Line #32 Literature/TheHourOfTheDragon


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cover_art_by_frank_frazetta_used_for_the_lancer_books_conan_sphere_prestige_and_1981_1994_ace_editions_of_conan_the_conqueror.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Cover by Creator/FrankFrazetta for Lancer Books.]]
3
4	''[[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Hour_of_the_Dragon The Hour of the Dragon]]'' is the only full-length ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' novel by Creator/RobertEHoward. Published in 5 parts, from December, 1935 to April, 1936.
5
6	An ancient wizard named Xaltotun is brought BackFromTheDead by a group of Nemedian conspirators using the Heart of Ahriman. Xaltotun seeks to conquer the world, but first he sets his eyes on Aquilonia, and its king, Conan. Using his dark magic, he defeats Conan and locks him away, setting his forces to reap the spoils of Conan's fallen kingdom.
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8	A slave girl named Zenobia, who has fallen in love with Conan, helps him to escape and steal the Heart of Ahriman. Unfortunately, Conan loses the Heart, and must travel from one end of Hyboria to the other in order to get it back, having many adventures along the way. All the while he is pursued by Xaltotun's evil minions, who seek to reclaim the Heart.
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10	After reclaiming the Heart, Conan rallies his forces, including an order of good magic users called the Cult of Asura, and sets out to reclaim his kingdom and save the world from Xaltotun.
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12	Creator/MarvelComics began their adaptation of the story in their ''ComicBook/ConanTheBarbarian'' comic book and finished it in the ''Savage Sword of Conan'' magazine. Creator/DarkhorseComics would make their own comic adaptation years later. Creator/{{Ablaze}}, as of 2022, have taken to adapting the story as well.
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14	The story received a loose adaptation with the 1997 movie ''Film/KullTheConqueror''.
15	----
16	!!The Hour of the Tropes:
17	* TheArchmage: Xaltotun was the greatest sorcerer of his era, and certainly the most powerful one that Conan ever meets.
18	* ArtifactOfDoom: Inverted with the Heart of Ahriman, which is an artifact of pure ''good''. When Xaltotun comes into possession of it, he hides it in a box because he knows that it cannot be used to aid his evil magic. He also knows that it's the only thing capable of destroying him.
19	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: After his brother and nephews are killed in ThePlague, Tarascus gets one. He was expecting it, even though he'd been his brother's SpareToTheThrone; Tarascus helped induce the plague magically, and ThePlague ended with the king and princes' deaths.
20	-->''Men said the gods were satisfied because the evil king and his spawn were slain, and when his young brother Tarascus was crowned in the great coronation hall, the populace cheered until the towers rocked, acclaiming the monarch on whom the gods smiled.''
21	* BackFromTheDead: Xaltotun is resurrected by Orestes using the Heart of Ahriman at the beginning of the story.
22	* BeautifulSlaveGirl: Zenobia, who is a harem slave to the King of Nemedia (although he has so many girls in his harem that he has never touched her).
23	* BigBad: Xaltotun, the ancient EvilSorceror, raised to help the conspirators fulfill their ambitions before they learn EvilIsNotAToy.
24	* BlasphemousBoast: Xaltotun during the FinalBattle mocks Hadrathus of the Cult of Asura as a dog and "false priest of an outworn god" and that he will [[GoMadFromTheRevelation witness magic terrible enough to drive him to madness]]. Xaltotun sings [[ThisCannotBe a very different tune]] when Hadrathus reveals he has the Heart of Ahriman.
25	* BlingBlingBang: Conan is pleased when he finds that Zenobia did not give him this but a plain, practical blade, and thinks more highly of her.
26	* BloodMagic: Xaltotun takes his sweet time using his sorcery to influence the final battle, and when challenged about it explains that blood empowers great sorcery, and he'd rather conserve his strength. Apparently, it doesn't matter if the blood is enemy ''or'' ally, as the army Xaltotun supports takes heavy casualties while he waits for his magic to build up.
27	* {{Bookends}}: The story begins and ends with the army of Aquilonia going into battle with the army of Nemedia.
28	* BurnTheWitch: Happens to Zelata, fortunately she is saved by Conan.
29	* TheCaligula: Valerius' reign as false king of Aquilonia is known for such debauchery and decadence that even his own allies tell him that he's overdoing it. What they don't realize is [[ManipulativeBastard he's intentionally doing it]].
30	* CameBackWrong: Of a benign nature. The ritual to revive the powerful Stygian wizard Thoth-mekri was not completed due to an interruption, so unlike Xaltotun he still believes himself dead, simply handing the Heart of Ahriman to Conan and leading him out of the labyrinthine temple at his request before retreating back into the crypts.
31	* ClingyMacGuffin: The Heart of Ahriman cannot be held by the sea.
32	* CoolHorse: Xaltotun's chariot is drawn by "weird horses." When he dies, they bring the chariot and, when someone puts the body on board, carry it off.
33	* DamselInDistress: Countess Albiona. One of Conan's fiercely loyal subjects. Very young and innocent, a blonde maiden with a "[[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold proud, rebellious spirit]]," so Valerius steals her lands, [[GirlInTheTower locks her up in The Iron Tower]], AndNowYouMustMarryMe. She quite sensibly refuses, so she's about to be [[OffWithHisHead beheaded]]. Fortunately, Conan finds out and rescues her, assisted by the Asura priests. Safe in Count Trocero's palace in Poitain, she verifies what she and Conan found out from the Asura devotees about Xaltotun's longevity and power.
34	* DarkIsNotEvil: The Cult of Asura. Its members wear dark robes and are extremely secretive, but they happily aid [[TheGoodKing Conan]] in regaining his throne.
35	* DecadentCourt: Valerius turns the Aquilonian court into this after taking over.
36	* DecapitatedArmy: Invoked, discussed, and played straight. [[spoiler:As dawn breaks and the hosts of Nemedia and Aquilonia square off to do battle, King Conan is paralyzed in his tent by some foul sorcery. His general notes that, if their mythically undefeatable warrior king does not lead the charge, the army will lose morale and break, so they dress someone of Conan's approximate stature in the king's armor and have him lead the charge. When the substitute falls in battle, the Aquilonian army is instantly routed.]]
37	* DiamondsInTheBuff: Conan encounters a harem girl named Zenobia. She is described as wearing nothing but a wisp of silk twisted about her loins and "jeweled breast-plates."
38	* DistressedDude: After his army is routed at the start of the story, Conan is taken captive by the Nemedians and thrown in a dungeon. He only gets out because [[spoiler: Zenobia, who is in love with him, gets him out of there.]]
39	* DragonInChief: Two-fold. Amalric is merely a baron, nominally subordinate to both Tarascus and Valerius, but everyone knows his wealth and power is what really drives the takeover of both Nemedia and Aquilonia. And [[spoiler:in the final battle, it is his death that puts the final nail in the coffin of those opposing Conan]]. But above even him is Xaltotun; he theoretically has no political power at all, but when, late in the story, he tells the others that he is "the real master of the western nations," they are chilled by the sudden realization that he is correct.
40	* DualWielding: Conan uses sword and dagger to fend off the ghouls that attack him and his horse in the haunted woods.
41	* ElCidPloy: When Conan is disabled by sorcery before the first battle, his advisers try this (over Conan's objections; Conan himself asked them to strap him into his saddle so he could still lead the charge). [[spoiler:It fails, because the stand-in doesn't have Conan's battle experience and falls for a trap-- just as Xaltotun planned.]]
42	* EmergencyImpersonation: Conan is incapacitated on the eve of battle by a wizard's servant. In order to keep his army from being demoralized and consequently losing his kingdom, he has one of his most promising commanders don his armor and lead his men in his place -- only for the commander to have a cliff face dropped on him, making the world at large believe that King Conan is dead. The rest of the novel revolves around Conan trying to win back his throne and overthrow his usurper.
43	* TheEmpire: The thankfully long-fallen dark realm of Acheron. Xaltotun intends to resurrect it, perhaps literally. Tarascus and Amalric both have intentions to turn Aquilonia and Nemedia into the seed of a new empire, but there can be only one imperial throne...
44	* EnemyCivilWar: Tarascus steals the Heart of Ahriman from Xaltotun, fearing that Xaltotun intends to betray him and his conspirators ([[ProperlyParanoid he's all but stated to be right]], [[RightForTheWrongReasons though said artifact is actually the only thing capable of defeating him]]), and Valerius, knowing that Conan lives, instantly considers whether his allies intend to use Conan against him.
45	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Orastes realizes that bringing back Xaltotun was wrong.
46	-->''"When we employed the Heart of Ahriman to bring a dead man back to life," Orastes said abruptly, "we did not weigh the consequences of tampering in the black dust of the past. The fault is mine, and the sin. We thought only of our four ambitions, forgetting what ambitions this man might himself have. And we have loosed a demon upon the earth, a fiend inexplicable to common humanity. I have plumbed deep in evil, but there is a limit to which I, or any man of my race and age, can go."''
47	* EvilIsNotAToy: The conspirators quickly learn that they're not using Xaltotun to advance their agendas, he's using them to advance ''his''.
48	* EvilIsNotWellLit: The dungeon Xaltotun imprisons Conan in is just shy of pitch black, only some shafts admitting faint moonlight give it illumination once the jailers take their torches with them. Conan even suspects the shafts close by day, permitting prisoners faint moonlight but no sunlight as a form of psychological torture.
49	* EvilOverlord: Xaltotun, High Priest of Set and sorcerer-king of Acheron.
50	* FamedInStory: Conan. He uses it.
51	* FisherKing: Conan's loss of his throne and the corresponding loss of the Heart of Ahriman leads to the devastation of Aquilonia. Though not ''exactly'' mystical, this was very much deliberate as Howard was writing the story for a British market.
52	* FourthDateMarriage: [[spoiler:After Zenobia helps Conan escape from the dungeons of Nemedia's Royal Palace, Conan rewards her by marrying her and making her the queen of Aquilonia. Even in the few pages they're together, some effort is made to show why Conan would like her for queen. She loves him devotedly, but is very sensible, brings him proper weapons, steals a perfect horse for him, and keeps her head in a crisis. Also, several of Conan's allies tell him frankly that if he had a son, things would have been a lot different after he "died" since the people could have rallied around the heir (even if he wasn't yet of age).]]
53	* GirlInTheTower: Countess Albiona (a supporter of King Conan) is imprisoned in the Iron Tower of Tarantia because she refused to become the consort of a tyrannical puppet king. [[spoiler:Conan infiltrates the tower through a hidden door, kills her jailers, and rescues her.]]
54	* GiveMeASign: Men pray during ThePlague, and take its ending with the king's death as a sign, and a mark of favor for his brother and heir. Conan has none of it:
55	-->''"Men are fools, as always," grunted Conan. "If the plague struck all who sinned, then by Crom there wouldn't be enough left to count the living! Why should the gods -- who the priests tell me are just -- slay five hundred peasants and merchants and nobles before they slew the king, if the whole pestilence were aimed at him? Were the gods smiting blindly, like swordsmen in a fog? By Mitra, if I aimed my strokes no straighter, Aquilonia would have had a new king long ago."''
56	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Orastes is pleased that this did not happen.
57	-->''Their iron nerves had withstood an ordeal that might have driven weaker men mad. He knew it was with no weaklings that he conspired, but men whose courage was as profound as their lawless ambitions and capacity for evil.''
58	* GrandFinale: Howard originally intended the story as this.
59	* GraveRobbing: This is necessary to revive Xaltotun.
60	* {{Greed}}: A man offers to betray Conan for this, [[spoiler:but his true motive is {{Revenge}}. He reveals all when he has led them into the trap, because they have so utterly ruined his life that he does not care about them killing him]].
61	-->''"Men say you have gold," mouthed the man, shivering under his rags. "Give some to me! Give me gold and I will show you how to defeat the king!"''
62	* HappilyEverAfter: In the very last sentence of the book, Conan speaks of Zenobia, the slave girl who saved him at great risk to herself: "She was a slave in Nemedia, but I will make her a queen in Aquilonia". Howard wrote no Conan adventures set beyond this moment, evidently intending his hero to have some bit of rest in a blissful happy marriage, and hopefully BabiesEverAfter to continue his kingdom in the future.
63	* HappyRain: The end of the plague is a storm.
64	* HardHead: Conan is dazed and has his vision blur after a head injury -- but that hardly stops him.
65	* HeroicSacrifice: Tiberias dies for leading Valerius astray, because he had nothing to lose. Dying, he taunts Valerius that with all the injuries Valerius had done him, he didn't care about dying.
66	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Zorathus tells Valbroso how to open his chest, without mentioning that if you do it with your bare hands, you will be poisoned.
67	* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: This is why Countess Albiona is awaiting execution -- she refused.
68	* ImAHumanitarian: Conan scorns the rumor that the worshippers of Asura eat human flesh and eats their meat. [[spoiler:He's right, as Asura is one of the few Hyborian gods who isn't a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]] or [[EldritchAbomination worse]], and is merely maligned by rival priesthoods. It's nothing but roast beef.]]
69	* ImmortalityImmorality: Discussed when Conan meets up with Akivasha.
70	-->''"Her only sin was that she loved life and all the meanings of life," said the Stygian girl. "To win life she courted death. She could not bear to think of growing old and shriveled and worn, and dying at last as hags die. She wooed Darkness like a lover and his gift was life -- life that, not being life as mortals know it, can never grow old and fade. She went into the shadows to cheat age and death--"''
71	* ImplacableMan: Conan when he's after the Heart of Ahriman. All right, he has to quell one LeaveYourQuestTest when he thinks of less complicated adventures with lower stakes, but only one.
72	* InfallibleBabble: The rumors that Conan is OnlyMostlyDead spread over the entire kingdom without getting mangled.
73	* IWantThemAlive:
74	** Played straight by Xaltotun, who believes Conan might be of some use to him and keeps Conan alive against all advice to the contrary.
75	** Defied by Valerius, who, upon hearing Conan is alive and rescued Countess Albiona, orders his men to find her and kill her and her companion on sight, "Do not try to take them alive."
76	* KickTheDog: Xaltotun turns the belt of a soldier into a deadly snake, which promptly kills the poor soldier with its venom. Xaltotun does this simply to illustrate to his allies how dangerous he is.
77	* KillerGorilla: Conan encounters one while escaping from a Nemedian dungeon.
78	* LaResistance: Resistance continues after Conan is driven from the throne; his survival lends it new strength, and when he recovers the Heart of Ahriman, it overwhelms his enemies. Even before the final battle the conspirators have effectively lost control of Aquilonia, with only Tarantia, the capital, under their direct control.
79	* LeaveYourQuestTest: Conan faces a rare dual version. He feels the temptation to leave his quest for the Heart of Ahriman and to regain his throne -- for the InHarmsWay life of a mercenary. He chooses the "regain the throne" quest instead of the mercenary way of life out a sense of responsibility and duty for his subjects.
80	* LoveAtFirstSight: When Zenobia first appears at the door of Conan's cell and offers to free him, he is initially suspicious of her motives. She explains: "I have loved you, King Conan, ever since I saw you riding at the head of your knights when you visited King Nimed years ago. My heart tugged at its strings to leap from my bosom and fall in the dust of the street under your horse's hooves".
81	* MagicIsEvil: Subverted. Unlike most Conan stories written by Howard, in which Conan overcomes evil wizards or supernatural monsters via mundane means, Conan in this story is aided by good-aligned magic users such as Zelata and the Cult of Asura.
82	* MacGuffin: The Heart of Ahriman, the only device which can withstand Xaltotun's sorcery, and because it gave him life it can take it away.
83	* MagicMirror: Conan is shown to Xaltotun with a magic mirror.
84	* MagicMusic: Xaltotun uses drum magic.
85	* MaliciousSlander: ThePlague is blamed on the king of Nemedia because of this. When he and his sons die and a great storm immediately blows away the plague, everyone takes it as a sign of divine favor.
86	* MineralMacGuffin: The Heart of Ahriman.
87	-->''The red heart of the night it is, strong to save or to damn. It came from afar, and from long ago. While I held it, none could stand before me. But it was stolen from me, and Acheron fell, and I fled an exile into dark Stygia.''
88	* TheMole: Conan tells Zenobia to walk with him so he can kill her if she proves to be this.
89	* MuggingTheMonster: A galley captain is short a seaman and decides to [[PressGanged kidnap an unconscious]] Conan. Conan reacts exactly as you would expect him to.
90	* MushroomSamba: Conan sees Xaltotun using the black lotus.
91	-->''It was the pollen of the black lotus, which creates deathlike sleep and monstrous dreams; and he knew that only the grisly wizards of the Black Ring, which is the nadir of evil, voluntarily seek the scarlet nightmares of the black lotus, to revive their necromantic powers.''
92	* NatureHero: Zelata the witch. She lives away from civilisation, finds animals to be much more friendly than humans, and has both a [[NobleWolf wolf]] and [[NobleBirdOfPrey eagle]] for companions.
93	* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The book was written in late 1933 or early 1934, shortly after Hitler took power in Germany. Looking at the map appearing in every Conan book it is clear that Aquilonia is France and Nemedia is Germany -- hereditary enemies. There is a new regime in Nemedia, which initially arouses enthusiasm, immediately starts planning war and conquest, and perpetrates countless atrocities. Xaltotun plans to perpetrate "the greatest bloodbath the world had ever seen" in order to bring back the glories of an ancient empire. Nemedia/Germany occupies Aquilonia/France, puts a collaborator regime in power, brutally oppresses the Aquilonian Resistance. Finally, the Aquilonians are liberated and take grim revenge on those who had collaborated with the occupiers. Howard, who would not live to see UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, made a fairly accurate prediction.
94	* NervesOfSteel: The conspirators awakening Xaltotun are described as having these, for even witnessing such black sorcery should drive most men mad.
95	* NobleWolf: Zelata has one.
96	* NoImmortalInertia: Xaltotun reverts to a shriveled mummy when the magic that brought him back is dispelled. Zelata claims his living appearance was merely a {{Glamour}}.
97	* ObfuscatingInsanity: Though Valerius seems to be a completely debauched wastrel, there is a method to his madness. He hates pretty much everyone in both Aquilonia ''and'' Nemedia, especially Amalric, and wants to ruin both kingdoms so thoroughly that Amalric's imperial ambitions will never be realized. It also doesn't help that he realizes early on that he is utterly expendable to his "allies" and will be replaced the moment that he has served his purpose as their puppet ruler.
98	* OminousFog: Hadrathus summons one to aid some refugees in ambushing Valerius and his host while they attempt a flanking maneuver on Conan's army.
99	* OneSteveLimit: Amalric is the name of three distinct characters within the Conan legendarium: An Aquilonian soldier of fortune who adventures with Conan throughout the Black Kingdoms in "The Drums of Tombalku", the leader of a Nemedian mercenary company who allies himself with Conan during the invasion of Khoraja in "Black Colossus", and the Nemedian nobleman who bankrolls Valerius's coup here. It's never explicitly spelled out if they're all supposed to be the same guy, or if this is just a case of Howard's penchant for using similar-sounding names for characters catching up with him. The name Valerius was also used for one of Conan's allies in "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn".
100	* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: Man- (and horse-) eating monsters in a haunted wood. One is strong enough to give Conan a rough time of slaying it, against the full pack he keeps them at bay long enough to mount his horse and flee.
101	* OurLichesAreDifferent: Xaltotun is a necromancer of ancient Acheron dead some three thousand years, given life again by the Heart of Ahriman. He was killed well after the fall of Acheron, and a coin minted some 100 years before the fall bears his likeness, indicating he lived for an unnaturally long time.
102	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Akivasha is a legend of a woman granted eternal youth and beauty in a paradisaical afterlife, essentially a tale of TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth (in some tellings that she blows off as the words of "fools"; other tales of her are apparently far less benign). In reality, she's a lonely vampire lurking in the subterranean bowls of a Stygian temple, commanding nameless horrors who dwell in its darkness, and is tossed the odd virgin sacrifice to slake her blood thirst. She wants Conan mainly because she wants to taste male blood again, but also because she wants a vampire mate to spend eternity with her.
103	* PastExperienceNightmare: Conan suffers from bad dreams, though less bad than most, and with hints of TalkingInYourDreams.
104	-->''A devilish dream it was, too. I trod again all the long, weary roads I traveled on my way to the kingship.''
105	* PlayingWithFire: Zelata uses fire to show Conan what happened in his realm in his absence.
106	* PlotIrrelevantVillain: The vampire princess Akivasha is just one obstacle that Conan faces on his adventure, she has no ties with Xaltotun or his conspirators whatsoever. Conan doesn't even kill her, he flees her lair and she is never mentioned again.
107	* PluckyGirl: Zenobia, a harem girl who has no martial training whatsoever, but is brave and resourceful enough to save Conan when he is thrown into prison by the conspirators, arranging for his escape and showing no fear whatsoever. Her courage ends up making him fall for her.
108	* PowerCrystal: The Heart of Ahriman, aside from being the MacGuffin, is a magical artifact so powerful and mysterious that it can bring the dead back to life which no other magic can do - and that is considered one of the ''least'' of its abilities. Not even Xaltotun, the greatest Acheronian sorcerer of his day had unlocked all or even most of its secrets. Xaltotun even feared it for this reason and kept it safely hidden because it could undo him easily.
109	* ThePowerOfFriendship: Many of Conan's triumphs in this story are due to assistance from allies that he helped at some point in the past. The villains, on the other hand, ultimately fail because they have their own conflicting secret agendas, do not trust each other, and cannot work together effectively. In fact, the villains' downfall began the very moment Tarascus stole the Heart of Ahriman without Xaltotun's knowledge, believing it was the source of his power [[WrongGenreSavvy but in reality was the only thing capable of stopping him]], and sends it away. This is the only reason why Conan is able to go on his quest for it, retrieve the Heart, and put an end to the conspirators' plans.
110	* PowerOfTrust: Zenobia implores Conan to trust her, and he grudgingly does.
111	-->''"If you doubt and hesitate, we are lost! Why should I bring you up out of the pits to betray you now?"''
112	* ReligionIsMagic: The priests of Asura can see through illusions. One of them can also wield the Heart of Ahriman, blurring the lines a little. Both the Asuran and Mithran priests are mentioned as having magic, just not nearly as powerful as Xaltotun's.
113	* ReligionOfEvil: Inverted with the cult of Asura, an eastern deity whose followers were accused during Conan's reign of performing human sacrifices, eating human flesh and casting black magic. Being a man who knows a lot about actual evil sorcerers, he did not believe any of it and ordered the priests of Mitra to leave them alone. That gesture turned all followers of Asura unto his [[UndyingLoyalty stalwart supporters]] [[spoiler: whose help will end up being crucial against his enemies]].
114	* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The priests of Set keep giant snakes.
115	* ResurrectionSickness: The book opens with Conan's adversaries resurrecting Xaltotun. He's a little confused and seems to have some memory loss at first, but in a few hours he's fine.
116	* RightfulKingReturns: "Valerius, rightful heir of the throne of Aquilonia" wants this -- to depose Conan. It doesn't work, as usual. For one thing, Conan sets out to implement this trope.
117	* RitualMagic: A ritual is used to resurrect Xaltotun.
118	* RoyalBrat: Valerius knows better. He also knows that YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness is hanging over his head, and so in a TakingYouWithMe gambit, acts like this to destroy the kingdom, so the man who will kill him will not profit from it.
119	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Big time. The novel begins with Conan leading an army into battle, then he escapes from the dungeons of Nemedia, then he goes on a quest to recover the only weapon capable of destroying Xaltotun, and the novel ends with him rallying an army to his cause and defeating the invaders. Conan is probably the most proactive king in fantasy since King Arthur.
120	* ScarilyCompetentTracker: The Khitan assassins [[spoiler:Valerius]] sics on Conan pursue him across several kingdoms and an ocean without much trouble. They appear to be doing much of it just by ''smell''.
121	* SecretCircleOfSecrets: The cult of Asura is portrayed as this. While they are secretive, Conan refused to persecute them without actual crimes, and they assist him in regaining his throne and do not, in the course of the novel, show any sign that the accusations are anything but MaliciousSlander.
122	* {{Seers}}: Zelata gives Conan some cryptic advice, prophesy from the gods, about reclaiming "the heart of his kingdom." Conan initially assumes this to be the steadfast holdouts against the occupation in Poitain, but when he hears about the Heart of Ahriman from Hadrathus, the message clicks.
123	* SlaveGalley: Conan gets shanghaied to serve in one, at least until he leads a galley slave rebellion and takes over the galley in question.
124	* SpeakOfTheDevil: Zenobia fears it, even though it's a man being spoken of.
125	-->''"Do not speak of him!" she whispered. "Demons are often summoned by the sound of their names.''
126	* TheStarscream: Amalric wanted to manipulate his allies in order to become the emperor of the Hyborian kingdoms.
127	* StumblingUponTheLostWizard: An unconscious Conan is found and healed by a hermit witch. When he tells her what's happening to Aquilonia, she decides to help fight for the kingdom's freedom.
128	* TailorMadePrison: Conan is thrown into a prison with a skeleton and taunted with the fact that only the slaves and their master know of it, and he will die there like the last one.
129	* TearsOfJoy: Mentioned when Conan appears alive.
130	-->''"Oh, but Trocero will weep tears of joy to see you, sire!" cried one.\
131	"Aye, and Prospero!" shouted another.''
132	* ThereAreNoCoincidences: The first time we see Conan in person, he clearly isn't buying the idea that the recent plague in Nemedia was a natural occurrence, stating that it was far too swift and killed too discriminately to have been anything other than some sort of sorcery, particularly how it ended when the royal family was killed off and conveniently letting Tarascus ascend to the throne.
133	* TouchOfDeath: The Stygian priest Thutothmes uses the Black Hand of Set, which turns his hand fully black and kills at the merest touch, to deal with his enemies.
134	* {{Turncoat}}: Publio promises to aid Conan, since Conan used to be a pirate not sanctioned by the government of Argos, and Publio did business with him, and if the shit hits the fan, it would cost both of them their heads. Afterwards, Publio decides it would be better for some assassins to eliminate Conan to remove the threat of his ties to the pirate ever being uncovered.
135	* TwoAliasesOneCharacter: In Argos, the fact that Conan the Cimmerian, King of Aquilonia, and Amra the Lion, the legendary pirate, are one and the same is known to a select few.
136	* TrapIsTheOnlyOption: Conan speculates that he's about to walk into a trap, but it's better than sitting around.
137	* TheUndead: The Heart of Ahriman can grant a sort of false life to long-dead and mummified corpses that has all the appearance and function of true life - however it is still a false life and can be undone by the same magic from the jewel that granted it.
138	* UnInstallment: The book has no chapter 20. It has been speculated that when publishing arrangements in Britain fell through and the manuscript was returned to Robert E. Howard, the missing chapter was omitted. This theory is based on the word count of the published work and Howard's correspondence with Dennis Archer concerning the original. Whether this is so, or Howard deleted the chapter himself, both he and ''Weird Tales'' neglected to renumber the remaining chapters. It has also been suggested that ''Weird Tales'' simply made a mistake and skipped the number. The story does not suffer from the omission, and most reprintings renumber chapters 21-23 as 20-22.
139	* TheVamp: Akivasha.
140	* VillainOpeningScene: With the conspirators as they bring Xaltotun back to life.
141	* VillainousBreakdown: Xaltotun has one when he sees that Hadrathus and Zelata have the Heart of Ahriman in their possession.
142	* VillainousValor: When Tarascus realizes the battle is lost, he refuses to flee but makes a beeline directly to Conan to fight him. [[CurbStompBattle His defeat is swift]], but Tarascus is still pragmatic enough to surrender willingly rather than be slain.
143	* VirginSacrifice: Xaltotun attempts this to unleash an unholy fury upon the heroes, but is stopped.
144	* WeatherManipulation: Xaltotun tries to trap Conan by creating a flood with rains. He dismisses it as a fluke when it fails; actually, other magic was used against it.
145	* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: Executions are held at midnight.
146	* WhiteStallion: Conan is given a white horse to make his escape.
147	* WrongGenreSavvy: Tarascus believes the [[PowerCrystal Heart of Ahriman]] is the source (or at the very least, an amplifier) of [[TheArchmage Xaltotun's black magic]], so he has it stolen from where Xaltotun hides it and replaced with a fake one so his men can dispose of it in hopes Xaltotun will be weakened in case of inevitable betrayal. In fact, the Heart is the only thing that can actually counter Xaltotun's dark magics, and Conan's quest and victory is only made possible by this act.
148	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Valerius knows Amalric will kill him as soon as the trope came into play, and so works hard on TakingYouWithMe.

Context Literature / TheHourOfTheDragon