Enemies: Great Guardian, Harpagus, Thun'da, Zath

Known Relatives: Unidentified parents (deceased)

Aliases: Helliana is a name she took for herself. Her original name is unknown

Base of Operations: Mobile;
    last seen in Stygia;
    formerly Arenjun (City of Thieves), Zamora;
    formerly outside of Yezud, Zamora;
    Hyborian Era

First Appearance: Conan: Lord of the Spiders#1 (March, 1998)

Powers: Helliana is a skilled swordswoman and thief.

History: (Conan: Lord of the Spiders#3(fb))-The girl who would become Helliana was born on a farm outside of Yezud, the City of the Spider-God. One day Harpagus, vicar to the high priest of Zath, came by to demand half of her family's small herd of cattle--food for Zath. Her parents refused, because without those cattle, they'd have starved. Harpagus had her parents slain on the spot, and then raped her, despite the fact that she was barely little more than a child. Harpagus left the girl behind, and she managed to blot out the events from her memory over time. She renamed herself Helliana.

(Conan: Lord of the Spiders#1-3)-Helliana and her partner Sabo sneaked into the forbidden and presumably cursed ruins of Yara's tower, hoping to steal the huge gems encrusted in its walls. While they were digging through the ruins, they bumped into Harpagus, who had been wandering and was drawn to the ruins as well. Sabo attempted to steal Harpagus' ring, but Harpagus' memory returned and he instead slew Sabo. Fearing he would slay her as well, Helliana agreed to work for Harpagus and bring to Conan to him.

     Helliana set a trap for the barbarian, but ended up barely escaping herself. Conan had her at his mercy, but refused to slay a woman unless absolutely necessary. Conan followed her trail back to Arenjun, and ended up getting captured anyway. Helliana's mental blocks began to break down, and she recognized Harpagus as the man who had assaulted her years before. She snuck into the pit where Conan was being held, but had to fight for her life, as Conan had been driven into a frenzy by black lotus administered by Harpagus. Helliana managed to calm Conan, and brought him to a store of white lotus, which reversed his narcotized state.
Conan and Helliana located and attacked Harpagus. Conan badly wounded the Lord of the Spiders, but he crawled off, preparing to unleash a spell on the barbarian. Unwilling to let him escape, Helliana tackled Harpagus into a wall of flames, apparently killing them both.

(Conan the Barbarian: Scarlet Sword#1) - Having survived somehow, Helliana again encountered when he was in Stygia. When Conan threatened to be overwhelmed by Lord Gondee who wielded the Scarlet Sword and who had been transformed into a virtual reincarnation of the ancient Acheronian Thun'da of the Snow Mane, Helliana pushed a burning hut between the two of them, allowing Conan to escape with her; however, having been wounded by the Scarlet Sword, Conan was now able to be tracked by it.

(Conan the Barbarian: Scarlet Sword#2) - Conan and Helliana overpowered a number of Grondee's troops, stole their horses and fled, eventually entering the city Potosi. Knowing the Scarlet Sword would track him, Conan tried to draw Thun'da and his forces after him, but Thun'da only took two men with him when he pursued Conan. The rest he sent to assault Potosi. Helliana inspired the others to fight, but they were sadly outnumbered. As the troops prepared to charge, Conan returned, but he had now become a pawn of the Scarlet Sword and had been transformed into a version of Thun'da.

(Conan the Barbarian: Scarlet Sword#3) - Conan/Thun'da flattened Helliana but did not kill her. The few other survivors of Potosi dragged her off to safety and told her of their Great Guardian statue, which had saved them in the past but which no one any longer believed in. Helliana rushed out and danced underneath the Great Guardian, forcing herself to believe in it until it came to life and began battling Conan/Thun'da. Inspired by the Guardian, the people of Potosi took up their farm implements and slaughtered the invaders, who were stunned by the Guardian's presence. Fearing the Guardian would kill Conan, she threatened to deactivate it by ceasing her belief, and it turned to slay her. Taking advantage of the distraction, Conan/Thun'da hurled the Scarlet Sword into the Guardians' head, somehow ending the curse's effects on Conan, but the Guardian was then afflicted by the Sword's curse. The giant Thun'da-possessed Great Guardian threatened Conan and Helliana, but then its own magical nature of being drawn to slay any it had wounded forced it to turn the Scarlet Sword on itself. The Guardian was destroyed and the Sword, its quest for the perfect master at its end, melted as well.
    Conan reasoned that the Scarlet Sword had not tried to kill Conan after he was bonded to it because it still sought a more powerful wielder...or something like that.

Comments: Created by Roy Thomas and Stefano Raffaele.

I place the Hyborian era @ 12, 000 BC-8, 000 BC, with Conan being active about 10,000 BC. For a truly excellent pre-modern era Chronology of the Marvel Universe, check out Robert Wicks' Unofficial Chronology of the Marvel Universe.

CLARIFICATIONS: No known connections to any of the groups of Hellions or anyone else from the modern era.

    Sabo was also a thief and a native of Arenjun. He followed Helliana into the ruins of the Tower of the Elephant in return for her promise of some sweet lovin' later. However, when he attempted to steal Harpagus' spider-ring, the Lord of the Spiders quickly filled him up with lethal venom. The end.

--Conan: Lord of the Spiders#1

images:

Other appearances:
Conan: Lord of the Spiders#2-3 (April-May, 1998)

Last updated: 06/09/08

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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