Conan the Barbarian Vol 1 45

Earth (Main story and flashback)
- Hyboria (Main story and flashback)
  - Zamora (Main story and flashback)
    - Shadizar the Wicked (Main story and flashback)
      - Unnamed tavern (First appearance)
      - Prison (First appearance)
      - Thieves' Quarter (Only in flashback)
  - Koth
    - Dark Valley ⏵ (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
      - Dagoth Hill ⏵ (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
        Ruins (First appearance) (Main story and flashback)
        
        Cave (First appearance)
  - Cimmeria (Mentioned)
  - Khitai (Invoked)
  - Corinthia (Mentioned)
Hell (Invoked)

Items:

Laza-Lanti's lute (First appearance)
Hellfire (Mentioned)

Events:

Hyborian Age

Synopsis for "The Last Ballad of Laza-Lanti"

Conan finally arrived at the zamoran capital Shadizar. Relaxing in a tavern, he listens to a haunting song from the minstrel Laza-Lanti. A brawl inevitably breaks out, landing Conan and Laza-Lanti in jail. The minstrel sings a tale of the nearby Dark Valley, where he was born, and how he fled the valley when he was a child, on the run from a monster which was stalking him. Laza-Lanti has vowed to return to the place of his birth to free it from the monster's power, and after the two escape using the minstrel's hidden dagger, Conan decides to accompany him. They make their way to the Dark Valley, which lies a bit south of Shadizar just on the other side of the frontier to Koth. Arriving at the valley, they find a few men leaving behind cattle as a sacrifice. Soon, they see a beautiful woman arrive to take the cattle into a cave beneath some cliffside ruins. The woman offers the cattle to a slimy, tentacled monster. Laza-Lanti impulsively attacks the creature, and Conan assists, and they manage to kill the demon. When the minstrel expects gratitude from the woman, Timara, she explains that she served the demon willingly, for it kept her young, and she had bore it two two sons. One son was given to druids to raise; the other is Laza-Lanti himself. The spells keeping her young gone, she swiftly ages and kills herself at the feed (tentacles) of the demon she loved. Conan leaves the devastated man, who also commits suicide, while Conan ponders what happened to the other son.

Notes

The songs were written by Robert E. Howard.
The story shares similarities with The Darksome Demon of Raba-Than, published in Savage Sword of Conan #84. In that story, Conan escapes another Zamoran city with a young man who feel compelled to return to his youthplace which is haunted by a monster, revealed after his death to be the man's father. Both men's mother serves the monster as mistress and handmaiden. The young men even have similarly-styled names: Rala-Zalon and Laza-Lanti. In both cases, the revelation causes suicides among the protagonists.
Inks are credited only to the Crusty Bunkers.
Between this and the nex issue takes place the story "Night of the Dark God", published in Savage Tales #4: Conan rides north visiting his home village in Cimmeria, finding it devastated and his childhood love Mara abducted by Vanir raiders. He follows them, but can not save her in time. With the help of a pictish "black god" statue and some picts he revenges Mara.

Trivia

From some, this story is considered to tell a lot about traumatic elements of Robert E. Howards childhood, which resulted in his suicide after his mothers death.

Links and References

References

Conan the Barbarian Vol 1 45

Appearing in "The Last Ballad of Laza-Lanti"

Synopsis for "The Last Ballad of Laza-Lanti"

Notes

Trivia

See Also

Links and References

References

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