Black Colossus by Robert E. Howard

Author:Robert E. Howard
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Conan (Fictitious character), Fiction, General
ISBN: 9780937986035
Publisher: Donald M. Grant Publishers
Published: 1981-07-15T04:00:00+00:00

pauldrons, jambes, cuisses and sallet. When Yasmela again drew the curtains, a Conan in burnished steelstood before his audience. Clad in the platearmor, vizor lifted and dark face shadowed by the blackplumes that nodded above his helmet, there was a grim impressiveness about him that even Thespidesgrudgingly noted. A jest died suddenly on Amalric's lips.

"By Mitra," said he slowly, "I never expected to see you cased in coat-armor, but you do not put it toshame. By my fingerbones, Conan, I have seen kings who wore their harness less regally than you!"

Conan was silent. A vague shadow crossed his mind like a prophecy. In years to come he was toremember Amalric's words, when the dream became the reality.

3

In the early haze of dawn the streets of Khoraja were thronged by crowds of people who watched thehosts riding from the southern gate. The army was on the move at last. There were the knights, gleamingin richly wrought plate-armor, colored plumes waving above their burnished sallets. Their steeds,caparisoned with silk, lacquered leather and gold buckles, caracoled and curvetted as their riders putthem through their paces. The early light struck glints from lancepoints that rose like a forest above thearray, their pennons flowing in the breeze. Each knight wore a lady's token, a glove, scarf or rose, boundto his helmet or fastened to his sword-belt. They were the chivalry of Khoraja, five hundred strong, ledby Count

Thespides, who, men said, aspired to the hand of Yasmela herself.

They were followed by the light cavalry on rangy steeds. The riders were typical hillmen, lean andhawk-faced; peaked steel caps were on their heads and chain-mail glinted under their flowing kaftans.Their main weapon was the terrible Shemitish bow, which could send a shaft five hundred paces. Therewere five thousand of these, and Shupras rode at their head, his lean face moody beneath his spiredhelmet.

Close on their heels marched the Khoraja spearmen, always comparatively few in any Hyborian state,where men thought cavalry the only honorable branch of service. These, like the knights, were of ancientKothic blood--sons of ruined families, broken men, penniless youths, who could not afford horses andplate-armor, five hundred of them.

The mercenaries brought up the rear, a thousand horsemen, two thousand spearmen. The tall horses ofthe cavalry seemed hard and savage as their riders; they made no curvets or gambades. There was agrimly business-like aspect to these professional killers, veterans of bloody campaigns. Clad from head tofoot in chain-mail, they wore their vizorless head-pieces over linked coifs. Their shields were unadorned,their long lances without guidons. At their saddle-bows hung battle-axes or steel maces, and each manwore at his hip a long broadsword. The spearmen were armed in much the same manner, though theybore pikes instead of cavalry lances.

They were men of many races and many crimes. There were tall Hyperboreans, gaunt, big-boned, ofslow speech and violent natures; tawny-haired Gundermen from the hills of the northwest; swaggeringCorinthian renegades; swarthy Zingarians, with bristling black mustaches and fiery tempers; Aquiloniansfrom the distant west. But all, except the Zingarians, were Hyborians.

Behind all

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