Looking death in the face is a very harrowing experience. At times, you have to hope so hard, you can live. But if life is nothing more than the worst tortures, death can be a release. There is philosophy in this story that affected Conan through his entire life, and the battles he has fought. It is a battle that Grimdark has confronted, and lived to overcome the torment.
Conan learned about religion and philosophy in early stories, and that is because he had a meeting with a wise being, in a story that is heartrending, and with a very beautiful end. This is the story of “The Elephant Tower”, where Conan takes up a challenge to sneak into said tower to retrieve a treasure. After he meets a thief that teaches him about how to stealth into such a location, only to find an ancient and awesome creature that teaches him the history of the world, and how he came to be, trusted Yara with a beautiful gift, only for it to be turned on him, and make a request of Conan, that would stop Yara, and give a rebirth to the creature, Yag-kosha, who looks like an elephant-man.
It is rare to see Conan have such pity, and almost be moved to tears, but this is possibly one of the only times in Conan’s stories that he nearly sheds tears out of pity, and who can blame him. Seeing the horrifying, deformed elephant body, that is tortured, scarred, blinded, and even his hands melted into the throne he was sitting upon. Yag-kosha spoke of his home and the world, which was one of curiousity. He was around to see humanity grow, evolve, devolve… And wished to share his white magic with a young individual named Yara, whose curiousity became nothing more than a horrific gluttony, wanting more and more magic, and torturing Yag-kosha into being his slave, and forcing him into teaching Yara some of the dark magic he knows.
And yet Yag-kosha hasn’t taught his pupil everything. For a being to have been tormented, and become a husk of a man, he has hung onto some aspect of his willpower to avoid submitting completely to the evil Yara, and had a plan prepared in order to dislodge him, and avenge all those lives that were lost because of the cursed knowledge shared with Yara, for 300 years. That is a long time to live in blind agony, looking forward for nothing but physical and mental torment that would break the will of many, and yet, in his husk, hope still drew breath, as he waited for a thief to listen to his tale.
To see the good and evil in all humans, and to come out, yes to take down Yara, but to find Conan, and become possibly Conan’s greatest mentor in all his personal history, and his words weigh heavily on Conan in all his stories. The way Conan killed Yag, was a mercy, and the Cimmerian did not hesitate to slay him, and follow the command to avenge him. He may have spent very little time with him, but it was like an eternity for him when he was learning from the ancient being. There’s a reason why Belit had a hard time keeping up with Conan in philosophy. He discusses about how the world has no mercy for the people, but one has to keep fighting for something.
Good men are often also dangerous men, and Conan is such a person. He was once a thief, but after he met Yag, something changed in him. He didn’t take anything for granted, and understood that a broken husk can still pray… Even if it be for a swift end to end his pain, and yet, in his death, he was reborn, and extracted revenge, as well as justice upon Yara. Giving up is not something Conan can ever do, and it is not something Yag did, even if he is possibly one of fiction’s characters that has suffered the most in characters’ personal history. Forget the dramatic torment of Vegeta at the hands of Frieza. Ignore the loneliness Aladdin felt in the city of Agrabah. Even Dragonlance’s Magius might not understand the torment Yag felt, and each of these three gave up hope in their lives. Vegeta would constantly blame everyone else, and would let his ego and his insecurities constantly put everyone in danger. Aladdin fell under the influence of various people who took advantage of his skills and his wanting a family, only to leave him alone again, and Magius ran away from a prophecy in regards to his death. Each of these three, in their own way, gave up on hope. But Yag never did. He waited and bided his time.
And Conan releasing him was the only thing he wished for, and that’s what kept him going. And the final spell allowed Yag to let go of the tormented body, and to right the wrongs he did when he shared his wisdom with the wrong person, who abused the lessons of healing and peace.
But Yag’s greatest pupil was not one that learned magic, but the philosophy of hope and wisdom. Of giving what is needed, and not indulging the people with something they have not earned. These lessons affect his decisions and how he discusses with people such as Othello, Belit, Valeria, Zenobia, and many others. Most don’t understand, but they do listen. Some like Zenobia are the ones that understand the most, but also help add to Conan’s philosophy. He is often dour about thinking about Yag’s lessons, wondering if he would be so forgiving if he was the one in his mentor’s shoes, because he would have given up hope that freedom would be granted, even if it be in death.
Yag flying off in the end was a beautiful scene, with him getting what he hoped for. His eyes returned to him, his disfigurations vanished, and even his freedom granted back to him, with the simple thought that someone would come and save him.
Yag prayed for salvation and deliverance from his suffering, and a man, a barbarian who came to steal was moved, and granted the man his only hope, and walked away with far more than any physical treasure, and that was wisdom, the wisdom to understand the good in men, and the wickedness in evil.
As intellectually stimulating as always!