Dragon Moon by Henry Kuttner (1941)
Dragon Moon is a Elak of Atlantis sword-and-sorcery novella by Henry Kuttner, part of his series featuring the exiled prince-turned-adventurer Elak. In the harbor city of Poseidonia, the wolfish swordsman Elak and his fat, wine-loving companion Lycon brawl in a tavern before being sought out by Dalan, a Druid priest, who reveals that Elak's brother Orander, king of Cyrena, has died by his own hand after being possessed by Karkora, the Pallid One — an inhuman, alien Presence from beyond the world that has already claimed Sepher, king of neighboring Kiriath, as its vessel. Dalan offers Elak the vacant dragon throne of Cyrena, but Elak, embittered by his years as a vagabond, refuses — until a nightmarish psychic visitation from Karkora itself convinces him of the horror at stake. Elak and Lycon are captured and enslaved aboard the galley Kraken by Elak's old rival Drezzar, but Elak picks his shackles, incites a slave revolt, and kills Drezzar before sailing on toward Cyrena. Guided by a dream-message from Dalan, they land near Amenalk, where they meet the barbarian chieftain Aynger, a descendant of ancient kings who pledges his blue-painted warriors to Elak's cause and directs him to Mayana, a reclusive, semi-divine sea-being dwelling in a sunken, shadow-haunted city beneath an island castle. Braving Mayana's guardian shadow-spirits, Elak reaches her and learns her tragic history: seduced by the sorcerer Erykion into bearing a monstrous child, she allowed Erykion to strip the infant of all five senses so that a terrible "sixth sense" could grow monstrously powerful in their place — creating Karkora, an entity that opened gateways to alien realms beyond earth and now possesses kings to conquer Atlantis. Though reluctant to move against her own son, Mayana enchants Elak's rapier to slay Sepher's mortal body, grants Elak a month of sea-magic empowerment, and promises a talisman — her own still-living heart — for the moment he needs it most against Karkora. Elak returns to Cyrena, is accepted as king after surviving a trial-by-fire test of the dragon throne, and rallies the realm's lords against Sepher's advancing army. In the climactic battle at the mountain pass called the Gateway, Cyrena's forces are joined by Aynger's barbarians; Aynger is killed by an arrow but his corpse is carried into the fray by his men, rallying them to break the enemy's flank. Elak duels and kills Sepher, whose body rots away to reveal the emptiness left by possession. Elak is then drawn into a psychic confrontation within Karkora's extradimensional citadel, where Mayana's disembodied voice delivers the promised talisman — her bleeding heart — which destroys Karkora's helpless physical form and ends the entity's threat, collapsing its tower. Cyrena is saved and Elak secures his throne, but the victory is shadowed by grief for Mayana, the sorrowful sea-woman who sacrificed herself and her monstrous son to save a world she never fully belonged to.
By Henry Kuttner · First published 1941 · Genre: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dark Fantasy · 10 chapters · 16,447 words
First lines
_Out of the dark -- out of the unknown -- came Karkora. rotting the souls of the kings of Cyrena. For Karkora, the Pallid One, was a creature more loathsome than anything on earth. It was beyond good or evil, a Presence from the Outside -- a shadow of which the "altar fires had whispered. "_
Of great limbs gone to chaos, A great face turned to night -- Why bend above a shapeless shroud Seeking in such archaic cloud Sight of strong lords and light? -- Chesterton.
What this Textopian page supports
Dragon Moon is listed on Textopian as a novella by Henry Kuttner, dated 1941 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Novella
- Author: Henry Kuttner
- Date: 1941 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dark Fantasy, Adventure, Cosmic Horror
- Length: 16,447 words
- Structure: 10 chapters, 429 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Dragon Moon by Henry Kuttner
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering Dragon Moon?
- How does this novella by Henry Kuttner fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Fantasy first become important in the reading?
Genres
- Fantasy — The narrative is set in a magical world (Atlantis) with sorcery, gods, magical beings, and supernatural forces central to the plot.
- Sword and Sorcery — Features a wandering warrior-protagonist (Elak) whose primary tool is his rapier, engaging in physical combat and confronting magical adversaries in an action-driven narrative.
- Dark Fantasy — Maintains a consistently dark, ominous atmosphere with themes of corruption, body horror, and the spread of a malevolent force threatening civilization.
- Adventure — Centers on a quest narrative following Elak's journey to reclaim the dragon throne and defeat Karkora, featuring action sequences, exploration, and overcoming obstacles.
Tags
horror · weird fiction · cosmic horror · fantasy · supernatural · occult · ancient evil · dark fantasy · short story · pulp fiction · Lovecraftian · eldritch entities
Contents
- Elak of Atlantis
- Dragon Throne
- The Gates of Dream
- The Ship Sails North
- Aynger of Amenalk
- Mayana
- Karkora
- The Dragon's Throne
- The Hammer of Aynger
- The Black Vision