The Hyborian Age

1. #1Nations

   Keys: Uttara Kuru, Cimmeria, Hyrkania, Brythunia, Iranistan, Hyperborea, Vendhya, Asgard, Punt, Vanaheim, Argos, Zamora, Zembabwei, Kusan, Turan, Koth, Ophir, Border Kingdom, Aquilonia, Khauran, Keshan, Meru, Pictland, Zingara, Corinthia, Kush, khitai, Shem, Stygia, Kambuja, Darfar, Kosala, khoraja · Secondary:

   Aquilonia: Symbol of might in the Hyborian Age, Aquilonia with her legendary armies of Bossonian archers, Gunderland pikemen and Poitanian knights, wields indisputably the supreme military power of the Western world. More than any other kingdom, however, Aquilonia lies surrounded by grim and unrelenting enemies. Argos : The major sea power of the Hyborian Age, proud Argos sweeps the western sea from Vanaheim to the Black Kingdoms. Wealthy beyond its size, Argos seldom lacks for funds either to war or to weave far reaching webs of intrigue as the situation dictates. Natural enemy of Zingara. Asgard: Blonde reavers of the icy north, the mailed warriors of the Aesir are held in check only by their equally ferocious kin the Vanir to the west, the grim Cimmerians southward, and by arcane Hyperborea to the east. Loosely organized, the clans await their forging to a cause, or a great captain of men, to spur them over the ice towards bright and bloody conquest! Border Kingdom: Serving as a buffer state between Nemedia and Brythunia and the more savage people of the north, the Border Kingdom was probably the last Hyborian nation to be founded. The country also served as a trade route for merchants trying to avoid the strict taxes of Nemedia. A sad wilderness with deserted, disconsolate marshlands. Brythunia: The land of plains and horse, the Brythunians have become a culture of hunters and farmers, ranging their wide, flat lands ahorse and unfettered. The Brythunian army carries forward this heritage with a large contingent of disciplined cavalry regiments. Still, Bruthunia is split and scattered into small, widely dispersed fiefdoms. Cimmeria: Grim. Moody. Grey skied. The land of Crom amid hills and mountains. A warrior race, the Cimmerians are descendants of ancient Atlantis and only slowly coming again into the ways of civilization after contact with the Hyborian kingdoms. In battle the Cimmerians are unmatched in the darkly wooded hills of their homeland and few are the invading Aquilonian, Pictish, or Nordheim warriors who return from that grey land. A legacy of hatred runs strong amongst Cimmerians for their long time enemies, the Picts. Corinthia: Secure behind high mountain passes lie the city states of Corinthia. Notable for their highly disciplined battle phalanxes and fearsome weaponry, including halberd and pike. However, the fractured city-states all pay tribute to mighty Koth. Darfar: The sharply filed teeth of the Darfar savages haunt the dreams of even the boldest warriors who have faced them in screaming battle. Actually composed of a mix of various tribes, the Ghanata slave lords and the masked Tibu tribes foremost amongst them. Darfar gains its name from the scattered cannibalistic grassland tribes which most often provide the drive and leadership for empire. Hyperborea: Cold and heartless, Hyperborea is ruled by grim, gaunt, albino nobles and by the sorcerously powerful witch-women. Safe within their high stone keeps on the snowy Hyperborean plain, the Hyperboreans wield power far beyond their meager resources and small army. Fortress of arcane power in the north, Hyperborea is a spiteful foe to Aquilonia and quite possibly the most dangerous kingdom of the Hyborian Age. Hyrkania: Savage horse tribes of the interior steppes, uncivilized in all but the arts of war at which they excel, the Hyrkanians move upon a shifting sea of unrest as turbulent as the fiery ponies upon which they ride. The Hyrkanian tribes war constantly amongst themselves, but when united under a great chief, they destroy armies as swiftly as their horse-archers can race across the endless flatlands which encompass them. Trained from childhood in horse and bow, the Hyrkanian cavalry has been called with good reason the finest horse-archers in the world. Iranistan: The golden land south of the Ilbars mountains is widely, albeit sparsely inhabited. Ancient and rich, Iranistan uses the Afghuli and the Ilbars hillmen as border defenses to turn back the swift horse-archers of their long standing foes in Turan and Hyrkania. Kambuja: Ruled by the god-king of the Scarlet Circle, deep in the jungle-girdled city of Angkhor crouches the hungry kingdom of Kambuja. The Kambujans are forever locked in war with neighbouring Khitai, whose great wizards, the dragon-sons, also contest on an arcane level. The Kambujan host fields huge war elephants, relied upon to smash the formations of Khitai in battle. Keshan: A kingdom of barbaric splendor, the Keshans are well led by nobles and religious leaders who claim descent from the great people of Alkmeenon. Keshan also has a well drilled army patterned after the Stygian military organization. While Stygian troops often raid into northern Keshan, Punt is Keshans long standing and hereditary enemy. Khauran : Rich in fertile meadowlands and at the center of trade in the Hyborian world, Khauran is a petty kingdom of abundant wealth. Khauran is well ruled by nobles of Kothic descent. The Khauranian nobles disdain the use of horse but hire mercenary cavalry troops as needed. Khauran is vassal to Koth. Khitai: An ancient empire, stronghold of the worlds greatest wizards and masters of the eastern world, Khitai has a powerful army and a sound leadership based in Paikang, Shu-Chen and Ruo-Chen. Khitai is forever at war with Kambuja to the south, whose god-kings vie with them for supremacy in the arcane mysteries of the Scarlet Circle. Khoraja: Blessed with excellent leadership, a highly diverse and well trained army, a fertile land, and a location central to the rich southern and eastern trade routes, Khoraja is powerful beyond its tiny size. Khoraja is vassal to Koth. Kosala: The Kosalans are an ancient race, decadent but not grown soft. They are devoted to the worship of the god Yajur and their armies are an arm of their religious organization. The Kosalans are aided by ancient magics and a fanatical if untrained populace ever willing to fight and die in battle. Kosala from of old is tied with Vendhya through intermarriage and treaty and can expect no invasions from that quarter. Koth: Once the mainland of the forgotten empire of Acheron, Koth is now ruled by the mad Emperor Strabonus. While Khauran and Khoraja are historical vassals of Koth, Strabonus has also forced Ophir and Corinthia to pay tribute. It is whispered that the Emperor dabbles in forbidden magicks to fulfill his ambition: to restore the fallen empire of Acheron. Kusan: The westernmost Khitan kingdom, culturally advanced Kusan relies upon her excellent ambassadors and diplomats (easily the most adept politicians of the age) at least as much as upon her armies. Kush: The semi-civilized Black Kingdom of most common knowledge among people of the Hyborian nations is Kush. Proud Kush is seldom raided, the Stygians usually preferring to take their slaves from weaker Darfar or Keshan. Meru: Meru is an isolated land in the heart of the Himelian Mountains, its origins known only through legend. The people is ruled by red-robed, slant-eyed priests of the demon-king Yama. Nemedia: Nemedia, the central pillar of Hyborian culture and civilization, stands ever in defiance to their habitual foes, mighty Aquilonia. The gleaming Nemedian knights are rightly proud for their army which is as diverse as it is deadly. Ophir: A Kingdom of great beauty with gilded knights and high towered cities, Ophir is protected by natural boundaries of mountain and river on all sides but to the south, which the Ophirians have well fortified. But the kingdom lacks the will to fight dominant Koth and has been forced to pay tribute to its mad Emperor. Pictland: Savage, warlike, brutish, persistently resistant to civilizing influences, the Picts inhabit the primal forest of the Pictish Wilderness. The tribes are constantly warring amongst themselves. Punt: The barbaric splendor of the kingdom which is Punt is based upon the bright yellow gold washed down off the central hills. Hereditary enemies of Keshan, Punt also mistrusts the growing power of Zembabwei. If these two foes can be kept at bay, and if a trade route can be established to the gold-hungry markets of the Hyborian world, then Punt may well emerge as supreme among the Black Kingdoms. Shem: The city states of Shem lie between the mad ambitions of Koth and the malignant arcane power of Stygia. The western Shemish states form a loose knit nation with Asgalun dominating its politics. The eastern Shemish states stand in alliance with each other and also with western Shem, creating a friendly eastern border. The Shemish Asshuri and the famous Shemish archers make Shems armies very strong. Through mercenary service in over a dozen kingdoms of the western world, the Shemish generals have learned well the art of war. Stygia: Slumbering in her desert retreats, protected behind the mighty and brooding Styx river, lies Stygia. The ancient culture of Stygia is in decline, revolving in malignance about itself, but it is also the source of a great and evil sorcerous knowledge which may yet gain mastery over the Western world. Turan: Gleaming mailed and silken-clad riders, masters of the Vilayet Sea, Turan revels in sweeping the barely contested wastelands to the west and south. Turan, however, must bear the plague of a thousand frustrations arising from the seemingly indomitable and ever resurgent Kossaks, Zuagirs, and Vilayet pirates. Perpetually battling raiders and quelling revolts from a hundred pinpricking sources, the rulers of Turan pass their reign in unceasing watchfulness. Turan is a natural enemy to Iranistan and Vendhya, but stands in loose alliance with Hyrkania. Uttara Kuru: Dismissed as a myth in most regions of the world, Uttara Kuru is a land of ancient magics, misty mountains, dense coastal forest, and the strange, haunting architecture of the city of Uttara Kuru. The people of this kingdom are fanatically loyal in defense of their homeland. Ancient enemy of great Vendhya. Vanaheim: The red-haired Vanir are isolated in the northwest and their mailed swordsmen therefore vent their warlike natures on their Asgardian kin to the east, the savage Picts to the south, or less often upon grim Cimmeria to the southeast. Many a hero of the Hyborian Age was of the Vanir and warriors of Vanaheim are known to be utterly fearless in combat. Vendhya: Vendhya is an ancient and proud kingdom, ruled by the Kashatriyan warrior caste and has mystics adept with their own peculiar range of magicks. Vendhya is pent up in the north by the savage and virtually unconquerable Ghulistan tribesmen. To the west lies Kosala, made unassailable by the well forged intermarriages between the two kingdoms. To the east broods Uttara Kuru whose silver-tongued diplomats and arrogant wizards have long held the weight of Vendhya at bay. As the huge Vendhyan host continues to swell in size, like a bubble it must burst forth into empire and the day of Vendhyan glory. Zamora: Zamora is a land of spider-haunted towers and master thieves. The Zamoran army is adequate, but it is their spies and long-lived wizards upon which Zamora relies. What king not departed from his sanity will risk the intrigues of Zamora, or worse yet, her assassins? Zamora may indeed follow a shadowy path to world mastery with the aid of spells long forgotten and knives which strike swiftly in the dark. Zembabwei: A growing power in the southlands, vital Zembabwei is well led and armed. The Zembabwei command great flying reptiles found only in Zembabwei heartland. These soaring winged mounts strike terror into the hearts of all who behold them. Zingara: The most powerful sea raiders next to their Argossean rivals, the Zingarans are active supporters of the Zingaran buccaneers (pirates by any other name). Zingara is a proud and rich land, though often torn by civil strife and bitter feuds between powerful members of its nobility.

2. #2Characters

   Keys: , Belit, Zenobia, Kulan Gath, Nzinga, Jiara, Queen Tananda, Red Sonja, Madame X'arthalla, Natala, Thulsa Doom, Conan, Valeria, Ursla

   Conan: Conan was a wandering fighter, mercenary, thief, and eventually King, who traveled ancient lands in the Hyborian Age living by his wits and physical prowess.

   Red Sonja: Known as the "She-Devil with a Sword," Red Sonja is the greatest swordswoman of the Hyborean Age and more than a match for any man in combat. First appearing in Marvel Comics in 1973, Red Sonja has become the archetypal example of the strikingly beautiful warrior woman clad in revealing bikini-like armor.

   Belit: Bêlit was a fearsome yet beautiful pirate queen of the Hyborian Age who became the lover of Conan the Cimmerian. Often regarded as Conan's first and greatest love. Brunette

   Valeria: Valeria is a beautiful Aquilonian pirate and one of the most well-known romantic partners of Conan the Barbarian. Blonde

   Kulan Gath: Kulan Gath was a villainous magician and sorcerer in Earth's Hyborian Era.

   Thulsa Doom: Thulsa Doom was an extremely powerful sorcerer, although his abilities did wax and wane under uncertain conditions. He has survived several "deaths" and cannot be killed by conventional means. He can form powerful energy shields, project his astral self, alter his own appearance, manipulate others, grant magical power to others...

   Jiara: Jiara is a wench that befriends Conan at a Nemedian tavern. She travels with him.

   Ursla: Former lover of Conan, mother of his son.

   Zenobia: Zenobia was a Nemedian concubine who became the queen consort of Conan, the soon-to-be King of Aquilonia.

   Madame X'arthalla: Madame X'arthalla is the sorcerous chief attraction at the Palace of Pleasure. She has the power to transform into anything one might desire.

   Natala: Blonde slave woman who Conan bought.

   Nzinga: Queen of the Amazons of Gamburu.

   Queen Tananda: Cruel Queen of Kush.

3. #3Creatures

   Keys: , beast, demon, devil, monster, thing, Creature

   Air Elemental Albino-colored humanoid crocodiles Ancient spider-like monsters Animated statues Antelope Apelike Demon Ape Men Aquatic Monsters Arawn's spirit-beasts Afterlings Asps Baboons Barrow-Rats Bat Demons Bat-Faced Creature Bat-Squirrels Bats Bears Birds Birds of Prey Bird-That-Runs Black Hounds Black Ones Black Panthers Black Shadows Brylukas Buffalo Bulls of the Marshlands Bush Vipers Buzzards Camels Camel-like creature Cats Catwomen Cave Bear Cave Demon Cave Giant Chakan Cheetah Children of Jhil Cimmerian Hill Panther Coal Black Slug Cobra Condors Cows Crawler, The Crimson Slug Crocodile Crypt-thing Dark Beast Dead Men of the Deep Deep One Deer Demi-whelves Demons Demons of the Summit Demon Servitors Devil-Beasts Devil-Beasts of Nergal Devil-Wind Dinosaurs Dire Wolf Dogs Dolphins Dragons Dragons from the Sea Drelliks Dwellers in Darkness Eagle Earth Elemental Elephants Elk Fiend from the Pit Fire Elemental Flesh Golem Forest Demons Four-Armed Men Foxes Frost Giants Gargoyles Ghost Snake Ghouls Giant Bat Giant Bears Giant Bears of the Buryat Giant Crocodiles Giant Hawks Giant Moths Gigantic Octopus Giant Ospreys Giant Serpents Giant Slugs Giant Spiders Giant Squids Giant Bull Ape Gigantic Eels Goats Goblins Golden-fanged Apes Golden Pol-Birds Gorillas Great Cats Great-Pronged Caribou Great Scorpions Great Sphinx Great White Bear Grey Apes of the Vilayet Grey Wolves Grizzly Bear Harrier Hawks Hawks of Harakht Hawk-like humanoid demons Hellhounds Hellspawn Herons Hobgoblins Horned Dragon Horses Human/Demon Hybrids Human-faced lions Hyenas Ibis Bird Ice Worm Imps Jackal Kobolds Kushian River-Horses Lakhmu Large Black Spiders Large Desert Spiders Large Serpent Leopards Lions Lizard People Long-Snouts Lynx Magical Talking Birds Magical Vines Man-birds Man-crabs Man-dragons Man-Headed Serpent Man-tiger Man-worms Manticore Many-legged Ones Men with No Eyes Minotaur Mirror-images Mist Creature Monkeys Monster Fish Moat Demon Mound-dwellers Mountain Goat Musk Ox Nightgaunts Ostrich Pale quasi-humans Panthers Peafowl Petrel Pigeons Pigs Pit-thing Pit Vipers Plant Women Pool-Dwellers Pythons Rabbits Rainbow Serpents Ram Rats Ravens Reanimated Skeleton Red Demon Reptiles Rhinoceros River Cattle River Dragons Rocs Rodent-like creatures Saber-Tooth Tiger Sabretoothed cats Sand Devils Saurians Satyrs Scorpion Seagulls Sea Hawks Sea Serpents Sea-Things Selkies Serpent Men Set-Bird Shadows Shalebacks Shapeless Shadow Sharks Shoebill Skeletons Skirri Slimes Snakes Snow Apes Snow Caribou Snow Leopards Snow Lions Snow Tigers Snow Vultures Spectres Spider Dwarves Squid Monsters Star Metal Monster Stego-dragon Stygian Salamander Sub-human creatures Swamp Adders Swamp Demons Swamp Devil Swamp Rats Sword-Fanged Giant Leopards Tarantula Tcho-Tcho Tendrils from the Garden of the Dead Tentacled Monsters Tentacled Things Thing of the Mosaic Thing of Power Thunder Dragons Tigers Toad-like creature Tree Creatures Troglodytes Tusked Beast Undines Unicorns Unicorns of Kush Vampiric Worm Creature Vargs Vendhyan Elephants Vendhyan Tigers Vipers Vultures Walrus Warriors of Eternity Warthogs Wasteland Demons Water Elemental Weasels Were-creatures Were-panther Were-wolves White Eagle Wild Boar Wildcats Wild Dogs Winged Demons Winged Horses Winged Ones Wolfmen Wood Demons Woolly Mammoths Wolverine Wyverns Yellow-Fanged Demon Zombie

4. #4Atlantis

   Keys: Atlanteans, Atlantis

   Atlantis is a small island-continent in the ocean west of Thuria, and east of the Pictish Islands. It's the home of the Atlanteans, enemies of the Picts and the civilized Seven Empires of Thuria. They established colonies on Thuria itself. It is hardly a coincidence that "Commoria" in the days of Kull resembles "Cimmeria" in Conan's lifetime. The Atlanteans once declared war against a mountain-city in "The Altar and the Scorpion". It was the homeland of Kull. Priests of Xultha were sent from Na-hor into Atlantis. During the Cataclysm which ended the Thurian Age, Atlantis sunk beneath the waves. However, many Atlanteans escaped the destruction on ships and joined their continental colonies. Here, these survivors were forced back into the stone age by a lack of resources. Still, they became skilled in this medium and developed an artistic culture. The Atlanteans soon entered a war with the surviving Picts. However, superior numbers and a stone age level of military technology granted the Picts a major victory. The survivors of this war devolved back into ape men. They eventually re-evolved into a race of humans known as the Cimmerians of the Hyborian Age. Fortunately, there were a few survivors of the Atlantean catastrophe. The largest concentration of survivors was in the southern city of Netheria, whose priests and intellectuals foresaw an attack by the Lemurians. They enclosed their small city inside a dome of an unknown glass-like substance, before excavating and fortifying their city's foundation. Consequently, when the continent of Atlantis fragmented, Netheria remained intact as it sank, coming to rest within a vast undersea cavern. Tiny bands of Atlanteans managed to find refuge on neighboring islands and the Thurian continent, which were spared from the Cataclysm. One group of refugees fled to Antillia, a group of islands in the Western Ocean. Other Atlanteans inhabiting the mainland eventually became the tribes of Cimmeria, which the man known as Conan the Barbarian would later hail from. The nearby island of Attilan, home of the genetically-advanced but reclusive inhumans, also survived the Cataclysm virtually unscathed. About 500 years after the founding of undersea Atlantis, a group of Homo mermanus left the city and made their way towards the Pacific Ocean. This group founded the city of Lemuria on the opposite end of the now-submerged continent of Lemuria, once settled by the Deviants. Following the acquisition and worship of the Serpent Crown, a magical artifact from pre-cataclysmic Atlantis, their complexion and features took on a more serpentine cast, thus differentiating the Lemurians from their Atlantean forebearers.

   The Atlanteans are inhabitants of Atlantis. Atlantis existed back during the Thurian Age. This was before the continent sunk due to the Cataclysm.

   The Atlanteans went to war with the Picts, as they were arch-enemies. Although the Atlanteans were advanced technologically, they inevitably lost the war to the Picts. These Atlanteans devolved into apes. Eventually, progressing into the Hyborian Age, some of the apes evolved back into humans and are now known as Cimmerians.

   Originally, Atlantis was a land of barbarians, one of whom, Kull, left and acquired the throne of the nearby kingdom of Valusia. The Atlanteans were warriors and hunters, divided into various autonomous tribes. They were often at conflict with the seven "civilized" kingdoms of the Pre-Cataclysmic Era (Valusia, Grondar, Commoria, Thule, Verulla, Kamelia, and the Triple Federation), with the islanders of the Pictish Isles, and the pirates of Lemuria.

   Atlantean alchemists created the Serpent Crown, a vessel empowered by the Demon God Set. The Serpent Crown is one of the few artifacts of ancient Atlantis that survived until modern times. Few historical personages of the Atlantean Age are known to date. One of the few is Kull, the barbarian-king who ruled Atlantis about 500 years before it sank. Kull became renowned as the slayer of the arch-wizard Thulsa Doom, and was an enemy of the Serpent Men, non-human but humanoid offspring of Set.

5. #5Kull

   Keys: Kull the Conqueror, King Kull, Kull Of Atlantis

   Kull is very much like his descendant Conan in many ways. He is a fierce warrior, ruthless and courageous on the battlefield, but not tyrannical or cruel. He has a strong sense of chivalry and virtue. Unlike Conan, Kull is much more philosophical and brooding. He agonizes over decisions that affect the lives of those around him, always looking for the most noble action to take. He is uncomfortable with kingship and prefers the life of a general.

   Life in Atlantis Kull was born in pre-cataclysmic Atlantis c. 100,000 BC, depicted as inhabited at the time by barbarian tribes. East of Atlantis lay the ancient continent of Thuria, of which the northwest portion is divided among several civilized kingdoms. The most powerful among these was Valusia; others included Commoria, Grondar, Kamelia, Thule, and Verulia. Note that the word "Thuria" never appears in any of the Kull stories. Howard coined the term while tying Kull's world to Conan's in the 1936 essay "The Hyborian Age". Kull was born into a tribe settled in the Tiger Valley of Atlantis. Both the valley and tribe were destroyed by a flood while Kull was still a toddler, leaving the young Kull to live as a feral child for many years. Kull was captured by the Sea-Mountain tribe and eventually adopted by them. In "Exile of Atlantis", an adolescent Kull grants a woman a quick death so that she will not be burned to death by a mob. For this selfless act, Kull is exiled from Atlantis. Slave, pirate, outlaw, and gladiator Kull attempted to reach Thuria, but was instead captured by Lemurian Pirates. He spent a couple of years as a galley slave before regaining his freedom during a mutiny. He tried the life of a pirate between his late adolescence and his early twenties. His fighting skills and courage allowed him to become captain of his own ship. Soon, Kull gained a fearsome reputation for himself in the seas surrounding Atlantis and Thuria. Kull lost his ship and crew in a naval battle off the coast of Valusia, but once again survived. He settled in Valusia as an outlaw. However, his criminal career proved to be short-lived as he was soon captured by the Valusians and imprisoned in a dungeon. His captors offered him a choice: execution or service as a gladiator. He chose the latter. After proving to be an effective combatant and gaining fame in the arenas of the capital, a number of fans helped to regain his freedom. Soldier of Valusia Kull never left Valusia or returned to the life of an outlaw. Instead, he joined the Royal army as a mercenary, pursuing elevation through the ranks. In "The Curse of the Golden Skull" Kull, approaching his thirties, is recruited by King Borna of Valusia in a mission against the ambitious sorcerer Rotath of Lemuria. Kull proves to be an effective assassin. Borna promoted Kull into the general command of his mercenary forces. Borna himself, however, had gained a reputation for his cruelty and despotism. There was discontent with Borna's rule among the nobility, leading eventually to a civil war. The mercenaries proved more loyal to Kull than any other leader, allowing him to become the leader of their revolt. King of Valusia Kull killed Borna and took the throne while he was still in his early thirties. In "The Shadow Kingdom", Kull has spent six months upon the Valusian throne and faces the first conspiracy against him. The series continued with Kull finding that gaining the crown was easier than securing it. He faces several internal and external challenges throughout the series. The conspiring of his courtiers leaves Kull almost constantly threatened with loss of life and throne. The aging King is ever more aware of the Sword of Damocles that he inherited along with the crown. "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune" finds Kull reaching his middle forties and becoming progressively more introspective. The former barbarian is left lost in contemplations of philosophy. At this point, the series ends. His fate is left uncertain. In the Conan the Barbarian story "Shadows of the Skull", it's revealed that Conan is a direct descendant of Kull.

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