Queen Taramis
Encyclopedia
"A Witch Shall be Born" is one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard
about Conan the Cimmerian
, first published in Weird Tales
in 1934. The story was republished in the collections Conan the Barbarian
(Gnome Press
, 1954) and Conan the Freebooter
(Lancer Books
, 1968), and the anthology The Mighty Barbarians
(Lancer Books
, 1969). It was first published by itself in book form by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in 1974. It has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz
, 2000) and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Two (1934)
(Del Rey, 2005).
Queen Taramis of Khauran awakens one day to find an identical twin sister, Salome, staring her in the face. As a child, Salome
was deemed a witch due to a crescent scar upon her body. Believing this birthmark to be a sign of evil, she was cast out into the desert to perish. However, a magician from Khitai sheltered her and, as she matured, instructed Salome in the arts of sorcery.
Salome — along with a Shemite mercenary named Constantius
— rape Queen Taramis and confine her to the palace dungeon. Salome then assumes Taramis' identity as queen of Khauran and appoints Constantius as her royal consort. The palace guard is disbanded and replaced by Constantius' Shemitish mercenaries, an event which turns violent when the captain of the palace guard, Conan the Cimmerian, refuses to obey the order.
Conan is crucified for his defiance. He strains at the iron spikes driven through his hands to no avail. Olgerd Vladislav, the leader of a band of outlaws and thieves, rides by with a scouting party and spies Conan writhing on the cross. Vladislav does not help the Cimmerian; rather he cuts across the base of the cross, leaving it to fate and Conan's hardiness that he is not crushed by the heavy wood. After the spikes are removed from his hands, Conan removes the foot spikes himself. Vladislav refuses to give Conan any water, claiming the Cimmerian must wait until after a ten-mile trek to the outlaw camp to prove his worthiness to his band.
Meanwhile in Khauran, Salome's reign as "Taramis" has plunged the kingdom into darkness and ruin. The farmers suffer under slave-drivers while city dwellers endure excessive taxation and debauchery of their daughters in the royal court. A rebellion is brewing, and the time grows ripe for Conan's return. Conan replenishes his ranks by recruiting every caravan raider in the region, while keeping them content with the loot from merchants marching toward Khauran, then he wrests control of the motley horde from Vladislav but does not kill him in recognition of him having saved his life. Ready to march on the city Conan fakes the construction of towers and siege engines (all that is really built is just mockups), thus causing the mercenary prince Constantius to ride out of the city for an open-field clash where the fate of Khauran, Taramis and Salome will be resolved once and for all.
and John Buscema
in Savage Sword of Conan #5.
In the Marvel version,both Taramis and Salemi are blonds,unlike in the original version.
Real Name: Taramis
Identity/Class: Human, Askhauri (Hyborian Era)
Occupation: Queen
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Acrallidus, Conan of Cimmeria, Krallides, Marcios, Shubal
Enemies: Arkhaurus, Constantius, Khumbanigash, Mishi and her brother, Sergianus, Thaug, Zinn
Known Relatives: Salome (twin sister), Constantius (brother-in-law), Ialamis (mother), some grand-grand-mothers or aunts named Salome, Salome the first one, unnamed ancestor First Queen of Khauran, unidentified ancestor demon
Aliases: Princess Taramis
Base of Operations: Khauran (Hyborian Era)
First Appearance: "A Witch shall be Born," Weird Tales (December, 1934);
(Marvel) Savage Sword of Conan#5 (April, 1975)
History: (A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb)) - Taramis was born together her twin sister Salome. They were the daughters of the Queen, ruler of Khauran. But Salome had the mark of the witch on her skin. So, Salome was declared dead for the people and also for her sister, who always believed her dead. Instead Salome was secretly brought into the desert and abandoned to her destiny, then saved from a Khitan wizard.
(Savage Sword of Conan#217 (fb) - BTS) - Taramis's father died when she was a child.
(Savage Sword of Conan#217) - The young princess Taramis saw for the first time Conan of Cimmeria, then bodyguard of her mother's cousin Khashtris. She stood witness as Ialamis—as only a woman of royal blood could do—broke the mirror magically holding Conan's soul, and as Conan destroyed the crystal demon that then formed from the mirror fragments.
(Savage Sword of Conan#218/2) - A woman, Mishi and her brother, was hired by Lord Arkhaurus to assassinate Princess Taramis. Mishi seduced Conan and—by his recommendation—was made handmaiden to Princess Taramis, while Khashtris volunteered Conan and Shubal as bodyguards for Taramis. Conan was bored from standing watch outside Taramis' door as she played and subsequently napped. Mishi drugged Conan and sent her brother to kill Conan and then Taramis, but Shubal came by in time to slay the brother and save Conan and Taramis, while Mishi was slain by agents of Arkhaurus to prevent her from revealing his involvement; she nonetheless shared the information with Conan before dying.
With the aid of the Eye of Erlik, Conan and Shubal exposed Akhaurus and his alliance with Sergianus, a suitor of Queen Ialamis, but Ialamis then took her own life, unwilling to return to her lonely existence bereft of a lover. With her dying breath, Ialamis asked her faithful councilor Acrallidus to council and guide Taramis, and she voiced some hope for Taramis and Acrallidus' son, Krallides...though she died before she could explain it fully.
Young Taramis was made queen of Khauran while Conan left the city behind.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb) - BTS) - At least 20 years after her birth, Taramis was the Queen of Khauran. Her Captain of the Guards was Conan the Cimmerian. Taramis trusted Conan, and showed to him the secret passages under the buildings and the city walls. She also trusted Krallides her best counselor.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb)) - An exiled mercenary, Constantius, allied with Salome to conquer the throne of Khauran. Constantius approached Khauran with his army of Shemite mercenaries, faking heading to Turan. He arranged to speak to Taramis. He asked for her hand, but she refused. She accepted to let the army pass through Khauran but she had Constantius confined in the southern tower, until his troops had passed the borders with Turan.
That night Salome, impersonating her sister, had the Shemite mercenaries enter the town. She also freed Constantius from his prison
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5) - In the night, Taramis was awoken by Salome. She learnt of her sister's history, after which Salome allowed Constantius to rape her.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb)) - Salome, impersonating Taramis, accepted Constantius' marriage proposal and released the Khauran army. A short battle followed, led by Conan. Conan was captured. Many Khauran soldiers died. Marcios, a young soldier was wounded but fled.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 - BTS) - Taramis learned from Salome that Conan had been crucified and that many persons dear to Taramis had been tortured and killed. Taramis was also tortured, physically and mentally. Khumbanigash, general of the mercenaries, also raped her.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb)) - Meanwhile the people of Khauran lived in pain. The Shemite mercenaries humiliated every woman they desired. The people was heavily taxed and vexed. Many young Khaurans were sold as slaves to the Turanians. Other youths fled, joining to the nomads of the desert. The nomads, stronger than ever, started to raid some villages.
A revolt arose, led by Marcios, but it failed and he had to flee and hide.
Astreas, a historian, wrote about the bad situation to his colleague Alcemides of Nemedia.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5) - A week later, Conan, survived to the cross and now leader of more than 11,000 Zuagir warriors, headed to Khauran with his nomads, plus a secret battalion of 3,000 Khauran Hyborian knights. A battle was fought outside the town. The Zuagirs and the Khauran defeated the Shemites mercenaries. Before the end of the battle, Conan and some soldiers used the secret passages under the city walls and reached the prison where Taramis was kept. But some minutes after, Salome and Zinn slew all the soldiers but Conan and kidnapped Taramis with the purpose to give her to Thaug, a demon. Conan followed the two, Zinn left Taramis to Salome. The Witch tried to kill Taramis but Marcios arrived from behind and stabbed her with his sword. Taramis was taken outside the Temple by Conan who had to defend her from the arrows of some Shemites led by Constantius. Then Salome appeared, she called Thaug and died. Conan and his Desert Wolves killed Thaug.
Taramis was the Queen again. She offered to Conan to become Captain again and also to become her counselor. But Conan preferred to be the leader of the Zuagirs, then Taramis claimed Marcios new Captain of the Guards.
and John Buscema
in Savage Sword of Conan #5.
The only difference is unlike the Howard novella
,Queen Taramis is blond and not brunette,which was done basically to shack the cliches of blond girl is good and brunette girl is evil.Otherwise,a fine adaption.
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
about Conan the Cimmerian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
, first published in Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
in 1934. The story was republished in the collections Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (collection)
Conan the Barbarian is a collection of five fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard featuring his seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, first published in hardcover by Gnome Press in 1954. The stories originally appeared in the 1930s in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales...
(Gnome Press
Gnome Press
Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics.The company was founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A. Kyle. Many of Gnome's titles were reprinted in England by Boardman Books...
, 1954) and Conan the Freebooter
Conan the Freebooter
Conan the Freebooter is a 1968 collection of five fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales in the 1930s...
(Lancer Books
Lancer Books
Lancer Books was a series of paperback books published from 1961 through 1973 by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particularly its series of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian tales, the...
, 1968), and the anthology The Mighty Barbarians
The Mighty Barbarians
The Mighty Barbarians: Great Sword and Sorcery Heroes is a 1969 anthology of fantasy short stories in the sword and sorcery subgenre, edited by Hans Stefan Santesson...
(Lancer Books
Lancer Books
Lancer Books was a series of paperback books published from 1961 through 1973 by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particularly its series of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian tales, the...
, 1969). It was first published by itself in book form by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in 1974. It has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz
Gollancz
Gollancz often refers to the British publishing house Victor Gollancz Ltd.Gollancz, a family name originating from the Polish town Gołańcz , is mainly known as the name of a prominent British Jewish family, including:* Sir Hermann Gollancz , rabbi* Sir Israel Gollancz , scholar of...
, 2000) and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Two (1934)
Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Two (1934)
The Bloody Crown of Conan is the second of a three volume set collecting the Conan stories by author Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in 2003, first the United Kingdom by Wandering Star under the title Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Two in 2004, and in the United States by Del Rey under...
(Del Rey, 2005).
Plot overview
Salome
Salome , the Daughter of Herodias , is known from the New Testament...
was deemed a witch due to a crescent scar upon her body. Believing this birthmark to be a sign of evil, she was cast out into the desert to perish. However, a magician from Khitai sheltered her and, as she matured, instructed Salome in the arts of sorcery.
Salome — along with a Shemite mercenary named Constantius
Constantius
Constantius may refer to:*Constantius I, Roman emperor 305–306*Constantius II, Roman emperor 337–361*Constantius III, Roman co-emperor in 421* Constantius , consul in 327...
— rape Queen Taramis and confine her to the palace dungeon. Salome then assumes Taramis' identity as queen of Khauran and appoints Constantius as her royal consort. The palace guard is disbanded and replaced by Constantius' Shemitish mercenaries, an event which turns violent when the captain of the palace guard, Conan the Cimmerian, refuses to obey the order.
Conan is crucified for his defiance. He strains at the iron spikes driven through his hands to no avail. Olgerd Vladislav, the leader of a band of outlaws and thieves, rides by with a scouting party and spies Conan writhing on the cross. Vladislav does not help the Cimmerian; rather he cuts across the base of the cross, leaving it to fate and Conan's hardiness that he is not crushed by the heavy wood. After the spikes are removed from his hands, Conan removes the foot spikes himself. Vladislav refuses to give Conan any water, claiming the Cimmerian must wait until after a ten-mile trek to the outlaw camp to prove his worthiness to his band.
Meanwhile in Khauran, Salome's reign as "Taramis" has plunged the kingdom into darkness and ruin. The farmers suffer under slave-drivers while city dwellers endure excessive taxation and debauchery of their daughters in the royal court. A rebellion is brewing, and the time grows ripe for Conan's return. Conan replenishes his ranks by recruiting every caravan raider in the region, while keeping them content with the loot from merchants marching toward Khauran, then he wrests control of the motley horde from Vladislav but does not kill him in recognition of him having saved his life. Ready to march on the city Conan fakes the construction of towers and siege engines (all that is really built is just mockups), thus causing the mercenary prince Constantius to ride out of the city for an open-field clash where the fate of Khauran, Taramis and Salome will be resolved once and for all.
Adaptation
The story was adapated by Roy ThomasRoy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
in Savage Sword of Conan #5.
In the Marvel version,both Taramis and Salemi are blonds,unlike in the original version.
External links
- Conan wiki • A Witch Shall Be Born • Synopsis, characters, locations, and publishing history
- Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
- Conan.com: The Official Website
Real Name: Taramis
Identity/Class: Human, Askhauri (Hyborian Era)
Occupation: Queen
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Acrallidus, Conan of Cimmeria, Krallides, Marcios, Shubal
Enemies: Arkhaurus, Constantius, Khumbanigash, Mishi and her brother, Sergianus, Thaug, Zinn
Known Relatives: Salome (twin sister), Constantius (brother-in-law), Ialamis (mother), some grand-grand-mothers or aunts named Salome, Salome the first one, unnamed ancestor First Queen of Khauran, unidentified ancestor demon
Aliases: Princess Taramis
Base of Operations: Khauran (Hyborian Era)
First Appearance: "A Witch shall be Born," Weird Tales (December, 1934);
(Marvel) Savage Sword of Conan#5 (April, 1975)
History: (A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb)) - Taramis was born together her twin sister Salome. They were the daughters of the Queen, ruler of Khauran. But Salome had the mark of the witch on her skin. So, Salome was declared dead for the people and also for her sister, who always believed her dead. Instead Salome was secretly brought into the desert and abandoned to her destiny, then saved from a Khitan wizard.
(Savage Sword of Conan#217 (fb) - BTS) - Taramis's father died when she was a child.
(Savage Sword of Conan#217) - The young princess Taramis saw for the first time Conan of Cimmeria, then bodyguard of her mother's cousin Khashtris. She stood witness as Ialamis—as only a woman of royal blood could do—broke the mirror magically holding Conan's soul, and as Conan destroyed the crystal demon that then formed from the mirror fragments.
(Savage Sword of Conan#218/2) - A woman, Mishi and her brother, was hired by Lord Arkhaurus to assassinate Princess Taramis. Mishi seduced Conan and—by his recommendation—was made handmaiden to Princess Taramis, while Khashtris volunteered Conan and Shubal as bodyguards for Taramis. Conan was bored from standing watch outside Taramis' door as she played and subsequently napped. Mishi drugged Conan and sent her brother to kill Conan and then Taramis, but Shubal came by in time to slay the brother and save Conan and Taramis, while Mishi was slain by agents of Arkhaurus to prevent her from revealing his involvement; she nonetheless shared the information with Conan before dying.
With the aid of the Eye of Erlik, Conan and Shubal exposed Akhaurus and his alliance with Sergianus, a suitor of Queen Ialamis, but Ialamis then took her own life, unwilling to return to her lonely existence bereft of a lover. With her dying breath, Ialamis asked her faithful councilor Acrallidus to council and guide Taramis, and she voiced some hope for Taramis and Acrallidus' son, Krallides...though she died before she could explain it fully.
Young Taramis was made queen of Khauran while Conan left the city behind.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb) - BTS) - At least 20 years after her birth, Taramis was the Queen of Khauran. Her Captain of the Guards was Conan the Cimmerian. Taramis trusted Conan, and showed to him the secret passages under the buildings and the city walls. She also trusted Krallides her best counselor.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb)) - An exiled mercenary, Constantius, allied with Salome to conquer the throne of Khauran. Constantius approached Khauran with his army of Shemite mercenaries, faking heading to Turan. He arranged to speak to Taramis. He asked for her hand, but she refused. She accepted to let the army pass through Khauran but she had Constantius confined in the southern tower, until his troops had passed the borders with Turan.
That night Salome, impersonating her sister, had the Shemite mercenaries enter the town. She also freed Constantius from his prison
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5) - In the night, Taramis was awoken by Salome. She learnt of her sister's history, after which Salome allowed Constantius to rape her.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb)) - Salome, impersonating Taramis, accepted Constantius' marriage proposal and released the Khauran army. A short battle followed, led by Conan. Conan was captured. Many Khauran soldiers died. Marcios, a young soldier was wounded but fled.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 - BTS) - Taramis learned from Salome that Conan had been crucified and that many persons dear to Taramis had been tortured and killed. Taramis was also tortured, physically and mentally. Khumbanigash, general of the mercenaries, also raped her.
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb)) - Meanwhile the people of Khauran lived in pain. The Shemite mercenaries humiliated every woman they desired. The people was heavily taxed and vexed. Many young Khaurans were sold as slaves to the Turanians. Other youths fled, joining to the nomads of the desert. The nomads, stronger than ever, started to raid some villages.
A revolt arose, led by Marcios, but it failed and he had to flee and hide.
Astreas, a historian, wrote about the bad situation to his colleague Alcemides of Nemedia.
Queen Taramis A Witch shall be born
(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5) - A night seven months after Salome's arrival, the Witch showed to her sister the head of Krallides, Taramis' most faithful counselor. Marcios, who had never believed that Salome was Taramis, learned about the real fate of Taramis and organized her liberation.(A Witch is born; Savage Sword of Conan#5) - A week later, Conan, survived to the cross and now leader of more than 11,000 Zuagir warriors, headed to Khauran with his nomads, plus a secret battalion of 3,000 Khauran Hyborian knights. A battle was fought outside the town. The Zuagirs and the Khauran defeated the Shemites mercenaries. Before the end of the battle, Conan and some soldiers used the secret passages under the city walls and reached the prison where Taramis was kept. But some minutes after, Salome and Zinn slew all the soldiers but Conan and kidnapped Taramis with the purpose to give her to Thaug, a demon. Conan followed the two, Zinn left Taramis to Salome. The Witch tried to kill Taramis but Marcios arrived from behind and stabbed her with his sword. Taramis was taken outside the Temple by Conan who had to defend her from the arrows of some Shemites led by Constantius. Then Salome appeared, she called Thaug and died. Conan and his Desert Wolves killed Thaug.
Taramis was the Queen again. She offered to Conan to become Captain again and also to become her counselor. But Conan preferred to be the leader of the Zuagirs, then Taramis claimed Marcios new Captain of the Guards.
Adaptation
The story was adapated by Roy ThomasRoy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
in Savage Sword of Conan #5.
The only difference is unlike the Howard novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
,Queen Taramis is blond and not brunette,which was done basically to shack the cliches of blond girl is good and brunette girl is evil.Otherwise,a fine adaption.
External links
- Conan wiki • A Witch Shall Be Born • Synopsis, characters, locations, and publishing history
- Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
- Conan.com: The Official Website