Conan, The Dude who Needed a Hobby
Funny thing is how many people have the wrong perception of Conan- the movies & the purposeful distancing from the pulps is the core reason for this. But once you get into Robert E Howard's original writing, and it doesn't matter if you read it in the chronological order of release (starting with "The Phoenix on the Sword" (orginally a Kull story, "By This Axe I Rule")) or the life arc of Conan the Cimmerian, he bucks that trend of the Hero With A Thousand Faces, or the prototypical "Rise of a Hero" story.
Conan isn't a slave, he's not looking to avenge some wrong by external forces, he's not a victim, his parents aren't dead as doornails forcing him to abandon his pastoral childhood home, and he doesn't have some secret glorious destiny.
From his early days (Conan the Thief) in tales like "Tower of the Elephant" & "The God in the Bowl", it's clear that his life goals do not stretch further than a general lust for living the high life. Treasure is only a means to the end of enjoying himself, to be gained & spent on a whim, and though the great Jewels of Gwahlur could set him up to his old age... the slave girl Muriela is a bush in his hand.
Bird.
Either one.
Why the hell not.
It's an ADD addled whim of the moment that drives Conan from adventure to adventure, and as he describes his background, it's clear his perspective on it is was drives him.
"Crom is not a happy god."
Conan comes from a hick town in the hinterlands. Conan's god is a dour, melancholic one, and the afterlife is dull grey shadows. Any character who's encountered Cimmerians before can only remark on the contrast Conan makes in the juxtaposition. To hear people talk of Conan's tribe, they were the bronze age version of the couple from American Gothic.
Conan came to the decadent cities for the high life & wealth, and quickly & often found himself chafing at their ways as well. Occaisionally this mean killing a judge in court. Because he disliked the way the law proceeded.
Take that, Perry Mason.
But the recurrant theme throughout the Conan stories isn't some epic destiny, it's of a guy coming into his own because he was bored. He took the crown of Aquilonia because it seemed like good enough an idea at the time, and it meant he didn't go back to a crappy hick hometown on the side of a mountain.
Conan isn't a slave, he's not looking to avenge some wrong by external forces, he's not a victim, his parents aren't dead as doornails forcing him to abandon his pastoral childhood home, and he doesn't have some secret glorious destiny.
From his early days (Conan the Thief) in tales like "Tower of the Elephant" & "The God in the Bowl", it's clear that his life goals do not stretch further than a general lust for living the high life. Treasure is only a means to the end of enjoying himself, to be gained & spent on a whim, and though the great Jewels of Gwahlur could set him up to his old age... the slave girl Muriela is a bush in his hand.
Bird.
Either one.
Why the hell not.
It's an ADD addled whim of the moment that drives Conan from adventure to adventure, and as he describes his background, it's clear his perspective on it is was drives him.
"Crom is not a happy god."
Conan comes from a hick town in the hinterlands. Conan's god is a dour, melancholic one, and the afterlife is dull grey shadows. Any character who's encountered Cimmerians before can only remark on the contrast Conan makes in the juxtaposition. To hear people talk of Conan's tribe, they were the bronze age version of the couple from American Gothic.
Conan came to the decadent cities for the high life & wealth, and quickly & often found himself chafing at their ways as well. Occaisionally this mean killing a judge in court. Because he disliked the way the law proceeded.
Take that, Perry Mason.
But the recurrant theme throughout the Conan stories isn't some epic destiny, it's of a guy coming into his own because he was bored. He took the crown of Aquilonia because it seemed like good enough an idea at the time, and it meant he didn't go back to a crappy hick hometown on the side of a mountain.