Lords of Luz

The sub-human cult of the Lords of Luz, their Halflings of D'haz, the Tick-Men, and the Url Worms appear in H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands RPG sourcebook, borrowed in turn from Brian Lumley's "Augeren (fiction)".

Description

The Lords of Luz are uttermost monstrosities! They have the claw hands of ticks, some eyes like a man and perhaps several like an insect's, flattish of body but with many stomachs, so that they may bloat with blood. They are roughly the size of a man... but their limbs are lengthened into rubbery tentacles which they can coil or flail at will. Some have cartilage drills for mouths, others the shovel face and tube tongues of the worms. Most are pale pink, and all are utterly bestial! ...The Halflings of D'haz, naked and white as some deadly toadstool, half crouching with a queer forward tilt, the faceted glitter of their single, great, bright, all-seeing eyes; the hands were human enough, but larger, powerful; their nails were thick as blades, pointed and sharp-edged.... And below Luz dwell Bholes... and their attendant parasites, whom you might best think of as Tick-Men - not human, though they probably were, once upon a time. And the Url Worms are worms big as a man - indeed their trunks are like unto the trunks of men, but their limbs are vestigial and they burrow with spadelike snouts.
—Brian Lumley, "Augeren (fiction)"

The Dreamlands Lords of Luz are a degenerate cult of sub-humans whose precise origin will never be known; they proliferate in the Underworld and are said to be the entities that masquerade as the priests and kings of Inganok.

The Lords of Luz are at the top of a hellish and very bizarre chain of reproduction that includes them, as well as the denizens of the Downs of D'Haz, and the Bholes on the Vale of Pnath, two nearby areas which the Lords are said to rule. The great carcasses of slain Bholes are dragged back into D'haz, were the female specimens of the Tick-Men, man-like parasites which cling to the dholes, are penned, and the bodies of the Bholes are pulped. This pulp is used to feed the Url Worms. Human captives from the dungeons of Luz are brought here and forced to mate with the repulsive Tick-Women. The offspring of such unions are the Halflings of D'haz. If a man can no longer produce "children" through such unions, or if he should refuse to do so, he will be lowered into the Vale of Pnath to feed the Bholes. The Halflings in turn are made to mate with the flabby Url Worms to produce fledgling Lords or Ladies of Luz. Just how this whole bestial cycle began is unknown to any creature, and it is better thus.

Lords of Luz

These twisted and insane creatures rule over the Underworld regions of Luz and D'haz. They are the final product of a long, depraved chain of forced matings between different species which begins with man. They have anywhere from four to six tentacular limbs which serve as arms, sprouting from the sides of their bodies. These end in the claw-like hands of the tick-men.

Halflings of D'haz

The Halflings of D'haz are the second link in the chain towards the Lords of Luz. They are created through the unwholesome union between captured human men and tick-women. An inherited trait from their mothers, these creatures have a long drill-like appendage which serves as their tongue. They use their mouth drills to pierce the bones of their victims and drink their marrow. Unlike the tick-men, who live off of dead bones, the Halflings prefer to drink from living victims. The Halflings also serve as hunting parties for the Lords of Luz. They often descend into the Vale of Pnath in large groups and hunt Bholes. Slain creatures are lifted back to the Downs of D'haz, pulped, and the females of the tick-men race are isolated for breeding purposes. The juices from this pulping serve to help feed the loathsome Url Worms, who make up the next link in the chain of depravity.

Tick-Men

Tick-men, both male and female, are flat and elongated with leathery skin, but have a form which is roughly humanoid. Their hands are great claw-like appendages which they use to cling to the sides of their hosts, the Bholes. They have two large faceted eyes, like an insect's, and their mouths are equipped with a drill-like appendage of cartilage which they use to pierce the discarded bones of their host's victims. Tick-men feed on the marrow left within these bones. The tick-men form the first link in the chain of depravity which leads to the birth of the Lords of Luz. The Veiled King drives humans into the northern wastes where they are captured and made to mate with tick-men. The products of this unwholesome union are the Halflings of D'Haz.

Url Worms

These creatures inhabit the Downs of D'haz, a region of the Underworld beneath the mountains which separate Leng from Iganok. They live on a diet of oils mixed with the pulped juices of Bholes caught by the Halflings of D'haz. They are primitive, have no language, and cannot use tools - in fact, they are little better than animals. However, like all things beneath Luz, they serve a purpose: they are a link in the chain toward the Lords of Luz. The Halflings are made to mate with them, and the offspring is a Lord, or Lady, of Luz.

Heresies and Controversies

• The Priests and Kings of Inganok are said to be Lords of Luz in disguise, wearing masks and black hooded robes in the guise of priests of the temple and carrying golden censors of incense as they march from seven gates in unearthly procession at the ringing of the church bell, or wearing veils in the disguise of the kings of that fell city. It is from Inganok that the Veiled King drives human victims down into Luz, to breed with horror. (Chaosium)

Associated Mythos Elements

• location: Dreamlands, Underworld

References

• fiction: Brian Lumley's "Augeren (fiction)"
• sourcebook: H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands