Allan and the Sundered Veil is a six-part story written in the style of a boy's periodical, included at the back of each issue of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I and collected at the back of that volume. It serves as a prequel to the comic.
Plot[]
Chapter I: The Dead Man[]
Allan Quatermain walks through the ruins of the Ragnall estates. He's suddenly startled by a woman telling him that, "Lady Ragnall is expecting you." Quatermain follows the woman to the castle's library while wondering what had happened to the once beautiful home of Lady Ragnall.
He enters the library and Ragnall greets him and mentions how she thought he had died three years prior in 1886. Quatermain tells her how he's tired of fighting and notes that a "Mr. Haggard" had somewhat embellished his adventures. Ragnall asks why Quatermain is here to which he replies, "the taduki." She sends for a servant, Marisa, to bring some.
Marisa puts the taduki leaves into a bowl and sets it on a brazer. Quatermain picks up the bowl and inhales the smoke. This trip was not like any other. The library fall all around Quatermain and then he was suddenly floating through an alien space. Quatermain fell into a black void and understood he was probably going to die, he could hear Marisa scream. He then saw a huge bright light.
Chapter II: In the Ruins of Time[]
With Marisa still screaming, Lady Ragnall demanded to know if Allan Quatermain was alive or dead. Marisa could not speak, which deeply worried Ragnall. It had appeared as though Quatermain had been turned inside out. After a moment of horror, his body slowly returned to normal. Ragnall asks a second time what happened and Marisa explains that Quatermain has been taking to a placed beyond time and spaced. Beyond anything they know.
Quatermain then finds himself in an unknown place, unlike any jungle he's ever seen before. He moves through through the unfamiliar territory and comes across two people he does not know. Quatermain cautiously approaches and announces who he is to them. The two people introduce themselves as Randolph Carter and his great-uncle John Carter. Though, curiously, they appear to be the same age.
The three men hear something moving in the near distance. Randolph becomes frightened to which John remarks about his great-nephew's cowardice. John draws his sword and prepares for a fight. Quatermain follows closely behind. The light from their torches reveals giant centipede-like monsters surrounding them. Just then, a growing, throbbing light appeared near them. The three men see a figure getting up from what appears to be a chair and walking towards them. The figure is revealed to be a man. He tells the men to climb aboard his machine while they still can. He introduces himself as the Time Traveller.
Chapter III: In the Shadow of the Sphinx[]
The four men travel through a blinding light aboard a mysterious machine while Allan Quatermain wonders if this is all really happening. The Time Traveller brings the team to a giant, white, alabaster statue of a sphinx. A door is revealed beneath the statue when the Traveller points a key-like device at its base. All four men enter the sphinx.
Inside the sphinx, the Traveller explains who he is. He had perfected time travel in the late nineteenth century and had gone on many adventures. The sphinx they are currently in is actually in London millions of years after London had fallen. The Traveller repurposed the sphinx to his own needs. He further explains that there is a hole in the fabric of creation and harmful beings from another dimension are trying to sneak in and he needs their help to stop them. Quatermain notices that some beings are approaching the sphinx. The Traveller calls them Morlocks (and that they're also called Mi-Gos and abominable snowmen) but they're not the beings he was talking about. He does not that the Morlocks do serve the higher beings.
The men arm themselves with weapons and brace for a fight. They rush out and begin fighting the Morlocks. Quatermain and John Carter easily fight the monsters, Randolph Carter falls down screaming. John cuts off a Morlock's head and the Traveller starts up his time machine. The men race aboard and take off only to realize they brought a few Morlocks with them.
Chapter IV: The Abyss of the Lights[]
Chapter V: The Glint in Fortune's Eye[]
Chapter VI: The Awakening[]
Relative chronologies[]
Among the characters the story takes place at various points in their lives:
- Allan Quatermain: after his 'death' in Allan Quatermain but before the first League volume
- Randolph Carter: during his titular dream quest in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
- John Carter: after his departure from Earth but before his arrival at Mars in A Princess of Mars
- The Time Traveller: following his return to the future at the end of The Time Machine