Chronologically Speaking, Part Four: "Xuthal of the Dusk"

Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on chronologizing the Conan of Cimmeria stories. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories.

It's Cimmerian September, so it's appropriate that the next story in publication order first appeared in the September 1933 issue of Weird Tales. Appearing a few months after "Black Colossus," "Xuthal of the Dusk" was published under the title "The Slithering Shadow." Most people that I know prefer to use Howard's original and (in my opinion, at least) more unique title. Like "Black Colossus," it was the cover story, with the Margaret Brundage illustration on the front showing the characters Natala and Thalis.

So far, our entries in this series have been pretty simple to order: Conan is very mature or very young, or right in between the two. "Xuthal" is going to require a lot more interpretation than the King Conan stories or some of his first.

Here are the contextual timeline clues we have.

• Conan is primarily acting as a mercenary. "He and the girl were, so far as he knew, the sole survivors of Prince Almuric's army."
  • Conan is enlisted in Prince Almuric's army, of which he and his companion Natala are the last survivors. Almuric sounds very similar to Amalric, the general in the previous story. I had to wonder if Almuric and Amalric were intended to be the same person- after all, the former king of Aquilonia is known as both Numedides and Namedides, and the capitol of Aquilonia changes names from Tamar to Tarantia, so he's made similar spelling and name changes. However, because Amalric is stated in "Black Colossus" to be a general and Almuric is a prince, they're likely different men.
  • It's never stated exactly who Conan is fighting for in this story. Almuric's army is stated to be fighting the "defeated rebel prince of Koth," and sweeps through Shem and then the outskirts of Stygia, but we're not exactly sure where they're coming from. Ophir? Khoraja? 
  • Conan and Natala are have been pursued by Stygian horsemen, but managed to shake off the pursuit and Conan isn't recognized by anybody or implied to be in any special position in the army. If Conan was a highly-ranked commander in Almuric's army like he is in "Black Colossus," I don't think he would've abandoned the rest of the army.
• Conan is clad very simply. "Though his only garment was a silk loin-cloth, girdled by a wide gold-buckled belt from which hung a saber and a broad-bladed poniard." With only a loin-cloth (though a silk one! A gentrified loin-cloth!) and gold-buckled belt, Conan is lacking the more elaborate outfits he has in some stories. He does seem to be much better outfitted than in "The Tower of the Elephant," though.
• Conan has learned Stygian. "On a venture Conan replied in Stygian, and the stranger answered in the same tongue." In "Black Colossus," Conan had learned Kothic, spoken in a "barbarous" accent. While Natala's limited Stygian language skills are noted, Conan's are not, suggesting perhaps a proficiency at the language. 
• Conan is always a competent fighter and survivalist, but Conan doesn't seem as confident or sophisticated in this story to me as he does in "Black Colossus." He's a little more brutish. The fact that he seems like just a regular enlister in the military leads me to believe that this story probably take place prior to "Black Colossus." 
• The black lotus is seen again after making its first appearance in "The Tower of the Elephant." Natala asks Conan if he recognizes it, but doesn't wait for an answer. Perhaps it's clear to her that he does recognize it, though this lotus is a different strain than regular lotus powder, which apparently causes instant death, as Taurus of Nemedia has said. "You have heard of the black lotus? In certain pits of the city it grows. Through the ages they have cultivated it, until, instead of death, its juice induces dreams, gorgeous and fantastic. In these dreams they spend most of their time."

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This is my first sort of big shakeup to my original chronology. I originally had "Xuthal" much later, based on what I would now consider a misreading of the original story. A year or so ago, I called Conan an officer in Shem's military, but I was making assumptions there that aren't really that supported by the text. It never explicitly says he's an officer. I'll be placing this one earlier in Conan's mercenary days and prior to "Black Colossus."

A lot of stories put this one much further on in Conan's life, usually just before his pirate period with the Barachans as seen in "Red Nails." I wonder if there's something I'm missing. Shoot me a comment if you think there is!

Here is our current chronology:

1. The Tower of the Elephant
2. Xuthal of the Dusk
3. Black Colossus
4. The Phoenix on the Sword
​5. The Scarlet Citadel