THE FALCONTHE FALCON
Real Name: Constantius
Identity/Class: Human, Kothian (Hyborian Era)
Occupation: Militar Commander, mercenary
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Khumbanigash, Salome
Enemies: Conan of Cimmeria, Krallides, Marcios, Taramis
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Khauran; formerly Shem
First Appearance: "A Witch shall be Born," Weird Tales
(December, 1934);
(Marvel) Savage Sword of Conan#5 (April, 1975)
Powers/Abilities: None. He probably was a skilled knight.
History:
(A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb) - BTS) - Constantius,
the Falcon, was the Supreme Commander of an army of Shemite mercenaries. He met
Salome the Witch, who wanted the throne of Khauran, then held by her twin sister
Taramis. Salome understood that Constantius was
lacking of any sign of goodness, so
she chose him as help for her plans of conquer.
(A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of
Conan#5 (fb)) - Constantius
approached Khauran with his army, faking heading to Turan. Once having met
the Queen Taramis he pretended to ask her hand. Taramis refused his marriage
proposal, but agreed at the passage of Constantius' troops though, as warranty, she
hold Constantius in one of the tower rooms until his army had passed over the
town of Khauran.
That night, Salome impersonating her sister Taramis the Queen, entered in the
town and had the Shemite mercenaries enter the town. Salome also had Constantius
freed from his prison, then drove him to meet Taramis.
(A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5) - Salome told her past and her plans to her sister. Then she let Constantius abuse Taramis, before imprisoning her in a hidden prison.
(A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5 (fb)) - Salome, impersonating Taramis, declared to the Khauran people that she had accepted the Constantius' marriage proposal, and released the Khauran army. Conan of Cimmeria, Captain of the Guards, realized that she was not Taramis and claimed the fact in front of the crowd. Taramis had the Shemites attack Conan, the Khauran Guards tried to defend themselves but eventually they were defeated and Conan overpowered. Constantius and the Shemites took control over the town.
(A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5) - The Falcon crucified Conan in the desert.
(A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of
Conan#5 (fb)) - Constantius married Salome. Salome's reign became depraved and
dissolute. The Shemite troops humiliated every nomad they desired. The people
were heavily taxed and vexed. Many young Khaurans were sold as slaves, others
fled, joining to the nomads of the desert. Constantius set a web of spies in the
town. The nomads, stronger than ever, started to raid the villages. The
Shemite troops defended only the capital and the nearest territories.
A revolt arose in Khauran, led by Marcios, once a Khauran soldier, but it failed
and he had to flee and hide.
About seven months after Constantius invaded Khauran, they captured and beheaded Krallides, Taramis' most
faithful counselor.
(A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5) - A week later, Conan, having survived the cross and now leader of more than 11,000 Zuagir nomad warriors, headed to Khauran with his army. Constantius gathered his cavalry and went out of the town to attack the Nomads and destroy their siege machines.
Constantius had his army charge against the Zuagirs;
but he
didn't know that Conan had the help of 3,000 Khauran knights, hidden behind the
Zuagir lines, and that the siege machines were false.
The Zuagirs seemed to tremble under the Shemite attack. Then their lines opened
and 3,000 Hyborian knights, full of hate and desperation, charged, taking Constantius of surprise. Khumbanigash, the Shemites'
General, was killed. The Shemite army was defeated. Constantius ran away with a
handful of knights, leaving his men to die outside the wall of the city. His purpose
was to close the town gates and keep control of the town.
Meanwhile, in the capital city, Marcios' spies had spread the news that the real queen was alive and
that they had to revolt against Constantius.
The Falcon arrived at the Temple and found Conan and Taramis and
Marcios alive.
The people were uncertain. Salome appeared, wounded, calling Thaug. Understanding
that the falsehood was over, Constantius had his men shoot arrows on Conan. The
people, understanding that their real queen was alive, assaulted the Shemite
mercenaries. Constantius was captured by the people of Khauran. Salome died,
Thaug,
her huge demon went out of the Temple ,and at his sight the Shemites fled. Thaug was
killed by Conan and his Desert Wolves.
Taramis was restored on her throne, and Constantius was crucified by Conan.
Comments: Created by Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (pencils) and "The Tribe" (inkers).
The Khumbanigash sub-profile could go under Salome profile, because in the story Khumbanigash is only seen with Salome or Marcios. However he was part of the Constantius Army, so I put it here.
Clarifications:
Constantius the Falcon has no known connections to
Kumbanigash has no known connections to any other character with a similar name.
Khumbanigash was a General of the mercenaries. He was a normal
human, probably from Shem. He seemed taller and heavier than the average size of
the soldiers.
The Shemite mercenaries seemed to be composed of at least two corps, the cavalry
and the infantry.
The knights wore a light plate mail, an helm, had a sword, or
a sabre, a spear, and a round shield.
The infantry had a round shield with a spike in the center, an armor probable of
leather mail , a sabre and a hooked spear.
Considering that they were mercenaries, it is very probable that they did not
have
standard equipment.
Khumbanigash was one of the reliable men of Salome. He was one of the few men to know the secret of Salome. He also abused of Taramis.
Seven months after the conquer of the Khauran city, a night,
Khumbanigash escorted Salome to the secret prison of Taramis, to torture her
with the sight of the dead Krallides' head. He stayed outside the cell, but
heard Taramis' screams.
Outside the prison, Khumbanigash suggested to Salome to kill Taramis in front of
her people and to declare herself the Queen, sure of the military supremacy
of his troops over the Khaurans. Taramis wanted to wait. She threw the head of
Krallides
to a deaf-mute, who actually was Marcios
in disguise, looking for
information. Khumbanigash, gesticulating, sent him away.
A week later, Conan led his Zuagirs near Khauran and Khumbanigash left the town to fight with the rest of Constantius' army. Khumbanigash died in the battle.
--A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5
Images:
A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5,
p11, pan4 (Constantius, full body)
A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5,
p11, pan1 (Constantius, head shot)
A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5,
p38, pan3 (the Shemite cavalry)
A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5,
p27, pan6 (Khumbanigash)
A Witch shall be Born; Savage Sword of Conan#5, p4, pan3 (Shemite mercenaries around
Khauran)
Last updated: 05/22/06
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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