Ibah Mahli

Up until his untimely demise, Ibah Mahli was perhaps the most famous and influential writer in all of Ghyll. His works, though never officially collected, undoubtably contain a significant portion of the many Ghyllian classics, although it is impossible to be certain.

The real problem is, nobody is entirely sure exactly which books are his. He had an unfortunate habit of using pen names when he wrote, and it is sometimes difficult to tell if a book is a genuine Mahli or merely written in a similar style by someone with a particularly fake-sounding name. For instance, Ferrestung Longraze is undoubtably a Mahli psudonym - he said as much in a piece of personal correspondance - but is Perry Tocklewits? Some scholars say yes, some scholars say no. To make things even more confusing, some writers who were quite probably NOT Ibah Mahli have used his name in their works, under the impression that he never really existed and his name was available for anyone's use.

This is not true. Ibah Mahli quite definitely existed. He was, in his time, a very public figure and an official Bearer of Bad News. He had an entire wing built for him in the Odlucian Library (which is, strangely enough, rumored to not contain a single copy of any one of his many books) and he was well-known for his habit of giving candy to small children if they passed him in the street. He was also well known as a worshipper of Hopdurg.

The fact that he died in mysterious circumstances doesn't help matters. Ibah was, as the legend has it, walking down the street, minding his own business, when he appeared to notice something in the distance which nobody else could see. Eyewitnesses claim (supposedly) that he stared for a few seconds, then shrieked and ran away in the opposite direction. He was (purportedly) discovered the next day lying dead in the middle of the street. Unfortunately, nobody knows what happened to the body, and while many people know the story of his death, it has proven impossible to track down the identities of any of the witnesses to confirm its accuracy. Certain people claim that Ibah Mahli died because he knew too much about the Intellectuals' Conspiracy, and that he was recording their secrets in his books, hidden behind layers of intricate codes, which just goes to show what nonsense some people will insist on believing.

In any case, his books - whichever ones they are - will live on into the future, inspiring generations to come.

A Probable Bibliography

 * Ants Come Marching - Billubert Shwartanger
 * Aelfants: A Novel - Ferrestung Longraze
 * At Last, the Fefferberry Wine - Ferrestung Longraze
 * A Hint of Color - Ibah Mahli
 * Brotherhood of the Broth - Tiebelly Frankfurt
 * Bureau Me a Cup - Sergeant Richie
 * Cadavers of Hope - Feliz Zimberly
 * Cantankerous Old Fool - Billubert Shwartanger
 * Deathood: The Risen - Olly Ulolly
 * Deathood: The Angry - Olly Ulolly
 * Deathood: The Revenge - Ibah Mahli
 * Daniel Mboya: The True Story - Felix Ximberly
 * Deal With It - Tirey O'Lorb
 * Eirbrivian Incense - Tirey O'Lorb
 * Gettin' Bored - Brandi Silverstein
 * Grocer on the Beach - Tyria Diggley
 * Grinham Noire: Collected Tails - Ibah Mahli
 * Heh and Blammo - Tiebelly Frankfurt
 * The House on Gyll Hill - Misery Gobble
 * Individual Tastes - Verity Small
 * The Ickle Pickle - Billubert Shwartanger
 * Jelly On Top - Brolo Yerit
 * Kiluma Saved the World - Feliz Zimberly
 * Karcist Champions - Ully Olully
 * Love That Vorpcara - Sidd Terry
 * Spiddic Is The Way - Ibah Mahli
 * Spiddic 2 - Ibah Mahli
 * Spiddic Poetry is Completely Awesome - Verity Small
 * Scuttleways of my Heart - Teri Smashing
 * Time Lords - Sally Gallifrey
 * Underground - Tyria Diggley
 * Uncertainty in Summer - Ferrestung Longraze
 * Unusual Harbors - T. M. Skeilz
 * Ubbery Wubbery Dubbery - Slibberty Tibbery
 * Vaster than Light - Ibah Mahli
 * Yesterday's Spiddic: A Collection - Billubert Shwartanger
 * Youth At War - Eddie Pobertop

Citations: Bearer of Bad News, Hopdurg, Spiddic Poetry.

--Dfaran L'Eniarc 20:22, 22 Jul 2005 (EDT)