In “The Children of the Night,” a group of men discuss the Cult of Bran, who worship the Dark Man, an ancient king of the Picts called Bran Mak Morn. One of the men, O’Donnel, is accidentally rendered unconscious. The blow sends him back into the body of an earlier incarnation, a savage barbarian named Aryara, an enemy of the Picts and the First Men, known as the Children of the Night. In “Worms of the Earth”, Bran Mak Morn, King of the Picts, vows vengeance on Titus Sulla, a Roman governor, after witnessing the crucifixion of a fellow Pict. He seeks forbidden aid from the Worms of the Earth, a race of creatures who Bran Mak Morn’s ancestors banished from their kingdom centuries ago. They were once men, but millennia of living underground caused them to become monstrous and semi-reptilian. Bran Mak Morn encounters a witch who lives in a secluded hut, shunned by her neighbors, who was born from a sexual encounter between one of the “Worms” and a human woman. The witch’s price for helping him is “one night of love” which her human-half craves, as men in general are repelled by her reptilian traits. Bran Mak Morn, though also himself repelled, agrees to pay the price. In exchange, she tells him of a barrow where “The Black Stone”, a religious artifact of great importance to the Worms, is hidden. Stealing the Black Stone is a highly risky enterprise – if caught by the Worms, Bran Mak Morn would die in torment “as no man had died for a thousand years”. Fortunately, the barrow is unguarded and he manages to carry out his theft by hiding the Stone at the bottom of a lake. To get it back, the Worms agree on delivering Sulla to him. This they proceed with, undermining and destroying a Roman fortress known as “Trajan’s Tower” before snatching the Roman governor into their tunnels. Mak Morn intended, once Sulla was delivered, on challenging him to a duel to the death. However, Sulla’s mind is damaged from his encounter with the horrific Worms of the Earth. Instead, Bran Mak Morn slays him in mercy rather than vengeance, realizing how some weapons are too foul to use, even against Rome.
Appearance List In Weird Tales: “Kings of the Night” (Nov 1930), “The Children of the Night” (Apr-May 1931), “The Dark Man” (Dec 1931), “Worms of the Earth” (Nov 1932). Unpublished stories, poems, and story frgaments: “Men of the Shadows”, “Bran Mak Morn: A Play”, “A Song of the Race”, Untitled (“A grey sky arched over the dreary waste…”), Untitled (“Men have had visions ere now…”).
Description In “The Children of the Night,” a group of men discuss the Cult of Bran, who worship the Dark Man, an ancient king of the Picts called Bran Mak Morn. One of the men, O’Donnel, is accidentally rendered unconscious. The blow sends him back into the body of an earlier incarnation, a savage barbarian named Aryara, an enemy of the Picts and the First Men, known as the Children of the Night. In “Worms of the Earth”, Bran Mak Morn, King of the Picts, vows vengeance on Titus Sulla, a Roman governor, after witnessing the crucifixion of a fellow Pict. He seeks forbidden aid from the Worms of the Earth, a race of creatures who Bran Mak Morn’s ancestors banished from their kingdom centuries ago. They were once men, but millennia of living underground caused them to become monstrous and semi-reptilian. Bran Mak Morn encounters a witch who lives in a secluded hut, shunned by her neighbors, who was born from a sexual encounter between one of the “Worms” and a human woman. The witch’s price for helping him is “one night of love” which her human-half craves, as men in general are repelled by her reptilian traits. Bran Mak Morn, though also himself repelled, agrees to pay the price. In exchange, she tells him of a barrow where “The Black Stone”, a religious artifact of great importance to the Worms, is hidden. Stealing the Black Stone is a highly risky enterprise – if caught by the Worms, Bran Mak Morn would die in torment “as no man had died for a thousand years”. Fortunately, the barrow is unguarded and he manages to carry out his theft by hiding the Stone at the bottom of a lake. To get it back, the Worms agree on delivering Sulla to him. This they proceed with, undermining and destroying a Roman fortress known as “Trajan’s Tower” before snatching the Roman governor into their tunnels. Mak Morn intended, once Sulla was delivered, on challenging him to a duel to the death. However, Sulla’s mind is damaged from his encounter with the horrific Worms of the Earth. Instead, Bran Mak Morn slays him in mercy rather than vengeance, realizing how some weapons are too foul to use, even against Rome.
