Nezvaya River

The Nezvaya River is a significant geographical feature of the Hyborian Age, a waterway that runs south before turning east at the Zamorian border. It is a river of transition, marking the boundary between the wild, sparsely populated steppe lands and the ancient, decadent civilization of Zamora. For Conan, the Cimmerian barbarian, and his companion Subotai, the Hyrkanian thief, the Nezvaya is the final landmark on their long and weary journey from the witch's house to the fabled city of Shadizar, the crossroads of the world.

Geography and the Journey's End

The Nezvaya River flows through a landscape that gradually transforms as it approaches Zamora. During their fortnight on the road, Conan and Subotai first traverse rich forest lands where tall trees stand beside lakes and ponds gouged aeons before by the feet of glaciers. They cross a low pass and descend to the river's banks, following its course as it runs south before turning east at the Zamorian border. As they progress, the forest lands thin out, leaving only a gallery of trees along the river, and wide meadows splashed with the amber, vermilion, and cornflower blue of early spring flowers lie before them. The smiling, sun-flecked skies announce the unmourned passing of the winter cold, a stark contrast to the bleak, frozen dawn of Conan's childhood in Cimmeria.

Foraging and Companionship on the Banks

The river and its surrounding lands provide sustenance for the two travelers when their provisions from the witch's house give out. They must spend part of each day foraging for food. Conan, with his immense strength and skill, spears fish in the river with a crude spear whittled from a sapling, while Subotai prowls the forest with his arrow nocked, bringing in a hare one day and a badger the next. Some days they go to sleep hungry, but the river's bounty and their combined efforts sustain them. When Subotai's arrow brings down a wild ass, the companions spend the day smoking the meat by a crackling fire, over which hang strips and slabs of drying flesh. It is during this respite that Conan puts aside his natural curiosity to learn more about the steppe-dweller and his people, asking Subotai about the gods to whom his people pray. This exchange deepens their bond, as Conan glowers that Crom is master of the Four Winds, driving them as a man drives the horses of a chariot, while the small man shrugs, too sleepy or perhaps too wise to continue a fruitless argument.

The Border of Zamora

Some days later, as stars begin to wink in the twilight, Conan and Subotai reach the border of Zamora, having followed the Nezvaya's course. The river thus serves as the threshold into a darkling land of shadowed secrets, furtive spies, profound philosophers, depraved kings, and sloe-eyed women. It is here that each traveler hopes to find that which he seeks: Conan, the meaning of the twisted snakes upholding a black sun; Subotai, wealth that could be his for the taking. Subotai gestures broadly, explaining the geography: south lies Zamora, the land to the west is Brythunia, and if one follows the river eastward a few leagues, one enters the territory of Turan. He paints a vivid picture of the civilization that awaits, where all the caravans of the world cross, laden with the riches of distant kingdoms: superb carpets from Iranistan, spiced fruits from Turan, the famed pearls of Khosala, gems from the iron hills of Vendhya, and the heady wines of Shem.

A River of Contrasts

The Nezvaya River stands in stark contrast to the other bodies of water in Conan's life. It is not the ice-shattered stream of his Cimmerian village, where the Vanir raiders crashed through on iron-shod horses during the dawn raid that destroyed his world. Nor is it the site of his enslavement, where he was chained to the Wheel of Pain, grinding grain to powder beneath its ponderous weight. Instead, the Nezvaya represents a passage to a new life, a river of relative peace and companionship after the horrors of slavery and the Pit. It is a place where Conan, for the first time since his village's destruction, experiences a semblance of normalcy, foraging, fishing, and conversing with a friend. The river's banks are where the bond between the Cimmerian and the Hyrkanian is solidified, setting the stage for their adventures in the decadent city of Shadizar and beyond.

Narrative Significance

The Nezvaya River functions as a crucial narrative marker in Conan's journey, separating his past of suffering and slavery from his future of vengeance and destiny. It is the last natural landmark before the artificial, crowded world of civilization, a world Conan finds both amazing and bewildering. The river's course, running south before turning east, mirrors Conan's own path, a deviation from his northern origins toward the eastern lands where his enemy Thulsa Doom holds power. The river is thus not merely a geographical feature but a symbolic boundary between the natural world Conan understands and the civilized world he must learn to navigate. It is the point of no return, where the penniless runaway slave who once traversed this forbidding land begins his transformation into the man who will one day confront the serpent-headed sorcerer and reclaim his father's sword.