"Jirel Meets Magic" by C. L. Moore(1934)
Originally appeared in Weird Tales, July 1935. Plot: Jirel follows the wizard Giraud into a magical world which is ruled by an evil sorceress named Jarisme. Jirel witnesses Jarisme kill a dryad. the dying dryad gives Jirel an amulet that will help her to seek vengeance. After many attempts to get into the same space with Jarisme (who keeps disappearing through amgic doors and appearing as phantom monsters such as purple phantom snake and a sabertooth tiger) Jirel finally confronts her, only to be told she is going to sacrificed in the msot horrible manner possible. Jarisme summons many different monsters from other worlds through her magic doors then begins the ceremony that will trap Jirel in her own body and force her to relive her worst experiences. Using the amulet, Jirel destroys the magic sphere that Jarisme is using. Only Jirela and Giraud escape the destruction when Jarisme's god Urda-sla demolishes the castle. Giraud is stupid enough to try and blind Jirel with a spell. She kills him without using her sight before returning home. Monsters: The Dryad Irsla - The beautiful tree-maiden dies because her tree has been cut down by Jarisme. Monster Visitors: The Putrid Jelly Monster (shoggoth), The Serpent Being, the Bat-Woman, The Giant Slug, The Silver Lily are some of the weird creatures that come to Jarisme's ceremony. The God Urda-sla - The god doesn't show up but a rip in the sky shows cold, insane stars in a bitter cold space where he lives. History: This story lacks the novelty of the first two tales but it does have an interesting similarity to Henry Kuttner's Elak story "Beyond the Phoenix" (Weird Tales, October 1938). The similarity is in the villainess trying to sacrifice the hero to evil gods that are more than a little Lovecraftian. For Moore it is Urda-sla and kuttner it is Baal-yagoth. I'm not suggesting Kuttner ripped off Moore--only that both were fans of H. P. Lovecraft as well as Robert E. Howard.
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