The Bhlemphroim are an extraterrestrial species which first appeared in Clark Ashton Smith's 1932 short story "The Door to Saturn".
Description[]
Hairless humanoid beings roughly the same size as a human, the most distinguishing feature of the Blemphroim is their lack of a head. Instead, the heads of the Blemphroim have slowly fused with their torsos over the millennia; this has since become a source of racial regret for these intelligent creatures.
Conceptual information and role[]
They are indigenous to the planet Cykranosh. Its main city, Vhlorrh, is surrounded by mineral vegetation. In "The Door to Saturn", it is said of them that they are "singular, meritorious and virtuous", being always respectful. They have a system of ideas, beliefs and customs. While they worshiped gods like Zhothaqquah in the past, they no longer did, and they had forgotten their language (unlike the Ydheems). Despite this, they speak of them with respect.
They are a practical and unimaginative breed: despite having a certain level of technology, they have little interest in advancing their knowledge beyond growing edible mushrooms (which they eat raw, boiled, or roasted) and domesticating for cargo a type of large, tough-skinned, multi-legged beast on which they also feed and reproduce. Regarding this last point, the Bhlemphroim choose a single woman to be the mother of an entire generation of Bhlemphroim. This matriarch, called "djhenquomh", is fed special mushrooms until she reaches gigantic proportions. At that point, a committee elects a small group of men to father the next generation. Once they had fulfilled their function, they were cooked for the female as ragu. It is possible to see a statue of the matriarch on the road that crosses the border of the territories of this breed.
Stories[]
In "The Door to Saturn", Eibon and Morghi are the guests of the Bhlemphroims during several months of the planet, visiting the next matriarch. Eibon quickly learns their language. For their part, the Bhlemphroims were not impressed by the magic of the two men from Hyperborea or that they came from so far away, but they saw them as ideal exemplars of cephalic evolution by possessing a differentiated head, to the point that they were selected to marry and have children with the matriarch in order to have descendants with heads. At first, Eibon and Morghi used their vows of celibacy as an excuse. When Eibon asked what the marriage would entail, they replied that it was of little consequence, as all husbands including them would be served to the queen. Diplomatically, Eibon agreed to the request for both of them, but, as soon as the bhlemphroims fell asleep, the two left the place where they were staying. Possibly, the Bhlemphroims never thought that what they saw as a privilege would be rejected, and they would be too perplexed to follow the duo.
Possible Inspiration[]
The legendary Blemmyes of antiquity are beings which bear more than a passing similarity to the Blemphroim, and likely the inspiration behind them.