (ARAB DEATH)

A permutation, though not a retrograde.

Edited by guilalah, 09 December 2009 - 08:03 PM.

[coryconan]

Good point there Buxom sorceress, but why change his name at all?
If he's such a badass evil wizard then why would he need to conceal his identity?
Wouldn't he be all in your face and like "yeah bitches! Thugra-Kotan is back"

[Kane]

In one of the Dracula movies - was Son of Dracula? - the Count called himself Alucard. I think that this was after REH, however.

You are correct, it was Son of Dracula.
However, in 1872 Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu wrote the vampire story, Carmilla. In it the female vampire used several versions of her name to disguise her identity. It may be possible that Howard had read that story and decided to use the same trick.

[Taranaich]

Good point there Buxom sorceress, but why change his name at all?
If he's such a badass evil wizard then why would he need to conceal his identity?
Wouldn't he be all in your face and like "yeah bitches! Thugra-Kotan is back"

I guess TK didn't want to alert his Stygian rivals yet. Powerful as he is, TK would have to amass a lot of resources to face off against the Black Ring as he does in the story: it would be foolish to alert his presence in such a brazen fashion immediately.

Once he had enough resources - mighty magic, a demonic servant, a monstrous steed, access to the Big Nasty Horror under Kuthchemes, and a 100,000 strong army - then he could start with the "I'm back, baby!" swaggering.

[Buxom Sorceress]

Good point there Buxom sorceress, but why change his name at all?
If he's such a badass evil wizard then why would he need to conceal his identity?
Wouldn't he be all in your face and like "yeah bitches! Thugra-Kotan is back"

I guess TK didn't want to alert his Stygian rivals yet. Powerful as he is, TK would have to amass a lot of resources to face off against the Black Ring as he does in the story: it would be foolish to alert his presence in such a brazen fashion immediately.

Once he had enough resources - mighty magic, a demonic servant, a monstrous steed, access to the Big Nasty Horror under Kuthchemes, and a 100,000 strong army - then he could start with the "I'm back, baby!" swaggering.

Yes, well put, Taranaich.
I agree with all that.

Also, by pretending to be a NEW rising power/leader he could more easily con the desert Tribes into following him into battle.
if they knew his real name and very evil sorcerous past, they could not trust him, and most of them would flee from him in fear?

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[ ...i have had to change my name and appearance many times over the last 17,000 years... ]

[Ironhand]

Haven't you guys ever heard of Dnahnori The Terrible? Mhmhwahahahaha!

I taught little Thuggri that trick millenia ago.

Edited by Ironhand, 09 December 2009 - 10:54 AM.

[Kortoso]

Body Ritual Among the Nacirema
A superstitious and primitive tribe they are.

[guilalah]

"Rats live on no evil star."
-- Hisvin to Overlord Glipkerio,
Fritz Leiber, 'Swords of Lankhmar'

[Taranaich]

Yes, well put, Taranaich.
I agree with all that.

Also, by pretending to be a NEW rising power/leader he could more easily con the desert Tribes into following him into battle.
if they knew his real name and very evil sorcerous past, they could not trust him, and most of them would flee from him in fear?

That seems very likely. The Desert Shemites appear to be very superstitious (as in "TM-EoZ"), and they likely have less than congenial memories of the old Stygian empire. If TK asserted himself, all they'd remember are the centuries of oppression and slavery by their Stygian masters, not to mention the dark sorcery and horror.

However, if TK started in the guise of a new leader Natohk (he wears a Shemitic headdress, too) who planned to war against Stygia, promising the tribes loot and plunder and glory, then he'd have a blank slate, so to speak. Eventually he'd start working his magic, and before the Shemites realised who they were following, it'd be too late. They'd made a deal with the devil, and it's not something you can back out of. Sometimes I wonder if the "blood-mad" stare in the Shemites and Stygians' eyes were hypnotic suggestion, or the knowledge of what Natohk would do to them if they didn't do as he said...

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[ ...i have had to change my name and appearance many times over the last 17,000 years... ]

You could always reuse old ones. It's not like anyone's going to remember your Sumerian and Akkadian names.

[deuce]

Also, by pretending to be a NEW rising power/leader he could more easily con the desert Tribes into following him into battle.
if they knew his real name and very evil sorcerous past, they could not trust him, and most of them would flee from him in fear?

That seems very likely. The Desert Shemites appear to be very superstitious (as in "TM-EoZ"), and they likely have less than congenial memories of the old Stygian empire. If TK asserted himself, all they'd remember are the centuries of oppression and slavery by their Stygian masters, not to mention the dark sorcery and horror.

However, if TK started in the guise of a new leader Natohk (he wears a Shemitic headdress, too) who planned to war against Stygia, promising the tribes loot and plunder and glory, then he'd have a blank slate, so to speak. Eventually he'd start working his magic, and before the Shemites realised who they were following, it'd be too late. They'd made a deal with the devil, and it's not something you can back out of. Sometimes I wonder if the "blood-mad" stare in the Shemites and Stygians' eyes were hypnotic suggestion, or the knowledge of what Natohk would do to them if they didn't do as he said...

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Sorry to jump in so late, but that was always what I figured since I first read that yarn. EVERYBODY hates the Stygians. What self-respecting Zuagir is going to call a Stygian "his prophet"? Also, this is exactly the situation in (what appears to be) REH's inspiration for BC: The Mask of Fu Manchu. Fu steals the mask of the heretical Muslim prophet, Mokatan, and then seeks to use that to get the Muslim world behind his push to throw down the British Empire.

Rohmer was a bigger influence on REH than some realize.

[coryconan]

Hey Ya'll
Can we come to an agreement or get some opinions about the proper way to pronounce THUGRA-KOTAN.
Should I be saying it like the word "THUG" or omitting the H sound?
Thoughts?

[Kortoso]

In the absence of any authority, one should be free to find one's own level.

I would say: "THOOG-ra kho-TAN".

[Slashing Sword]

Why did Thugra Khotan called himself Natohk after wakening up from his centuries old slumber in Black Colossus?