Norhala's origins are rooted in a hidden valley, a sanctuary of the Metal People. Her father, Rustum, was a ruler of Ruszark, a city that was a "caldron of cruelty and of evil"[1]. Cherkis, a noble from one of the city's families, lusted for power and, in a "night of terror"[1], attacked those loyal to Rustum, forcing Rustum and Norhala's mother, then a bride, to flee[1]. They stumbled upon a hidden way to the domain of the Metal People, where Norhala's mother found favor with the ruler, who built her a house[1]. Norhala herself was born in a "secret place of light where, too, are born my people"[1]. Her mother taught her about Ruszark and its wickedness[1].
Norhala's deep-seated desire for vengeance stems from the horrific fate of her parents at the hands of Cherkis. Her father, Rustum, driven by a longing to regain his place, ventured back to Ruszark and was captured by Cherkis[1]. Cherkis, knowing Norhala's mother would follow, waited[1]. Rustum was "flayed alive and crucified"[1], his skin nailed to the city gates[1]. After having his will with Norhala's mother, Cherkis "threw her to his soldiers for their sport"[1]. All who went with them were tortured and slain, with Cherkis and his men laughing at their torment[1]. An escaped individual told a young Norhala of these atrocities, calling on her to bring vengeance[1]. For a year, she forgot this hatred, dwelling in tranquility among the Metal People[1]. However, the recent capture of Ruth and Ventnor by Cherkis's armored men reawakened her dormant fury[1]. She declared, "I, Norhala, will stamp them flat—Cherkis and his city of Ruszark and everything it holds!"[1], vowing to destroy "every UNLIVING thing as well!"[1].
Norhala's vengeance against Cherkis culminates in the utter destruction of Ruszark. She leads the Metal Monster, a colossal living entity composed of cubes, spheres, and pyramids, to the city gates[1]. The Monster, acting as her champion, strides through the forest, crushing trees and leaving deep, black footprints[1]. Upon reaching Ruszark, the Metal Monster's hammer-tipped arms smash through the city's outer walls, creating a hundred-foot-wide breach and tearing away breastworks "as though it had been cardboard"[1]. It then traps and crushes squadrons of mounted men within half-mile-wide circles, leaving behind only "glistening, wetly red"[1] circular spaces on the ground[1]. The city's inner battlements fall "as under the hammers of a thousand metal Thors"[1]. The Destroying Things "eat up the city"[1], grinding stone and man together[1]. Buildings burst like eggshells, burying the fleeing throngs[1]. The entire city is reduced to "smooth rock upon which here and there red smears glistened wetly"[1]. Cherkis himself is crushed by the Metal Thing, his body becoming a "blue blot upon desolation"[1]. The once vibrant city of Ruszark is transformed into a "sea of slag—coal black, vitrified and dead"[1], a testament to Norhala's ruthless vengeance[1].
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