The Frost-Giant’s Daughter

Introduction

Originally written as a Conan story, The Frost-Giant’s Daughter (REH1) is a 3,200-word tale that was rejected by Weird Tales on March 10, 1932. In response, the story was rewritten with a different protagonist, Amra, and retitled The Frost King’s Daughter (REH2). This version was given to 17-year-old Charles D. Hornig for publication in The Fantasy Fan (Volume 1, No. 7, March 1934), where the title was changed to Gods of the North.

Later, L. Sprague de Camp discovered the original manuscript but heavily rewrote it, releasing it under the title The Frost Giant’s Daughter (REH/LSDC).

Alternate Title: GODS OF THE NORTH
Alternate Title: THE FROST-KING’S DAUGHTER
Alternate Title: THE FROST GIANT’S DAUGHTER

From the letters:

The rejected story is probably one of the three Howard refers to in a letter (#195) to Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. March 1932:

By the way, Farnsworth rejected the last three yarns I sent him, together with a bunch of verse. No rest for the weary.

A very interesting passage can be seen in a letter (#203) to H.P. Lovecraft, ca. April 1932:

I’ve been working on a new character, providing him with a new epoch — the Hyborian Age, which men have forgotten, but which remains in classical names, and distorted myths. Wright rejected most of the series, but I did sell him one — “The Phoenix on the Sword” which deals with the adventures of King Conan the Cimmerian, in the kingdom of Aquilonia.

Probably the rejected Conan stories are “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter” and “The God in the Bowl“.

Detailed summary

The story begins on a desolate, bloodstained battlefield covered in snow. The battle between the golden-haired warriors of the Æsir and the red-haired Vanir has ended, leaving the frozen corpses of the fallen scattered across the ice. The only two men still standing are Conan of Cimmeria and Heimdul, a Vanir warrior. The two, battered and bloodied, confront each other. Heimdul demands Conan’s name so that his kin will know who killed him, but Conan replies that Heimdul will have to tell them himself in Valhalla. The two clash, and though Conan is struck hard on the helmet, he thrusts his sword into Heimdul’s chest, killing him.

Weary and disoriented, Conan stumbles away from the battlefield. The reflection of the sun on the snow blinds him, and he collapses onto one knee, struggling to regain his senses. Suddenly, he hears a silvery, mocking laugh.

A woman appears before him, impossibly beautiful, wearing nothing but a sheer gossamer veil. Her ivory-white skin gleams against the snow, and her golden-red hair dazzles in the light. Her eyes, shifting between blue and grey, seem filled with cruel amusement. She taunts Conan, her voice both musical and mocking, and he is struck by her ethereal beauty.

He demands to know who she is and where she has come from, but she only laughs and questions his right to swear by Ymir, the frost-giant god of the north. Though Conan is a Cimmerian, he insists he has fought as fiercely as any Æsir warrior. He asks if she is of Asgard, hoping she will lead him to her tribe so he can find rest and aid. She refuses and instead challenges him, swaying before him seductively and asking if he finds her beautiful.

Consumed by a primal passion, Conan reaches for her, but she laughs and flees across the snow. Enraged and driven by lust, Conan pursues her.

Despite his strength and endurance, the woman remains just out of reach. She moves impossibly fast, barely disturbing the snow, while Conan, wearing his heavy mail, sinks deep into the drifts. He curses her, vowing that he will catch her no matter where she runs.

As they reach a mountainous region, two Frost Giants, towering warriors clad in icy mail, rise to block Conan’s path. The woman calls out to them, revealing that they are her brothers. She declares that she has brought them a warrior to slay and that his heart will be placed on their father’s table. The giants roar and raise their massive axes, but Conan does not hesitate—he throws himself into battle.

The fight is brutal. Conan slashes one giant’s leg, bringing him down, but before he can recover, the second giant strikes him with an axe, sending him sprawling into the snow. Conan narrowly avoids another killing blow and, with a mighty swing, nearly decapitates the second giant. As he turns, the woman, now truly afraid, watches him in horror.

No longer mocking, she flees in earnest, but Conan is closing in. Her breath is ragged, her speed is failing. Just as he is about to seize her, she cries out:

“Ymir! Oh, my father, save me!”

A blinding explosion of cold blue fire envelops her. Conan shields his eyes as the heavens erupt with frozen flames, the snow reflecting the dazzling light. When he regains his vision, the woman is gone. The snow where she stood is untouched. In the distance, thunder rumbles as if from a massive war chariot racing across the sky. Overcome with exhaustion, Conan collapses into the snow.

He awakens to find himself surrounded by his Æsir comrades, led by Niord. They had been searching for him after discovering the battlefield. Niord asks Conan why he wandered so far into the north, as they have followed his tracks for hours.

Conan, still dazed, speaks of the woman and the frost giants. His comrades dismiss his tale as delirium brought on by battle fatigue, but the old warrior Gorm insists that Conan encountered Atali, the daughter of Ymir. According to legend, Atali appears to dying warriors on battlefields, luring them into the wastelands so that her frost-giant brothers can slay them. Gorm claims to have seen her himself in his youth but was too weak to follow her.

Skeptical, the others laugh off the story. But Conan, staring at his clenched fist, realizes he still holds a wisp of her gossamer veil—proof that what he experienced was real.

Characters

  • Conan of Cimmeria – A black-haired warrior who survives a brutal battle between the Æsir and the Vanir. After slaying Heimdul, he encounters a mysterious woman who lures him into a deadly pursuit.
  • Atali – A supernatural being, the daughter of Ymir. She appears to warriors dying on the battlefield, luring them into the wastelands so her frost-giant brothers can kill them. She is described as impossibly beautiful, with golden-red hair, shifting eyes, and ivory skin.
  • The Frost Giants – Atali’s massive, mail-clad brothers, who attempt to slay Conan at her command. He kills both in combat.
  • Ymir – The frost-giant god of the north and Atali’s father. When Conan finally closes in on Atali, she calls upon Ymir to save her, and a supernatural force whisks her away in a blinding flash of icy fire.
  • Heimdul – A red-haired Vanir warrior and the last of Wulfhere’s band. He fights Conan in single combat and is slain.
  • Niord – The leader of the Æsir warriors who find Conan after his encounter. He is skeptical of Conan’s story.
  • Gorm – An older Æsir warrior who insists that Atali is real, recalling his own encounter with her years before.
  • Horsa – Another Æsir warrior, who dismisses Conan’s experience as a battle-weary hallucination.

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