The Worm Ouroboros: XVIII. The Murther of Gallandus by Corsus

*The Worm Ouroboros* (1922) is a high fantasy novel by E.R. Eddison, written in a deliberately archaic prose style that evokes Elizabethan and Jacobean literature, placing it in the tradition of literary world-building that predates Tolkien. This excerpt covers a military campaign by the forces of Witchland, commanded by the general Corsus, against the people of Demonland — presenting the action through two contrasting documents: a self-aggrandizing field letter from Corsus to King Gorice XII boasting of victories, and a corrective oral report from the more perceptive Lord Gro, who reveals that Corsus has inflated his successes and concealed internal conflicts among his commanders. The central tension is between Corsus's brutal confidence and his actual competence, with Gro's testimony exposing how vanity and faction are undermining a militarily advantaged campaign. King Gorice himself is portrayed as a figure of cold, unreadable majesty — absorbing bad news with imperiousness rather than panic, and explicitly warning that he fears deception more than defeat. What makes the text distinctive is its stylistic commitment: Corsus's letter is rendered in mock-archaic misspelled secretary-hand prose, a bravura literary device that characterizes him as pompous and barely literate even as he reports victories. Readers drawn to densely wrought secondary-world fantasy with Shakespearean political intrigue and an unusually self-conscious prose voice will find this rewarding; those wanting accessible modern fantasy prose will find the style demanding.

The Worm Ouroboros: XVIII. The Murther of Gallandus by Corsus

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