Red Nails

"Red Nails"
Short story by Robert E. Howard
Cover by Margaret Brundage of Weird Tales issue July 1936 featuring Valeria and Tascela
Country	USA
Language	English
Genre(s)	Fantasy
Publication
Published in	Weird Tales
Publication type	Pulp magazine
Publication date	1936
Series	Conan the Cimmerian

Red Nails

Author	Robert E. Howard
Illustrator	George Barr
Cover artist	George Barr
Language	English
Series	Donald M. Grant Conan
Genre	Fantasy novella
Publisher	Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc.
Publication date	1975
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	143 pp
ISBN	NA

"Red Nails" is the last of the stories about Conan the Cimmerian written by American author Robert E. Howard. A novella, it was originally serialized in Weird Tales magazine from July to October 1936. It's set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan encountering a lost city in which the degenerate inhabitants are proactively resigned to their own destruction. Due to its grim themes of decay and death, the story is considered a classic of Conan lore and is often cited by Howard scholars as one of his best tales.

The story was republished in the collections The Sword of Conan (Gnome Press, 1952) and Conan the Warrior (Lancer Books, 1967). It was first published by itself in book form by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in 1975 as volume IV of their deluxe Conan set. It has most recently been republished in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 2: The Hour of the Dragon (Gollancz,2001) and The Conquering Sword of Conan (Del Rey, 2005) (published in the United Kingdom by Wandering Star as Conan of Cimmeria: Volume Three (1935-1936)), as well as The Best of Robert E. Howard, Volume 2: Grim Lands ( Del Rey, 2007).

Plot summary

Techotl pointed to a black column of ebony which stood behind the dais. Hundreds of red dots scarred its polished surface — the bright scarlet heads of heavy copper nails driven into the black wood. "Five red nails for five Xotalanca lives!" exulted Techotl, and the horrible exultation in the faces of the listeners made them inhuman...

— Robert E. Howard, "Red Nails"

"Red Nails" begins in the jungles far to the south of any known civilized or barbarian kingdoms. Valeria of the Red Brotherhood is fleeing persecution after she murdered a would-be rapist. She is followed into the wilderness by Conan, a fellow adventurer who wishes for an alliance with Valeria's Red Brotherhood. Suddenly, Conan's stand-off with Valeria is interrupted by a dragon (actually a dinosaur, altough describe with the characteristics of a Stegosaurus and Allosaurus) which mauls their horses. Both Conan and Valeria escape the dragon by climbing across an eroded hillside However, the hillside has no food or water. Soon, Conan recognizes some poisonous fruit growing nearby. Acting quickly, he coat the tip of a spear in poison and pierces the dragon's lower jaw with a well-aimed throw. Although blinded, the enraged beast pursues the two fugitives by their scent. Fortunately, Conan lures the beast into a ravine.

Conan and Valeria emerge from the forest and make their way to a strange walled city they spotted from the crag. There are no grazing herds or cultivated fields; they assume the city is deserted. When they arrive at the city, Conan forces open the door, long since rusted shut. The couple enter a bizarre twilight world. The city, which they come to know as Xuchotl, is a single massive structure completely enclosed and roofed over. A single great hallway runs the length of the city, but there are no other streets or open courtyards. It consists entirely of four tiers of rooms, chambers and passageways. Xuchotl is constructed of jade with traces of other exotic materials.

The pair separate to search the city's seemingly empty halls. Valeria encounters a man named Techotl whom she joins in a fray between two factions that dwell in the once populous city. Aided by Conan, they defeat their enemies. Techotl invites Conan and Valeria into the stronghold of his people, the Tecuhltli. They are welcomed by the rulers, Olmec and Tascela. As Conan and Valeria rest, Olmec recounts the history of his people.

The city of Xuchotil was built long before its current inhabitants arrived. In those earlier times, a slave — Tolkemec — betrayed his masters and guided the newly arrived invaders into the city where they put to death the original builders. The conquerors were led by two brothers, Tecuhltli and Xotalanc, who afterward ruled peacefully over the city until a feud developed when Tecuhltli stole the bride of his brother Xotalanc. The slave Tolkemec betrayed both sides for his own purposes and was exiled to the catacombs.

As Olmec tells his tale, Tascela becomes enraptured with Valeria. Later she has a slave attempt to drug Valeria with the black lotus, a powerful narcotic plant. Valeria manages to overpower the slave and attempts to force her to reveal the motive behind such treachery. However, the slave feigns submission and escapes.

Valeria's pursuit of the slave is interrupted when the Xotalancas breach the Tecuhltli defenses. In the end the Xotalancas are exterminated and only Conan, Valeria, Olmec, Tascela, and fifteen Tecuhltli defenders remain alive. When Conan and two warriors leave to scout the Xotalanc stronghold, Valeria is left behind while her wounds are tended.

Olmec attempts to force himself on Valeria, but he is thwarted by Tascela. She is revealed to be a sorceress and the stolen bride who originally started the feud. She plans to use Valeria's vitality to restore her youth. Erstwhile, Olmec secretly ordered his two warriors to slay Conan. Conan kills them and hurries back for Valeria. Returning to Tecuhltli, Conan finds Olmec bound and tortured. Conan releases him, but Olmec attempts another betrayal and Conan slays him.

Conan comes upon Tascela who has Valeria pinned to an altar. Conan, caught in a steel trap, watches powerlessly as Tascela proceeds with the sacrifice of Valeria. The scene is interrupted by Tolkemec who has returned from the catacombs, wielding a wand of terrible destructive power. Desperate for assistance against Tolkemec, Tascela frees Conan. Conan is able to defeat Tolkemec. Valeria, freed, avenges herself upon Tascela with a dagger thrust to the heart.

With the last inhabitants of Xuchotl slain, Conan and Valeria depart the dead city.

Primary Characters

Valeria

Valeria is a pirate who had been serving as a mercenary soldier just prior to the story's events. Like Conan, she is a famous adventurer. Most of "Red Nails" is told from Valeria's point of view.

"She was tall, full-bosomed and large-limbed, with compact shoulders. Her whole figure reflected an unusual strength, without detracting from the femininity of her appearance. She was all woman, in spite of her bearing and her garments. The latter were incongruous, in view of her present environs. Instead of a skirt she wore short, wide-legged silk breeches, which ceased a hand's breath short of her knees, and were upheld by a wide silken sash worn as a girdle. Flaring-topped boots of soft leather came almost to her knees, and a low-necked, wide-collared, wide-sleeved silk shirt completed her costume. On one shapely hip she wore a straight double-edged sword, and on the other a long dirk. Her unruly golden hair, cut square at her shoulders, was confined by a band of crimson satin.

"Against the background of somber, primitive forest she posed with unconscious picturesqueness, bizarre and out of place. She should have been posed against a background of sea-clouds, painted masts and wheeling gulls. There was the color of the sea in her wide eyes. And that was how it should have been, because this was Valeria of the Red Brotherhood, whose deeds are celebrated in song and ballad wherever seafarers gather."

Conan

"[Valeria's] thoughts were scattered by the rustling of the leaves below her. She wheeled cat-like, snatched at her sword; and then she froze motionless, staring wide-eyed at the man before her.

"He was almost a giant in stature, muscles rippling smoothly under his skin which the sun had burned brown. His garb was similar to hers, except that he wore a broad leather belt instead of a girdle. Broadsword and poniard hung from this belt

"'Conan, the Cimmerian!' ejaculated the woman..."

At this point in the saga, Conan is a seasoned warrior with years of experience acquired in many lands:

"'I was a kozak before I was a pirate...They live in the saddle. I snatch naps like a panther watching beside the trail for a deer to come by. My ears keep watch while my eyes sleep.'

"And indeed the giant barbarian seemed as much refreshed as if he had slept the whole night on a golden bed. Having removed the thorns, and peeled off the tough skin, he handed the girl a thick, juicy cactus leaf.

"'Skin your teeth in that pear. It's food and drink to a desert man. I was chief of the Zuagirs once -- desert men who live by plundering the caravans.'

"'Is there anything you haven't been?' inquired the girl, half in derision and half in fascination."

Techotl

Techotl is typical of the warriors of Xuchotl. Howard relates Valeria's impressions of her first sight of one such warrior:

"...He was slightly above middle height, very dark, though not negroid. He was naked but for a scanty silk clout that only partly covered his muscular hips, and a leather girdle, a hand's breadth broad, about his lean waist. His long black hair hung in lank strands about his shoulders, giving him a wild appearance. He was gaunt, but knots and cords of muscles stood out on his arms and legs, without that fleshy padding that presents a pleasing symmetry of contour. He was built with an economy that was almost repellent."

Techotl befriends Conan and Valeria. We are told, "In the cold, loveless and altogether hideous life of the Techultli, his admiration and affection for the invaders from the outer world formed a warm, human oasis, constituted a tie that connected him with a more natural humanity that was totally lacking in his fellows, whose only emotions were hate, lust and the urge of sadistic cruelty."

Olmec and Tascela

"On a wide ivory seat on a jade dais sat a man and a woman who differed subtly from the others. He was a giant, with an enormous sweep of breast and the shoulders of a bull. Unlike the others, he was bearded, with a thick, blue-black beard which fell almost to his broad girdle. He wore a robe of purple silk which reflected changing sheens of color with his every movement, and one wide sleeve, drawn back to his elbow, revealed a forearm massive with corded muscles. The band which confined his blue-black locks was set with glittering jewels.

"The woman beside him sprang to her feet with a startled exclamation as the strangers entered, and her eyes, passing over Conan, fixed themselves with burning intensity on Valeria. She was tall and lithe, by far the most beautiful woman in the room. She was clad more scantily even than the others; for instead of a skirt she wore merely a broad strip of gilt-worked purple cloth fastened to the middle of her girdle which fell below her knees. Another strip at the back of her girdle completed that part of her costume, which she wore with a cynical indifference. Her breast-plates and the circlet about her temples were adorned with gems. In her eyes alone of all the dark-skinned people there lurked no brooding gleam of madness..."

Tolkemec

"Framed in the door to the left of the dais stood a nightmare figure. It was a man, with a tangle of white hair and a matted white beard that fell over his breast. Rags only partly covered his gaunt frame, revealing half-naked limbs strangely unnatural in appearance. The skin was not that of a normal human. There was a suggestion of scaliness about it, as if the owner had dwelt long under conditions almost antithetical to those conditions under which human life ordinarily thrives. And there was nothing at all human about the eyes that blazed from the tangle of white hair. They were great gleaming discs that stared unwinkingly; luminous, whitish, and without a hint of normal emotion or sanity. The mouth gaped, but no coherent words issued --only a high-pitched tittering.

"'Tolkemec!' whispered Tascela, livid, while the others crouched in speechless horror. 'No myth, then, no ghost! Set! You have dwelt for twelve years in darkness! Twelve years among the bones of the dead! What grisly food did you find? What mad travesty of life did you live, in the stark blackness of that eternal night?..."

Reception

E. F. Bleiler placed "Red Nails" among "among the better Conan stories," citing its "Extravagant adventure embodying a considerable amount of antiquarian lore and imagination."

Background

Robert E. Howard's stories often express the author's belief that civilizations carry the seeds of their own destruction. Howard found in the lost city genre a vehicle for expressing these views. Howard's Puritan adventurer Solomon Kane explored the lost African city of Negari in "The Moon of Skulls", published in Weird Tales in 1930. In this tale we can discern the influence of She by H. Rider Haggard and the lost city of Opar that appears in the Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs Howard's Negari is ruled by the seductive queen Nakari, recalling Haggard's Ayesha and Burroughs' La of Opar.

When Howard moved on to the Conan series, he began to place his own distinctive stamp on the lost city tale. In "Xuthal of the Dusk" (published in the September 1933 issue of Weird Tales as "The Slithering Shadow"), Conan and a female companion discover an inhabited lost city and encounter its resident femme fatale. Though not without merit, "Xuthal of the Dusk" is generally regarded as a second-rate Conan story. However its theme of the decadence of a stagnant, dying culture is clearly evident. "Xuthal" is commonly viewed as the direct precursor to "Red Nails."

The theme of cultural decadence maintained its grip on Howard's imagination. In early 1935 he remarked to Novalyne Price:

"You see, girl, when a civilization begins to decay and die, the only thing men or women think about is the gratification of their body's desires. They become preoccupied with sex. It colors their laws, their religion — every aspect of their lives.

[...]

"Girl, I'm working on a yarn like that now — a Conan yarn. Listen to me. When you have a dying civilization, the normal, accepted life style ain't strong enough to satisfy the damned insatiable appetites of the courtesans and, finally, of all the people. They turn to Lesbianism and things like that to satisfy their desires...I am going to call it 'The Red Flame of Passion.'"

— Novalyne Price Ellis, One Who Walked Alone

The idea that would become "Red Nails" continued to germinate in Howard's mind, and later that year he began the actual writing of the tale. It would be the last major fantasy Howard would complete.

In 1935 Howard found himself burdened with medical expenses for the treatment of his ailing mother. Payment from Weird Tales was becoming increasingly unreliable. In early May, Howard wrote to editor Farnsworth Wright pleading for money owed him. At that time Weird Tales owed Howard over eight hundred dollars for stories already published, and payable upon publication. Wright had been paying Howard in a series of monthly installments, but these checks ceased just when Howard needed them most. Howard explained the circumstances surrounding his need and made it clear that he understood that Weird Tales was undergoing its own share of financial difficulties due to the Depression. However, he felt moved to state in no uncertain terms, "A monthly check from Weird Tales may well mean for me the difference between a life that is at least endurable --and God alone knows what."

Howard received no immediate reply from Wright. A week later he wrote to his agent, Otis Adelbert Kline, inquiring if Kline had any inside knowledge concerning the situation at the Weird Tales editorial offices. Howard was ultimately moved to concentrate on better-paying markets, primarily those for Western fiction. In a letter to H. P. Lovecraft he confided, "As for my own fantasy writing, whether or not I do any future work in that field depends a good deal on the editors themselves. I would hate to abandon weird writing entirely, but my financial needs are urgent, immediate and imperious. Slowness of payment in the fantastic field forces me into other lines against my will."

On July 22, 1935, Howard mailed the typescript of "Red Nails" to Weird Tales. At the time he shared his thoughts with Clark Ashton Smith, another colleague: "Sent a three-part serial to Wright yesterday: 'Red Nails,' which I devoutly hope he'll like. A Conan yarn, and the grimmest, bloodiest and most merciless story of the series so far. Too much raw meat, maybe, but I merely portrayed what I honestly believe would be the reactions of certain types of people in the situations on which the plot of the story hung..."

Later in the year, Howard told Lovecraft, "The last yarn I sold to Weird Tales --and it well may be the last fantasy I'll ever write-- was a three-part Conan serial which was the bloodiest and most sexy weird story I ever wrote. I have been dissatisfied with my handling of decaying races in stories, for the reason that degeneracy is so prevalent in such races that it can not be ignored as a motive and as a fact if the fiction is to have any claim to realism. I have ignored it in all other stories, as one of the taboos, but I did not ignore it in this story..."

On the verge of abandoning fantasy for more commercial concerns, Howard devoted considerable thought and effort to his final allegorical statement.

Adaptations

The story was later adapted by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith for issues #2-3 of the Marvel Comics magazine series Savage Tales. The Thomas/Smith tale was later reprinted in the 1987 black-and-white magazine Conan Saga. It has also been reprinted many times since then, both in black-and-white and in full color, by Marvel and more recently by Dark Horse.

An animated feature based on this story, Conan: Red Nails, is currently in production. Actor Ron Perlman will provide the voice of Conan. Tolkemec is voiced by Mark Hamill in this version. However, there have been no updates to the film's website since December 2007. IMDB currently lists the film for release in 2010.

Notes

Sources

• Burke, Rusty. The Robert E. Howard Bookshelf. REHUPA. http://www.rehupa.com/bookshelf.htm
• Cerasini, Marc A and Charles Hoffman. (1987) Robert E. Howard. Mercer Island, WA; Starmont House.
• Ellis, Novalyne Price. (1986) One Who Walked Alone: Robert E. Howard: The Final Years. West Kingston, RI; Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc.
• Howard, Robert E. Letter to Otis Adelbert Kline, May 6, 1935.
• _________. Letter to H. P. Lovecraft, December 5, 1935.
• _________. Letter to H. P. Lovecraft, February 11, 1936.
• _________. Letter to Clark Ashton Smith, July 23, 1935.
• _________. Letter to Farnsworth Wright, May 6, 1935.
• _________. (2005) "Red Nails", The Conquering Sword of Conan. New York: Del Rey. pp. 211-281.
• Louinet, Patrice. (2005) "Hyborian Genesis Part III", The Conquering Sword of Conan. New York: Del Rey. pp. 369-386.

External links

• Conan wiki • Red Nails • Synopsis, characters, locations, and publishing history
• Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com
• Conan.com: The Official Website
• Red Nails at Project Gutenberg
• Conan: Red Nails - Official film website