Toghrul

Toghrul is a Hyrkanian pit master who enters Conan's life as his purchaser and owner, binding the young Cimmerian to a decade of servitude in the fighting pits. He is the first of Conan's masters, and his death in the Kolari earthquake marks the moment Conan reclaims his freedom and begins his journey toward vengeance against Thulsa Doom.

Identity and Introduction

Toghrul first appears as a squat, bow-legged horseman, his physique shaped by a lifetime spent with legs clamped about the barrel of his mount. He wears a fine cloak of unfamiliar furs, the skins of beasts unknown to the Cimmerians, and peculiar armour composed of plates of lacquered, overlapping leather. His eyes are narrow and slitted, his cheekbones wide, and he wears his thick red hair and ruddy beard trimmed in a fashion that seems foreign. A pin of blue and topaz stones winks from his velvet cap, and a heavy gold chain encircles his neck. Through eyes as black as chips of obsidian, he studies Conan with the cool appraisal of a horse trader.

Toghrul purchases Conan from the Master of the Wheel, handing over several small, flat squares of gold. He speaks in Vannish with hard gutturals, introducing himself with the words, "I am Toghrul. I own you now. You come." To emphasize his ownership, he tugs on the chain as one tugs on a dog's leash, causing Conan to stumble forward. When Conan snatches a link and jerks it back, tearing the chain from Toghrul's grasp, the pit master's men-at-arms rush to encircle the recalcitrant slave.

Life and Plot Trajectory

Toghrul is a pit master from Hyrkania, a land far to the east, beyond barren Hyperborea. Around Asgard and Vanaheim, sometimes together called Nordheim or Northlands, he travels with his troupe, staging fights for the amusement of local chieftains and their gaming cronies. Sometimes he lures, with promises of gold, neighbourhood champions to do combat with his Pit fighters—slaves all, whose final adversary is always Death.

At his encampment, encircled by a rough log palisade, are several houses and sheds, a corral for the horses, and pens for the Pit slaves—men selected as much for their savage truculence as for their powerful bodies and superior fighting skills. Toghrul hands Conan over to Uldin, a stocky, long-armed man with a shaven scalp, who unwinds the chain from Toghrul's pommel and grasps it firmly in large and sinewy hands. Conan is led into an airless, stench-filled room where he sees his fellow slaves, ragged and unwashed, lying on the raw dirt floor, their fire-lit eyes reflecting scant humanity.

Key Actions and Objectives

Toghrul's primary objective is to profit from the fighting prowess of his slaves. He stages fights for local chieftains and their gaming cronies, and he lures neighbourhood champions with promises of gold to do combat with his Pit fighters. His treatment of Conan is that of a master toward property: he tugs on the chain as one tugs on a dog's leash, and he hands the end of the chain to Uldin without ceremony.

When the earth opens beneath his feet in the Kolari earthquake, swallowing him to his shoulders and wedging him in a crack, Toghrul calls out to Conan for help. He implores, "Pull me out!" and offers payment: "I'll pay gold! I'll give you your freedom! Only save me now!" Conan responds with laughter—his first good laugh since the Vanir captured him, ten long years ago—and replies, "My freedom, eh? That I already have. Stay there, swine! If the earth swallows you down, good riddance to you!" Conan turns and walks away, and behind him, Toghrul's frantic voice rises to an awful shriek as, in a final earth tremor, the crack that held him closes once more.

Relationships and Conflict

Toghrul's relationship with Conan is defined by ownership and servitude. He purchases Conan from the Master of the Wheel, fitting a heavy wooden collar around his neck and holding the end of the chain. Conan's resentment flares in his sullen eyes, and a growl rumbles deep in his chest when Toghrul tugs on the chain. The conflict between them culminates in the Kolari earthquake, when Conan refuses to save his master and instead walks away, leaving Toghrul to die.

Toghrul also employs Uldin, a stocky, long-armed man with a shaven scalp, who serves as a handler for the Pit slaves. Uldin unwinds the chain from Toghrul's pommel and leads Conan into the slave pen, speaking Vannish with a foreign accent.

Change and Ending

Toghrul's death in the Kolari earthquake is a turning point for Conan. It marks the moment Conan reclaims his freedom, having been a slave for ten long years since the Vanir captured him. Conan walks away without supplies or weapons, guided by moonlight, heading for a clump of trees on a hillock in the distance. He does not know whither he is going, but he knows that southward the weather is warmer. Along the way, he loots the corpse of a Hyrkanian warrior for boots, flint and steel, a dagger, a fur cloak, and a bag of coins, as well as a quiver and bow case, though he looks doubtfully at them for the bow is little used among the Cimmerians.

Narrative Role and Evaluation

Toghrul serves as the first of Conan's masters, the embodiment of the brutal institution of slavery that shapes Conan's early life. His death is a pivotal moment in Conan's journey, marking his first act of defiance and his reclamation of freedom. The pit master's fate also foreshadows the larger theme of vengeance that drives Conan's quest against Thulsa Doom, as Conan's refusal to save Toghrul demonstrates his growing resolve to take control of his own destiny. Toghrul's death is also a moment of dark humor, as Conan's laughter—his first good laugh in ten years—comes at the expense of his dying master.