This article
originally appeared in REHUPA #165
The origin of the
Hyborian tribe extends back into the Antediluvian Age, before the
Great Cataclysm rocked the earth. They were descended from a race of
Neanderthal-like savages that inhabited the northern reaches of the
Thurian continent.
Then the Great Cataclysm
occurred and the world was thrown into chaos and anarchy. Lands sank
beneath the seas and the great kingdoms of the world dissolved into
ruin. Massive volcanic eruptions covered the western Thurian
continent with ash and poisonous gasses.
The proto-Hyborians fled
northward to the Arctic Circle to escape destruction from the
violent effects of the volcanoes (recounted in "Untitled
Fragment", THE HOWARD COLLECTOR, 1979). They found this
region to be infested with an indigenous species of ferocious
snow-apes. The nomadic tribes fought these shaggy white horrors and
at last drove them into the wastelands near the North Pole, were it
was believed that they would perish. They then took possession of
this region, adapted to it and throve. Even a lesser cataclysm that
occurred 500 years after the first did little to arrest their
development.
About this time the
tribes named themselves the Hybori, or Hyborians, in honor of their
god Bori (Bori was actually an ancient leader of the tribes elevated
to the status of deity with the passing of centuries). During the
next one thousand years they spread all across the empty northlands,
and being isolated, fight only in intertribal wars.
Since their relocation at
the Arctic Circle, the Hyborians have become "a tall,
tawny-haired, grey-eyed race, vigorous and warlike, and already
exhibiting a well defined artistry and poetism of nature".
They live primarily by the hunt, although some of the more southern
tribes raise cattle. They have had no contact with any other race in
their 1500 years of existence and believe themselves to be alone.
This belief is shattered
when word comes from the extreme north that an extensive tribe of
ape-like men inhabits the lands beyond the Arctic Circle. These are
assumed to be the descendants of the snow-apes the war-like
Hyborians drove off their land millennia ago. A wandering Hyborian
warrior returning from a journey to the far north claims that they
are evolving into true men and urges the speedy formation of a large
war-party to eradicate them from that region.
The Hyborians react to
the news with disbelief and ridicule. The young warrior is unable to
recruit more than a small band of adventurous fighters to follow him
on his return to the region beyond the Arctic Circle. They disappear
and are never heard from again.
The pressures of a huge
number of inhabitants living in an arctic area with finite resources
at last forces a trickle of southernmost tribes into drifting into
warmer climes. The early Hyborian migrations wander into relatively
unoccupied lands, conquering or destroying the many small, unnamed
clans encountered. They resettle these lands, absorbing the remnants
of these clans into their population. These settlers are conquered
in turn by newer, purer-blood Hyborian tribes, swept away as the
trickle of migration becomes a flood, "extending over
centuries and ages" (Black Colossus).
An additional element
contributing to the Hyborian drift occurs when a tribe of that race
discovers the use of stone, building crude fortresses designed to
withstand tribal attacks. These people soon discard their horsehide
tents in favor of living in stone houses grouped together for
protection. This in turn gives rise to the first Hyborian kingdom,
the rude and barbaric nation of Hyperborea (the Elder). The rise of
this kingdom drives forth many other tribes; they refuse to be
subservient to their castle-dwelling kin.
It is not long, however,
before the Hyborians run into Acheron, a land ruled by a
pre-cataclysmic race called the Giant-Kings. Acheron sits like a
large rock amid the stream of Hyborian migration, forcing the tribes
westward along its northern frontiers or southward along its eastern
edge.
Southeast of Hyperborea
lay the nascent nation of the Zhemri. Shortly before the Hyborian
migrations began in earnest, the Zhemri joined with an unknown race
(Dagonian refugees?) that revived the memory of their ancient
culture. This combined with the natural defenses inherent in
mountainous terrain enabled the Zhemri to deflect the rising numbers
of Hyborians into the lands west of them.
The westward thrust of
migration occupies the lands between Acheron and the mountains of
what will become Cimmeria, displacing the existing aboriginal tribes
westward into the lands of the Picts. Hyborian bloodlines mix with
that of the aborigines to form the tribe of Bossonia. The Bossonians
drive the unorganized Picts westward into the wilderness and occupy
the new lands. Hyborian tribes continue to pour into the area,
skirting Acheron and settling along the Shirki River. A tribe of
xenophobic Hyborians settles the hilly regions north of the Shirki
River to form the ancestors of the Gundermen.
The southward thrust of
migration occupies the lands between the eastern frontier of Acheron
and the mountain-girt lands of the Zhemri. The Hyborian tribes push
themselves southward until the reach the fertile uplands that lie
south of the Zhemri nation. These lands are under the control of the
empire of Stygia, which lies far to the south. Pressures from the
advancing Hyborians, as well as possible help from the Acheronians
and/or Zhemri, force the Hyborians to drive the Stygians out of the
uplands south into the Shemitish meadowlands. They pursue the
Stygian army and destroy it with the sacking of the Stygian city of
Kuthchemes. The Hyborians settle the fertile uplands and establish
the second Hyborian nation, which they call Koth. The founding of a
third nation, Ophir, swiftly follows.
As the Hyborian kingdoms
start to establish themselves, pressures bring them into conflict
with Acheron. That will be the subject of my next installment of
"Mysteries of the Hyborian Age".
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