Thulsa Doom and Rexor (master and lieutenant)

Thulsa Doom and Rexor form the ruling dyad of the Cult of Set, a relationship of absolute master and devoted lieutenant that structures the cult's operations from its earliest raids to its final destruction. Rexor is the muscle to Doom's mind, the executor of orders that Doom conceives with cold, sorcerous clarity. Their partnership is one of complementary power: Doom commands through charisma, ritual, and the manipulation of belief, while Rexor commands through brute force, intimidation, and the direct application of violence. Together they embody the cult's twin pillars of ideological control and physical enforcement, making them the most formidable opposition Conan faces throughout his long vendetta.

Origins and the Raid on the Cimmerian Village

The relationship is first witnessed during the raid on Conan's childhood village, where Rexor acts as Doom's field commander. As the Vanir raiders bow before Doom's approach, Rexor leaps forward to hold the bridle of his master's hell-steed, a gesture of deference that establishes the hierarchy immediately. The two exchange only a word or two before turning to scrutinize Maeve, Conan's mother, who stands tense and level-eyed with her broadsword raised. Rexor then hands to Doom the sword of Corin the smith, the weapon that will become the central object of Conan's quest. This moment crystallizes their dynamic: Rexor performs the physical labor of the raid, while Doom receives the spoils and makes the strategic decisions. The raid itself, which results in Maeve's murder and Conan's enslavement, is the foundational act of violence that sets the entire narrative in motion, and it is Rexor who carries out the abduction, currying the youth off to toil at the Wheel of Pain.

The Hierarchy Within the Mountain of Power

Years later, the relationship has deepened and aged along with its participants. Within the temple of the Mountain of Power, Rexor appears as a man of gigantic stature, wearing armour of blue steel backed by black leather, with two intertwined serpents writhing in high relief on his breast-piece. He has aged since the raid, but the passage of time has enhanced his presence and vitality, refining the brutality of his features while deepening the cruelty in his eyes. He stands as Doom's chief in command, the supreme leader's first lieutenant, and his authority within the cult is second only to Doom's own. When Conan is captured and brought before them, Rexor's chill eyes take the measure of the Cimmerian, though he does not remember the child he snatched from his mother's side. To Rexor, any intruder in the Temple of the Serpent is a foe-man, and any uninitiated observer of the secret rites is an impious infidel deserving of slow, painful death. His loyalty to Doom is absolute, and his judgment of outsiders is filtered entirely through the cult's doctrine.

The Division of Labor: Command and Execution

The relationship operates on a clear division of labor that is repeatedly demonstrated in their interactions. When Doom interrogates Conan about the stolen Eye of the Serpent, it is Rexor who growls with hidden anger, offering to kill the prisoner for his master. Doom, however, declines the offer, preferring to exercise his own form of psychological domination. In the garden of the Mountain of Power, Doom demonstrates his power by commanding a young girl to leap to her death, then lectures Conan on the nature of true strength, dismissing steel as nothing compared to the hand that wields it. Rexor's role in such moments is that of silent witness and enforcer, standing ready to carry out whatever punishment Doom decrees. When Doom finally sentences Conan to the Tree of Woe, it is Rexor who reappears to take charge of the prisoner, and Doom who flings the casual command to crucify him. The pattern is consistent: Doom conceives, Rexor executes.

Loyalty and the Collapse of the Cult

The relationship's resilience is tested during the assault on the cult's stronghold, when Conan and his companions rescue Yasimina and escape. Rexor is left bloody and battered, buried under rubble, and it is only through the efforts of Doom's guards that he is lifted out. Doom's first concern is not his lieutenant's welfare but the whereabouts of the princess, and his wrath flares when Rexor confesses that the crucified man and others killed three guards, cut him, and carried her off while he was helpless. Despite this failure, Rexor remains at Doom's side, attending him at the Battle of the Burial Mounds, where he hands his master a strung bow so that Doom can shoot the serpent arrow that strikes Valeria. The loyalty is mutual in its way: Doom does not discard his failed lieutenant, and Rexor does not abandon his master even in defeat. Their bond endures until the very end, when Doom's apocalyptic vision of the Great Cleansing is finally realized in the cult's destruction.

The Thematic Significance of the Master-Lieutenant Bond

The Doom-Rexor relationship embodies the cult's hierarchical structure and its rejection of individual will. Doom's power is based on his control of knowledge and belief, his ability to shape his followers into docile instruments of his will. Rexor represents the cult's capacity for violence, the enforcement arm that turns Doom's ideology into bloodshed. Their partnership is a study in complementary tyranny: the charismatic visionary and the brutal enforcer, each dependent on the other. The narrative contrasts this institutional power with Conan's more direct, physical prowess, valorizing the individual warrior's code over the cult's collective submission. Rexor's devotion to Doom is never questioned, never examined, and never rewarded with anything beyond continued service. He is the perfect lieutenant precisely because he has no ambition of his own, no will that could challenge his master's. In this, he embodies the cult's ideal follower, the one who has surrendered his individuality entirely to the service of Set and Doom.