YASMELAYASMELA
Real Name: Princess Yasmela
Identity/Class: Human (Hyborian era), Khorajan citizen
Occupation: Princess
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Ishtar, Mitra (gods); Amalric,
Conan, Katuman, Khorajan army, Taurus, Thespides;
Red Sonja (who only tolerated her because Conan fancied her),
Zula;
Hobb of Anuphaur (acquaintance)
formerly Vateesa
Enemies: Natohk/Thugra Khotan, Vateesa, Zug, Zugites
Known Relatives: King Khossus (brother); Katuman (husband)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: the Royal Palace of Khoraja; Hyborian era
First Appearance: Weird Tales Volume 21, Number 6, Black Colossus (June, 1933); Savage Sword of Conan#2 (October, 1974)
Powers/Abilities: None. Yasmela led the pampered life of a princess and had few useful skills. She was wise enough to trust and follow Conan...at least while she needed him.
History: (Black Colossus/Savage Sword of
Conan#2/Conan the Barbarian I#248, 249) -
After her brother, King Khossus, was taken prisoner by Amalrus,
the King of Ophir, Princess Yasmela became the nominal ruler of
Khoraja. Soon after, Natohk began to amass the desert nomads
against Khoraja. In reality, Natohk was the ancient Stygian
wizard Thugra Khotan, who sought to avenge himself on the
Hyborians who had destroyed his city some three thousand years
before. Natohk/Khotan saw Yasmela as the reincarnation of his own
lover, Bas-Tet, and sought to take her for his own. Natohk began
to plague her dreams, tormenting her with his desires and plans
for her. In desperation, Yasmela followed the advice of her
handmaid, Vateesa, and sought advice from the Oracle of Mitra
(The people of Khoraja worshipped Ishtar, but praying to Ishtar
wasn't getting her anywhere...). In front of the statue of Mitra,
she heard a voice, telling her to go forth alone into the streets
and place her kingdom in the hands of the first man she met
there. That man turned out to be Conan.
Yasmela brought Conan into the palace and indeed placed him in charge of her kingdom, much to the dismay of her advisors. However, as Conan had been serving as a mercenary in her army, he commanded the respect of the other mercenaries, and some of the Khorajan soldiers as well. Yasmela feared to be left behind, so she accompanied the army as they prepared for war. She continued to be plagued with nightmares of Natohk, but her visions enabled her to confirm that Natohk was Thugra Khotan. Later, as the nomads and the armies of Khoraja fought, Natohk sidestepped the battle and abducted Yasmela, taking her to some nearby ruins where he planned to ravish and then kill her. Conan followed and saved her, killing Thugra Khotan in the process. Yasmela was quite grateful, and she thanked him...probably more than once that night.
(Conan the Barbarian#250) - Conan accompanied Yasmela in a victory parade through the streets of Khoraja. He shared her bed, but could not reveal their relationship in public: "I can't have my people know I've taken up with a commoner!" Later, Yasmela accompanied Conan, Red Sonja, and Zula to Kuthchemes, where she hoped to steal the treasures left behind by Thugra Khotan, to use as ransom for her brother's release. However, both Yasmela and Red Sonja were taken hostage by a group of Zugites, who sought the treasure of Kuthchemes for themselves. The two women were brought across the River of Darkness, and they watched as the Zugites walked into and were crushed by a giant skull. Yasmela was entranced by the skull, and only a punch to the back of the head from Sonja stopped her from entering it, too. Conan and Zula brought the two women back across the River, where they were attacked by Zug. Yasmela was furious as Sonja and Zula dropped the treasures of Kuthchemes on Zug in order to distract it from Conan. As Sonja and Zula decided to part from their company, Conan advised Yasmela to keep her mouth silent unless she would prefer to return to Khoraja by herself.
(Conan the Barbarian#251) - On the trip back to Khoraja, Yasmela listened as Conan told the story of Ossian and the wings he had stolen from a demon.
(Savage Sword of Conan#2) - Conan rescued King Khossus from the Mountain of the Moon God. However, while he was out saving her kingdom, she became engaged to Katuman, a Stygian who had fought against Khoraja on the side of Natohk/Khotan. However, he was at least of royal blood. Conan was somewhat less than heartbroken and decided to leave Khoraja, after he'd rested a fortnight or two with a few of the beautiful maidens of the castle of Khoraja.
Comments: Created by Robert E. Howard; Adapted by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.
There was an error in Savage Sword of Conan#2, in which Natohk took Yasmela from the battlefield to his temple in Kuthchemes, which was hundreds of miles away. In REH's Black Colossus, he took her instead to the ruins alongside the battlefield. In 1991, Conan the Barbarian I#249 corrected that error, but that meant that the treasures of Kuthchemes were laying open for anyone to grab...which led to the story told in Conan the Barbarian I#250.
Also in Savage Sword of Conan#2, Amalric of Nemedia was renamed Malthom to avoid confusion with Amalrus, the king of Ophir. Conan the Barbarian I#249 revealed his real name to be Amalric.
Red Sonja and Zula were ret-conned into Black Colossus. As best as I understand, REH's Red Sonja (Sonya) was not actually around in the Hyborian era, but instead was a closer contemporary to Solomon Kane, around the 16th Century. Zula is, I believe, a Marvel creation entirely. Neither of them were in the Savage Sword of Conan story, but were weaved into the extended version told in Conan the Barbarian I#246-249, @ 1991.
I've only recently begun to index the Conan series, and I'm not even 10% done. Let me know if any of these characters appear again, and I'll add to their entries, perhaps even expanding to a full profile if warranted.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Amalric of Nemedia, aka Malthom, should be distinguished from:
Taurus of Khoraja has no known connection to:
Amalric of Nemedia
He led a band of mercenaries enlisted by
Khoraja in their war against the forces of Natohk.
(Conan the Barbarian I#244-BTS, 245) - He and his men were beset by the
Afterlings by the vampire-lord Varnae, during which time Amalric
was saved by Conan. After the battle, Conan punched out Amalric
to stop him from slaying the fleeing Afterlings after they had
been released from Varnae's control. However, Amalric allowed it
to slide, as he owed the Cimmerian his life. Conan, and his
allies Red Sonja and Zula, joined Amalric's mercenaries, and
Conan was made Captain of the troops.
(Conan the Barbarian I#246) - Although he worked with Count Thespides, the leader
of Khoraja's army, Amalric did not like him, as the Count made it
clear that he thought of the common mercenaries as much less than
himself and other royalty.
(Conan the Barbarian I#247) - He sent Conan in the failed attempt to recruit
Katuman and his men to fight for Khoraja.
(Conan the Barbarian I#248) - Amalric was forced to direct Conan to obey
Thespides' edict of a royal curfew, to prevent them from staying
out drinking the whole night before they left for the battle
against Natohk.
(Savage Sword of Conan#2/Conan the Barbarian I#249) - Amalric soon had to serve under Conan, when
Yasmela gave him control over the whole kingdom. While Amalric
didn't really like Conan either, he did respect his skills, and
followed his lead in battle. During the struggle with Natohk's
forces, he received a leg wound. He recovered and was part of the
victory parade in Khoraja.
(Savage Sword of Conan#3) - Later, Amalric thought to lead a band of warriors to
rescue King Khossus, but Conan instructed him to stay in Khoraja
and protect Yasmela while he went himself.
(Savage Sword of Conan#12 (fb)-BTS) - Sometime later, Amalric's bravery and
success was rewarded by Yasmela and Khossus, who made him the
head of Castle Crimson.
(Savage Sword of Conan#12) - Conan came to Castle Crimson and convinced Amalric to
work with him in a plot to pace the slave-girl Zuleika off as
Corma, a princess who had been missing for some time. Conan made
a deal with Khelru-Shan to sell "Corma" to him, but
Amalric fell in love with Zuleika and fought Conan savagely to
keep her. Their fight was interrupted when Khelru-Shan's army
stormed the city, after another of his agents, Mordek, had snuck
in kidnapped "Corma." Khelru-Shan and his forces were
ultimately destroyed, but then the army of Aballah Bin Khor, the
father of Corma, arrived to claim her. However, Zuleika, who
correctly figured that bin Shah would have had his daughter
raised by handmaidens, and would't know the difference, told her
"father" that she had fallen in love with Almaric, too.
Zuleika/Corma and Almaric/Malthom were married.
--Black Colossus, Savage Sword of Conan#2
The rightful King of
Khoraja, he led a mission to the court of Ophir, seeking aid in
the common cause against Natohk and his nomad horde. However,
Amalrus, the king of Ophir, had Khossus captured and held hostage
for a huge ransom...although he also considered turning him over
to Strabonus, the King of Koth...who wished the ransom for
Khossus for himself, and in turn offered Amalrus a very
advantageous trade treaty. While Amalrus debated his plans,
Khossus was imprisoned in the Mountain of the Moon God.
After the defeat of Natohk, Khossus was rescued by Conan, who
also rescued him from forceful capture by agents of Strabonus. As
they escaped, Conan again saved Khossus, this time from a giant
pteradon, which had been incubating inside the Mountain. Khossus
gained the chance to pay Conan back, by stopping Vateesa from
stabbing him in the back as he recovered from his struggle with
the pteradon. Once returned to Khoraja, Khossus resumed his role
as King, and was profoundly sorry to see Yasmela reject Conan in
favor of Katuman.
--(mentioned) Black Colossus, Savage Sword of Conan#2; (seen) Savage Sword of Conan#3 (Conan the Barbarian I#246(fb), Savage Sword of Conan#3
The royal chancellor of Khoraja, his role was small, but he knew enough to respect the wishes of Yasmela, and accept the temporary leadership of Conan. He recognized Conan's worth and tried to disuade him him from risking his life in going to rescue Khossus himself.
--Black Colossus, Savage Sword of Conan#2 (Conan the Barbarian I#246, Savage Sword of Conan#2, Savage Sword of Conan#3
A Count of Khoraja, he made his opinion of the
commoners with which he had been forced to serve well known. He
first chafed Amalric by refusing to aid him when they were beset
by followers of Natohk within the city, to avoid sullying his
hands in such undignified combat. He objected to the presence of
Zula's dark skin, 
until Amalric offered
to pull his whole mercenary out of the battle to spare him the
indignity. It was Thespides who created the royal curfew after
finding Conan, Zula, and Sonja out boozing it up in the middle of
the night as the battle with Natohk's forces approached. However,
this had less than desirable results for Thespides, as when Conan
wandered around town angrily after being kicked out, he bumped
into Yamela following the prophecy of Mitra, and became leader of
the forces of Khoraja.
Thespides was most apalled with these events, and refused to
serve Conan until Yasmela chastized him and offered him the
choice of serving her wishes or leaving Khoraja forever. During
the battle against the forces of Natohk, Thespides accused Conan
of being a coward and not attacking a small force of the nomads.
Despite Conan's concern that it was a trap, Thespides rallied the
portion of the army that were loyal Khorajans to follow him, and
charged the nomads. Just then, Natohk appeared and set up a
magical trap, setting Thespides and his followers on fire,
killing them.
--Black Colossus, Savage Sword of Conan#2 (Conan the Barbarian I#246, 248, Savage Sword of Conan#2/Conan the Barbarian I#249
Also known as Vateeza, she was the
maid-in-waiting of Yasmela. It was she who recommended that
Yasmela seek advice from the Oracle of Mitra. Her father was a
priest of Mitra in Ophir. Later, she may have served as Yasmela's
double, and seduced Conan in the shadows--before he learned that
Yasmela had a double. He learned all right--the hard way.
Later, Vateesa became jealous of the affection between Yasmela
and Conan. She stole the map to the Mountain of the Moon God and
brought it to King Strabonus, hoping she would gain a great
reward. Strabonus sent Sergius and some other men to the
Mountain, and had them bring Vateesa along to punish her if she
were lying. Along the way, Sergius made it clear that he wanted
some fornication under the consent of the king, and that he could
tell Strabonus whatever he wished to about her fate. After that,
she began to realize that perhaps she did fancy Sergius...until,
of course, she was captured along with Sergius by Commander
Quzak, the head guard of Koth in the Mountain of the Moon God. In
order to avoid imprisonment or death, she made Quzak see that it
was he she truly wanted. However, as Quzak led her to his abode,
Conan caught up with them, and decided to take her back to
Khoraja for punishment. As Conan recovered from his battle with a
pteradon from the Mountain, she picked up a sword and tried to
stab him in the back. Khossus, knocked her feet out from under
her, and she fell upon the sword.
--Black Colossus, Savage Sword of Conan#2(Conan the Barbarian I#250?, Savage Sword of Conan#3
Appearances:
Savage Sword of Conan#2 (October, 1974) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Alfredo Alcala (inks)
Savage Sword of Conan#3 (December, 1974) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks)
Conan the Barbarian I#246 (July, 1991) - Roy Thomas (writer), Gary Hartle (pencils), Mike DeCarlo (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Conan the Barbarian I#248-249 (September-October, 1991) - Roy Thomas (writer), Mike Docherty (pencils), Ernie Chan & Gerry Talaoc (#248) (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Conan the Barbarian I#250 (November, 1991) - Roy Thomas (writer), Mike Docherty (pencils), Ernie Chan (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Conan the Barbarian I#251 (December, 1991) - Roy Thomas (writers), Sandy Plunkett (story), Tony DeZuniga (pencils), Del Barras (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
First Posted: 11/13/2002
Last updated: 11/21/2002
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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