Thoth-Amon

From AoCWiki

• Real Name: Thoth-Amon
• Identity: Human magic-user
• Occupation: Priest of Set; former royal advisor to the King of Stygia
• Affiliations: Set (his god and master), also invoked the Old Ones; member and sometimes leader of the Black Ring (a sect of sorcerers); former ruler of Aquilonia; former wizard and advisor to King Ctesphon of Stygia; the Black Stranger (demon of the treasure of Tranicos), the Ghoul-Hyena of Chaos, The Man-Serpents and Serpent Men, Shard and his band of mercenaries, a monstrous ape (agents); Kulan Gath (former apprentice); Cult of the White Hand (Louhi), Baron Maloric, Menkara, Nenaunir, Ptor-Nubis, Scarlet Circle (Pra-Eun), Black Zarono (allies), Ee-Ch'ing (pawn/host), Count Valenso and Duke Villagro (former allies)

• Enemies: Ascalante, Astriel, Conan, Deviatrix, Dion, Epimetrius the Sage, King Ferdrugo, Jandalinatjari, Karanthes, Kulan Gath, King Mentupherra, Morophla, Queen Nzinga I and II (daughter), Taurus (son of Conan), Thulsa Doom, Thutothemes, Uathacht, Count Valenso, Villagro, Yarralamundu, Zandra
• Known Relatives: None
• Aliases: The Dark Man, Mage of the Black Ring, Master Sorcerer of the Black Ring, Thoth-Amon of the Black Ring (and a few others "of the Black Ring")
• Base of Operations: Khajar, Kheshatta, and later Nebthu, Stygia (what is now Egypt) during the Hyborian Age

• Powers: Thoth-Amon was reputed to be the most powerful sorcerer of the Hyborian Era. However, for a number of reasons his powers waxed and waned. At times he has possessed virtually limitless power, and at others he could only manage a few simple tricks. Apparently, with time and preparation, he can amass large amounts of power. He has been shown to transfer his mind into that of lesser creatures, project his essence across great distances to contact others, project bolts of magical force and form shields, levitate objects, animate inanimate objects, mentally manipulate others, teleport, and summon and control demonic creatures. A large degree of his powers were dependant on his Serpent Ring, a power source apparently tied to Set.

He has used the Cobra Crown, which is believed to be patterned after the Serpent Crown. The Cobra Crown was crafted by the pre-human race of Serpent Men. Perhpas it was made by a rogue group of Serpent Men or as a replacement for one of the Serpent Crowns lost in the Cataclysm. The Cobra Crown -- before it was brought to Thoth-Amon by Black Zarano and Menkara -- was hidden beneath a stone idol of the seven eyed toad god Tsathoggua. The Cobra Crown greatly amplified the mental abilites of its wearer, granting a normal person powerful telepathic and telekinetic powers. In the hands of Thoth-Amon, it presumably would have given him the control of over hundreds of people. Nonetheless, in order to access its power, one had to at least remain in direct contact, if not actually be wearing it. The Cobra Crown was inferior to the Serpent Crown, in that it was apparently destroyed by a single misuse. The Cobra Crown, while its full origins are unknown, definetly had some connection to the Serpent Crown. Millennia later, an image of Thoth-Amon was summoned by Hugh Jones, who created images of all who had previously worn the Serpent Crown. His frequently commanded or was allied with either of both of the races of Sperpent-Men and the Man-Serpents

• History:

Thoth-Amon's origins are unknown. When first seen, he was already centuries old.

Thoth-Amon at some point trained the sorcerer Kulan Gath, who was eventually forced to flee Stygia for practicing sorcery that even worshippers of Set found offensive (that's got to be some pretty nasty stuff!). Thoth-Amon also drove other rival sorcerers from Stygia: Karanthes of Hanumar, priest of the Bird-God Ibis (who went North), and Morophla and his sister Uathacht, on whom Thoth-Amon laid a blood curse--they re-established themselves in Zamora.

Thoth-Amon journeyed north from Kheshatta, and he encountered a young Neftha. He eventually returned to Kheshatta to work alongside the wizard Hath-Horeb.

Thoth-Amon awakened the Sons of Set, aka the Man-Serpents, and the original Serpent-Men, and took command of them.

Thoth-Amon, in anonymity, sent a "gift" to the city of Numalia (in Nemedia), to his old foe, Karanthes. When Karanthes opened the gift, he was killed by the Man-Serpent within it. Conan sneaked into Karanthes temple to steal this gift, and was instead found by Karanthes body and blamed for his murder. Conan ultimately slew the Man-Serpent, but not before it could kill everyone else in the temple. Conan looked into the bowl that formerly held the Man-Serpent, and received a powerful vision of Thoth-Amon, which caused him to flee Numalia.

Thoth-Amon fled Stygia during the reign of King Mentupherra. He traveled to Kordava, where he remained even after Mentupherra's death.

Thoth-Amon sent a sorcerer to steal back a page from the Book of Skelos from the back-to-life Karanthes. This sorcerer succeeded, but then encountered a time-displaced Kull and his castle. The sorcerer posed as Gonar, an advisor to Kull, and sought to lead him to conquer the world, that he himself might then take it over. Conan exposed the sorcerer, who revealed his intentions. Thoth-Amon had been observer from afar, and sent an image to let the sorcerer know he was now on his own. Conan slew the sorcerer, and Kull and his castle returned to their own era.

Thoth-Amon appeared to Conan in a dream, warning him to abandon his quest to rescue Belit's father. Conan refused, and an immense sea monster subsequently attacked their ship. Conan, of course, slew the sea monster. However, as revealed in Conan the Barbarian I#115, it was actually Karanthes who sent the illusion of Thoth-Amon.

Thoth-Amon was employed by Count Valenso of Kordava to slay an enemy of his. Thoth-Amon conjured up a fiend from the outer gulfs (the Black Stranger) to crush and slay Valenso's foe. After this was done, Valenso betrayed him, cheating him out of his money and denouncing him to Ferdrugo, the king of Zingara. As a result, Thoth-Amon was forced to flee to Stygia, in haste and stealth.

Thoth-Amon traveled to Khemi where he became the advisor to King Ctesphon (who was actually the woman Neftha, whom he had encountered some twenty years earlier). From a distance, he directed another Man-Serpent to attack Conan and his allies, Belit and Zula. While they slew the Man-Serpent, they were then separated and Conan was attacked by two Serpent Men posing as Belit and Zula. Conan uncovered the deception and slew the Serpent Men. Thoth-Amon contacted another sorcerer, Ptor-Nubis, advisor to Belit's uncle, King Nimkarrak of Asgalun. Thoth-Amon informed Ptor-Nubis that Belit would be coming to try to take the throne that was rightfully hers.

Thoth-Amon abducted Astriel, a goddess known as the Snow Queen, to try to force her to serve him. She resisted, and was rescued by her old ally Kendrick

Astriel employed Conan to return her to her realm and protect her from the wizards of Thoth-Amon. Thoth-Amon appeared before Conan and Astriel and threatened them. Nonetheless, despite the power of the two sorcerers, and the legion of mercenaries assisting them, Conan successfully returned Astriel to her realm, where she regained her full power and destroyed what remained of their would-be captors.

The ancient wizard Thulsa Doom, now existing only as a disembodied skull, manipulated those around him to being him to Stygia, where he could meet with Thoth-Amon. Thulsa Doom proposed an alliance, but Thoth-Amon recognized him for the threat that he was. Thoth-Amon could sense that already Thulsa Doom had begun to exert his influence, taking control of the Serpent Men, and attempting to do the same with the Man-Serpents. Thulsa Doom had obtained an uneasy alliance with Conan and others, who helped him to escape from Thoth-Amon's attacks. Thoth-Amon, however, wished to keep an eye on Thulsa Doom, so he transferred a portion of his essence into Ee-Ch'ing, a monkey-creature that was the pet of Kuchum (who was the following Thulsa Doom's directions to a legendary fortune). Conan threw a dagger at Thoth-Amon, but one of his Man-Serpents intercepted the blade, dying in order to protect its master.

On back aboard Kuchum's ship, Thoth-Amon, in the form of Ee-Ch'ing, confronted the skull of Thulsa Doom, and attempted to throw it overboard. The skull bit down on Ee-Ch'ing's hand, taking the monkey thing with them into the ocean. Conan dove into the waters and saved them both, at the request of Kuchum. Ee'Ch'ing lost a hand to the skull, and received a small hook, in its place. Thulsa Doom, however, led them all into a trap where they were captured by the Serpent Men, who impersonated Conan, Kuchum, and his daughter Li-zya, and took over their ship. Thulsa Doom led the ship to the island where the remains of his body rested. Conan freed his allies and Ee-Ch'ing and they escaped into the jungle, and Conan learned that Ee-Ch'ing was Thoth-Amon. Conan and Thoth-Amon joined forces in an effort to stop Thulsa Doom. They encountered Jandalinatjari, one of the Snakes of Many Colors, and convinced her to transport them to Doom. Doom had reattached his skull to his body, but required further blood sacrifice to regain his full power. Doom's Serpent-Men also had allied themselves with Yarralamundu, another giant Snake of Many Colors, that attacked Jandalinatjari. Thoth-Amon took over the mind of a Serpent Man and transformed it into a replica of his own body, enabling him to access his powers sufficiently to oppose Thulsa Doom. However, while neither Doom nor Thoth-Amon possessed their full, Doom was powerful enough to hold off both Conan and Thoth-Amon. Jandalinatjari managed to overpower and slay Yarralamandu. Then, without further distractions, banished both Thoth-Amon and Thulsa Doom from her sacred island. She tore Thoth-Amon's mind from the Serpent Man it inhabited and sent it back to its true body in Stygia.

Thoth-Amon presided over the Black Ring when Zula petitioned and was accepted for membership.

After the Black Ring failed to fight off a group of invaders, Thoth-Amon returned to Kheshatta and retook control.

Menkara (another Stygian sorcerer) and Black Zarono sought to enlist the aid of Thoth-Amon to enable Villagro, Duke of Kordava to topple the rule of King Ferdrugo. In exchange, they would rid the city of the worship of Mitra, in exchange for Set. Menkara sought to impress Thoth-Amon by delivering to him a copy of the Book of Skelos, but he was only annoyed with them, after realizing they had missed an opportunity to gain the possession of the Cobra Crown. Thoth-Amon magically located the Crown, and then transported himself to the City of Gamburu, home of the Amazons. Upon arriving, he blasted Queen Nzinga, took the Cobra Crown, and transported himself to Zingara.

Using the power of the Cobra Crown, Thoth-Amon directed Ferdrugo to abdicate the throne. However, instead of passing on the rule to Villagro, Thoth-Amon had himself named as the new King of Zingara. Thoth-Amon removed the Cobra Crown to accept the crown of Zingara, but Villagro rushed forward and donned the Crown. Thoth-Amon, with great effort (and assistance from Menkara), managed to overpower and slay Villagro, who was unable to fully tap into the Crown's power. In the process, however, Villagro burnt out the Crown, rendering it useless. Thoth-Amon and Zarono fled Zingara and escaped Conan and its soldiers, while Menkara was killed in the ensuing battle.

Two years after he had fled Kordava, Thoth-Amon learned of the death of Ferdrugo. News spread when he suddenly vanished again from Stygia. One night, Thoth-Amon appeared to Valenso in a vision. With Ferdrugo dead, Valenso had no king to protect him, and so he fled across the ocean to the Western Coast of the Hyborian continent.

Thoth-Amon located Valenso and traveled to his village aboard a boat of mystic blue flame. Thoth-Amon slew several of the neighboring Picts and framed Valenso's men. Valenso was mortified upon hearing of the appearance of the "dark man" and withdrew into terror. Thoth-Amon appeared to him once more and promised to kill him that night. True to his word, Thoth-Amon took the Black Stranger, who had guarded the legendary Treasure of Tranicos, and materialized him inside Valenso's residence. Valenso had already taken his own life, but Conan slew the demon to protect some of Valenso's family. Thoth-Amon was satisfied with his revenge on Valenso and saw no need to encounter Conan.

Thoth-Amon fell on hard times. Dependent on the Serpent Ring of Set for power, he lost everything when a thief stole the ring. Thoth-Amon was forced to flee when the other sorcerers of the Black Ring attempted to slay him. Thoth-Amon's life was saved by Ascalante, a former Count of Thune. Ascalante saved Thoth-Amon's life, but then enslaved the powerless wizard. Ascalante whipped Thoth-Amon and forced him to serve as his lackey, keeping him in line with threats that if any harm came to Ascalante, one of his allies would inform the Stygians where Thoth-Amon was hiding. Ascalante plotted the murder of Conan, now King of Aquilonia, hoping to ascend to the position himself. Thoth-Amon was forced to serve as Ascalante's go-between, communicating with his co-conspirators. While visiting one of these, a dullard named Dion, Thoth-Amon found that this witless buffoon had come to possess the Serpent Ring. Thoth-Amon slew Dion and retook the Serpent Ring. He then summoned an immense ape-like creature and sent it to slay Ascalante, his allies, and hopefully Conan, as well. Ascalante and his allies fell before the monster, but Conan had received aid from Epemitreus the Sage. Epemitrius had imbued Conan's sword with mystical power to defend himself and Aquilonia against the forces of Set, and the sword proved capable of killing the monstrous ape. Conan figured the mastermind to be Dion, who never showed up for the assassination. He led a group of soldiers to Dion's palace and walked into another trap/spell set by Thoth-Amon. Thoth himself was there in spirit only, having already started his journey to find and kill Ascalante's friend, to prevent him from revealing his whereabouts to his enemies in Stygia. Thoth-Amon had designed the trap to kill Ascalante, should he escape the monster ape, but he was only too happy to allow it to take out Conan. Conan used up the last of Epimetrius' energy in his sword breaking out of Thoth-Amon's trap.

Rolok, a servant of Baron Enri, obtained one of the Serpent Rings of Set, worn by the wizards of the Black Ring. When Enri's daughter, Lady Evelena, rejected him, he gave her the ring, knowing that a demon would eventually come to slay any non-wizard wearing the ring. The Ring drove Evelena to attempt to kill her husband, Trocero. Trocero revealed his concerns to King Conan, who uncovered Rolok's plot, and placed the Ring on Rolok's hand. Rolok was slain by the demon, who took both he and the Ring to a netherworld.

The Stygian sorcerer Thutothemes, also a member of the Black Ring, sought the Heart of Ahriman to overthrow Thoth-Amon.

Again leading the Black Ring, Thoth-Amon allied himself with Louhi (Witch Queen of the Hyperborean Cult of the White Hand), Nenaunir (High Priest of Damballah), and Pra-Eun (Lord of the Scarlet Circle). Louhi captured Conan's eldest son, Conn (also known as Conan the second), and forced Conan to enter their trap. Thoth-Amon wished to have Conan executed immediately, but the others didn't see what he was afraid of. Louhi enjoyed holding this over him, and sent one of her Witch Men to humble Conan. Conan slew the Witch Man, and Louhi and Pra-Eun, as well. Thoth-Amon and Nenaunir teleported away to safety.

Thoth-Amon returned to Nebthu, Stygia to the side of the Black Ring. From there, he manipulated Duke Pantho to war on Conan's borders. As intended, Conan surmised Thoth-Amon's involvement and traveled to his base in Nebthu. Conan and a small number of his soldiers were confronted with the entire membership of the Black Ring, while Thoth-Amon sent an army of Stygians to occupy the rest of Conan's army. Conan, had not come unprepared, and brought with him the druid Deviatrix, armed with the powerful gem, the Heart of Ahriman. Using the gem, Deviatrix devastated the Black Ring. With his entire sect wiped out, and himself unable to stand up to the power of Deviatrix and the gem, Thoth-Amon released the Ghoul-Hyena of Chaos, an immense demon hyena-like creature, to destroy them. Conan led his warriors to flee the hyena, leading it into the center of the army of Stygia. As the hyena destroyed the army, Conan, Deviatrix, and his soldiers fled to safety. Now lacking the support of the Black Ring, Thoth-Amon fled to Zembabwe, seeking support from Nenaunir.

Conan, Conn, and his army tracked Thoth-Amon to Zembabwe, but were captured by Wyverns (flying lizard creatures) of Nenaunir. Again Thoth-Amon's wishes to put Conan to a quick death were thwarted by Nenaunir, who wished to sacrifice Conan to Damballah at a certain time, in order to gain the Serpent God's favor for himself. Damballah's Earthly manifestation proved to be too much for the senior Conan, but Conn broke free and stabbed and killed Nenaunir, disrupting the Serpent God's access to the Earthly realm. Thoth-Amon saw Conn charge forth and could have stopped him, but saw Nenaunir as a threat, and allowed him to die. Thoth-Amon fled even further south, to the legendary Edge of the World.

At the "Edge of the World", Conan, Conn, and the others encountered and taken in by a civilization of beautiful women who turned to be the last of the Serpent Men. Thoth-Amon hung out back in the shadows until Conan passed out from too much drugged wine, and then he pulled Conan outside for a final confrontation. Conan held his own for awhile, but Thoth-Amon's power enabled him to push Conan's mind into a dream-world, allowing him to gain the upper hand. Thoth-Amon was triumphantly choking the life out of Conan, when Conn came running up and knifed him a sword that Deviatrix had empowered. Thoth-Amon fell to the ground and crumbled into dust. Conan took Thoth-Amon's Serpent Ring and hurled it into the ocean, where it would never be found again...

The Serpent Ring was swallowed by a fish, which was caught by a man named Nhaton. When Nhaton uncovered the Ring, its energies summoned Thoth-Amon's spirit back to Earth, and created a new body for him. Thoth-Amon took some time to regain his own power before going out in search of his Ring. He came to work for the Baron Maloric, and assisted him in his plot that nearly slew Conan's eldest son, Conn.

Thoth-Amon was likely involved in enhancing the abilties of the frenzied warriors who attacked Conan's soldiers and nearly slew Conn. Conn was believed to be dead for a long period of time

Thoth-Amon assisted Maloric in a plot to wipe out Conan's elite fighting squadron, the Black Dragons. He summoned or created a swamp creature to attack them. While it slew a good number of the squad, one of them managed to set fire to it and destroy it.

Thoth-Amon enjoyed observing the heartache and anguish of Conan from afar.

Baron Maloric had hired a group of assassins in a failed attempt to slay Conan. Thoth-Amon confronted Maloric and warned him against further attempts, claiming the right to slay Conan for himself.

Thoth-Amon found Nhaton and his wife, already dead, with only their young son left, and the Ring apparently stolen by their murderer. Thoth-Amon summoned a spirit from the depths of the sea to learn who had the ring, and it told him it was taken by "one of his own kind." He traveled back to Nebthu where he found and annihilated every member of the reformed Black Ring, to no avail. The Serpent Ring was in the hands of the "son" of Nhaton, actually a demonic creature.

Thoth-Amon left Aquilonia to seek out his Serpent Ring.

Thoth-Amon tracked the demon posing as the son of Nhaton to Aquilonia, where it had been unwittingly befriended by Taurus, the younger son of Conan. After seeing the Serpent Ring on the demon, Taurus realized his mistake and attempted to warn the others. Because of his history, no one believed him, including Conan, who left the city in search of Conn. Thoth-Amon arrived, slew the demon, and retook his Serpent Ring. Thoth-Amon was reborn, with even greater power than before, and his own set of real horns.

With Conan absent from Aquilonia, Thoth-Amon took over the castle of Aquilonia and made the soldiers his own. He attempted to persuade Taurus to become his apprentice. Taurus refused and fought back against Thoth, even skewering him with a sword. Thoth-Amon was minimally harmed by this, and then threatened to slay Taurus' mother and sister, as well as the rest of Aquilonia unless Taurus agreed. Taurus reluctantly agreed.

For nearly nine months, Taurus acted as Thoth-Amon's apprentice/servant, all the while secretly stealing from his store of mystical power. During that time, Thoth-Amon reformed the Black Ring (or the Black Circle, as it was referred to in this issue). Conan and Conn returned and assaulted Thoth-Amon, but were helpless against his power (one of those "no weapon forged by mortal man can harm me" things). However, Conn had been given the Sword of the Elder Gods by the goddess Solaise. Using the power Conn had stolen from Thoth-Amon, channeled through the Sword, and directed by the sorceress Zandra, they succeeded in snuffing the flame in which Thoth-Amon had stored most of his power. Conan cut off Thoth-Amon's right hand, depriving him of the power of the Serpent ring, as well. As Thoth-Amon attempted to regain the Ring, Conan grabbed him and snapped his spine, apparently killing him for good this time.

Source: Marvunapp