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Post by BlackHeart on Apr 29, 2018 0:56:21 GMT -5
That's really good material there. I hope one day you put it all together in a novel. It will be epic. Thanks, friend. That's some challenging words. Tempting.....
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Post by BlackHeart on Jul 8, 2022 11:55:50 GMT -5
Found this yesterday, digging through some old archives, on a piece of paper. A little synopsis for part of the story and my idea from the day I was considering a possible story direction. Brings back memories... Some ideas too.
Posible concept: Numedides, learning of an open rebellion in Poitain, sends an army under the leadership of his cousin, Valerius, with the aim of suppressing it. The royal relative, Valerius, aware that Numedides is exterminating his own family from any claimant to the throne, and wishing to regain the mercy of the cruel king, sets out on a campaign at the head of an army of 15,000 men under arms. Aquilonians invade Poitain. The arrogant leader is convinced of an easy victory, due to his numerous superiority. The Aquilonians charged from all sides, breaking into large groups because of the hilly terrain. Conan, already at the head of the rebels, comes up with the idea of a guerilla way of fighting. The rebels let them go as deep as possible into Poitan: they start ambushing them, attack them at night in their camps, attack their smaller detachments in groups, pinning their rear - not once engaging in open battle with the attackers. Suffering frequent losses and fearing a surprise attack, Valerius' soldiers become disheartened and demoralized. The morale of the army drops significantly. In a fit of anger, Valerius musters an army as the terrain allows, and, unable to develop order of battle, marches along narrow paths through the vast forests that separate him from the invasion of the central part of the province. The army passes through the forest as if through a huge tunnel - barely a ray of sunlight reaches through the dense ancient treetops, and danger may be lurking at every step. The army drags on for miles, and that's where it falls into a trap. At Conan's command, the tall trees falls, cutting the Aquilonian column into several pieces. And then they are showered with arrows and resin-soaked balls in flame. Then through the gloom breaks the sound of the horn, signaling the general charge of the Poitain army: they descend from right and left, led by Conan and Prospero, and strike the flanks of the aggressors who are already decimated and in complete panic. BLOODY CUTTING begins without mercy! A few survivors (a hundred or two) escape the massacre and flee back - with them their desperate commander Valerius, who, fearing the sure retribution of his royal cousin, decides to leave Aquilonia and go into exile. The first major battle against the sovereign of Aquilonia is won.
The part ends here. This is roughly a sketch of how one part of the story should look. Of course, in further writing, this idea would probably require massive processing and adaptation as a whole, and like I said before, lazy bastard never got there.
What do you think? Is it passable?
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Post by Von K on Jul 8, 2022 14:12:49 GMT -5
Looks great Blackheart.
Borrowing a few tips from Arminius and the battle of Teutoberg forest perhaps?
Conan might have a few issues convincing the proud knights of Poitain to use guerrilla tactics but if he can get Count Trocero to go for it than the rest would likely follow.
How far through the overall narrative did you see this part occurring?
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Post by BlackHeart on Jul 8, 2022 15:46:41 GMT -5
Looks great Blackheart. How far through the overall narrative did you see this part occurring? Actually, I was inspired by the Battle of Pločnik from 1385. And, thank you, VK 🍻 I agree that Conan would have a hard time getting the Poitanian knights into a guerilla system, so the idea was to have them unprepared and partially caught off guard by the invasion of a much larger army. I even have the following written down on this: "This is not a chivalrous way to fight," muttered the (nameless) captain, a moment before becoming aware of Conan's sharp gaze. "Forgive me, General," he stammered for a moment, thinking he had insulted his leader, "I just wanted to say that this..." "Is a Barbaric way" Conan interrupted him. The captain opened his mouth to speak, but dark expression on the Cimmerian's face made the words die in his throat. Two daggers seemed to shine in his steely blue eyes. But right after that, a slight smile flickers on his lips. "Barbaric, but useful!" he laughed then, squinting out of one eye. By the way, this was supposed to be the end of the first third of the overall story, although I remember at one point I thought it would be a two-parter, where this would bring the second part to an end. The mass of material still had to be written, fitted, polished, which ended up with a lot of written notes, research of details and characters, and some fragmentary writing, as ideas for some scenes or parts came.
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Post by kemp on Jul 9, 2022 9:39:26 GMT -5
Guerilla tactics, especially in melee warfare, always seemed right up Conan's alley. I don't know, but I always pictured Cimmerians as having a little of the ninja in them, barbarians with some ninja added so to speak. I mean, Conan can climb mountains like a panther.
Years ago I read somewhere that the U.S. armed services utilised native Americans in WW2, rangers used at night for scouting, something about a Cherokee knife thrower taking out a Nazi sentry. I can see Conan picking off his adversaries when he is outnumbered, so why not trained rebels.
Good work Blackheart, your fragments seem a little more developed than just a synopsis, so I would keep working on it. It's fun stuff.
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Post by kemp on Jul 9, 2022 9:42:29 GMT -5
Side note. Noticed the posts by buxomsorceress. Really miss her keen wit.
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Post by BlackHeart on Jul 9, 2022 13:24:07 GMT -5
Good work Blackheart, your fragments seem a little more developed than just a synopsis, so I would keep working on it. It's fun stuff. Thank you, Kemp. It's strange sometimes, but for years I've been struggling with the idea of finishing the whole novel. I was devoted to the villains of the story the most - the development of the characters of Numedides and Kalidios. And since I'm working on other things, I can't seem to devote myself to this one. At least for now. An interesting detail you mentioned about dealing with the natives. Similar tactics were used by Chetnik detachments in the Balkan wars at the end of the 19th century, and by Haiduks before them. That is why they dominated a far more powerful enemy. Everything just screams Cimmerians to me in both cases. PS What happend with Buxom Sorceress? 😕
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Post by Von K on Jul 9, 2022 17:06:51 GMT -5
PS What happend with Buxom Sorceress? 😕 Bux told us she was suffering from illness in one of her last posts here back at the end of 2019. I hope that she recovered and just simply decided not to frequent the forum any more rather than something more serious. Sure hasn't been the same without her voice here on the forum.
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Post by BlackHeart on Jul 9, 2022 18:15:13 GMT -5
I didn't know that. And I also wondered where she had been for some time. Damn... I hope she's okay. She is an amazing character whose posts I always enjoy reading.
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Post by kemp on Jul 10, 2022 21:16:50 GMT -5
Good work Blackheart, your fragments seem a little more developed than just a synopsis, so I would keep working on it. It's fun stuff. Thank you, Kemp. It's strange sometimes, but for years I've been struggling with the idea of finishing the whole novel. I was devoted to the villains of the story the most - the development of the characters of Numedides and Kalidios. And since I'm working on other things, I can't seem to devote myself to this one. At least for now. An interesting detail you mentioned about dealing with the natives. Similar tactics were used by Chetnik detachments in the Balkan wars at the end of the 19th century, and by Haiduks before them. That is why they dominated a far more powerful enemy. Everything just screams Cimmerians to me in both cases. PS What happend with Buxom Sorceress? 😕 Well, I suppose the Balkans are a hilly and mountainous region, a little like REH's Cimmeria, and of course the 2011 CtB was shot on location in Bulgaria, as will be the new up and coming Red Sonja film. Come to think of it, I think the historical Cimmerians skirted that part of Europe some 3000 years ago.
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Post by BlackHeart on Jul 11, 2022 3:57:34 GMT -5
Well, I suppose the Balkans are a hilly and mountainous region, a little like REH's Cimmeria, and of course the 2011 CtB was shot on location in Bulgaria, as will be the new up and coming Red Sonja film. Come to think of it, I think the historical Cimmerians skirted that part of Europe some 3000 years ago. Well, Serbia (and most of Balkan) is mostly a mountainous country, crossed by many rivers and has a lot of fertile plains and forests. In autumn and winter it really resembles Cimmeria. And yes,there are traces of historical Cimmerian coming into the central Balkan: Vojvodina in the north, then south of the Sava and Danube rivers, and they've been registered in the Morava valley (where Im from), eastern Serbia, north-western Bulgaria and in northern Croatia. Admittedly, there are many prehistoric sites here, from even earlier periods. The Balkans are very rich in history.
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Post by mingerganthecat on Jul 11, 2022 20:28:38 GMT -5
Good work Blackheart, your fragments seem a little more developed than just a synopsis, so I would keep working on it. It's fun stuff. Thank you, Kemp. It's strange sometimes, but for years I've been struggling with the idea of finishing the whole novel. I was devoted to the villains of the story the most - the development of the characters of Numedides and Kalidios. And since I'm working on other things, I can't seem to devote myself to this one. At least for now. An interesting detail you mentioned about dealing with the natives. Similar tactics were used by Chetnik detachments in the Balkan wars at the end of the 19th century, and by Haiduks before them. That is why they dominated a far more powerful enemy. Everything just screams Cimmerians to me in both cases. PS What happend with Buxom Sorceress? 😕 Are you familiar with the Romanian national hero, Michael the Brave? I studied him pretty heavily for my own Renaissance-themed fanfic, and a lot of his tactics seem to be the kind of things a Cimmerian would approve of. Using drums in a thick fog to make the Ottomans think they're outnumbered, for example.
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Post by kemp on Jul 11, 2022 22:19:48 GMT -5
Well, I suppose the Balkans are a hilly and mountainous region, a little like REH's Cimmeria, and of course the 2011 CtB was shot on location in Bulgaria, as will be the new up and coming Red Sonja film. Come to think of it, I think the historical Cimmerians skirted that part of Europe some 3000 years ago. Well, Serbia (and most of Balkan) is mostly a mountainous country, crossed by many rivers and has a lot of fertile plains and forests. In autumn and winter it really resembles Cimmeria. And yes,there are traces of historical Cimmerian coming into the central Balkan: Vojvodina in the north, then south of the Sava and Danube rivers, and they've been registered in the Morava valley (where Im from), eastern Serbia, north-western Bulgaria and in northern Croatia. Admittedly, there are many prehistoric sites here, from even earlier periods. The Balkans are very rich in history. The Balkans have been mentioned quite a few times on this forum, from artists, to medieval fight festivals, also on the weapons thread I had noted the book 'Medieval Swords from Southeastern Europe: Material from 12th century to 15th century' , written by the Serbian academic Marko Aleksic, which covers finds from the Dinarics to Bulgaria.
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Post by BlackHeart on Jul 12, 2022 8:27:17 GMT -5
Are you familiar with the Romanian national hero, Michael the Brave? I studied him pretty heavily for my own Renaissance-themed fanfic, and a lot of his tactics seem to be the kind of things a Cimmerian would approve of. Using drums in a thick fog to make the Ottomans think they're outnumbered, for example. A little. But he was a great warrior and a hero. Brave and badass. Also pretty underrated in favour of Vlad Tepes, thoug they were both great fighters against the Turks. I recommend the movie "Mihai Viteazul", which deals with his life. It is old (70s) but comprehensive, a little more than 3 hours long and has a very good story. PS research, since you are interested in the period, Despot Stefan Lazarevic, the greatest among the knights of the Order of the Dragon. I think you will find his life worthy of a Hollywood spectacle.
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Post by BlackHeart on Jul 12, 2022 8:47:43 GMT -5
The Balkans have never been much popular in the West, even though its history is a literal Game of Thrones, especially in the Middle Ages. A pity. There is a lot of material that would revive the historical genre on film. One of the greatest and most fateful battles of all time, fought in the south of Serbia against the Ottomans, back in 1389. Even Howard himself mentioned it in a letter to Lovecraft long ago. As far as Aleksić is concerned, the man is a top expert on the subject. I highly recommend (if you can find it) the book "Prince Marko - the man who became a legend" - one of the most tragic figures, and one of the greatest heroes of Serbia. He literally came as Serbian Conan, he was a man of extraordinary strength, an invincible fighter and very large and muscular. Petar Meseldžija (often mentioned here), who also painted Conan after all, painted Prince Marko as well.
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