The Vengeance Quest

Conan's lifelong pursuit of the raiders who destroyed his village and of Thulsa Doom, from the boy's first sight of the black-serpent emblem to the final beheading.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Village Massacre

The Village Massacre Conan wakes to the thunder of raiders and the scream of his people. The Destruction The Vanir cut down the men of the village, loose the hounds, and burn every hut. Corin dies reaching for his great sword while Maeve is beheaded before her son's eyes. The Wound A strange standard enters the morning: two serpents upholding a black sun. The image becomes the fixed pole of Conan's memory and the fuel of his vengeance.

The Slave's Vow

The Slave's Vow Chained among the captured Cimmerians, Conan trudges northward in a daze of grief. The Endurance At Thrudvang he is bound to the Wheel of Pain, where months and years collapse into one circuit of exhaustion. The lash teaches him that no god will intervene. The Promise When one tear freezes on his cheek, Conan wipes it away and vows that no man or devil will ever wring another tear from him. He whispers to the indifferent sky: Men shall die for this.

The Sigil Hunt

The Sigil Hunt Conan reaches Shadizar with Subotai and begins asking the bazaars about serpents and a black sun. The False Trail The witch had promised that Zamora would answer his quest. He finds the cult of Set and learns that its dark towers are rising across the land. The Encounter Outside the Tower of the Black Serpent he sees the priestess Yasimina and hears the chant Doom, Doom, Doom. The old wound reopens, and Conan knows his enemy is close.

The Enemy Found

The Enemy Found Disguised as a pilgrim, Conan walks into the heart of Thulsa Doom's fortress and watches the cult leader speak. The Exposure Doom's hypnotic gaze finds the intruder, and guards beat Conan unconscious. He wakes chained in Doom's garden, face to face with the killer of his parents. The Judgment Doom speaks of steel and of power, then casually orders Conan crucified on the Tree of Woe.

The Serpent Beheaded

The Serpent Beheaded After the Battle of the Burial Mounds, Conan returns to the Mountain with the reluctant Princess Yasimina. The Ritual Interrupted Yasimina leads Conan into the sanctuary, where Doom preaches the Great Cleansing. Conan steps into the candlelight and raises the Eye of Set, freezing the beast-men. The Fall The priest's body suddenly takes on a snake's head, and Conan's father's sword severs it. The cult dissolves, and the mountain begins to crumble.

at dawn in Conan's ninth year

during the march into Vanaheim and the Wheel of Pain

early in Conan's stay in Shadizar

inside the Mountain of Power after the pilgrim masquerade

at the final confrontation in the Mountain temple