History
Origins and early years[]
According to legend, ten thousand years before the Age of Conan (which would set it circa 20,000 BC, during the Pre-Cataclysmic Age and about 1,500 years before the Age of Kull, see notes), Akivasha was an evil and beautiful princess who reveled in "purple feasts" in the black halls of Luxur. She became a vampire at some point, stating that because she loved life, she had courted death and darkness and won life.
At some point during the Pre-Cataclysmic Age, the early days of Old Stygia, the Age of Acheron, or the Hyborian Age (see notes), she moved from Luxur to the Forbidden Temple of Set, one of the Black Pyramids near Khemi, that served of hall of the dead (notably harboring the 13,000 BC high priest Ptah-Mekri).
The legend of the princess Akivasha, The Woman Who Never Died, was widespread in the Hyborian world, with false inclusions, such as Akivasha being lifted away from Earth by the gods themselves. She also became a symbol of eternal youth and beauty to lovers and poets.[1]
Hyborian Age of Conan[]
When King Conan of Aquilonia infiltrated Khemi, on the trail of the Stygian wizard Thutothmes and the stolen Heart of Ahriman, he stole the garb of a priest, followed a procession and entered the Forbidden Temple. Akivasha stumbled upon him and sensing he was neither Stygian nor a priest, pretended to lead him to Thutothmes, guided him to her chamber. Conan soon realized that she was Akivasha. She asked for his love and blood, offering to turn him as an immortal, but Conan rejected her as she began to fang him. She intended to feast upon him anyway, but Conan managed to flee, stumbling upon the hall of the dead and a gathering presided by Thutothmes. After recovering the Heart of Ahriman, Conan exited the Temple, guided by the resurrected form of Ptah-Mekri, the light of the Heart causing Akivasha and other monsters to recoil into darkness.[1]Attributes
Powers
Vampirism: Akivasha was a vampire[1][2] and presumably possessed all of the various attributes commonly associated with vampires, including:
- Immortality[1]
Notes
- Akivasha was created by Robert E. Howard in "The Hour of the Dragon" (Weird Tales; December, 1935 through April, 1936).
- If the datation of 20,000 BC, "ten thousand years" (a duration part of the legend and reprised by Akivasha) before the Age of Conan (circa 10,000 BC), is correct, it implies Akivasha and Luxur already existed back in the Pre-Cataclysmic Age, and predated the Age of Kull (circa 18,500 BC). Luxur would have presumably been set in the region of the Unexplored South and Southern Jungles, presumably part of the pre-human civilization of the Serpent-Men, when they ruled over Stygia.
- It can be presumed that the datation is approximative and hyperbolic, considering that:
- True ("Varnaean") vampires only appears circa 18,500 BC,[4]
- Stygians came to inhabit the area only thousands years later,
- Akivasha was listed as a vampire, described as a "Stygian princess",[2]
- It remains unclear whether or not Akivasha truly emerged during the Pre-Cataclysmic Age (be it circa 20,000 BC or afterwards, including during the Age of Kull circa 18,500 BC or about the Great Cataclysm circa 18,000 BC), in the early days of Old Stygia, during the Age of Acheron, or even in the early Hyborian Age.
- It can be presumed that the datation is approximative and hyperbolic, considering that:
Trivia
- Despite being described as having "ivory skin" (stated to be an indication that she belonged to an ancient Stygian noble family, though could be a hint at her vampiric nature), Akivasha was depicted by colorist Michael Kelleher with the same dusky skin tone as other Stygians in the colorization of "Conan the Conqueror: The Sacred Son of Set" (Savage Sword of Conan #10; February, 1976) in Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #1 (2020).
See Also
- 1 appearance(s) of Akivasha (Earth-616)
- 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Akivasha (Earth-616)
- 1 minor appearance(s) of Akivasha (Earth-616)
- 1 image(s) of Akivasha (Earth-616)