A young Conan has after drifting from adventure to adventure found himself becoming settled and making a name for himself in the city Makkalet as a mercenary/protector. But the city is doomed in a civil war over the possession of the "Living Tarim" which is the direct line from the deified hero who founded their city after the great cataclysm. After years of seige the enemy is inside the city and both empires are destroyed, the cost of the war has reduced both to anarchy while brothers literally murder each other over the sacred factions. Conan cares nothing for this, and wishes to flee this madness. Then he sees the Living Tarim appear out of the window of his sacred tower and people fighting each other stop to pray fervently to him but then resume fighting when he retires. A dark rage fills Conan and he slays friend and foe alike to reach the sacred tower, the one place not touched as the city burns and its people scream. He is mad with rage, mercilessly slaying one priest after another, only letting some survive so they can show him how to step around the trapdoors and deathtraps in the palace. At last he faces the Mystery. The Living Tarim, supposedly the same being as founded the city aeons ago after Lemuria and Atlantis sank beneath the waves. A reputed living god who's very word is life and death but now stands silent as his people murder each other... ---- Just a bit of nostaliga... And my own editing if I did the story. I like the Dark Horse re-doing of Conan much better than the "Comics Code" / 4 Color era version. In this one the foundational "Maturity" story of Conan is an adventure in "Hyperborea"... The earlier one had him coming down south to "Civilization" much like actual barbarians often did, then getting a bit civilized himself but despairing as the city was destroyed and he lost many friend in a tragic ending, then going back north for a time to "Purify" himself. But the "Tarim" isn't from an anthropomorphic character that was "Cool" and "Indie, dude" till his creator offended the "PC Agenda"... It's that character's tribute to Conan of the time:-)