Patterns Discerned 2: The Demons of Sárku and Durritlámish

Thirteen demons are affiliated with Sárku the Five-Headed Lord of Worms, and His cohort Durritlámish. Three major demons, Gereshmá'a, Kurritlakál and Srükárum, are variously described as being "allied" to Sárku and/or Durritlámish. Of the lesser demon lords, Ku'éth, Ktélu, Nyerebó, Missúm, and Ashónu are all of the substance and essence of Sárku, and Ssüssü is of the essence of Sárku and the substance of Durritlámish. The remaining four demons share affiliation with other deities: Njénü is of the substance of Sárku but the essence of Ksárul, Mishomúu of the essence of Sárku but the substance of Ksárul, Neré of the essence of Sárku but the substance of Wúru, and Kekkéka of the essence of Durritlámish but the substance of Chiténg.

With so many glyphs to consider, I will not attempt to display them all, but instead will focus on just a few examples for each motif.

The "Bákte in Death" Motif, Highlighted in Red

The first common element to consider is a horizontal bar displayed in nine of these thirteen glyphs (those for Nyerebó, Ku'éth, Ssüssü, Njénü, Ktélu, Ashónu, Gereshmá'a, Kurritlakál, and Missúm). This bar resembles the "Barbed Staff" motif described for the demons of Dlamélish and Hriháyal in the previous post, but differs in that it terminates at each end in a closed loop, upturned at the right end, and downturned at the left. This element likely depicts a human longbone, but I believe that it represents the physical body (the Bákte) as a whole, the closed loops signifying that it is the "Bákte in Death," entombed in the grave.

The "Worm Triumphant" Motif, Highlighted in Red

In eight of the nine instances where it is present (all but Missúm), the "Bákte in Death" motif is surmounted by a looped glyphic element marching inchworm-fashion toward the left. The right-hand end emerges from the Bákte itself, while the left-hand end rears to display a down-facing, spreading maw. I do not believe it is a stretch to see in this the "Worm Triumphant," feeding on the Bákte in its sarcophagus.

The combined "Bákte in Death" and "Worm Triumphant" are present in the majority of these name-glyphs and are the clearest diagnostic of affiliation with Lord Sárku.

The Major-Demon Variants of the "Bákte in Death" and "Worm Triumphant" Motifs

Variants of this combination are seen in the glyphs of the major demons Gereshmá'a and Kurritlakál. In both cases, the mouth of the "Worm Triumphant" is augmented by pronged "lips," perhaps representing a suckered maw. In Kurritlakál's glyph, the Bákte and the "Worm" are modified somewhat, so that the combination can be drawn with a single stroke of the pen. Other variants include the glyph for Nyerebó, where the head of the Worm extends and curls down and around to feed from the underside of the Bákte, the glyph for Ssüssü with its unusual double Bákte, and the strange glyph for the demon Missúm ("Death"), which includes the "Bákte in Death" element, but oddly lacks the "Worm Triumphant."

The"Hlákme Beside the Tomb" Motif, Highlighted in Red

Only slightly less common, present in six (or possibly seven) of these glyphs is a third element: a four-pointed star, seen hovering somewhere above or below the Bákte. Now this is an element I remember from the original Patterns of Hidden Discernment, where it was interpreted as the "Hlákme beside the Tomb" ( after death, when the spirit-soul has departed, the Hlákme, the "Mind," is believed to linger in the tomb near the body it once inhabited).

Taken all together, the joint representation in these glyphs of the "Bákte in Death," the "Hlákme beside the Tomb," and the "Worm Triumphant" rather neatly encapsulates the theology of Lord Sárku.

The "Five-Headed Worm of Sárku" Motif, Highlighted in Red

There is only one more shared motif to discuss, a minor one in that it appears in only three glyphs (Gereshmá'a, Ashónu, and Neré). This consists of an amorphous five-pronged form that may reasonably be interpreted to represent the "Five-Headed Worm of Sárku." The glyph for Njénü includes a vaguely similar element, but there it has eight points, likely reflecting the fact that this demon is of the essence of Ksárul.

As with the demons of Dlamélish and Hriháyal, the name-glyphs of Sárku's demons include a number of additional elements that are unique to each demon and since they are not shared, they are difficult to interpret. And as with Dlamélish and Hriháyal, there are some glyphs that are even more perplexing. Some of these (Njénü, Mishomúu, Neré and Kekkéka) clearly exhibit motifs pertaining to other deities, and may become more comprehensible in later posts.

Unusual Name-Glyphs

However, two are particularly strange. Missúm's glyph displays a partly-infilled "Bákte in Death" element, and possibly an odd voided "Hlákme beside the Tomb," but otherwise has little in common with the other demons of Lord Sárku or indeed with any of the other name-glyphs in the Book of Ebon Bindings. The glyph for Lord Srükárum is stranger still. We are assured in the text of Ebon Bindings that this glyph contains elements of great symbolic meaning, and yet I see none: or at least, none suggesting affiliation with His masters, Sárku and Durritlámish; if anything, the "Wide-Open Eyes" in the glyph suggest allegiance to Lord Hrü'ü or perhaps Wúru. despite the declaration in Ebon Bindings, I suspect that this glyph is actually an example of a category of name-glyphs in which symbolic content is secondary (if present at all), and the primary goal is to present a "portrait," a representation of the demon's appearance. This may be a heretical view, but we will see further examples of these "portrait-glyphs" in later posts.