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The Picts were a people tracing back to the days when the Serpent-Men ruled over Man.[12]

They became the inhabitants of the Pictish Isles during the Pre-Cataclysmic Age (which ended circa 18,000 BC), of the Pictish Wilderness (or "Pictland") during the Hyborian Age (until the Post-Hyborian Cataclysm circa 8,000 BC which caused the end of that Pictland). They were set in a part of Europe until driven off by the Gauls, and subsequently in the British Isles until they were driven off by the Celts. They also battled the Roman Empire circa 200 AD, then the neighboring Celt/British kingdoms circa the 6th century.

History

Elder Days[]

At the time ape-like humans served the Serpent-Men, a Pictish shaman discovered on cave paintings or carvings that reptilians, including the Serpent-Men and the Man-Serpents, could not say nor stand to hear the phrase, "Ka nama kaa lajerama". The humans weaponized this phrase to overthrow the Serpent-Men masters and slaughter the Man-Serpents. After centuries of fighting, the humans erroneously believed to have annihilated both of the serpent races.[12]

From the time of war against the Serpent-Men, these words became engraved in the souls of all men,[13] and its knowledge was passed down among the Picts.

Pre-Cataclysmic Age[]

During the Pre-Cataclysmic Age, the Picts lived on the Pictish Isles,[14] a chain of islands in the Western Ocean,[1] west of the Thuria and of Atlantis. Along with the Atlanteans and the Lemurians, they were the barbarians of their age. The crumbling Thurian civilizations employed barbarian mercenaries (Picts, Atlanteans and Lemurians) as their armies, and consequently, their generals, their statesmen and often their kings were barbarians.[15]

19,500 BC[]

A thousand years before Kull, the Picts became the allies of Valusia.[16]

18,500 BC[]

That alliance kept on at least of until the rule of Kull.[16]

Great Cataclysm[]

When the Great Cataclysm occurred, the Pictish Isles were heaved up to form the mountain peaks of a new continent.[15] Its inhabitants perished, but a significant colony of them already established along the mountains of Valusia's south frontier were virtually unharmed.[2][17]

The Atlanteans and Picts of the mainland fought in the west of the continent. The powerful Pictish nation outnumbered the Atlanteans, who were hurled back into a state of savagery while the evolution of the Picts stopped. Five hundred years after the Cataclysm, both kingdoms vanished. The Lesser Cataclysm achieve their ruin begun by their tribal wars. The Picts then remained as scattered clans of cave-dwelling savages with primitive speech, living in the southwest.[2]

Hyborian Age[]

1500 years after the Lesser Cataclysm, the Picts apparently defied the laws of nature, neither by progressing or retrogressing, but by remaining savages.

Picts invaded the Valley of Zingg and merged with its nameless tribe of agricultural dwellers. The mixed race was in turn absorbed by a conquering tribe of Hybori, and the resulting kingdom became Zingara.

The Picts that remained in the Pictish Wilderness were confronted by their eastern neighbors, the inhabitants of the Bossonian Marches, which was inhabited by descendants of an aboriginal race mixed with Hyborians.[5]

9,500 BC[]

The ever more powerful Picts (as well as the Nordheimr and the Bossonians) would cause incessant bickering with their Cimmerian neighboors.

Around that time, the Nemedia priest of Mitra, Arus, decided to introduce the worship of Mitra to the Picts. Despite having benefited from Hyborian civilization contact, the Picts had always fiercely resisted it. They still dwelt in clans generally at feud with each other. Arus nevertheless managed to remain safely among the Picts after meeting with the unusually intelligent chief named Gorm. In order to convince the Picts of Mitra's benefits, he spoke to Gorm about the wealth and fortune of the Hyborians, but Gorm foxed on the material riches rather than the worship of Mitra.[18]

Wishing to see the civilized lands, Gorm requested from Arus to conduct them there, and soon, Picts came and went freely into all Aquilonia. Despite Arus' belief he was converting Picts to Mitra, the savages simply wished, and managed to learn how, to mine their iron deposits and work them into weapon. In doing so, Gorm began to assert dominance over the other Pictish clans.

Soon, increasing numbers of Picts entered service of Aquilonia's mercenary armies, and once their service completed, returned to the Pictish Wilderness with good ideas of civilized warfare. Gorm, then past middle age, became chief of chief, the closest approach to a king the Picts ad had in thousands of years. He moved against the frontier for war. Realizing his mistake, Arus tried to undo his work but was killed by a drunken Pict. Gorm nevertheless showed his gratitude to Arus by having the skull of his slayer set on top of the priest's cairn. Now clad in scale-mail and wielding steel weapons, the Picts burst upon the Bossonian frontiers, but were still held at bay for years by the Bossonians.

Due to an eastern war against Nemedia, the Bossonian marches were undermanned, but hearing of the Pictish invasion, whole regiments of Bossonians quit the Nemedian campaign and returned, defeating the Picts in a great battle (while directly causing the defeat of the Aquilonians against the Nemedians). In their wrath, the Aquilonians lured and massacred the Bossonian chiefs then ravaged the marches.

Free of the Bossonian resistance, and now an old man, Gorm led the Pictish invasion directly to the Aquilonian borders and swarmed the kingdom before its legions could return from the war in the east, causing (by synergy with other causes) the end of the Aquilonian Empire.[19]

Npw the masters of Aquilonia, the Picts slaughtered nearly all the inhabitants. It is presumably the Pictish thrusts that prevented the Hyrkanians from adding Stygia to their empire. 75 years after encountering Arus, Gorm was slain by Hialmar, a chief of the Nemedian Aesir.

For a short age, Hyrkanians and Picts battled each other over the ruins of the conquered world. As the Glacial Ages began, the Nordic tribes were driven southwards, pushing the Cimmerians as well. Hordes of Aesir and Vanir soon swarmed and reeled the Pictish Empire,[6] causing the end of their dominance and pushing them back to a Mesolithic level.[17]

Another cataclysm created the British Island from the mountains of Western Cimmeria. In the west, the remnants of the Picts possessed the lands.

In a later age, they would be overthrown by the westward drift of both Cimmerians and Nordics.[6]

Celtic expansion[]

Picts ruled all Europe, before their primitive empire was destroyed by the Gauls.[20]

When two kings arose in the land of the Picts, the conqueror drove out the vanquished, and so many Picts made boats and set sail for the "far-off cliffs that gleamed white in the sunlight". There, they were confronted to a race of red-haired barbarians whom they drove off. They built huts of wattle, tilled the soil, cleared the forest, before the Celtic Gaels came from the Isles of the West. They drove the Picts into the forest and the mountains, though some Picts refused to leave the lands, hiding themselves into caverns, ravines and caves. Many Picts also mingled with the Celts. The Celtic Britons would later come from Gallia and conquer the Gaels.

A hundred years later, the Briton Cororuc would be captured by the "Little People" (as the Picts would be known to the Britons), a group of the last pure-blooded Picts. Their priest, an old Pict cursed in his youth by an old witch to live until the last child of the Pictish race shall have passed, intended to slay Cororuc as part of his revenge upon the Celts (despite the fact it was the Gaels and not the Britons who had conquered the Picts). Cororuc was saved by Berula, a Pict werewolf and chief among the Alban Picts, whom he had saved from a panther earlier, and was given guarantees of friendship by Berula and the old pict.[9]

Roman occupation (200 AD)[]

Circa 200 AD,[21] Bran Mak Morn, descendant of King Kull's friend Brule,[20] was the first acknowledged king of the Caledonian Picts in 500 years.[7]

6th century[]

During the 6th century, Picts (as well as Anglo-Saxons and Irish) were among the external enemies of Logres, Uther Pendragon's kingdom.[22]

Facts[]

Religion[]

The Picts have worshiped (or at least invoked the names) of many entities:

Tribes and Politics[]

The Pictish nation was divided in tribes and kingdoms which have varied across the ages.

During the Pre-Cataclysmic Age (at least during the Age of Kull circa 18,500 BC), the Picts lived on the Pictish Isles in tribes, all ruled over by an overking.[28]

Additionnally, the Picts had a colony on the Thurian mainland.

During the Hyborian Age, the Picts were divided as such:

At least in the late Age of Conan, circa 10,000 BC, the Picts were united among the Pictish Confederation. Additionnaly, the Ligureans were a non-Pict people that lived among the northwestern Picts, mostly at war, sometimes as allies.[51] After the Age of Conan, an unnamed tribe dwelt in the Country of the Worm.

Circa 200 AD, the Picts lived in the British Isles, including in Caledonia and Alba, and were divided as such:

  • Alban Picts
  • Caledonian Picts/Wolf Clan

Notes

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Picts' entry
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Savage Sword of Conan #8 ; The Hyborian Age Chapter 2: The Rise of the Hyborians
  3. Savage Sword of Conan #43 ; Kings of the Night Part II: Pass of Death
  4. King Conan #2
  5. 5.0 5.1 Savage Sword of Conan #12 ; The Hyborian Age Chapter 3: The Hyborian Kingdoms
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Savage Sword of Conan #17 ; The Hyborian Age Chapter 6: The Darkness... and the Dawn
  7. 7.0 7.1 Savage Sword of Conan #17 ; Worms of the Earth Part 2: Curse of the Black Stone
  8. Savage Sword of Conan #68 ; The Lost Race
  9. 9.0 9.1 Savage Sword of Conan #69 ; The Lost Race, Part II
  10. 10.0 10.1 Kull the Conqueror (Vol. 3) #4 ; Brule's Tale
  11. Savage Sword of Conan #197 ; Raiders of the Pictish Isles
  12. 12.0 12.1 Savage Sword of Conan #192 ; The Cape of Dark Dreams - Skull on the Seas Part III
  13. Kull the Conqueror #2 ; The Shadow Kingdom
  14. Handbook of the Conan Universe #1 ; Pictland's profile
  15. 15.0 15.1 Savage Sword of Conan #7 ; The Hyborian Age Chapter 1: The Pre-Cataclysmic Age
  16. 16.0 16.1 Savage Sword of Conan #2 ; Black Abyss
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Savage Sword of Conan #38 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part VI: Picts' entry
  18. Savage Sword of Conan #15 ; The Hyborian Age Chapter 4: The Beginning of the End
  19. Savage Sword of Conan #16 ; The Hyborian Age Chapter 5: Fire and Slaughter
  20. 20.0 20.1 Savage Sword of Conan #42 ; Kings of the Night
  21. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A Kull Glossary: Gonar's entry
  22. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #3 ; Arthur Pendragon's profile
  23. Kull the Conqueror (Vol. 2) #2
  24. Marvel Graphic Novel #47
  25. Kull the Conqueror (Vol. 3) #8
  26. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A Kull Glossary: Valka's entry
  27. Savage Tales #4 ; Night of the Dark God
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 Savage Sword of Conan #197 ; Kull of Atlantis: Raiders of the Pictish Isles
  29. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Nial of the Tatheli's entry
  30. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Dano's entry
  31. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Whale-Slayers' entry
  32. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Nargi's entry
  33. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Borni' entry
  34. 34.0 34.1 Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Sungara' entry
  35. Kull and the Barbarians #2 ; The Teeth of the Dragon
  36. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Red Isle Tribe' entry
  37. 37.0 37.1 Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Wolf People' entry
  38. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Aa-Thak' entry
  39. Savage Sword of Conan #30 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part I: Alligator Picts' entry
  40. Savage Sword of Conan #137 ; The Lost Legion
  41. Savage Sword of Conan #31 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part II: Eagle Picts's entry
  42. 42.0 42.1 Savage Sword of Conan #33 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part III: Hawk Picts' entry
  43. 43.0 43.1 Savage Sword of Conan #135 ; Three Lives for N'Garthl!
  44. Savage Sword of Conan #38 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part VI: Otter Picts' entry
  45. 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 Savage Sword of Conan #46 ; Moon of Blood
  46. Savage Sword of Conan #38 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part VI: Panther Picts' entry
  47. Savage Sword of Conan #39 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part VII: Raven Picts' entry
  48. Savage Sword of Conan #42 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part XI: Wolf Picts's entry
  49. Savage Sword of Conan #38 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part VI: Pictland's entry
  50. 50.0 50.1 50.2 Savage Sword of Conan #39 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part VII: Sea-Land Picts' entry
  51. Savage Sword of Conan #36 ; A Gazetteer of the Hyborian Age, Part V: Ligureans' entry
  52. Savage Sword of Conan #14 ; A King Kull Glossary: Folk of the Isles' entry
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