Love, Death, and Memory

Conan the Barbarian

The heartbreaking fusion of eros and thantos in Valeria's fate, and the way Conan's friends carry his grief for him.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Lonely Thief The Lonely Thief from "Conan the Barbarian". The Lonely Thief Valeria tells Conan of her lifelong loneliness, of peering into firesides from the cold dark outside.

The Lonely Thief from "Conan the Barbarian". The Lonely Thief Valeria tells Conan of her lifelong loneliness, of peering into firesides from the cold dark outside.

The Lonely Thief Valeria tells Conan of her lifelong loneliness, of peering into firesides from the cold dark outside. The Dream of Togetherness She has never had a home or a watcher at her deathbed. Her love for Conan is also a wish to be remembered. The Shadow of the Oath But Conan's past already owns him, and her wish for warmth cannot outshout the wolf of revenge.

The Paid Price The Paid Price from "Conan the Barbarian". The Paid Price Valeria's body sags with the serpent arrow through her lungs, and she whispers the cost of his healing.

The Paid Price from "Conan the Barbarian". The Paid Price Valeria's body sags with the serpent arrow through her lungs, and she whispers the cost of his healing.

The Paid Price Valeria's body sags with the serpent arrow through her lungs, and she whispers the cost of his healing. The Gods' Reckoning She has paid the debt the shaman's magic incurred, becoming the living coin of Conan's second life. The Warmth Going Cold She asks for warmth, and Conan holds her until her hand falls limp in the burgeoning grass.

The Flame on the Pyre The Flame on the Pyre from "Conan the Barbarian". The Flame on the Pyre Conan lays Valeria on a funeral pyre atop the great burial mound beneath a sky of blood-red sunset.

The Flame on the Pyre from "Conan the Barbarian". The Flame on the Pyre Conan lays Valeria on a funeral pyre atop the great burial mound beneath a sky of blood-red sunset.

The Flame on the Pyre Conan lays Valeria on a funeral pyre atop the great burial mound beneath a sky of blood-red sunset. The Pit Fighter's Song He chants a mournful song of blood and vengeance, of warriors whose road is ever death. The Ash Into Air The fire reaches for the evening star, and the sea breeze lifts her hair one last time. Conan stands like carved stone.

The Friend Who Wept The Friend Who Wept from "Conan the Barbarian". The Friend Who Wept Subotai weeps openly at the pyre, and the wizard asks why he grieves so sorely.

The Friend Who Wept from "Conan the Barbarian". The Friend Who Wept Subotai weeps openly at the pyre, and the wizard asks why he grieves so sorely.

The Friend Who Wept Subotai weeps openly at the pyre, and the wizard asks why he grieves so sorely. The Borrowed Tears She was a friend to Subotai, but she was everything to Conan. A Cimmerian cannot weep, so the Hyrkanian weeps for him. The Cruel Code Conan's northern creed allows no release of tears, making love a wholly interior fire.

The Eternal Return The Eternal Return from "Conan the Barbarian". The Eternal Return Valeria appears again, not as a grieving memory but as a warrior of light who saves Conan from Rexor.

The Eternal Return from "Conan the Barbarian". The Eternal Return Valeria appears again, not as a grieving memory but as a warrior of light who saves Conan from Rexor.

The Eternal Return Valeria appears again, not as a grieving memory but as a warrior of light who saves Conan from Rexor. The Love That Refuses Death My love is stronger than death, she once vowed, and her presence on the battlefield fulfills it. The Living Memory For a moment Conan is no longer the stone man of the Cimmerian creed; he is remembered, guarded, and beloved from beyond the grave.

in the Shadizar bedchamber

as Valeria dies by the stream

the sunset of the funeral

after the funeral

at the Battle of the Burial Mounds