Valusia (Kingdom)

Valusia
Name	Valusia
Aliases	The Land of Enchantment, Land of Enchantment, Valusa (presumably typo)
Status
Preceded By	—
Preceded By	—
Succeeded By	Ophir (territory) Possibly Corinthia, Koth, Ophir (people)
Succeeded By	Ophir (territory) Possibly Corinthia, Koth, Ophir (people)
Characteristics
Capital	City of Wonders
Demonym	Valusians
Currency	Talans
Location Details
Galaxy	Milky Way
Star System	Sol
Planet	Earth
Continent	Thuria
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, Barry Smith
First	Conan the Barbarian #1 (July, 1970)
First	Conan the Barbarian #1 (July, 1970)

Valusia was a kingdom of Thuria during the Pre-Cataclysmic Era, ruled by King Kull circa 18,500 BC.

It was bordered (clockwise) at west and north by the Western Ocean, at northeast by Thule, at east by Zarfhaana and Kamelia, and at south by Verulia and Farsun (Valusia ruled over the whole of the western coast, with a narrow territory in the mountains at south, bordering Farsun by west).

Prior to human rule, it belonged to the serpent-folk.

It was considered one of the Seven Empires.

History

Elder Days

The Serpent-Men ruled over Valusia.

Pre-Cataclysmic Age

From the Far East came true men, ancestors of the Valusians. Crossing the Camoonian Desert and the Hills of Zalgara, they conquered Valusia from the serpent-folk. A few of those survived, went into hiding, plotting their way to reclaim their power.

Qar, the First City of Wonder

Allegedly at a time Atlantis was only a fiery volcano, Qar was a city of ancient Valusia, whose people, a race of which little is known, were destroyed by Poison Flowers, though this explanation was lost to the modern Valusians.

The City of Wonders was built at an unrevealed point above Qar's foundations.

Undisclosed time events

Unnamed king's rule, war with the Enchanted Domain

In "the old days", men tried to invade the Enchanted Domain under the bottom of a lake, but were all slain by the dwellers of the lake. The lake became known as the Forbidden Lake, and men laid a tabu that entered custom that only the kign of Valusia could enter the waters of lake. During the same battle or during another one, the Enchanted Domain fought and nearly lost a bloody battle against a mighty and noble king. In the end, a pact was made, and a sword left in the Eternal Tree as a sign of that king's good faith, and only a man as noble as himself could remove the blade.

Unnamed king's rule

A legend among the Sea-Mountain Tribe mentioned a Valusian king, ambushed by Atlanteans, slain by Gandaro of the Spear and who turned into a Serpent-Man upon his death.

28,500 BC

Circa 28,500 BC or before, in the hills of Zalgara in the middle of summer, an unnamed sorcerer sacrificied seven goats (with Tyre's goat, Devil Butt, last), in the name of the Black Beast of Hell with its Thousand Young, to Yagotha, to make him turn the key holding the Old Ones, intending to have them do his binding. Though the sorcerer was killed, the summoning was a success and an icy horror, Yagotha himself, came to Earth's dimension to prepare the planet for the Old Ones, turning Zalgara into frozen waste, until it was defeated into retreat by a hero whose name was forgotten. Yagotha then turned the key, closing the Gate upon the Old Ones.

Decline of the Seven Empires (Before 20,000 BC)

Over twenty-two thousand years ago the Seven Empires started to decline.

Gonra fighting off the Atlanteans before the Temple of the Scorpion

19,500 BC

A thousand years before Kull, King Eallal ruled over Valusia, until he was found hideously murdered in his throne room (which became known as the Accursed Room), killed by a Serpent-Man.

In the same period, hordes of savage Atlanteans decided to destroy Valusia's Scorpion God. That day, Gonra of the Sword, a Valusian knight, fell to the Atlanteans but saved the Temple of the Scorpion and Valusia as a whole.

Still around that time, the Picts became the allies of Valusia.

Unnamed king(s)'s rule

During the rule of an unnamed king, he exiled a nameless mage for his perverse dark magics. Soon afterwards, the waters of the city were poisoned from a subterreanean well. Many men, including Tu's grandfather's brother, went beneath the city looking for the origin of the poisoning, but only two returned with tales of horror. Consequently, the exiled sorcerer was sought, found, and executed, and soon after, the water ran clear again. This tale is mentioned by Tu to be dating from the earliest days of the kingdom of Valusia, but that his grandfather's brother was involved in those events, consequently dating the events far closer to Kull's rule.

Thirty years before Kull's rule, Valusia had many foes, including Commoria. Vonndhar was the songs-praised commander of the infamous Black Legion back then, leading many campaigns. Vonndhar was slain in battle with the Commorians (though he was resurrected by Erlik and recruited into the god's service).

18,500 BC

On another occasion, 500 Atlanteans attacked Valusia, going inland as far as the Village of the Hawks, before the Valusian squadrons, including the Black Legion stopped them, slaying all but four, including Khor-Nah.

During Kull's youth, Nial of the Tatheli, overking of the Picts, hosted Dinaldo, prince of the Great House of Atl Volante and Valusian emissary to the Picts, on the Pictish isle of Tathel, the Atlantean Sea-Mountain tribe led by Khor-Nah attacked while a group led by Kull infiltrated the camp to capture the Valusian for ransom until Valusia would break their alliance with the Picts, preventing interference from the civilized kingdoms within the feud opposing Atlanteans and Picts. The abduction was aborted by Nial's shaman Gonar, who saved Kull and demanded Dinaldo's return in exchange.

Borna's rule

King Borna was a tyrant. Ridondo, Kaanuub, Enaros and Ducalon conspired against him, Ridondo having approached Kull (an Atlantean barbarian that had ascended as commander of the Black Legion), and made him favor Kaanuub as king.

Around this time, Phaedria rebelled against Borna, leading to the siege of Zaphaar. Plague eventually struck the camp. During the siege, Kull went at odds with Clystra, general of the engineers, culminating with Clystra trying to kill Kull in gruesome circumstances, only to be destroyed by Kull.

Ridondo then pretended to Kull that he had heard Borna planning to abolish the Black Legion due to the threat it could pose to his power. Kull bought it and went to confront his king. Kull managed to slay Borna, and before Kaanuub could do it, claimed the crown for himself.

Kull's rule

After Kull used the amulet of Ka to restore Gallus' life and accidentally summoned the death in the orchards of Valusia, the king decided to throw off into the sea the magic item, thinking it was never meant for mortal keeping.

Maxmelle, a Valusian knight, was attacked by a horde of savages and inadvertently saved by a shepherd-boy named Sedrick: the grateful knight then took him to the City of Wonders as his new squire.

The end of Kull's rule remains unknown, but his dynasty went on (or was later restored, in the case any of his conspirators eventually succeeded) as Valusia's rulers.

After Kull's rule, his name became synonymous with king in Valusia.

Visions of the future had Commoria and Valusia waging massive wars at each other, leaving both weakened beyond repair, ripe for an Atlantean invasion.

Valusia kept declining since 18,500 BC.

18,000 BC

Volonius VII's rule

The last king of Valusia was Volonius VII, a boy appointed Kull by the military, specifically by an unnamed general.

King Kull was sent in this era, but upon proclaiming his identity, was declared a madman by the boy-kull and the priests and thrown into a dungeon.

Great Cataclysm

Soon afterwards, the Great Cataclysm began. The general insisted that the boy-kull remained in the palace but himself fled away. King Kull was rescued by time-displaced Red Sonja, while Volonius perished.

A significant colony of Picts already established along the mountains of Valusia's south frontier were virtually unharmed. They fought the Atlanteans that also inhabited the mainland, causing both nations great damages, and both kingdoms vanished. Those Picts would form the basis of the Hyborian Age Picts.

For a full presentation of the event, please consult the Great Cataclysm page.

Legacy

The Lesser Cataclysm achieved the ruin of the Picts and Atlanteans begun by their tribal wars. The Picts then remained as scattered clans of cave-dwelling savages with primitive speech, living in the southwest of the new continent of Hyboria.

Due to the statement that the Hyborian Kingdoms of Koth, Ophir, and Corinthia "regained their independence with the fall of the empire" of Acheron, a theory asserted that those three kingdoms may had not been founded by the Hyborians (unlikely to have dominated those kingdoms at the dawn of Acheron), but by refugees from Valusia, Thurania, and Zarfhaana, rebuilding their culture while the Hyborians were still in the Far North. Retaining part of their culture, they may have formed the basis for Corinthia, Koth and Ophir.

Facts

Religion

The local population of Serpent-Folk worshiped the dread god Sligguth.

Valka was the god of all gods, worshiped in Valusia by 28,500 BC. Hotath was another frequently invoked god.

The Scorpion God was a near-forgotten god, and by 18,500 BC, its temple fell into ruins, while it was considered as god remembered by children and women in Thuron's mountain city.

The Annunaki were worshiped at least since circa 19,000 BC in Atlantis and Valusia, and circa 18,500 BC, Anu was worshiped in the city of Ostium, though seen as a cult by King Kull.

Multiple other cults and worships were witnessed circa 18,500 BC:

• the Black Shadow, material symbol of "the Unnameable One", an evil deity,
• The depraved court and nobles of Kamula, the city of pleasure, secretly worshiped Zugthuu the Slitherer, a god cast into demonic form.

Vramma was a demon and a god frequently invoked, though Gonar the Pict stated that Vramma was unknown to most Valusians.

Economics

 But here in Valusia, we have civilization, King Kull, and here slavery is the basis of our social labor. 

—Tu

Valusia was a slavery-based civilized land.

Politics and Laws

Valusia was governed by the King, along with the Royal Court (the king's privy council). The legislative power was held by the Senate.

Points of Interest

• Ostium - Northern sea-port
• Northmarches - Barony
• Hills of Zalgara - Mountainous land of hills in eastern Valusia, marking eastern and part of northern border
  • Forbidden Lake
    • Enchanted Domain - Independent kingdom of another race
  • Northern Shore - Barony
    • Fort Ergon
    • Kamula, the City of Pleasure
• City of Wonders ("Valusia", the "City of Crystal") - Capital
  • Palace of Kings
• Durium - Town outside the City of Wonders
• Pavilion of the Picts - Camp of the Pictish allies of Valusia, on a hill outside
• Village of the Hawks
• Southern mountains
  • Pict colony - Survived the Great Cataclysm
• Blaal - Barony
• Komahar - Province
• Fanara - Province
• Zaphaar - City
• Mountain city of Thuron, on the outer fringes of Valusia
  • Temple of Everlasting Darkness - Altar of the Black Shadow
• Fraxia - Town or village on the outskirts
• Asinual - Village

The Camoonian Deserts were a wasteland separating Valusia from Zarfhaana.

Residents

• Eallal - King (circa 19,500 BC)
• Borna - King (circa 18,500 BC)
• Kaanuub - Baron of Blaal, conspirator/would-be-king (circa 18,500 BC)
• Kull - King (succeeding Borna), former commander of the Black Legion (circa 18,500 BC)
• Ducalon - Count of Komahar, conspirator (circa 18,500 BC)
• Thulsa Doom/"Ardyon" - Usurper of Kull
• Picts (Council of Picts)
  • Brule
  • Ka-Nu
  • Gonar
• Thuron - High priest and king of a mountain city on the outer fringes of Valusia
• Calnor
• Gallus
• Talena
• Volonius VII - Last "Kull"/king of Valusia (circa 18,000 BC)

Notes

• Valusia was created by Robert E. Howard in "The Shadow Kingdom", his first King Kull and Cthulhu Mythos story.

Trivia

• Valusia is sometimes erroneously described as a continent.

See Also

• 103 appearance(s) of Valusia (Kingdom)
• 3 minor appearance(s) of Valusia (Kingdom)
• 39 mention(s) of Valusia (Kingdom)
• 3 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Valusia (Kingdom)
• 3 image(s) of Valusia (Kingdom)
• 21 article(s) related to Valusia (Kingdom)

Links and References

• Elder Valusia at the H.P. Lovecraft Wiki