The Hand of Nergal
Encyclopedia
"The Hand of Nergal" is one of the original short stories
by American
author Robert E. Howard
starring the sword and sorcery
hero Conan the Cimmerian
, a fragment begun in the 1930s but not finished or published in Howard's lifetime. It was completed by Lin Carter
and in this form was published in the following collections:
It has since been published in its original form in:
soldier serving in the army of the empire of Turan and is fighting in a pitched battle
against the forces of the rebellious satrap
Munthassem Khan. As the two sides are locked in furious combat Conan looks up and sees a flight of winged black shadowy monsters with hellish green eyes resembling enormous bat
s descending from the sky onto the battlefield. Unknown to Conan, Munthassem Khan had summoned these supernatural creatures using the magical artifact known as the Hand of Nergal. The Turanians are routed and begin retreating from the field, all except Conan who is left to face one of the shadow bats alone. As he begins to fall victim to the unearthly cold emanating from the monster his hand makes its way to the mysterious golden talisman
in his pouch that he had found earlier. As he touches it a surge of warmth flows through him, banishing the shadow bats and turning them back upon their former allies, the army of Munthassem Khan. Overcome with exhaustion, Conan loses consciousness.
Some time later Conan comes to and finds himself alone on the battlefield amid the dead bodies and wreckage of war but soon discovers two survivors, the horse
belonging to his former general now dead, and a young Brythunian girl named Hildico. Hildico had been sent by her master, the sorcerer
Atalis of the nearby city of Yaralet, ruled by Munthassem Khan. Convincing him to come with her to see her master, Conan meets Atalis who explains that his help is needed to stop Munthassem Khan's tyrannical reign of terror over the people of Yaralet and to end his rebellion against the Turanian king Yildiz.
According to the tale told by Atalis, Munthassem Khan was once a just and merciful ruler until he came into possession of the Hand of Nergal, an object of evil power in the form of an ivory
sceptre
with a clawed demon
hand at one end grasping a crystal
and inscribed with strange glyph
s and runes
. It fell to the earth from the stars in the ancient past and as it changed hands through the ages it granted whoever claimed it the promise of ultimate power as well as the curse of eventual destruction. The only way to counter the Hand's malevolent force is with the talisman known as the Heart of Tammuz, a golden amber
stone shaped like a heart and warm to the touch, the same talisman that Conan had found and used to overcome the shadow bats.
Conan eventually confronts Munthassem Khan in his throne room
, but finds himself losing to the power of the Hand until Hildico comes to his rescue, takes the Heart of Tammuz and hurls it at Munthassem Khan, striking him in the head and rendering him unconscious. The forces of the Heart and Hand are then unleashed and wage a cosmic struggle against each other until both finally come together with a great shattering thunder as of two worlds colliding. In the aftermath both the Heart and Hand are gone and nothing is left of Munthassem Khan but ashes. The curse is broken and Yaralet is free.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author Robert E. Howard
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....
starring the sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
hero 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...
, a fragment begun in the 1930s but not finished or published in Howard's lifetime. It was completed by Lin Carter
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
and in this form was published in the following collections:
- ConanConan (collection)Conan is a 1967 collection of seven fantasy short stories and associated pieces written by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories were originally published in various pulp magazines...
(LancerLancer BooksLancer 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...
, 1967, later reissued by Ace BooksAce BooksAce Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
). - The Conan ChroniclesThe Conan ChroniclesThe Conan Chronicles is a 1989 omnibus collection of three previous fantasy collections by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, published by Sphere Books. The component collections had originally been published by...
(Sphere BooksSphere Books-History:Founded in 1961, Sphere Books began work on its first publication, the 1962 paperback edition of Gottfried Benn's The Trainee Man. Originally part of The Thomson Corporation, Sphere was sold to Pearson PLC in 1985 and became part of Penguin...
, 1989)
It has since been published in its original form in:
- The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (GollanczVictor Gollancz LtdVictor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
, 2000) - Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933)Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933)The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian is the first 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 One , and shortly thereafter in the United States...
(Del ReyDel Rey BooksDel Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
, 2003).
Plot summary (Carter)
Conan is a mercenaryMercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
soldier serving in the army of the empire of Turan and is fighting in a pitched battle
Pitched battle
A pitched battle is a battle where both sides choose to fight at a chosen location and time and where either side has the option to disengage either before the battle starts, or shortly after the first armed exchanges....
against the forces of the rebellious satrap
Satrap
Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....
Munthassem Khan. As the two sides are locked in furious combat Conan looks up and sees a flight of winged black shadowy monsters with hellish green eyes resembling enormous bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s descending from the sky onto the battlefield. Unknown to Conan, Munthassem Khan had summoned these supernatural creatures using the magical artifact known as the Hand of Nergal. The Turanians are routed and begin retreating from the field, all except Conan who is left to face one of the shadow bats alone. As he begins to fall victim to the unearthly cold emanating from the monster his hand makes its way to the mysterious golden talisman
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
in his pouch that he had found earlier. As he touches it a surge of warmth flows through him, banishing the shadow bats and turning them back upon their former allies, the army of Munthassem Khan. Overcome with exhaustion, Conan loses consciousness.
Some time later Conan comes to and finds himself alone on the battlefield amid the dead bodies and wreckage of war but soon discovers two survivors, the horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
belonging to his former general now dead, and a young Brythunian girl named Hildico. Hildico had been sent by her master, the sorcerer
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
Atalis of the nearby city of Yaralet, ruled by Munthassem Khan. Convincing him to come with her to see her master, Conan meets Atalis who explains that his help is needed to stop Munthassem Khan's tyrannical reign of terror over the people of Yaralet and to end his rebellion against the Turanian king Yildiz.
According to the tale told by Atalis, Munthassem Khan was once a just and merciful ruler until he came into possession of the Hand of Nergal, an object of evil power in the form of an ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
sceptre
Sceptre
A sceptre is a symbolic ornamental rod or wand borne in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia.-Antiquity:...
with a clawed demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
hand at one end grasping a crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
and inscribed with strange glyph
Glyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
s and runes
Runic alphabet
The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter...
. It fell to the earth from the stars in the ancient past and as it changed hands through the ages it granted whoever claimed it the promise of ultimate power as well as the curse of eventual destruction. The only way to counter the Hand's malevolent force is with the talisman known as the Heart of Tammuz, a golden amber
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...
stone shaped like a heart and warm to the touch, the same talisman that Conan had found and used to overcome the shadow bats.
Conan eventually confronts Munthassem Khan in his throne room
Throne room
A throne room is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure is set up with elaborate pomp— usually raised, often with steps, and under a canopy, both of which are part of the original notion of...
, but finds himself losing to the power of the Hand until Hildico comes to his rescue, takes the Heart of Tammuz and hurls it at Munthassem Khan, striking him in the head and rendering him unconscious. The forces of the Heart and Hand are then unleashed and wage a cosmic struggle against each other until both finally come together with a great shattering thunder as of two worlds colliding. In the aftermath both the Heart and Hand are gone and nothing is left of Munthassem Khan but ashes. The curse is broken and Yaralet is free.
Adaptation
- Conan the Barbarian #30 adapted by Roy ThomasRoy ThomasRoy 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 BuscemaJohn BuscemaJohn 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...
. - Conan #47 - 50 adapted by Tim Truman and Tomas Giorello.
External links
- Conan wiki • The Hand of Nergal • Synopsis, characters, locations, and publishing history
- Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
- Conan.com: The Official Website
See also
- NergalNergalThe name Nergal, Nirgal, or Nirgali refers to a deity in Babylon with the main seat of his cult at Cuthah represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew bible as the deity of the city of Cuth : "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal"...
- Tammuz (deity)