Conan's Transformation

The arc of Conan's character from a dazed village boy to a self-possessed warrior who refuses all crowns but his own.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Boy of the North

The Boy of the North Conan is a smith's son in a bleak Cimmerian village, learning the mystery of steel by firelight. The Protected Child His father is a godlike smith and his mother a fierce woman. The world has not yet shown him its fangs. The Lesson Begins The storm rite on the mountain teaches him that a man must trust nothing but well-forged steel.

The Adolescent Slave

The Adolescent Slave Conan is stripped of his name's meaning at the Wheel of Pain, another dull-eyed slave among dying men. The Death of Tears His single tear freezes, and he vows that no power will ever take another. The Growth of Rage His spirit hardens and his muscles swell under the lash. The boy becomes a forge-bred force.

The Pit Champion

The Pit Champion In the Pit, Conan learns to kill for the amusement of Nordheim's chiefs. The Kushite Slain He breaks the neck of the drugged giant Junga and discovers that victory brings a brief illusion of freedom. The Slain Woman When he is ordered to execute the dying Hyperborean warrior-woman, he hates himself and Toghrul. Shame becomes another forge-blow on his will.

The Man Who Walked South

The Man Who Walked South Conan stands over the dying Toghrul and refuses to save him. His first good laugh in ten years announces the free man. The Means of Survival He loots a dead Hyrkanian, takes a dead warrior's sword, and fights wolves and witches on the road. The Friend and the Quest He meets Subotai and gains both a friend and a guide to the civilization where the black sun waits.

The Kingless Path

The Kingless Path Yasimina offers Conan the crown beside her, and Conan gently declines. The Cimmerian Creed A crown won by dowry is not a crown at all. He will make his own name and his own throne. The Open Road He reunites with Subotai, embraces his friend, and rides toward the unknown horizon with a heart full of appetite rather than regret.

before the Vanir raid

during the Wheel of Pain years

from the first Pit fight through the Hyperborean duel

after the Kolari earthquake

after the offer of the Zamoran throne