with it a mystery.
You must learn it, little Conan.
You must learn its discipline.
For no one,
no one in this world can you trust.
Not men, not women, not beasts.
This you can trust.
Kill that one!
You. Kill him!
The ashes were trampled
into the earth...
...and the blood became as snow.
Who knows what they came for?
Weapons of steel or murder?
It was never known,
for their leader rode to the south...
... while children went north
with the Vanir.
No one would ever know that my lord's
people had lived at all.
His was a tale of sorrow.
Sit here.
Sit here!
He did not care anymore.
Life and death...
... the same.
Only that the crowd would
be there to greet him...
... with howls of lust and fury.
He began to realize
his sense of worth.
He mattered.
In time, his victories
could not easily be counted.
He was taken to the East...
...a great prize,
where the war masters...
... would teach him
the deepest secrets.
Language and writing
were made available...
... the poetry of Khitai,
the philosophy of Sung.
And he also came to know
the pleasures of women...
... when he was bred
to the finest stock.
But always there remained the
discipline of steel.
My fear is that my sons
will never understand me.
We won again!
This is good.
But what is best in life?
The open steppe.
Fleet horse.
Falcons at your wrist.
And the wind in your hair.
Wrong!
Conan, what is best in life?
To crush your enemies, see them
driven before you. . .
. . .and to hear the lamentation
of their women.
That is good.
Go. Go. You're free.
Go.
It has been surmised that perhaps
my lord was like a wild animal...
... that had been kept too long.
Perhaps.
But whatever, freedom...
...so long an
unremembered dream, was his.
Crom.
There's warmth and fire.
Do you not wish to warm yourself
by my fire?
They said you would come.
From the north,
a man of great strength.
A conqueror.
A man who would someday be king
by his own hand.
Who would crush the snakes
of the earth--
Snakes? Did you say snakes?
What is it you seek?
A standard.
A symbol.
Perhaps on a shield.
Two snakes, coming together.
Facing each other. . .
. . .but they're one.
With a sun and a moon below.
Black sun, black moon.
Yes.
There's a price, barbarian.
Zamora.
The crossroads of the world.
You will find. . .
. . .what you want. . .
. . .in Zamora!
Crom!
Food.
Food!
l have not eaten for days.
And who says you will?
Give me food so l have strength
when the wolves come.
Let me die not in hunger. . .
. . .but in combat.
Who are you?
l am Subotai, thief and archer.
l am Hyrkanian,
the great order of Kerlait.
Why are you here?
Dinner for wolves.
What gods do you pray to?
l pray to the Four Winds.
And you?
To Crom.
But l seldom pray to him.
He doesn't listen.
What good is he then?
lt's just as l've always said.
He's strong. lf l die,
l have to go before him. . .
. . .and he will ask,
what's the rule of steel?
lf l don't know it,
he will cast me away.
That's Crom, strong on his mountain.
My god is greater.
Crom laughs from his mountain
at your Four Winds.
My god is stronger.
He is the everlasting sky.
Crom lives underneath him.
Civilization, ancient and wicked.
Have you ever seen this before?
No. Let's waste no time.
-lt's good.
-We don't know how long it was there.
Stink!
Does it always smell?
How does the wind get in?
How about two snakes. . .
. . ing together over a black sun?
A magnificent standard.
The only ones l know are Set's
in those cursed towers.
They've spread to every city.
Two years ago, it was a snake cult.
Now, everywhere.
They are deceivers.
They murder people in the night.
l know nothing.
Black lotus. Stygian. The best.
lt better not be Haga.
l would sell Haga to a slayer?
-A pittance to protect you from evil.
-l am evil.
They're all sluts.
He's dead already.
Can you believe that? Huh?
You're too big to be a thief.
Come. Let's leave this place.