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Vathek, the ninth caliph of the Abassides, ascended to the throne at an early age. He is a majestic figure, terrible in anger, and addicted to the pleasures of the flesh. When a hideous stranger arrives in town, claiming to be a merchant from India selling precious goods, Vathek buys glowing swords with letters on them from the merchant and imprisons him. The next day, he discovers that the merchant has escaped and his prison guards are dead. From that point starts Vathek's fall from power in a series of licentious and deplorable activities designed to gain him supernatural powers