TERHALITERHALI
Real Name: Empress Terhali of Melnibone
Identity/Class: Nigh-immortal pre-human Melnibonean/demonic hybrid and magic-user (Hyborian Era)
Occupation: Tyrant, former ruler of Melnibone
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Kulan Gath (duped into resurrecting her), Queen Xiombarg (hoping to rule Melnibone through her)
Enemies: Elric of Melnibone, Conan the Barbarian, Zephra, Lord Arkynn of Order, Zukala, Duke Arioch of Chaos, unnamed ancient Melnibonean sorcerers
Known Relatives: Unnamed Melnibonean emperor (father), unnamed Hyborian she-demon (mother), Elric of Melnibone (descendant)
Aliases: The Green Empress
Base of Operations: Unknown;
formerly the dimensionally displaced Golden City of Yagala
rising from the Sighing Lake;
formelry the otherdimensional
Melnibonean Empire
First Appearance: Conan the Barbarian#14 (flashback -
February, 1972) {Edizione Italiana: Gli Albi dei Super-Eroi#30 Editoriale Corno}
Conan the Barbarian I#15 (in action - March, 1972) {Edizione Italiana: Gli Albi
dei Super-Eroi#30 Editoriale Corno}
Powers/Abilities: Terhali demonstrated the ability to fly, radiate a green nimbus about her body sufficient to repel sword blows from enchanted blades such as Stormbringer, and unleash destructive blasts of mystical energy from her eyes. It is likely she shared in the vast sorcerous abilities of her Melnibonean brethren and also partook of at least some abilities from her demonic heritage. The full extent of her power will likely remain unknown, but she was deemed by her Melnibonean contemporaries as sufficiently dangerous to require not only imprisonment in suspended animation, but exile to Yagala, where they banished her to another dimension, and THEN sank it beneath the Sighing Lake in a sorcerous deluge.
History: 
(Conan the Barbarian #14 (fb)) In the otherdimensional empire of
Melnibone, Terhali was born the daughter of a union between Melnibonean and a
demon summoned from the Hyborian world. She grew to rule the empire with an iron
fist, enslaving all to her will. Eventually her reign grew so despotic and
bloodthirsty that even the most sadistic and power hungry Melniboneans rebelled
against her, sealing her in a golden coffin and dispatching her entire capitol
city to another world, existing in a dimension parallel to their own, Hyborian
Era Earth.
(Conan the Barbarian#14 (fb) - BTS) - Thousands of years later Elric read the tale of Terhali's exile and the legends of the wealth of sorcerous lore sealed up in her tomb-city. Hopeful that in such a storehouse of eldritch knowledge there lay a cure to the sorcerous sleep cast upon his lover Cymoril by her evil brother Yrkoon, Elric recited the mystic runes that would carry him across the dimensional void to the Sighing Lake.
(Conan the Barbarian#15 (fb) - BTS) - Xiombarg, Queen of Chaos sent dreams to power hungry Kulan Gath, instructing him to make his way to the Sighing Lake and the sunken city of Yagala. He was led to believe that if he returned Terhali the Green Empress to life she would serve him and help to conquer both the Hyborian and Melnibonean worlds. Lord Arkyn of Order and Duke Arioch of Chaos both put emissaries into play in order to stop Kulan Gath and foil Xiombarg’s plan.
(Conan the Barbarian#14) - Conan rode to the rescue of Zephra, a former enemy and love interest, but was felled by a drugged blade wielded by the Hooded Ones, agents of Xiombarg's. After they were rescued by Zukala's giant white eagles, Conan and Zephra rode to her father’s home. There Zukala--formerly a wizard and enemy of Conan’s, now a priest of Lord Arkyn of Order--conjured an image of Kulan Gath’s face in the waters of a fountain. Zukala told Conan of Kulan Gath: that he was a rival for Thoth-Amon’s power, about his plan to resurrect Terhali the Green Empress of Melnibone, and then use her power to conquer both their world and Terhali’s. Conan and Zephra rode out to stop Kulan Gath's dread ritual only to encounter Elric, arriving in their world in a flash of light, drawn by some unknown power, whether Arkyn or Arioch or even Fate itself is unknown, to a dusty road road and the company of Conan rather than the edge of the Sighing Lake.
(Conan the Barbarian#15)
- Conan, Elric, and Zephra made it to the Sighing Lak--pursued by demons, monsters, and Prince Gaynor
the Damned, but not
before quarrelling over Elric's reason for seeking out Yagala and Terhali. Once
across the lake, they entered the golden spires of Yagala and interrupted Kulan
Gath’s ritual. The arrival of Prince Gaynor and the Chaos Pack occupied the
heroes long enough for Gath to complete his ritual and summon Terhali back to
the world of the living. Yagala began to glow, and the Sighing Lake disappears.
Prince Gaynor cried out to his mistress Xiombarg that Terhali was arisen and with
her power both Hyborea and Melnibone would fall to the Queen of Chaos. Enraged
by his presumption Elric struck down Prince Gaynor, averring that Melnibone
only served his god, Arioch of Chaos.
Kulan Gath commanded the newly arisen Green
Empress to obey him, getting a hole blown through him by Terhali for his
impudence. Terhali declared she had been resurrected not to serve, but to rule!
She imperiously informed the three heroes that they would be the first of her
new city of slaves. When they struck at her with their enchanted blades, Elric and
Conan were both blasted senseless by the aura about the undead sorceress. Zephra
cried out to the forces of Order and ultimately sacrificed her own life to
become the Avenger of Arkyn, a vessel for the Lord of Order's might, too powerful
for any mortal body to contain and live, in order to destroy Terhali. Her body
alight with blue fire, Zephra unleashed devastating eyebeams at Terhali, which
tore
her to pieces.
Comments: Famous fantasy/sci-fi author Michael Moorcock and James Cawthorn (anyone know who this guy is?) plotted the story where Kulan Gath first appeared, with Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor Smith listed as writer and artist respectively. Until such time as a more definite answer can be given it appears that a hodgepodge of people created Terhali.
I have not read all of Moorcock's work (there's so damn much of
it!). Has Terhali ever been mentioned in any of his novels? I'd be interested to
know where she falls in that unbroken chain of 428 sorcerer-kings of Melnibone.
My money is on her appearing early on in the empire's history. Also my best
guess is that she is a great-great-aunt many times removed from Elric, seeing as
how her father was an emperor of Melnibone, but the succession remained unbroken
until Elric's reign. I'm speculating that the ancient emperor that was Terhali's
father had to sire a hybrid child upon the Hyborian demon summoned to his world
in repayment for some service that was rendered (or maybe Terhali was conceived
as a result of the service rendered, if'n ye get my meaning!). Growing into the
full maturity of her powers Terhali then seized the Ruby Throne until deposed
and exiled by her full-blooded brother, the rightful heir and Elric's
ancestor.
There's a bit more about Terhali on those two Moorcock/Elric
fan sites:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Capsule/7909/GM/terhali.html (check out
links to timeline and sources)
And a good Elric timeline:
http://www.dodgenet.com/~moonblossom/Eltime.html
Jean-Marc Lofficier
Terhali was an imperious and quite deadly, but ultimately short-lived, villainess. Zephra, empowered by Arkyn, blasted her into blazing, bloody gobbets in jig time.
Clarifications:
Terhali the Green
Empress of Melnibone should not be confused with
The Golden City of Yagala and the Sighing Lake have no connections to
(Conan the Barbarian I#14 (fb)) - The City of Yagala once was
in the extradimensional realm of Melniboné. It was the capitol city of
Terhali's empire, its buildings were made of gold and its streets were full of
slaves.
When the many enemies of Terhali defeated and entombed her
under Yagala, they were so terrified of her that they hurled the entire town out
of their dimension and placed it in the Hyborian world near the eastern border
of Koth. They probably made it so without evacuating the town of all its
inhabitants. Elric also heard tales speaking about sorcerous artifacts left in
the town.
The sorcerers sealed the access to the town recalling a huge
rain that sunk the town under the waters, transforming the valley where Yagala
had been placed, in the Sighing Lake, because of the dead souls sighings. Only
the highest towers remained visible over the waters of the lake.
(Conan the Barbarian I#15) - Between the eastern border of Koth and the Sighing Lake, there was a dreadful zone full of demons and monsters.
(Conan the Barbarian I#15 (fb) - BTS) - Probably because of Kulan Gath ensorcerings, the water level of the Lake decreased. Kulan Gath was probably the first human being to put his foot in Yagala from its banishment.
(Conan the Barbarian I#15) - When Kulan-Gath awoke Terhali, the spell or Terhali herself drained the waters in a flash of light. But, later, after Terhali was destroyed by Zephra, the waters went back and surrounded again the town that after few moments crumbled down. The souls of the dead entrapped in the town were freed and the Lake did not sighed anymore.
--Conan the Barbarian I#14 (Conan the Barbarian I#14(fb), Conan the Barbarian I#15
Images:
Conan the Barbarian I#15, p9, pan4 (Terhali - full
body)
Conan the Barbarian I#15, p11, pan3 (Terhali - head
shot)
Conan the Barbarian I#14, p7, pan1 (Terhali sleeping)
Conan the Barbarian I#14, p7, pan2 (Terhali and her
enemies)
Conan the Barbarian I#15, p16, pan1 (Terhali and
Zephra)
Conan the Barbarian I#14, p7, pan4 (The City of
Yagala)
Last updated: 09/19/05
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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