Delcardes

Delcardes (not to be confused with Delcartes) was a beautiful young noblewoman of Valusia who wished to marry a man from Zarfhaana named Kulra Thoom. However, Delcardes had royal blood and it was against Valusian law for a royal woman to marry a foreigner of lower rank. King Kull had no patience for matters involving affairs of the heart and preferred not to get involved, so he was content to let Delcardes and Chief Councilor Tu argue about it among themselves. Not satisfied with this, Delcardes devised a harmless scheme designed to persuade Kull to grant permission to marry her beloved.

The plan involved the great scholar Kuthulos who at the time was a slave owned by Delcardes and was also a skilled ventriloquist. Delcardes had him throw his voice to make Kull believe that the cat Saremes could speak like a human, exhibit clairvoyant knowledge, and seemingly foretell the future. She had hoped that Kuthulos, speaking through Saremes, would convince Kull to grant her request to marry. After some dangerous misadventures involving Thulsa Doom and the Forbidden Lake, the deception eventually fell apart. However, Kull showed mercy to the remorseful Delcardes since it was clear that she had no evil intent against him, and he gave her his permission to marry Kulra Thoom.