The Scarlet Citadel

Introduction

“The Scarlet Citadel” is one of the original short stories (15.700 words) starring Conan the Cimmerian. First published in the January 1933 issue of Weird Tales magazine. The January issue must have arrived in December since Howard told Barlow (see below) that it had been published in the letters written circa December 1932.

The story follows an older, wiser Conan who is now King of Aquilonia. Conan receives a call for help from Amalrus, the ruler of neighboring Ophir, who claims Strabonus, the Emperor of Koth, is threatening his kingdom.

Conan marches into Ophir with an army of five thousand Aquilonian knights, only to realize it is a trap set by Amalrus and Strabonus, who are working together. They aim to destroy Conan with the help of the Kothian wizard Tsotha-lanti. Conan’s knights are cut down and he is imprisoned in a dungeon in the city of Korshemish, which is used by Tsotha-lanti for horrific magical experiments.

In the dungeon, Conan discovers bizarre horrors. He manages to free Pelias, a former rival wizard of Tsotha-lanti who had also been imprisoned. Together Conan and Pelias defeat monsters and escape the dungeon. Pelias helps Conan magically return to Aquilonia to regain his position as king.

The story climaxes with an epic battle where Conan manages to defeat and kill Strabonus and Amalrus. However, Tsotha-lanti meets a grisly end at the hands of Pelias. In the end, Conan triumphs over his enemies and saves his kingdom from downfall.

Characters

  • Conan – The protagonist, King of Aquilonia who gets lured into a trap
  • Constantius – ally of Pelias and Tsotha-lanti
  • Arpello – prince who tries to seize throne. A cruel man with royal blood. Used in a greater plot against Conan.
  • Amalrus – King of Ophir, works with Strabonus
  • Trocero – Poitanian knight, supports Conan
  • Amalrus – Ruler of Ophir who tricks Conan, working with Strabonus
  • Strabonus – King of Koth, conspires with Amalrus against Conan
  • Tsotha-lanti – Evil Kothian wizard allied with Strabonus and Amalrus
  • Pelias – Wizard. Former rival of Tsotha-lanti, helps Conan escape imprisonment
  • Satha – Giant snake controlled by Tsotha-lanti
  • Arpello—Prince of Pellia. A cruel man with royal blood. Used in a greater plot against Conan.
  • Shukeli – Evil eunuch jailer who Conan kills during his escape

Plot summary

The story follows an older, wiser Conan who is now King of Aquilonia. Conan receives a call for help from Amalrus, the ruler of neighboring Ophir, who claims Strabonus, the Emperor of Koth, is threatening his kingdom.

Conan marches into Ophir with an army of five thousand Aquilonian knights, only to realize it is a trap set by Amalrus and Strabonus, who are working together. They aim to destroy Conan with the help of the Kothian wizard Tsotha-lanti. Conan’s knights are cut down and he is imprisoned in a dungeon in the city of Korshemish, which is used by Tsotha-lanti for horrific magical experiments.

In the dungeon, Conan discovers bizarre horrors. He manages to free Pelias, a former rival wizard of Tsotha-lanti who had also been imprisoned. Together Conan and Pelias defeat monsters and escape the dungeon. Pelias helps Conan magically return to Aquilonia to regain his position as king.

The story climaxes with an epic battle where Conan manages to defeat and kill Strabonus and Amalrus. However, Tsotha-lanti meets a grisly end at the hands of Pelias. In the end, Conan triumphs over his enemies and saves his kingdom from downfall.

From the letters

In December Howard sent several first drafts to Robert H. Barlow, ca. December 1932 (letter #226):

Price tells me that you are interested in the collection of first drafts of Weird stories. I am sending by express, the first writings — or rather the first typings, since I do all my work on the typewriter — of “The Phoenix on the Sword”, “The Scarlet Citadel”, “Black Colossus”, and “Iron Shadows in the Moon”. Some of the pages seem to be missing from the first named story, but the others are complete. Hoping you will find them of interest, I remain,

P.S. “The Phoenix on the Sword” and “The Scarlet Citadel” have appeared in Weird Tales. “Black Colossus” is scheduled for the June issue, and “Iron Shadows in the Moon” has been accepted, but not scheduled.

Barlow seems to have liked the story for in another letter (#227) also circa December 1932, we learn:

I’ll be glad to sign the title pages of the stories. If I had thought, I would have done so before sending them. Glad you liked “The Scarlet Citadel”.

In a letter (#241) to Carl Jacobi from March 17, 1933, Howard thanks him for kind words regarding his story:

Thanks for the things you said about my work. I’m glad you liked “The Scarlet Citadel” so well.

In the letter (#248) to Hugh G. Schonfield, dated June 15 1933 we learn:

Dear Sir:

As I promised, in answer to your letter of May 19th, I am sending, under separate cover, a representative collection of my weird stories. These include:

1. Wings in the Night
2. The Tower of the Elephant
3. Kings of the Night
4. The House of Arabu
5. The Valley of the Lost
6. The Scarlet Citadel
7. The Horror from the Mound
8. The Children of the Night

As I have no typed copies of “The Tower of the Elephant” or “Wings in the Night,” I am sending the printed pages of these stories in order to save time. If you wish, I will prepare manuscript copies of them.

“Wings in the Night,” “The Tower of the Elephant,” “Kings of the Night,” “The Scarlet Citadel,” “The Horror from the Mound,” and “The Children of the Night” were published in Weird Tales magazine. I own the British Empire rights. “The Valley of the Lost” was accepted by the Clayton Publishing Company, for their magazine Strange Tales, but that magazine was discontinued before the story was published, and it was returned to me. “The House of Arabu” has never been published.

Howard mentions the wizard in the story in a letter to Clark Ashton Smith, postmarked December 14, 1933:

Only the fact that I have been sick has prevented me from answering your interesting letter before now. The drawing is fascinating, subtly suggesting life alien to humanity. My wizard of “The Scarlet Citadel”, Tsotha-lanti, must have looked something like that. Do you wish me to return the sketch?

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