In the south-western spur of the
Kezankian mountains separating Brythunia from Zamora, one of the
hundreds of wandering holy-men of the Kezankians is drawing the
traditionally feuding tribes together to witness a miracle of "the
ancient gods." The True Gods of earth, air, fire and water led
Basrakan Imallah deep into the bowels of the earth to a clutch of
fire-drake eggs. With blasphemous knowledge of the thaumatergical
arts, Basrakan managed to hatch one of the nine eggs and bind the
infant creature to his will, albeit imperfectly. Now, with an avatar
of the fire god under his command, Basrakan preaches a holy war
against the plains-dwellers of Zamora and Brythunia.
Unfortunately, as the creature grows,
his hold on it weakens.
In secret, Basrakan has agents
searching for two huge rubies, The Eyes of Fire, that will grant him
complete control over all nine dragons. With them, he can complete
his unification of the hill-tribes and lead them to conquest over all
who would oppose him.
Completing a spectacle where his dragon
kills three Brythunians as a sacrifice to the True Gods, Basrakan
receives word his spies have located the Eyes of Fire. They are in
the possession of House Perashanid of Shadizar.
Shadizar, capital city of Zamora. Conan
steals across rooftops bound for the house of Samarides, the
gem-merchant. On commission from the spice merchant, Barastes, Conan
intends to steal a goblet carved from a single huge emerald from
Samarides' mansion. Almost killing himself to gain access to the
place, Conan is beaten to his prize by a female thief calling herself
Lyana. To discourage him from using her rope to escape, Lyana casts a
black throwing knife at the Cimmerian. When he jumps back to avoid
the projectile, she makes good her escape. Narrowly escaping from
Samarides and his guards by going out the front door, Conan vows to
avenge his wounded pride by beating the thief to her next prize.
But first he has to find out who she
is.
From Abuletes, Conan learns a thief
named Jamal used knives similar to the one the girl threw at
Conan...until he was beheaded by the City Guard a decade ago. Jamal
had a daughter and two brothers, Gayan and Hafid, who took the
orphaned girl in. They were thieves as well and used clothing and
tools similar to what Conan saw the girl employ. The girl's name was
Tamira.
Conan offers a reward of two silver
pieces to the city's beggars, trulls and street urchins to find the
girl for him.
The Lady Jondra of the House Perashanid
is know to possess a fabulous tiara and necklace both of which
feature a huge ruby set amongst diamonds and opals. She is also
reputed to be an capable huntress. She is also famous for being unwed
and the last scion of noble house of Zamora. However, her mother was
Brythunian, not Zamoran, and no small few at court consider her a
half-breed, much to her chagrin. We see her snub the hopes of one
would-be paramour by telling him she can marry no man unless he can
equal her as an archer; then she bests him at archery.
After many false leads, the street
urchins locate Tamira at The Red Lion Tavern. A confrontation ensues
where Conan suggests that Tamira is a virgin and wants to bed her.
His real plan is to have her followed
from the tavern by the urchins to see where she goes and report back
to Conan.
A day comes and goes and Conan finds
himself confronted by Barastes the spice merchant, visiting Abulete's
Tavern to talk with Conan about the whereabouts of the goblet. Asking
to keep their dealings private, they adjourn to Conan's small room on
the second floor and, unsatisfied with Conan's explanation of events,
Barastes tries to kill the Cimmerian. Conan disarms him easily and
stuns him with a blow to the face. Stripping him of his purse, cloak
and weapons, Conan shakes him awake and throws him out the window to
the filthy alley below.
Knowing that his actions will
eventually bring the city guard to Abuletes, Conan arranges with the
tavern-keeper to secure a horse and leave the city. As Abuletes sends
a message to a man he knows, Laeta the street urchin enters and tells
Conan that Tamira has been spending time at the Lady Jondra's
mansion. One of the urchins saw her leave a few hours past, dressed
like a serving girl, along with the rest of Lady Jondra's hunting
party.
Needing to leave town in any case,
Conan plays a hunch Tamira would not tag along with the noblewoman
while the jewels stay in Shadizar. Taking his new horse he sets off
into the northern Zamorian wastes intent on catching up with Jondra's
hunting expedition. [note: Jordan uses Zamoran throughout instead of
Howard's term, Zamorian, used throughout this article]
Coming upon Jondra cornered and alone,
menaced by a pack of wolves, Conan rescues her by killing nine of
them before the rest slink back into the wilderness. With both their
horses dead, the pair must walk back to Jondra's camp. Unfortunately
neither one has any water left and the Zamoran wastes offer no chance
to find any. As the day stretches into afternoon, Jondra begins to
fail, so the Cimmerian carries her, against her weak protests. It is
full night when Conan spies the fires of a camp. Not knowing or
caring if it is Jondra's, he staggers into camp, sets the woman on
the ground and demands water, hand on his sword hilt.
Assuming the worst upon seeing Jonrda's
limp form dropped to the ground, Arvaneus, Jondra's Chief Huntsman,
orders Conan slain. In a soft but firm voice Jondra commands her men
to stop and, after taking some swallows of water, berates Arvaneus
for not doing enough to try to locate her before dusk. So does Conan
earn the enmity of Arvaneus.
In Brythunia, in a village near the
Kezankian Mountains, a young warrior named Eldran returns from the
West to find his fellow villagers all bearing arms and shields. The
local priestess of Wiccana, Boudanecea, takes him to her abode where
Eldran's teacher in the art of the sword, Godtan, lies horribly
burned and dying. He is the only surviving member of a hunting party
that went, against Boudanecea's advice, to the mountains in search of
the creature responsible for burning farms in the foothills of the
Kezankians. When they came upon the beast they learned, to their
horror, that the priestess spoke true; no weapons forged by ordinary
men could harm the creature. After fleeing the dragon, the remaining
warriors were ambushed by hillmen. Eldran's brother, Ellandune, and
two other men, Aelric and Aelfric, were taken prisoner. The rest were
slain. The hillmen left Godtan for dead.
Boudanecea leads Eldran to The Sacred
Grove of Wiccana and, using druidic magic, opens the way for Eldran
to obtain the sword called Flame Slayer; forged by great wizards
almost 3,000 years prior to defeat the beasts of fire unleashed by
Acheron's foul sorcery. Empty claws on either end of the guard once
held great rubies called the Eyes of Fire which gave the wielder
control of the beasts. The blade is given only to the worthy and only
once in their lifetime. If it leaves the possession of the worthy, it
magically returns to the mound in Wiccana's Grove and can only be
granted to another after the proper ceremony is performed. Eldran
accepts the priestess' benediction while making a list, in his mind,
of the men he will lead into the mountains.
Meanwhile, back in Zamora, Conan
observes the leaders of the hunting party concealing their presence
from a contingent of over 5,000 Zamorian troops crossing their
intended path, far ahead in the distance. Arvaneus finally challenges
Conan to a duel but Jondra forbids it, so Conan suggests they cast
spears for money. Conan ties Arvaneus at 30 paces and at 40 paces and
then beats him at 60 paces. Incensed, Arvaneus dares Conan to hit the
arget at 100 paces...so he does. Not only does he win 500 pieces of
silver from the Chief huntsman, Lady Jondra gives herself to the
Cimmerian because she could never have made such a spear-cast.
Three days later Eldran and his riders
meet Lady Jondra's hunting party on the Zamorian plain. In speaking
with them, Jondra describes the beast that she hunts and the
Brythunians recognize it as the beast of fire that they seek. Eldran
tries to warn Jondra that the beast cannot be slain by normal weapons
but the proud noblewoman sends them on their way. But not before
Eldran out-shoots Jondra with a bow, making quite an impression on
her...and focusing her wrath on both Arvaneus and Conan.
Through ensorcelled ravens, Basrakan
learns of the arrival of the Zamorian soldiers and dispatches 20,000
hillmen to destroy them, to prove they are worthy in the eyes of the
True Gods.
That night the Cimmerian wakes to the
sound of unshod hoofs on gravel coming up the hill toward camp.
Djinar and his band of hillmen from Shadizar have caught up with the
hunting party and attack while they sleep, intent on killing them all
and taking the Eyes of Fire to Basrakan. Conan kills a number of them
while the hunters are still waking up and helps drive them off. He
then argues with Jondra, trying to convince her to turn back.
The next afternoon Conan tells Tamira
of his intention to return to Shadizar, with or without Jondra.
Tamira promises to accompany Conan but not until after dark, in order
to avoid a confrontation with the noblewoman over leaving her
service. Shortly thereafter a Zamorian cavalry company of nearly
three hundred riders arrives at Jondra's camp. Their commander, Lord
Zathanides, insists it is too dangerous near the mountains at this
juncture and tells Jondra return to Shadizar. Trying to make Conan
jealous, she invites the general into her tent to discuss her future.
Her ploy backfires however and the Zamorain nobleman tries to rape
her.
Conan throws Zathanides out of Jondra's
pavilion and disarms him when he tries to draw on the Cimmerian.
Jondra stops Conan from killing him and warns she will inform the
king of his indecent assault if he attempts use his station to exact
revenge on the Cimmerian. The general takes his leave but not before
casting aspersions on Jondra's mother and Conan's heritage.
After his departure, Conan and Jondra
quarrel again over returning to the city, after which Conan decides
to take his own advice and begin preparations to leave that night
with Tamira. Discovering a saddle and waterskin already sitting by a
fresh horse however, Conan proceeds directly to Jondra's tent and
catches Tamira stealing the tiara and necklace. Scooping her up and
carrying her off down the hill to the edge of camp behind some scrub
brush, Tamira kicks him as he is releasing her. He loses his footing
on the uneven ground and falls atop her. An argument ensues but soon
Tamira beings to kiss him. After a second or two of surprise, Conan
returns the favour.
The next day finds Conan already well
into the mountains at sunrise and looking back at a battle on the
Zamorian plains where a huge horde of Kezankian hillmen are
massacring thousands of Zamorian soldiers.
From another part of the mountains,
Eldran watches the same battle and mourns for Jondra, who he is sure
the soldiers were escorting back to Shadizar. Eldran addresses his
men and tells them they are now on the beast's home-ground; that he's
felt it's evil growing ever stronger as they travelled further into
this part of the mountains. He lets them know, If any want to turn
back, now is the time. None do.
Further into the mountains, Basrakan's
meditations are interrupted by a group of heretical hillmen. The
Imalla slays them with magic and then casts a spell that immolates
every one of their male relatives, regardless of their age, in the
surrounding camp. Jbiel tells Basrakan that Shamal, one of Djinar's
men sent after the Eyes of Fire, has returned, but is insane. Against
the tradition of the Old Gods that the insane are not to be molested,
Basrakan orders him interrogated to find out everything he knows.
Before noon, after the massacre of the
Zamorian soldiers, Jondra calls a halt and orders her retinue to make
camp; sending out her huntsmen to look for signs of the dragon. Conan
spends the day on lookout duty, honing the blade of his sword, trying
to spy the source of an oppressive feeling that has grown stronger
the further they forged into the mountains.
Telades is the first hunter to return.
He found no sign of the beast but did discover another large force of
Zamorian soldiers camped further within the mountains, to the north.
Telades was able to get close enough to recognize the commander of
the force; one General Tenerses.
One by one the other hunters return,
each of them finding no trace of the creature...until, at last,
Arvaneus returns with news of the beast's tracks. Despite the
distance to the tracks and the sun hanging at mid-afternoon, Jondra
insists on seeing the spoor that day and takes 20 men, plus Conan,
into the mountains.
Reaching the first tracks, the
oppressive feeling Conan has had that whole day increases. He
suggests they return to camp but Jondra insists on seeing the
complete tracks Arvaneus claims are further along. Coming to a small
valley with many cuts leading off to each side, the earth becomes
softer and complete tracks can be seen.
And then the dragon attacks.
The beast decimates the hunting party
with claws and fire; each of the hunters falling as they realize that
no part of the beast is vulnerable, not even its eyes. Jondra is
nearly killed by the beast but she and Conan are provided the chance
to escape when Telades sacrifices himself to distract the monster.
Jondra breaks down and Conan carries her to safety.
Conan strides into camp carrying Jondra
and Tamira helps her to her tent. No other hunters have returned. The
remaining hunters look to Conan for leadership. He orders them to be
vigilant against hillmen tonight for they leave in the morning for
Shadizar. He also tells them to flee if the beast attacks.
Hillmen do attack that night, but there
are too many of them to repel. Conan rescues Tamira from a hillman
and escapes the camp with her. Finding her a place to hide, he
returns to the camp to see if he can rescue Jondra. Jealous and angry
that he would leave her to help the noblewoman, Tamira leaves her
hiding place intent on returning to camp to steal the gems and return
to Shadizar without Conan, but is soon captured by hillmen.
Returning to the camp, Conan finds the
battle over and begins looking for supplies to use on the journey
back to the city. He is accosted by Arvaneus, just arrived after
wandering in the mountains since the attack of the fire-drake.
Arvaneus is insane with guilt over first leading the hunters to their
doom and and then fleeing instead of helping them. Accusing the
Cimmerian of being a thief, he becomes enraged when he hears Conan's
plan to find Jondra and return her to Shadizar. He attacks and Conan
kills him,
Before he died Arvaneus admitted to
seeing Jondra escape the camp and hide from the hillmen. Worried that
he has been so long away from Tamira, Conan goes to collect her
before searching for Jondra's hiding place.
In need of water, Jondra leaves her
hiding place, reluctantly...because she is nude...to sneak to a water
hole she could see from her sanctuary. Losing her footing, she slides
off the edge of a short drop but her ankle gets caught in a tree and
she is left hanging upside down, still naked, mere yards from the
pool of water.
Struggling to free herself, she does
not hear a hillman approaching the water hole until he is already
there; and then he is dead with an arrow sticking from his neck. Her
initial relief that one of her huntsmen has saved her is dampened by
the fact that she cannot manage to free herself. Her relief turns to
horror when she sees that her saviour is not from her hunting party
but is Eldran, the Brythunian.
Effortlessly he lifts her down and
carries her to the pond. When he begins to talk of how obsessed he
has become with her she picks up a large rock and bounces it off his
head. Grateful that he continues to breathe, she nevertheless robs
him of his cloak, leggings, bow, knife, etc and limps off in an
attempt to get away from him.
And she limps right into six hillmen.
Meanwhile, Conan is tracking Tamira's
departure from her hiding place and discovers that she was taken by
hillmen. As he tracks them he comes upon the remaining members of
Eldran's band. Together he and Eldran agree that they will save the
women and then slay the beast.
Tamara and Jondra awake to find they
are chained spread-eagle on either side of a stone room, completely
naked. Basrakan begins magically torturing the two, stopping only
when Jbeil interrupts to tell him that Shamal has finally said
something legible...that the Eyes of Fire were brought into the
Mountains by Jondra.
Conan, Eldran and the remaining
Brythunians tracked the hillmen back to the assembled horde
surrounding Basrakan's temple. They know Jondra is in the temple but
only that Tamira is somewhere in the huge camp. Discussing how to
proceed, Eldran insists on saving Jondra and Conan suggests that they
use General Tenerses and his soldiers to their advantage by tricking
him into thinking the hillman force is far smaller than it is and
providing them with an easy victory. Eldran chooses Frydan for the
task and the men settle in to await his return with the army.
After scouring the horde for the spoils
from Jondra's camp, Jbiel delivers the necklace and the tiara to
Basrakan. Completely focussed on the gems, he discards the rest of
the jewellery and prepares the binding spell that will link him to
the fire-drake. He orders Jabiel to take the women to the dungeon to
await sacrifice. The spell works and he orders the women taken to for
sacrifice to the beast of fire. Thousands of hillmen stream after the
women and the Imallas as they make their way to the next valley,
where Basrakan performs the rituals to the True Gods.
Upon seeing both woman herded toward
the next valley, Conan and Eldran decide that they cannot wait for
Frydan's return. Slipping down into the valley, Conan and the
Brythunians disguise themselves as hillmen and join the throng.
As Basrakan completes his summoning
ritual to call forth the fire-drake, yells are heard from the
entrance-valley that the hillmen are under attack by soldiers. When
the Imalla looks down into the sacrificial circle he sees men jumping
the low wall and rushing towards the women.
Conan frees Tamira while Eldran frees
Jondra and they all turn to consider escape. Sounds of battle from
the valley entrance have distracted thousands from what transpires in
the sacrificial circle, but many are not...and some are brave enough
to intervene. Those hillmen enter the circle to stop the infidels,
But after a few minutes, the press of
battle weakens and the hillmen begin to draw back. The beast of fire
has arrived.
Finding himself too far away from the
beast, Eldran calls out to Conan and throws Flame Slayer to the
Cimmerian. Diving and rolling, Conan avoids the fiery breath of the
creature and gets close enough to strike at its face. Jerking its
head back in pain, the beast exposes its chest and Conan buries the
blade in it.
Rearing back on its hind legs, the
beast dies and topples onto Basrakan, mashing him to jelly.
Demoralized, thousands of hillmen break
for the mouth of the valley and though he strides through them, none
dares raise a hand against Conan. Head and shoulders above most of
the hillmen, he sees Eldran and the Brythunians helping Jondra
escape. Further away, he spies Tamira, his black cloak still covering
her, swept into the entrance-valley with the flow of the throng, and
out of sight.
Hewing his way back to the larger
valley, Conan sees Tamira dash from Basrakan's temple. As she yells
something about recovering her clothes, Conan throws her over his
shoulder with a curse and heads for the hills.
Rejoining Eldran's company to escape
the mountains, Conan and the Brythunians reach the foothills safely.
Jondra is taken captive by Eldran as payment for her assault against
him and the theft of his possessions before she was captured by
hillmen. Tamira stops Conan from intervening, explaining that Jondra
is in love with Eldran and would rather return to Brythunia with him
than to Shadizar as a lonely, wealthy half-breed.
Tamira and Conan part from the
Brythunians and ride out onto the Zamorian plain toward Shadizar.
First off, don’t click that “details” thingy above this. Some
jamoke went and summarized the book instead of writing a synopsis and
it’s 7 pages long. Who are these people who have that much time
and energy to put towards something so futile? At least MY reviews
will get read by me and millions of my nearest and dearest friends
(and who have paid quite handsomely to BE my nearest and dearest) and
adoring fans (who did NOT pay quite so handsomely, the cheapskates!)
Conan gets involved with trying to steal some jewels and then to
protect a woman. A sorcerer is trying to unite a bunch of fractious
tribes under the guise of “the old gods” and has some sort of
creature semi in control. But the sorcerer needs the same jewels as
Conan wants to complete his control over the creature.
Everything collides and Conan uses a magic sword to slay the beast.
Which wasn’t really supposed to be possible, because only the
Chosen One could hold the sword and he was already holding it. When
the Chosen One lets go of the sword, it supposedly disappears back to
its secret hiding place until a new Chosen One is born. So the
current Chosen One tossing the magic sword to Conan for him to use
just didn’t make sense. I don’t expect a lot from Conan books,
but internal consistency is one thing I do want.
That’s why, even though I enjoyed this more than the previous book,
I am giving it 3stars instead of 3.5stars. I know it might seem like
a little detail to you and you could wonder why but I take my job as
a Professional Book Reviewer seriously. I don’t get paid ½ million
dollars each year for nothing after all.
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